Notices of the Great Storm in August, 1829. 329 



lodgings, I had several narrow escapes from being violently 

 thrown down, or dashed against the neighbouring houses. 



A very heavy rain now fell without intermission ; and at 

 half-past five, lightning and thunder began, and continued, with 

 short intervals between the flashes, till 8 p. m., when it ceased. 

 The lightning, with the exception of the two or three first 

 flashes, which were similar to the ordinary forked lightning of 

 this climate, followed by acute reports, was of a character 

 which I have seldom witnessed. It presented the appearance 

 of extensive blazes or sheets of flame dispersed over a large 

 space of the heavens ; and, although it was often very near, 

 was followed by no acute report, but by a grave rumbling 

 noise like the rolling of distant drums, passing often into a 

 hissing sound like that of sky-rockets. 



There was no sensible intermission of the rain till about 

 9 p. m. ; after which it consisted of a succession of showers, 

 very gradually diminishing in heaviness, and coming on after 

 gradually increasing intervals of time, till 6 a. m. of the 4th, 

 when it ceased entirely. The wind abated with the rain. 



The river rose gradually but steadily, after 6 p. m. of the 3d, 

 till 11 p.m., when it was about 8 feet above its usual level. 

 From that hour, till 12 p. m., it rather fell ; but towards 1 a. m. 

 of the 4th, the flood-water of the head river in Braemar, which 

 drains an extensive valley among the highest Alps of Scotland, 

 by a number of branches uniting like the radii of a circle, and 

 passes through a narrow defile at Invercauld, about 20 miles 

 higher up, having at length reached Ballatu, the river again 

 rose with great rapidity. For a short time between 1 and 2 a.m. 

 the rise was at the rate of one foot in ten minutes, as I had 

 an opportunity of ascertaining in the lower story of the house 

 where I lodged, which was by that time inundated ; and the 

 ultimate rise of the river, which occurred about 5 a. m. was at 

 this place about 13 feet above its ordinary level. The greater 

 part of the inhabitants of the village, which is about 11 feet 

 above the river, were driven out of their houses, which are 

 mostly of only one story, at 2 a.m. 



The bridge at this place, built of granite about twenty years 

 ago, consisted of five arches, having a water-way, in whole, of 

 260 feet. As the bed of the river consists of rolled pieces of 



