of fire issued from the mountain, resembling the
kindling of charcoal. In these three shocks the
walls of the buildings moved from east to west.
In another situation from whence the sea-coast
could be discovered, there issued from one of
the hills, called the Fojo, a great quantity of
smoke, very thick, but not very black. This
still increased with the fourth shock, and
afterwards continued to issue in a greater or less
degree. On visiting the place from whence the
smoke was seen to arise, no signs of fire could
be perceived near it."

This great earthquake of Lisbon, which in eight
minutes swallowed about fifty thousand persons,
had had a precursor in 1531, when, in the same
city, fifteen hundred houses and thirty
thousand persons were destroyed, and several
neighbouring towns engulfed with all their populations.
But the earthquake of 1755 convulsed
the earth for five thousand miles, overturned St.
Abes, and half destroyed the cities of Coimbra,
Oporto, Braga, and Malaga; passed in a
moment under the Straits; overset Fez, and buried
twelve thousand Moors; wasted Madeira,
overthrew two thousand houses at Mytilene, in the
Archipelago, and never halted in its tremendous
march till it reached Scotland.

We have no room here even to epitomise the
chief earthquakes of the world. Even that of
Lisbon seems trifling beside those of China
(where everything is on a large scale), for at
Pekin, in 1662, three hundred thousand persons
were buried in a moment, and one hundred
thousand again in the same city in 1731. Even
England has had (Mrs. Somerville states) about
two hundred and fifty-five recorded earthquakes,
but all rather baby ones.

It is not for us to more than hint here at
the possibility of such convulsions being
occasioned by the sudden contact of subterranean
water with subterranean fire, and the instant
generation of vast volumes of explosive and
irresistible steam. At present, science stands
dumb before the earthquake, while the sceptic,
credulous only to the wildest superstitions,
claims it as an aberration, as a destructive
disobedient force, and a revolt against the central
law. A wider and more reverent knowledge
may discover earthquakes, like lightning,
comets, and aërolites, to be subject to some
law of a different sphere, to which ours,
when it crosses us, must yield obedience for
higher and, at present, unknown ends.

TOUCHED TO THE HEART.

I'M not a romantic man, and, if I had had any
leaning in that direction, a few Monday morning
visits and reprimands from the board of directors
would soon have cured me of the failing; but
somehow or another I have found out that railway
men are made of the same stuff as other men,
and have hearts under their uniform coats.

It was no business of mine, if, while I was
at the London terminus of the Great Dividend
and Longshare Railway, I examined the tickets
and unlocked the carriages on the departure
platform—it was no business of mine if a tall
fair girl, in deep mourning, came twice a week
regularly, and showed me her ticket for
Westgate, return, second class. But somehow it
seemed to be my business, when I had unlocked
an empty carriage and handed her in as well as
I could, that I should lock that door again
without banging it, and then take care that no
one else went in but lady-like females. Of course
I could not help it, but from the very first day
—cold winterly day—when, thinly dressed, she
came shivering along the platform, I seemed to
have some strange interest in her; and, as the
weeks slipped by, I found myself looking out
for her regularly. It was easy to see, from the
music-roll she carried and the return ticket, that
she went down the line to give lessons.

I called myself a fool, and thought of my salary
as a guard, and my position in life as compared
with the graceful lady-like girl who used to come
floating along towards me every Monday and
Wednesday morning, looking so pale and sad
and careworn that I first began by pitying her,
and then——well, never mind now.

One cold December day I was shifted for a
week on to the arrival platform, and so missed
seeing her leave; but I carefully watched every
train that came in till I saw her get out.
Without seeing me, she hurried away. Well,
there was nothing to sigh for there, you'll say;
but I did sigh all the same, and was turning
away, when I saw the searching porter with a
music-roll in his hand, which some one had left
in a carriage.

"Here! I know who that belongs to," I said,
snatching it from him; and then, seeing that he
was going to make a bother, I slipped a
sixpence into his hand, and ran out of the station.

Just in time: I could see her at the bottom of
the street, and, catching hold of one of the boys
hanging about for a job, I pointed the tall figure
out, and told him to follow her to where she
lived, and come back and tell me.

And not send the music-roll? No; I meant
to take that. I did not know why, but there
seemed something pleasant in the idea of being
servant to her, and waiting on her; and I kept
telling myself so as I walked back to attend to
my duty.

Next morning I was in a quiet, shabby,
lodging-letting place leading out of Gower-street
North, with the music-roll in my hand, looking
out for No. 21. It was easy enough to find, but
something seemed to make me walk past two or
three times before I could summon courage
to go up and ring. But at last I did, thinking
how foolish it was, when I only had to deliver
the lost parcel, and come away.

So I rang gently, and waited; rang again, and
waited; and then a red-faced woman came to
the door.

"You have a young lady who teaches
music—"

"Second-floor front," she said, snappishly.