The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1839-11-01 00:00:00

EARTHQUAKES IN SCOTLAND.

We observe that several smart shocks of earthquakes have
lately been experienced in Perthshire.. In Crieff, where they
are more frequent than in any other locality in Scotland, on'
Saturday, the 12th instant, no less than four occurred,—one
of which, about three o'clock, P.M., was of great violence.
On the same day, and about the same Lour, a shock was sen-
sibly felt in the upper part of the Parish of Strathdon. But
on Wednesday, the 16th, at 10 minutes before 3 A.M., one of
great severity took place 'in that parish. The sensation
strongly resembled that which is .felt when a 'wave strikes
heavily against a vessel at sea. The house's shook, the doors
slapped, and many people were- awaked with the violent
tremulous motion of flick beds. shc.el: of such violence
has not been felt for 20 years.—AbereTeen Journal. ,

EARTHQUAKE IN EDINIIURGR.—SoIne alarm his been
lately excited in Perthshire by an earthquake which occurred
recently in that quarter ; but spch commotions have not been
confined to that district of the country; for on Wednesday
evening about a quarter past ten, a slight shock was experi-
enced at Newhaven; and we are informed that at the same
time it was observed in London-street, Doune-terrace, and
lnverleith-place, &c. In a house in the last-named street,
the shock was decidedly felt by five of the family sitting in the
drawing-room. It was described to us as a tremulous motion
of the house, as if from east to west, and not resembling the
shaking caused by the motion of a carriage. It was accom-
panied with no noise, and lasted about four seconds. In the
adjoining house, which stands quite detached, the shock was
also felt in the drawing-room floor; but in neither case was
it felt, at least observed, in the ground flat. In several in-
stances it was accompanied with the creaking of furniture,
and tho rattling of gas-light shades, but we have not heard
that it occasioned any damage.—Advertiser of Friday.
ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE.—Within these last few days the
elements have been lashed into a degree of fury elsewhere,
of which we have fortunately had no experience here. Brox-
burn, within twelve miles. of Edinburgh, was visited on-the
morning cf Tuesday by a " tyrannous and strong wind," and
a commercial traveller informs us that he, in company with
an hostler, was fairly overturned in his efforts to walk up the
stable yard. But worse than all, Perthshire has again been
visited by an earthquake, and this, taken in connection with
the former visitation, has very much alarmed the inhabitants.
About ten o'clock on the night of Wednesday, a vibration of
the walls in Perth was sensibly felt, and the flaggons were
seen to dance on the nails upon which they were suspended.
At Crieff, the visitation was still 'more alarming ; chimney
cans were thrown down, and the houses shook so fearfully
that the inhabitants were fain to flee to the open street or
common. The waiter of the Drummond Arms Inn was
thrown down while passingalong the passage ' • and a lady and
gentleman who came by the Perth Mail to Glasgow state that
the effects at Comrie, up the glen, were still more fearful,
and the supper-table was almost swept or its twin by the
shock—while the ceilings wererent.—Glasgou, Mail.
EARTHQUAKE IN FIFE.—We have unlocked our forins to
announce the occurrence of one •of those alarming subter-
ranean convulsions, which have not made themselves so
sensibly d stinct in this county since the great earthquake at
Lisbon, whose movements were felt over the whole British
Islands. The present shock took place at a quarter-past ten
o'clock on Wednesday night, and continued its tremulous
motions for the space of 60 or 70 seconds. No subterranean
sound accompanied the. convulsions, which seemed to pass
eastward in rapid Accession, .at first with considerable vio-
lence, and with a disagreeable complex iSotion, but which
latterly subsided to a slight horizontal rocking that gradually
died away. 'After the third or fourth vibration, the idea of
an earthquake occurred to us, and we experithentally put
ourselves into various positions to learn its effects, which re-
sembled in every form the description given by travellers and
geologists of similar phenomena in volcanic countries. To
convey some idea of its violence, we may state, the houses
shook, the windows rattled sharply, loose pieces, of plaster,
&c., fell from the walls, and light articles of furniture. were
moved in their places. No meteorological change from the
heavy rains that were then falling took place, except a deep
silence for a few seconds before and after.—Fife Herald.
