The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1858-01-11

upon sofa on the ground-Aoor was flung OF upon
the floor. -.
manservant of ours occupied neighboring
apartment with his wife and two children. The
bed of one Of the children was overturned, and q
lamp standing on the table was thrown on the
floor. The population generally soon after the
shock went out into the squares, places and other
their carriages, in which they passed the chief
part of the night in driving ON the Chiaja road,
which runs along the borders of the bay, wide
enough to keep clear of falling houses The people
who filed the squares and other open spaces lighted
fires and passed the night around them. Many fami-
lies had chairs and benches brought from their apart
ments into the Piazza Reale the Largo de CASTILLO,
the Santa Lucia and other like places, where they
sat during the night awaiting recurrence of the
shocks.
In SEINE houses the thin partitions which divide
room from room and the ceilings were cracked;
some damage is also said to have been done to the
British Hospital
On the night succeeding the phenomenon (Thurs-
day. the population imagining that repetition Of
the shocks might be expected about the same hour,
crowded again into the squares and open spaces,
where they passed part of the night.
At the Royal Observatory on the Campo d Monte
two astronomical clocks, the .pendulums of which
vbrate in the plane of the prime vertical Chat is,
east and west), were stopped. Other clocks in the
observatory, however, continued to go regularly.
The employees Of the observatory estimated the con
tnuance of the first shock to be five and that of the
second twenty-five seconds. They considered the
direction of the undulations to be from south to
north. They perceived two other slight shocks at
three and five o'clock in the morning Of Thursday
Whether the state Of the atmosphere has any con-
nectiOn with or dependence upon this class Of phe
nomena is not certainly known. Here the weather
for six weeks back has been like that of June in
London. The rain has fallen, and the sunshine has
been almost uninterrupted. The sirocco has alter
mated with the renta d terra, the corresponding
to our warm southwest wind, and the other to our
cold northeast. Vesuvius has been very active
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matter, which at night presents from time to time
the appearance of what is called the bouquet" in
artificial fireworks. A slight eruption of lava took
place last week; and it has been observed that the
activity of the volcano was considerably abated for
two days before the shock.
1t is unfortunate that here we are without the
benefits of the agency of Journalism in such cases,
and have mainly to depend on the information which
is obtained by reports from mouth to mouth. There
is official Journal but that gives only such infor
nation as the government chooses to disclose, and
the fear of excitement among an ignorant, fanatca,
and priest ridden population determines the govern
ment as general rule to supply little intelligence
of what takes place as possible. Such as it is how
ever, wait the publication of the official journal,
which am told will make known to-day so much Of
what has passed in Calabria the government will
allow to be published. Before despatch this letter
to the post shall therefore be able to tell you
P.S-As | expected, few particulars of the dsas-
tiers in Calabria are given in the official journal The
visitation is undoubtedly far grave than is ad
mitted. 1t appears that the Geographic wire has
been broken between Ebo and Sala, both in the line
of country / have indicated. News however, has
been received from the latter place, where the walls
of the prison and barracks have been cracked three
persons were killed. At Atessa, town near Sala,
half the houses reduced to ruins In Padula,
another town in that district than hundred
houses have been thrown down, with an unknown
number of persons buried under them. In La Polla,
another town of that neighborhood, the disasters
have been enormous and the victims numerous, but
unascertained; among them, however is included
brigade OF gendamerie. In Auletta, Petrosa and
Caggiano ruin and death have occurred to an I'M
known extent. In Salerno many buildings, including
two churches, the intendant's palace and the bar
racks of the gendarmerie are gravely damaged.
Near Salerno church and belfry have fallen killing
two ladies. In Campagna numerous houses
cracked, including that of the superintendent.
In the Basilicata, at Polenza, the disasters have
been extensive Numerous buildings have been
thrown down, buryng unknown numbers beneath
their ruins. A broken Geographic despatch from
Bari and Campo Basso has excited great alarm, rs it
would appear 70 signify that all the inhabitants of
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