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Show CAUSE OF THE ITALIAN EARTHQUAKE UNKNOWN ROME. Feb. 28. Tho causo of the Calabria-Sicilian earthquake. says Fathor Alfani, tho renowned Italian seismologist of Fraucc, is unknown. Much has boon written, many hypotheses hypo-theses havo boon presented, but no" affirmative af-firmative can be made. The rovened scientist ho is ono of tho fathers of i the pious schools, and is director of tho Ximonian observatory at Florence delivered de-livered a lecture on Saturday last at tho Roman college hero beforo a very distinguished audience, among which wore several ministers of state, professors profes-sors of t.ho univorsity and members of tho nobility. By tho "uso of projections, ho showed, to a certaiu degreo, tho effect ef-fect of the earthquake, by exhibiting pictures of houses previous to the shock, aud immediately after, when the disaster dis-aster was accomplished. Uo spoke of tho defects in the construction con-struction of buildings iu Messiua, which after au earthquake were built worse than before. In this connection ho road extracts from a report on the earthquake of Diana Marina, north Italy, the destruction of which was owing ow-ing to defects in tho construction of the town. Then, quoting Goethe, whom he described aa not only a great poet, but likewise a scientist, he related that Goethe, contemplating, in 1787, tho ruins of Messina, wrote pages to bo remembered, reprobating be mode of building which had rendered the disaster dis-aster more destructive. There is little reason to hope that the old and bad method of building will bo' changed now. |