EARTHQUAKES.—Since our last publication we have learnt
that the Western District of Perthshire has been visited by
several distinct shocks of earthquake. About 3 p.m., of the
12th, a shock was felt in the village of Callender, and west-
ward along the banks of Lochs Vennaahar and Lubnaig, and
westward through Glenartney, shaking the houses to such an
extent as to put the bells in motion. A similar occurrence.
took place about the same hour on the -14th, and again about
half-past 2 a.m., of the 16th, a third, more severe than the
others, was also felt. Many people in the village and neigh-
bourhood of Callender were awoke from sound sleep by the
violence with which their beds were shaken. On each occa-
sion the phenomenon was accompanied by.a loud noise, such
as would be created by a line of carriages driven quickly along
a newly mettled road. We understand that in the village of
Comrie, about six miles to the westward of Crieff, the effects
produced were still more alarming; the shocks being so se-
vere that several articles of .stoneware were suddenly thrown
from their positions, and broken to pieces. During the night
betwixt Monday and Tuesday last week, several persons felt
slight shocks of a similar convulsion. The same phenomenon
had visited the locality of Pilochry. In Strathtay, nearAber-
feldy, the shocks were frequent and alarming. A gentleman
from that quarter informs us that, at one time during the
night, betwixt Tuesday and Wednesday last, the movement
was so strong that he almost expected the house to topple
down ; and one day, at dinner, the plates on ,the table were
suddenly driven from their positions. At a ferry near the
same place the passengers felt a shock while crossing on the
water in a boat. The river exhibited a strange motion for a
short time and the water was observed to ebb and flow on
the margin.—Perth Constitutional.
NORTH BERwICK.—On Wednesday night last, about a
quarter-past ten o'clock, a smart shock of an earthquake was
felt by a number of the inhabitants. The doors were shaken
on the hinges, and the windows rattled—those •who were in
bed were moved as by.the rocking of a cradle, and those who
were sitting were violently shaken. Even the birds iu the
cages fluttered, and showed symptoms of alarm .for a con-
siderable time afterwards. The night was calm, cloudy, and
wet. A slight sensation was felt about five minutes after-
wards. The first continued about three seconds, the last
not so long.
DOLLAR, 34TH OCT.—The earthquakes that have of late
been agitating the south-Western parts of Perthshire have
been extending their alarming vibrations to our Arcadian vale.
Since Saturday the 12th current, repeated shocks, cotempo-
raneous, I believe, with those at Comrie, have been felt, not
only in the valley, but along the southern acclivities of the
Ochill Hills. These mountain masses, that form the north-
ern barrier of the vale of the Devon, seem to be light as'n
Ce 44.114. .11114444/lia. [JAC,.i
simultaneously quiver throughout all their' extent. The most
violent shocks we have here.expetieneed took place on Wed-
' nesday, the 16th, at half-past two in the morning, and last
night, (that of Wednesday, the 23d,) at a quarter-past ten
o'clock. This last shocklwas the severest and most alarming
of all.
.Families were put into confusion by it, and some left
• their homes in alarm. Sleep was banished for the night., .To
the writer of this aceOunt, the' sensation seemed 'es if two
strong impulses upward—the .setsond close -following upon,
but stronger than the first—were given to the ground, causing
it to bound upward. The'lieuse seemed to reel, like a vessel
mounting, a lofty surge eoreing sncldeelyannin it. Half an
hour afterwards a slighter shock experienced.' It is to
be remarked, •that the weather, during the Moreviolent shocks
of the 16th and 23d, was very svarni for the season, with' a
languid, still, dripping atmosphere, the ClOnagquitc' motion-
less, and not a breath of Wind stirring ; -end it deserves no
less to be noticeiL that,, previous to last nighCi'shock, the
barometer continued gradually rising; notwithstanding the
continued rain : last night, during, the time of the shock, it
stood at 29.70. This morning,' though the rain still con-
tinues, it stands at 29.80 ;•thertnometer, 30 and 48. There
has been no instance of earthquake in Clackmannanshire, I
believe, since the 7th day 'or September; 1801; which was felt
through all the central shires of Scotland. Eut that season
was a dry, clear, pleasrnt one, with little rain ; this season,
on the contrary, has been remarkably cloudy eni rainys—no
less than 12i inches of rain haVing fallen here since the Ist
of September.
ANOTHER EARTHQUAKE.—About a quarter of an hour
after ten o'clock on Wednesday night, the shock of an earth-
quake was felt at Causewayhead, distant rather more than a
mile from Stirling. It is said to have been accompanied by
the same rumbling noise that had been described as attend-
ing the recent shocks at Cried' and Comrie, and also to have
been so severe as to shake the houses, and, in some in-
stances, to make articles of earthen and crystal ware rattle
and strike against each other. The shock was felt, at the
same time, in the lower parts of Stirling—particularly in
Cowane-street, the Terrace, and Wellington-place ; but it
does not appear to have been nearly so violent as at Cause-
wayhead, and many places adjacent to it. Since writing the
above, we have recived the following accounts, from which it
appears that the shook was more severely felt both, at Alloa,
and Kincardine, in Perthshire.—Stirling Journal.
