In this eastern part of England, meanwhile, there is but little chance that an earthquake will ever do much harm, because the ground here, for thousands of feet down, is not hard and rocky, but soft--sands, clays, chalk, and sands again; clays, soft limestones, and clays again--which all act as buffers to deaden the earthquake shocks, and deaden too the earthquake noise.
And how?
Put your ear to one end of a soft bolster, and let some one hit the other end.

You will hear hardly any noise, and will not feel the blow at all.
Put your ear to one end of a hard piece of wood, and let some one hit the other.

You will hear a smart tap; and perhaps feel a smart tap, too.
When you are older, and learn the laws of sound, and of motion among the particles of bodies, you will know why.

Meanwhile you may comfort yourself with the thought that Madam How has (doubtless by command of Lady Why) prepared a safe soft bed for this good people of Britain--not that they may lie and sleep on it, but work and till, plant and build and manufacture, and thrive in peace and comfort, we will trust and pray, for many a hundred years to come.

All that the steam inside the earth is likely to do to us, is to raise parts of this island (as Hartford Bridge Flats were raised, ages ago, out of the old icy sea) so slowly, probably, that no man can tell whether they are rising or not.