the settlement of
Maryland--of Nova Scotia--sketches of English history under Oliver
Cromwell--an account of the hooping cough in Quebec--and an earthquake
in Canada. The cough was supposed to be the effect of enchantment,--"and
many of the faculty did, or affected to believe it." "It was said a
fiery crown had been observed in the air at Montreal; lamentable cries
heard at Trois Rivieres, in places in which there was not any person;
that, at Quebec, a canoe, all on fire, had been seen on the river, with
a man armed _cap-a-pie_, surrounded by a circle of the same element." On
the subject of the earthquake, the account of which is taken from
Charlevoix, it was indeed a fearful visitation, if the truth be not
exaggerated by terror and superstition.--

"A dreadful earthquake was felt in Canada, on the fifth of
February, 1663. The first shock is said by Charlevoix, to have
lasted half an hour; after the first quarter of an hour, its
violence gradually abated. At eight o'clock in the evening, a
like shock was felt; some of the inhabitants said they had
counted as many as thirty-two shocks, during the night. In the
intervals between the shocks, the surface of the ground
undulated as the sea, and the people felt, in their houses, the
sensations which are experienced in a vessel at anchor. On the
sixth, at three o'clock in the morning, another most violent
shock was felt. It is related that at Tadoussac, there was a
rain of ashes for six hours. During this strange commotion of
nature, the bells of the churches were kept constantly ringing,
by the motion of the steeples; the houses were so terribly
shaken, that the eaves, on each side, alternately touched the
ground. Several mountains altered their positions; others were
precipitated into the river, and lakes were afterwards found in
the places on which they stood before. The commotion was felt
for nine hundred miles from east to west, and five hundred from
north to south.

"This extraordinary phenomenon was considered as the effect of
the vengeance of God, irritated at the obstinacy of those, who,
neglecting the admonitions of his ministers, and contemning the
censures of his church, continued to sell brandy to the
Indians. The reverend writer, who has been cited, relates it
was said, ignited appearances had been observed in the air, for
seve