EARTHQUAKE AT ALLOA.—Two very smart shocks were
felt here on Wednesday night, the one about a quarter past
ten, and the other about 25 minutes before eleven. The
first, and by far the most severe of the two, indicated its
approach in a loud noise something like distant thunder, but
much more awful and alarming, Many people felt their
bedgconsiderably agitated, and furniture of all kinds, espe
cially crockery and clock work (the weights)shook violently.
House bells in some places were set a ringing, and some
people were so terrified as to run to the streets. The second
shock was much slighter, but those who felt Any of them des
scribe themselves as being in the most disagreeable state
EARTHQUAKE AT KINCARDINE.—About half-past ten
o'clock p.m., on Wednesday the 23d curt., an earthquake
was felt in the parish of Kincardine in Monteith, which
shook the houses, making the windows, doors, chairs,
mirrors, candlesticks, &c., to move, from the effect of a
sudden tremulous motion. The shock came from the west,.
preceded by a very loud and rushing sound, resembling .the
rolling of a heavy carriage. The moon's light was obscured
by constant rain ; but the atmosphere, to the southward,
was in fearful commotion, resembling the commencement cf
a hurricane. About ten minutes before eleven o'clock of the
same evening, and also between one and two o'clock on
Thursday morning., other shocks were heard and felt, but not
so alarming as on the first occasion. In the southward at
these intervals there was, as before, a very gloomy and varied
light—a tinge of glowing yelloW pervaded tjie atmosphere.—

ARDENTINNY, GLENFINNA.D.T.—Rather a smart shock of
earthquake was felt in this glen on Wednesday last, the 23d
instant. It was preceded by a loud noise resembling thunder;
or rather the rumbling sound of carriages rapidly,apprnaching,
and, when this nose was at its height,. the earth shook very
perceptibly, for a few seconds. It took place at.-about a
quarter pass ten p.m., was felt by seyeral, and brought -some,
out of their 'houses. The-'weather was' very'wet during that,
and the preceding day, and on Tuesday night the sky had a
peculiar appearance, the moon, as it were, floating in rain;
and giving out a sickly light—Scottish 'Guardian. •
BRIDGE OF EARN.—A slight shoek'of an earthquake was
distinctly felt here on Wednesday evcnin7.:, about ten o'clock.
There was first a hollow murmuring noise, which continued
about the space of a minute. The shock which followed was
such that made the houses to shake. There had been inces-
sant rain during the previous day. Heavy showers also must
have fallen during the night, and this morning (Thursday)
the rain continues with unabated violence.—lbid.
EARTHQUAKE AT INVERNESS.-011 Wednesday night,
about half-past ten o'clock, there was a slight shock of an
earthquake here. It lasted only for a few seconds, and pro-
duced no serious eact.—lbid.

APPAiLING FACT.—In North America, whero "civil
contract marriages" prevail, in the state of Connecticut alone,
there were no less than 500 divorces in a circuit.
THE BLESSINGS OF HOPE.—I advert not at present to
those immortal objects to which hope points,_bcyond the
confines of this world. Hope is to man, even in reference to
his present state of being, a treasure of inestimable value.
Without it existence would be intolerable. Instead of a
blessing it would prove a curse. The crime of suicide would,
in fact, • become so prevalent, that the earth would soon be
depopulated. Its rational inhabitants would ere long dis-
appear from off its factr, and the brute creation would claim
it as their sole heritage. The most forlorn and miserable
of the human race feel their wretchedness much alleviated
in the hope that they will yet see better days. A large,
if not the larger proportion of human happiness, is de-
rived from this conviction. At certain periods of our
life, our hopes are more than ordinarily sanguine. We feel,
as it were, that we have entered on a new and brighter era
of our existence ; and reason ourselves into the persuasion—
ofttimes a very delusive one—that days and weeks and
months of almost unmingled and uninterrupted felicity are
before us. And, strange as it may seem, we t'-naciously
cling to this anticipation of a happy future, notwithstanding
the innumerable disappointments our former hopes have en-
countered, until we feel ourselves enclosed in the rude and
repulsive arms of death.—Walks and Wanderings in the
World of Literature, by the Author of " The Great Me-
tropolis.

NANTUCKET SHEEP SHE AILING.—The carnival has com-
menced. The orgies of the mutton-worshippers are begin-
rain.. to burst forth, and the woolley world is in an agony,
and. a catastrophe of helter-skelter-ism. .The millhills skip
like rains, and the hammocks like young lambs ; and the
-shear pen rageth and foameth, as it were, a sea of living
'fleece—not fleas-s-bah ! Four legged creatures, of all practi-
cable supposable shapes, are getting into a furious passion.
