In Caraccas it is said that nearly every street in the river suburb has an earthquake Cassandra or two. Some of these go so far not only as to predict the coming seisms, but also the vicissitudes of particular streets.[136] Earthquake prophets are, however, by no means confined to the new world, and many examples of them may be found in the histories of countries where earthquakes have been felt. The story of the crazy lifeguardsman who prophesied an earthquake to take place in London on April 4, 1691, is an example. The Rev. Sig. Pasquel E. Perdini, writing on the earthquakes at Leghorn in 1742, says that ‘a Milanese astrologer predicted this earthquake for January 27, by which “misfortune” the faith and credit given to the astrologer gained him more reverence and honour than the prophets and holy gospel.’ Before the time at which he predicted a second shock, people removed away from Leghorn. _Warnings furnished by animals._—A study of the warnings furnished by animals is also interesting. Several of the natives in Caraccas possess oracular quadrupeds, such as dogs, cats, and jerboas, which anticipate coming dangers by their restlessness. Before the catastrophe of 1812, at Caraccas, a Spanish stallion broke out from its stable and escaped to the highlands, which was regarded as the result of the prescience of a coming calamity. Before the disturbances of 1822 and 1835, which shook Chili, immense flocks of sea birds flew inland, as if they had been alarmed by the commencement of some suboceanic disturbance. Before this last shock it is also related that all the dogs escaped from the city of Talcahuano. _Earthquake warning._—What has here been said respecting the prediction of earthquakes is necessarily imperfect—many of the signs which are popularly supposed to enable persons to foretell the coming of an earthquake having already been mentioned in previous chapters. That we shall yet be able to prepare ourselves against the coming of earthquakes, by the applications of laws governing these disturbances, is not an unreasonable hope. With an electric circuit which is closed by a movement of the ground, we are already in a position to warn the dwellers in surrounding districts that a movement is approaching. An earthquake which travelled at the rate of four seconds to the mile might, if it were allowed to close a circuit which fired a gun at a station fifteen miles distant, give the inhabitants at that place a minute’s warning to leave their houses. The inhabitants of Australia and the western shores of the Pacific might, by telegraphic communication, receive eighteen to twenty-five hours’ warning of the coming of destructive sea waves resulting from earthquakes in South America. Although warnings like these might have their value, that which is chiefly required is to warn the dwellers at and near an earthquake centre of coming disturbances. What the results of the observations on earth tremors will lead to is problematical.