A Brief ACCOUNT, and seasonable IMPROVEMENT of the late EARTHQUAKE in Northamptonshire, Jan. 4. 1675/ 6. In a Letter to a Friend in London. Licenced Jan. 27. 1675/ 6 Roger L'estrange. SIR, HAd I not long since been assured that the Designs of all your Inquiries are sober, and pious, becoming a Christian, your Importunity to be satisfied in the circumstances of the late Concussion, had knocked at my Door in vain. For I am seldom at so desperate a loss how to entertain myself, or bestow my subcesive Hours, that I should be necessitated to fill up my Thoughts with, or place out my leisure Minutes upon the Gratifying the Itch of Curiosity; A Salt Humour which while we strive to please by Scratching, we do but the more irritate its Pruriency, which in time w●ll issue out in the Scab of Impertinency. I have ever reckoned it amongst the Symptoms of a degnerate Age, that Men fill up their converses much like the Athenians, who spent their time in nothing else but either to tell, or hear some new thing. Act. 17. ●. Their Parturient Tongues either groaning to be delivered of, or their Itching Ears longing to be tickled with Novelties, and Prodiges: for hence is it, that the most Tremendous Providences of God evaporate into Idle Chat; And serve to furnish out the triflings of a Coffee-house, but rarely sink down into the Heart, to beget a Holy Admiration of the Divine Majesty, which removeth the Mountains, and they know it not; which overturneth them in his Anger; Job 9.5 6 which shaketh the Earth out of her place, and the Pillars thereof Tremble. But though you seem in great haste to receive information in the particulars of this Phaenomenon, that you will neither allow me room of Time or Paper to turn my Pen in, and I am obliged to make Brick without Straw▪ Yet must I beg your pardon if I demur a little, whether it were an Earthquake or no? for you must confess it hugely Preposterous to inquire, De Modo rei, ubi nondum constat de re: To be solicitous and elaborate about Accidents and Circumstances, before we are arrived at a plerophery of the thing itself. And all the Reason in the World will oblige us to suspend a while this Narrative, since I can assure you, some Learned Persons are confident it was no Earthquake, caused by Subterraneous Fires, or Exhalations, but A Concussion of the Air, by a Cavalcade of Spirits Trooping it through the Lower Region. But whither these Spirits were Bound; or where was the Place of their Rendezvous, or upon what Errand they w●re Dispatched, or whether they were Celestial Courtiers, or of the Black Guard of Pluto, they are not pleased to inform us. I looked upon't as a Blot in the Escutcheon of the old Philosophy, that it assigns a distinct Intelligence to every of the Orbs, where they are placed (like Children at the Spinning-Wheel,) to whirl about the Spheres, because they could not else conceive a Reason of their perpetual Motions: And as 'twas a violation of the Sacred Laws of Comedy to introduce 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, an Angel from Heaven to extricate the poor Poet, when he had run his wits into confusion with his own Plots; so it looks but oddly to have recourse to Spirits and Daemons, when the case admits of fair Salvoes, and may spare these extraordinary contrivances. But the Naked matter of Fact is the best confutation of this ingenious Fancy, and I shall now as briefly, as impartially, address myself to the Relation of it. On Tuesday the 4th of this instant January, about 8 of the Clock at N●ght, being alo●e in a room remote from all destracting Noise, and disturbing Company (circumstances advantageous for Observation) I was suddenly startled from some fixedness of thoughts, by a Loud, Roaring, Hollow, Terrible Noise. And I was the more surprised with it, and concerned to attend unto it, because I had observed that all that preceding Day, and Evening there was not the least Whisper, or Breath of Wind stirring: I presently fancied that a Chimney in the next Rooom had taken Fire, the Roaring noise of which this did exactly imitate, as formerly being in the same place I had met with a terrifying experiment; and indeed up in after consultati ●n with others I found many concurring in the same apprehensions; but this conjecture as it suddenly entered, so it as suddenly vanished, when I heard the Window to shake and tremble, as if the Decrepit Glass would immediately have dropped down, the Floor of the Chamber over my Head to Crack once and again, and the House itself seem to Totter; I wondered that such a gust of Wind should assault the House, but upon stri●t observation I could not discern or Tree or Bush to move; Thus being much amazed (for I will not conceal my secret fears,) my Heart shaken as much as the House, and I set myself with what composedness I cou●d command, to expect the issue, and in half a quarter of an hour or less, the Noise, and together with it the Shaking, ceased: and this in short is the total of my personal Observation. Should I tell you what Informations I have received from o●her person's, and Places, that some did sensibly feel the Chairs wherein they sat to shake under them; that others standing upon their feet were apparently seen to stagger; that one had his Book almost shaken out of his Hands; with the terror that seized them; and to give you all this, and much more solemnly attested under the Hands of Persons of