Twelve
hundred were buried in the ruins of the general hospital, eight hundred
in those of the civil prison, and several thousands in those of the
convents. The loss of property amounted to many millions sterling.
WIDE-SPREAD DESTRUCTION
Although the earth-wave traversed the whole city, the shock was felt
more severely in some quarters than in others. All the older part of the
town, called the Moorish quarter, was entirely overthrown; and of the
newer part, about seventy of the principal streets were ruined.
Some buildings that withstood the shocks were destroyed by fire. The
cathedral, eighteen parish churches, almost all the convents, the halls
of the inquisition, the royal residence, and several other fine palaces
of the nobility and mansions of the wealthy, the custom-houses, the
warehouses filled with merchandise, the public granaries filled with
corn, and large timber yards, with their stores of lumber, were either
overthrown or burned.
The king and court were not in Lisbon at the time of this great
disaster, but were living in the neighborhood at the castle of Belem,
which escaped injury. The royal family, however, were so alarmed by the
shocks, that they passed the following night in carriages out of
doors. None of the officers of state were with them at the time. On
the following morning the king hastened to the ruined city, to see what
could be done toward restoring order, aiding the wounded, and providing
food for the hungry.
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