rtery of Palestine. Taking their source in the
spotless snows and pure springs of Mount Hermon, its waters have
retained the azure hues of the sky and the clearness of crystal.
Before the catastrophe, the Jordan, after having traversed and
fertilized Palestine, found its way into the Gulf of Arabia, but now,
as upon the morrow of the shock which broke up its bed, its waters are
lost in the somber abyss of the Dead Sea.

The Bible mentions an earthquake in Palestine in the reign of Ahab,
and one in the reign of Uzziah, which rent the temple. The latter was
an event so great that the chroniclers of the time used it in dating
occurrences, and Amos speaks of what happened "two years before the
earthquake."

The same convulsions of nature are mentioned many other times in the
Bible, in connection with prophecy, revelation and the crucifixion.

Nearly all writings about earthquakes prior to the last century tended
to cultivate superstitious notions respecting them. Even Pliny,
Herodotus, Livy, and the other classic writers, were quite ignorant of
the true causes, and mythology entered into their speculations. In
later times the investigation has become a science. The Chinese were
pioneers in this direction, having appointed an Imperial Commission in
A.D. 136 to inquire into the subject. It is to be doubted, however, if
what they reported would be considered as of much scientific value
to-day.

By this time it is estimated that in the libraries of the world are
more than 2,000 works treating of earth-motions. The phenomena are
taken quite out of the realm of superstition. By means of delicate
instruments of various kinds, called seismometers, the direction of
earth-movements can be traced, and their force gauged, while by means
of a simple magnet with a metal piece attached to it, an earthquake
can be foretold. These instruments tell us that scarcely a day passes
without an earthquake in some portion of the globe. The internal
causes of these manifestations are ever active, whatever the causes
may be.

CHAPTER XXV.

VESUVIUS AND THE DESTRUCTION OF POMPEII.

BY TRUMBULL WHITE.

=Most Famous Volcanic Eruption in History--Roman Cities
Overwhelmed--Scenes of Horror Described by Pliny, the Great
Classic Writer, an Eye-Witness of the Disaster--Buried in
Ashes and Lava--The Stricken Towns Preserved for Centuries
and Excavated in Modern Times as a Wonderful Museum of the
Life of 1800 Years Ago