unquestionable Credit, and of Cautelous Judgements, not to be imposed upon by Panic Fears, I conceive perfectly superfluous: for though some may haesitate at the Cause, yet none amongst us do question the Truth of the Thing; and for you at this distance, as I cannot create you a Faith, nor force you to a belief of my Testimony, so am I not much Ambitious of it. They who are of such wary Heads, that they will suspect what Hundreds will readily avouch, do but teach others to suspect their most confident Assertions, and as St. Austin in another case, He that believes not the Miracles of Christ, is himself the greatest Miracle; so will I take the freedom to say, He that believes not a Fact, in which all Men uniformly, and unanimously concur, deserves never to be believed: And let such a one wear the same Feather which the conceited Hobbes carries in his Cap; Aut ego solus insanio, aut omnes insaniunt; Either the Leviathan alone was out of his wits, or else all the World. And which of the Two is most probable is of no difficult Determination. There are nevertheless Three or Four particulars, which if you despise as below your notice, yet I judged them worthy of mine. 1. That there had been all the Day before this terrible Concussion such a dead Calm, and the Air in such a posture of stagnation, that I well rememember I took so far notice of it as to say not above two Hours before, That in the Aristotelian Philosophy, such a 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 was ever reputed one of the special Prognostics of an Earthquake. 2. That during this dreadful noise, neither the Trees, nor Plants betrayed any Agitation or Motion in the Air: which confirms their N●tion, who have styled Earthquakes, Subterranean Thunders; and 'talso a great prejudice to their Opinion, who would obtrude upon us the conceit of Angels, or Spirits riding Post through the Air. For had that been the cause of this Noise, and Shaking, then, 1. The Motion would have born all one way, as coming from, and tending to a determinate Point; whereas here, no Motion was discernible but that of Trepidation. And 2. this violent Motion would have had the same effects with Storms, and Tempests, cau●ed the same disturbance in the Air, tossed the tops of Trees; for seeing that all Noise arises from the Collision of Bodies, to which there is required a Motion proportionable to the Noise. Had th●se supposed Spirits moved a● such a rate, as to beget that Noise, they must do it by Motion, wh●ch wo●ld have discovered itself in the common and ordinary effects of Motion unless we will again fly to supernatural Reasons and Miracles. Now that there was no such Commotion in the Air, is asserted by those who were then abroad in the Fields, who were sensible of no such disturbance, and which indeed created, or augmented their wonderment. 3. I observe that this Earthquake (for such I will now take the liberty to call it) was not universal, in respect either of the Towns, or Countries, where it came, but Topical; As being felt in one part of some Towns, and not in an other; and again, observed in some whole Towns, yet not at all in some Neighbouring Villages; following perhaps the inviting tract of the Nitrous, and sulphureous Veins, and guided by the attractive Steams of the inflammable materials. It was also Desultory; The next Village to us but at half a miles distance knowing nothing of it, and yet some places more remote towards the same point sharing in the Terror of it. And lastly it was Unequal, both as to the Noise, and Trembling: and yet herein might possibly be a mistake; for it might be from the weakness of their Houses, the Multitude, and largeness of Windows, that the shaking was apprehended more terrible than in other places. 4. Very few miss the notice of this particular; That just before the Concussion, the Air was very obscure, and yet immediately after it cleared up and became very serene; And some do impute the former obscurity to those fuliginous Reeks which from the Bowels of the Earth might creep forth; and the after clearness to the violence of the discharged Subterraneous Thunder: But I must entreat you, Sir, for your satisfaction to go to the Philosophers. For that which will most profitably fill up the Remainder of my time, and sheer, must be an enquiry of another Nature, viz. What good use, and practical improvement may be made of this great work of God? And my Pen will more cheerfully travel in that Service: 1. Because I perceive some too apt to abuse these Appearances. For there are those (by what Patent I know not) that would Monopolise all the Prodigious Works of God to their own use and behoof; As if the Almighty was bound to abett some single Party, or to espouse their little Interests; when as indeed to the impartial Considerer his Works speak the same language with his Word, which indifferently preaches to us all: Hag. 1.5. Now therefore thus saith the Lord of Hosts, consider your ways. And the Echo which all our hearts should make to this voice of God, Lam. 3.40. is this, Let us search and try our ways, and turn again to the Lord. There are those also, who swelling with Atheistical Scorn, can throw up their Noses at these Providences of God, and with one puff of contemptuous Arrogancy blow away all considerations of them, saying in their Hearts; Who is the Lord that we should Tremble before him? And 2. the rather, because the rare