90 The East Anglian Earthquake.
ceilings inside cracked. The steward, in a plantation at the
time, was thrown down by the shock.
On the River Colne at Wivenhoe the disturbance was
severely felt, and has been described by many witnesses.
Thus Mr. William Ham states :—
" I was on a brig in the river, with my face to the village,
and the first indication I had of anything amiss was that the
vessel rose a foot. I knew at once that the shock was an
earthquake, having experienced similar visitations many
times in the Atlantic and in the western islands of the
Azores. Recognising immediately the sensation under my
feet, I glanced at the shore and saw Husk's and Dick Ham's
chimneys at the eastern extremity come down. As the wave
rolled on I saw every chimney topple over, until the work of
destruction reached the line of the church tower, and then
the crashing masonry raised such clouds of dust that I could
see no more, and I thought the whole place had collapsed.
It was quite five minutes before the atmosphere cleared, and
then, of course, the extent of the damage stood revealed.
To the best of my belief the shock lasted about five seconds,
and it seemed to travel from north to south. At my own
house a chimney mirror, of thick plate glass, was pitched off
into the middle of the room, upon its back, and shattered
into fragments."
Lord Alfred Paget was just getting on board his yacht, the
" Santa Cecilia," when the shock came, and he states that he
and the officers and crew heard the rumbling sound and felt
the oscillation of the vessel, and at the same moment
witnessed the destruction in the village. Many reports from
those on board the various craft in the river agree that the
sensation was comparable with that which would be felt if
the vessel had struck suddenly upon a rock. In some cases
the masts were seen to oscillate sharply from side to side,
and boats under sail for the moment refused to answer their
helms. A sailor who was on the river informed Mr. W. H.
Harwood, of Colchester, that he distinctly felt a strong move-
ment under the water, the surface of which remained per-
fectly calm, before any disturbance was observed in the
village, which was immediately afterwards apparently lifted
bodily up, and the buildings were seen to rock about and