Mr. Darwin, in his very interesting _Journal of a Voyage round the
World_, relates that he was one day dining with a gentleman at Coquimbo,
when a sharp earthquake happened. He heard the forthcoming rumble, but
from the screams of the ladies, the running of servants, and the rush of
several of the gentlemen to the doorway, he could not distinguish the
motion. Some of the women afterwards were crying with terror, and one
gentleman said he should not be able to sleep all night, or if he did,
it would only be to dream of falling houses. The father of this person
had lately lost all his property at Talcahuano, and he himself had only
just escaped a falling roof at Valparaiso, in 1822. He mentioned a
curious coincidence which then happened: he was playing at cards, when a
German, one of the party, got up, and said he would never sit in a room
in these countries with the door shut, as, owing to his having done so,
he had nearly lost his life at Copiapo. Accordingly, he opened the door;
and no sooner had he done this, than he cried out, "Here it comes
again!" and the famous shock commenced. The whole party escaped. The
danger in an earthquake is not from the time lost in opening a door, but
from the chance of its becoming jammed by the movement of the walls.
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