and unusual Works of God have ever been adjudged by the most Sober, and Temperate of Christians to be Warnings and Awakening to any people: Thus Eusebius of the Prodigies in Jerusalem, tells us they were 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉— And 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, Eccles. Hist. Lib. 3. c. 8. The evident Prognostics of Future Judgements, and the very Sermons of God himself. And surely when the great God shall condescend to preach to a People by his Works who have so notably despised his Word, it will become High and Low, the Best and the Worst of the Sons of Men, to be his Attentive Auditors. (1.) First then we may certainly learn a lesson of Praise to God, that we were not all Buried in the Ruins of our own Habitations. He that shook our Houses, could as easily have overturned our Houses; but he shown both his Greatness that he could do it, and yet his Goodness that he would not do it. The unquestionable Records of History do abound with Instances of this Nature: Josephus informs us, Antiqu. Lib. 15. De Bell. Jud. l. 2. c. 14. that in the 7th year of Herod above ten thousand persons were overwhelmed by Earthquake in the Ruins of their Houses: but I shall not attempt to reconcile himself to himself, when (speaking of the same dreadful providence) he tells us, that there chanced a great Earthquake which slew thirty thousand People. Pliny in his Second Book of Nat. Hist. reports, c. 48. That in the Reign of Tib. Caesar, there happened the greatest Earthquake that ever was known in the Memory of Man, whereby Twelve Cities in Asia were destroyed in one Night: But Nicephorus reckons Fourteen, and gives us their Names, Ephesus, Magnesia, Sardis, Mosthene, Hierocaesarea, Philadelphia, Tmolis, Timus, Myrina, Cyme, Apollonia, Hyrcana, Dia, Cybara. And I think it was the most remarkable Charity that cruel Emperor was ever guilty of, that he contributed to their Re-edifying. Ne Provincias ullâ Liberalitate sublevavit, exceptâ Asiâ, disjectis terrae Motu Civitatibus: Sueto. in vit. Tib. He never extended his bounty to any of the Provinces, excepting only Asia, when so many Cities were destroyed by an Earthquake. But he that had so few good works to boast of, might well be allowed to be proud of that one, and therefore to eternize his Magnificence, he coined Money with this Memorative inscription: Civitatibus Asiae Restitutis: In memory of the Rebuilding the Asiatic Cities. Thus An. Mun. 3599. Deus Helicen, & Muram, Achaiae urbes undis, terraeque hiatibus absorpsit: Johan. de Mey. Sacr. Phys. Par. 2. cap. 3. God (saith my Author) swallowed up Helice and Mura, two Cities of Achaia, with a Deluge, and Earthquake. And An. Chr. 1424. in Catalonia twenty one Cities were utterly destroyed, and Pertona devoured by Earthquake. And in Burgundy, a Mountain removing out of its pla●e, destroyed many thousands of the poor Husbandmen. Psal. 147.17. The Psalmist asks this Question, Who can stand before his Cold? And certainly should the Almighty let lose upon us his Winter's Cold, or graduate the Summer's Heat; should he take his Restraint from the Seas, which he holds in the Hollow of his Hand; or should he pluck off his double Bridle with which he curbs the raging Storms, and foaming Tempests; should he enlarge his commission to Thunder, Lightning, Earthquakes, we must in one moment perish. But the Lord reigneth, and therefore let the Earth rejoice, Psal. 97.1. let the Multitude of the Isles be glad thereof. And let us amongst the rest acknowledge and rejoice that the Lord reigneth: for, as all Naturalists teach us, no places are so obnoxious to Earthquakes as Islands; because the Earth being there most Cavernous and Porous, admits the Humours, Arist●t. 2. Meteor. of which are begotten Vapours, which striving to deliver themselves from Prison, and Repelled by the Waves of the Sea, being rarified by violent motion, and requiring more room, force themselves a passage, with most dreadful effects: No People in the World are so obliged to thankfulness as Islanders, being daily preserved from Deluges and Earthquakes to which we are so liable. (2.) Let the sleepy World Awake, and the secure Sinner rouse up his sluggish Soul to Repentance at these Lesser Concussions, lest God destroy them by Greater. Men are certainly in a deep, and dead sleep when Earthquakes will not Alarm their Consciences: If we despise him that thus speaks to us from the Earth, the next time we may hear of him from Heaven. When our Heads, begin to ache, who can secure us that it shall not end in a Fever, which may put a period to our Lives? And when the Earth gins to Tremble, who knows whether it be not an Accession towards that last, and great Ague fit of the Creation, wherein the Heavens, and the Earth, and all the Elements shall be blended in an Eternal Chaos? for we are warned from the unerring records of Holy Writ, that There shall be great Earthquakes, Luk. 21.11. before the great and notable Day of the Lord come: which prophecy though it received a lesser accomplishment in the destruction of Jerusalem, yet most learned Men are agreed, that these shall be the prodromous tokens of the Dissolution of the World. Heathen Rome itself had such dreadful apprehensions of Earthquakes, that upon these occasions, they appointed solemn days of Sacrifice to their Gods: Sueton. in vitâ Claudii. Nay the Historian observes it of