Descriptive Report.
107
felt a wave-like movement of the ground, which almost
turned him over; the movement was repeated immediately
after. A lady seated writing in the house felt the rocking of
the chair and table and saw the swaying of the walls. At
the Rectory the walls rocked to an alarming extent. No
damage.
Little Waltham, 4 miles N. of Chelmsford,—Mr. Arthur
Goodchild reports :—
" At 9.20. a.m. by a clock on my dining-room mantelpiece
facing E., I was seated opposite the fire, with the chair
swinging on the front legs, when I felt it moved in an extra-
ordinary manner, as though the chair were being violently
pushed by somebody or something, and I turned to see what
it was; at the same time my wife, who was seated at the
breakfast-table behind me, noticed an unusual movement of
articles in the room; my youngest daughter, also seated at
the table, started up with some alarm at the movements
taking place, and called my attention to the pictures which
were swinging, and to one in particular. The room stands
directly N. and S., and at the N. end, on each side of the
window, bang two large prints, one of which, owing to the
wall not being perfectly perpendicular, hangs clear, and is
suspended from two nails on short wires. I perceived that
this picture was swinging violently from E. to W. From
these observations I told my family particularly to observe
the time, and that these movements denoted an earthquake,
the wave having come either from E. to W. or the reverse
direction...... The only thing thrown down was a
screen supported against the E. wall of a bedroom looking
W. I am pretty accurate as to the time, for, having a good
compensation-balance watch, I keep all clocks tolerably
accurate."
Maldon.—Smart shock felt in some parts of the town,
bells rung, doors opened or shut, oscillation of buildings
seen; no serious damage. Some people state that there
were three distinct waves, the last being the most severe ; but
the evidence on this point is not conclusive. A man putting
in a pane of glass felt the window recede and then come
back; and another man who was filing some metal is re-
ported to have missed his stroke and to have been thrown
forwards over his work. At the post-office a pane of glass in