About June, July, and August, Antigua is liable to be visited by storms of thunder, and lightning, and earthquakes. The lightning in this part of the globe is very vivid; and the thunder bellows through the air in terrific peals, every hill and mountain reverberating the sound. Often have I seen the lightning playing down the spiral branches of the cocoa-nut trees, presenting a sublime but awful appearance. But although these storms are so violent, and consequently so harrowing to the feelings, they are nothing in comparison to the earthquakes with which we are sometimes visited. Every nerve is shaken by these terrible convulsions of nature; the very brute creation seem to feel their influence. In April, 1690, Antigua suffered very severely from this cause. Nearly the whole town of St. John’s was destroyed; and the sugar-works upon the various plantations in the country almost all overthrown. In many parts of the island, the solid earth was rent open; rocks were hurled from their places, and the very mountains defaced. The line of hills which skirts the harbour suffered from the concussion in a remarkable manner: one of them was rent completely in twain; and now, after the lapse of so many years, presents the appearance of two heights, with a deep dingle running between them. Soon after this awful occurrence, two comets made their appearance. The first time I felt an earthquake, I took it to be the approach of a heavy carriage; but by the increased, rumbling and tremour of the earth, was quickly undeceived. It was but a slight shock, however, and I began to think an earthquake was not so dreadful as my fancy had depicted it to be. It was reserved for the year 1833 to prove to me what an earthquake really was, and make me fully aware of its terrifying powers; and although nearly nine years have rolled by since that period, and consequently the remembrance of it has lost some part of its vividness, yet the occurrences of that night has left so deep an impression upon my mind, that it will never be wholly obliterated. Between eight and nine in the evening, a shock of an earthquake was felt; but as it did not continue long, no particular attention was paid to it. We had retired to-bed, and were in our first sleep, when we were suddenly awakened by that peculiar hollow noise which is always the forerunner of one of these convulsions. The noise became louder and louder; the earth heaved to and fro; the house shook from its very foundation; and books, glasses, and other light articles fell from their resting-places. This lasted with undiminished force: but a few minutes elapsed before another violent shock was felt. In the midst of this, the church-bell commenced ringing, and drums beating an alarm, while the whole face of the heavens, glowing with a fiery red, soon informed us that a conflagration augmented the horrors of the night.