The very cows' commons are getting into commotion. All
around the moving elements are head up and tail up—and
the prominent cry is,, " Cut on. Dunnum," which meaneth,
"Go it, Jerry !" The whole country is bewitched, and the
sands thereof are turned topsey-turvey ; the grand design is
to knock all creation into a Whoorah's nest. Reader, didst
ever bestride a water-legged spar in the still cicick—and spy-
ing in the cozy bed below a wriggling eel—didst ever clasp
thy thunib,unentbea serpent's tail, with the hope of holding
him thereby ? Or di: St ever think of detaining within thy
grasp, by the aid of soft soap, or other saponaceous unction,
the like extremity of a swine or an alligator ? Or hast thou
ever undertaken, in any similar fashion, to catch a bumble-
' bee- or a devil's darning-needle ? If "nay" thou answereth, '
then dost thou know nought of the impossibilities of philo-
sophy ! Thine experimental acquaintance with the perplexi-
ties of existence are as nothing, and less than nothing, and
thy wisdom not worth a brass baubee ; for thou art but an
abecedarian in the mysteries of botheration ; but if thou canst
comprehend these aforesaid difficulties, then wilt thou appre-
ciate that tribulation which at this present besetteth us, the
publishers and printers hereof, viz., the revolt of all hands
against labouring-hmong types and ink during the feast of
the Muttonheads, which they profanely call the Patriarchal
Jubilee. Consequence is, no paper next Saturday.—Nau-
tucket Enquirer.
MATHEws IN DISGUISE.—When Godwin was engaged on
" Cloudesly," he wrote to Mathews to say, that as a part of
the incidents required disguises, and as he was anxious not to
shame probability, he requested half an hour's conversation,
and to have his memory refreshed as to the power of destroy-
ing personal identity. Mathews soon convinced him tin the
subject :—" Soon after he had convinced Mr. Godwin that
he might venture to assume such a power of deception pos-
slible in his own plot, a gentleman (an eccentric neighbour of
ours) broke in upon us just as Mr. Godwin was expressing
his wonder at the variety of expression, character, and voice,
of which Mr. Mathews was capable. We were embarrassed,
and Mr. Godwin evidently vexed at the intruder. However,
there was no help for it ; the servant had admitted him, and
he was. introduced in form to Mr. Godwin. The moment
Mr. Jenkins (for such was his name) discovered the person
he liad.so luckily.for him dropped in upon, he was enthusi-
astically pleased at the event, talked to Mr. Godwin about
the forthcoming' book,—in fact, bored him through and
through,—at last the author turned to my husband for refuge
susiast eeis assault of admiration, and discovered that his
host had tett the room. tie therefore rose frcim his seat, anti
approached the window leading to the lawn ; Mr. Jenkins
officiously following, and insistiag, upon opening it for him ;
and while he was urging a proyokingly obstinate lock, the
object of his devoted attention waited behind him for release.
• The casement at length flew open, and Mr. Godwin, passing
the gentleman with a courteous look of thanks, found, to his
astonishment, that Mr. Jenkins had disappeared, and that
Mr. Mathews stood in his place !"—Mathews's Memoirs.
Dtarett WIDOWS.—The Dutch are beginning to vie with
the Americans' in the article of original advertisements.
A short time ago one of the Dutch manufacture—and the
production of a woman too—came under, my observation,
and struck me as being extremely happy of its kind. Here
it is, and let the reader fudge of it's merits for himself :
" Van Roerst died on the 15th instant. He was the best of
husbands, and his relict is inconsolable at her loss. God
rest his soul in peace, is the earnest prayer of his deeply-
afflicted widow, who will, as usual, continue to supply her
friends with the best articles in the grocery and the cheese-
•mongery line, at the most reasonable terms." Here an ar-
dent affection for the " dear departed," is most ingeniously
blended with the affairs of the shop. In England, we can-
not manage matters in this fashion. If a woman be incon-
solable for the death of her husband,—which every woman
ought to be, especially if, as in this case, he was " the
best of husbands,"—:lie Very foolishly forgets everything
else in the extremity of her affliction. In Holland the
deepest regret for a deceased partner in life, is perfectly
compatible with a due -regard to the pounds, shillings, and
pence matters of tire shop. There the inconsolable widow,
even when in the depths of her distress, never for one
moment, if in the " grocery and cheesemongery line,"—or,
we suppose, in any other line—forgets that she has " arti-
cles" to vend " at the most reasonable terms ;" and in no-
tifying to her friends the decease of her husband, she takes
care to intimate the latter fact also. Sorrow and business ;
the grave and the shop, are here blended together with a
fecility peculiar to the inconsolable" widows of Holland.
—Walks and Wanderings in the World of Literature, by
the Author rye " The Great Metropolis.'t