At  first  little  heed  was  paid  to  them,  but  at  the


EARTHQUAKES.  353

end  of  a  few  hours  an  avalanche  of  stones
began  to  fall,  and  during  the  whole  night  there
was  a  constant  shower  of  cinders  and  burning
stones.
In  the  morning,  all  communication  with  Anjer,
upon  the  Strait  of  Sunda,  were  cut  off,  the  bridges
had  been  destroyed,  and  the  roads  had  become
impassable.
Perturbations  occurred  beneath  the  waters  of
the  strait,  which  roared  and  hissed  violently,  while
enormous  waves  broke  against  the  shores  of  Java.
The  temperature  of  the  sea  had  risen  by  nearly
60  degrees,  while  at  Madura,  which  is  more  than
500  miles  from  Krakatoa,  the  waves  beat  against
the  shore  mountains  high.
Gradually  the  underground  noises  became  more
distinct,  and  by  mid-day,  Maha-Meru,  the  greatest
if  not  the  most  active  of  the  Javanese  volcanoes,
was  belching  forth  flames  almost  continuously.
The  eruption  soon  extended  to  the  Gunung-
Guntur  and  other  volcanoes,  until  a  third  of  the
forty-five  craters  in  Java  were  either  in  full  blast,
or  beginning  to  show  signs  of  eruption.
Shortly  before  nightfall  an  immense  luminous
cloud  gathered  above  Gunung-Guntur,  and  the
crater  of  this  volcano  b.egan  to  emit  enormous
streams  of  lava  and  sulphureous  mud;  after  which
formidable  explosions  were  heard,  and  torrents  of


Y   2


354  EARTHQUAKES.
cinders  were  hurled  into  the  air,  together  with
enormous  fragments  of  rock,  which  flew  in  all
directions,  and  did  terrible  execution  as  they  fell.
While  these  eruptions  were  going  on,  the  sea
was  in  a  state  of  tremendous  agitation.  The
clouds  floating  above  the  water  were  charged  with
electricity,  and  at  one  moment  there  were  no
fewer  than  fifteen  large  water-spouts  to  be  seen  at
the  same  time.
