ONE of the most disastrous earthquakes on record occurred in the little Island of Ischia, in the Bay of Naples, on the evening of July 28. It was only in March 1881 that a similar catastrophe occurred at the same place. The island is a favourite summer resort of Romans and Neapolitans, and Casamicciola, where the destruction was greatest, was crowded with strangers. The full extent of the loss of life has not yet been ascertained; but up to the present it is estimated that at least 4000 have been killed, and very large numbers wounded. The earthquake occurred at half-past nine, when strangers and natives were enjoying themselves in various ways under a cloudless sky with not a breath of air stirring. Not the slightest warning seems to have preceded what occurred; in the space of fifteen seconds Casamicciola was a heap of ruins, while a similar fate overtook the smaller towns of Forio, Laco Armino, and Fontana Serrata. At present we can only record the facts of the case; when further details are to hand it may be possible to throw some light on the real cause of the catastrophe. Besides the first shock, which lasted fifteen seconds, other two were noticed immediately after. Prof. Palmieri is stated to have expressed the opinion that the catastrophe was caused by a sinking in of the level, and not by an earthquake. On the 31st there was another slight shock; while Vesuvius is in a state of active eruption. A Rhenish journal states that on Saturday night, about the time when the Ischia earthquake occurred, a tremendous motion of the earth was distinctly felt at Wiesbaden. On the morning of the 31st also, it may be noted here, a shock of earthquake was felt in Oporto, lasting two seconds, with direction east and west; it naturally caused great consternation. Two shocks are reported to have occurred on the same day at Gilroy, California. With regard to the volcanic Monte Epomeo in the Island of Ischia, we may say that its last recorded eruption took place in 1302.