ABSTRACT
IN the state of tranquil equilibrium which our planet has attained in the region we inhabit, we are apt to regard the foundation of the solid earth, as an emblem of duration and stability. Very different are the feelings of those whose lot is cast near the foci of volcanic eruptions; to them the earth affords no stable resting place, but during the paroxysms of volcanic activity, reels to and fro, and vibrates beneath their feet; overthrowing cities, yawning with dreadful chasms, converting seas into dry lands, and dry lands into seas. (See Lyell’s Geology, vol. i. Passim.)
