248 N A T U R A L H I S T O R Y
his family; and, juft by, a flout new barn. The cottage was
inhabited by an old woman and her fon, and his wife. Thefe people
in the evening, which was very dark and tempeftuous, obferved that
the brick floors of their kitchens began to heave and part; and
that the walls feemed to open, and the roofs to crack ; but they
all agree that no tremor of the ground, indicating an earthquake,
Was ever felt; only that the wind continued to make a moft tremendous
roaring in the woods and hangers. The miferable inhabitants,
not daring to go to bed, remained in the utmoft folicitude
and confufion, expediting every moment to be buried under the
ruins of their fhattered edifices. When day-light came they
were at leifure to contemplate the devaftations of the night: they
then found that a deep rift, or chafm, had opened under their
houfes, and torn them, as it were, in two; and that one end of
the barn had fuffered in a finiilar manner; that a pond near the
cottage had undergone a ftrange reverfe, becoming deep at the
fhallow end, and fo vice verfa ; that many large oaks were removed
out of their perpendicular, fome thrown down, and fome fallen
into the heads of neighbouring trees ; and that a gate was thruft
forward, with it’s hedge, full fix feet, fo as to require a new track
to be made to it. From the foot of the cliff" the general courfe of
the ground, which is pafture, inclines in a moderate defcent for
half a mile, and is interfperfed with fome hillocks, which were
rifted, in every direftion, as well towards the great woody hanger,
as from it. In the firft pafture the deep clefts began; and running
acrofs the lane, and under the buildings, made fuch vaft fhelveS
that the road was impaflable for fome time; and fo over to
an arable field on the other fide, which was ftrangely torn and disordered.
The fecond pafture field, being more foft and fpringy,
was protruded forward without many fiffures in the turf, which
was
was ralfed in long ridges refembling graves, lying at right angles
to the motion. At the bottom of this enclofure the foil and turf
rofe many feet againft the bodies of fome oaks that obftrufted
their farther courfe and terminated this awful commotion.
The perpendicular height of the precipice, in general, is
twenty-three yards; the length of the lapfe, or flip, as feen from 9
the fields below, one hundred and eighty-one; and a partial fall,
concealed in the coppice, extends feventy yards more: fo that
the total length of this fragment that fell was two hundred and * ^
fifty-one yards. About fifty acres of land fuffered from this
violent convulfion; two houfes were entirely deftroyed; one end
of a new barn was left in ruins, the walls being cracked through the
very ftones that compofed them; a hanging coppice was changed
to a naked rock ; and fome grafs grounds and an arable field fo
broken and rifted by the chafms as to be rendered, for a time,
neither fit for the plough or fafe for pafturage, till confiderable
labour and expenfe had been bellowed in levelling the furface
and filling in the gaping fiffures.