The friars and prior of the convent, who had risen to pay their customary devotions, rushed into my room with crucifixes and relics in their hands, imploring the mercy of the Deity.

I took courage, and accompanied them to the church, where we all passed the night, expecting every moment to be our last.

I cannot describe the horrors of that dreadful night; the bursts of lightning and the roaring of thunder were blended with the shrieks of the people.

The night itself appeared protracted to an unnatural length; and, when the morning arrived, which we discovered rather by conjecture than by any dawning of light, the priests prepared to celebrate the service; but the rest of us, not having yet dared to lift up our eyes towards the heavens, threw ourselves prostrate on the ground.

At length the day appeared--a day how like to night! The cries of the people began to cease in the upper part of the city, but were redoubled from the sea-shore.