Claudius Caesar; that he gave order, ut quoties terra in urbe movisset, ferias, advooatâ concione, Praetor indiceret: That as often as there was an Earthquake in the City, the Praetor should proclaim a Holy Day. And A. Gellius observes that because Philosophers could not agree about the Natural causes, that therefore whenever they decreed a solemn Day upon this Account, they never named the particular Deity to whom it was dedicated, (as otherwise the custom was) lest they should mistake the God that caused it; And that if the day were polluted, they expiated it by Sacrifice, Si Deo, si Doae, etc. to that Numen at all adventures, whether it were God or Goddess. Agreeable to the practice of the Athenians, who in the time of a raging Pestilence, that they might be sure to hit up●n the right Deity, erected an Altar, and offered sacrifice thereon, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, to that God who was fit for the purpose: most probably the same which St. Paul found at Athens with this inscription, 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, To the unknown God. Acts 17 And as the Roman Decemviri in these exigencies were enjoined to consult the Sibylline Oracles, so let us who have a more sure word of Prophecy, and to whom there is but one, the Living, and the true God, consult the H lie Scriptures for our duty, which direct us to the Sacrifices of Prayer, Repentance, a Broken and Contrite Heart, and above all to our Advocate with the Father, to turn away his deserved Wrath. And let us all make the same use of this, Act. 16.30, 31. which the Jailer made of his Earthquake and cry out, Sirs! what must we do to be Saved? and take the answer with thankfulness: Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and you shall be Saved. (3.) Let us search out those particular Sins for which God may have a Controversy with us, Neglect, and Contempt, or at best an inconsiderable, and disproportionable improvement of the Gospel, Pride, fullness of Bread, Security, Worldliness, indifferency of Spirit in Religion. Christ charges Sardis, that she had a Name to Live, and yet was Dead. And History informs us that God reckoned with Asia by Earthquakes about the 12 of Nero An. Chr. 68 Nothing less than a serious through-reformation of these abominations will divert the displeasure of God. What the Natural Effects of Earthquakes have been, Naturalists are very liberal in their informations: How they have rend away some parts and limbs of a Country from the main body; so was Sicily torn off from Italy; so was Cyprus forced from the continent of Syria; Euboea, from the main Land of Boeotia; and as some think, by an Earthquake was Britain divided from France. And how sometimes they have heaved up Islands in the midst of the Seas, as it were to compensate the loss of those which they had swallowed up: Thus were Delos, Rhodus, Aenaria, with some others raised out of the Bosom of the Ocean, into which by the like cause they may again subside. And how they have caused Pestilential Contagions from that exhalation, which being long penned up in the Bowels of the Earth contracts poisonous qualities, which breaking forth, impress their Ve●em, and Malignity upon our Bodies; And how they cause barrenness of the Earth, from the same poisonous exhalations, which as they pass through the pores of the Earth do not only leave a venomous Tincture in the Earth itself, but destroy the seminal Particles of the Seeds already lodged in the Ground. Let the Natural Philosophers spend their verdict how they please; all I shall say is this, that they may signify more to us than they can effect. Psal. 104.32. (4.) Let us therefore own the Hand of God in these shake: who looks upon the Earth and it shaketh, who toucheth the Hills and they Smoke. If a look of God can shake the Earth, what can his touch do? and if the Finger of God be so powerful, what is his Arm? Second Causes of these covulsive Motions, must be allowed, but not to jostle out the First, to whom the other are subordinate, concatinated to, and depend upon: Let the subtle Cardan, and Scaliger quarrel, and vex themselves and others, whether Fire, Water, or Air be the true causes of these Commotions; Let others tell us how these Subterraneous Thunders own their Birth to sulphureous, Pseudodox. Epidem. p. 69 and Nitrous Veins fired, upon rarefaction, and forcing their way through resisting Bodies. Let the Heathens call their Idol Neptune 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉 〈◊〉, A. Gell. Noct. At. Lib. 2. the great Earth-shaker; we are taught to eye, adore, and fear before the Lord, who hangs the Earth upon nothing, and can thither reduce it. (5.) Lastly, let us labour to get an Interest in this great God, and live by Faith upon him, Psal. 46.2. then shall we not need to fear though the Earth be removed. Psa. 125.1. For they that trust in the Lord shall be as mount Zion, which cannot be removed, but standeth fast for ever. Thus far, Sir, at your Importunity I have drawn out this Discourse, for your private entertainment and satisfaction: I have already exceeded the bounds of a Letter; And if the Remainder of my Paper will give me leave, I will take leave, when I have subscribed myself, Jan. 18. 1675/ 6. Sir, your humble Servant. N. N. FINIS. LONDON, Printed for Nathaniel Ponder, at the Sign of the Peacock in Chancery-Lane, and in the Poultry, near Corn-Hill.