1818.] Col. Beatifoy's Account of a Storm. 443 



compass, over Bellemont, through the orchard adjoining the 

 widow Woodbridge's cottage, over Mr. Robert's field, Mr. 

 Riddock's nursery, Mr. Martin's pleasure grounds, Mr. Utter- 

 son's plantations, and the Marquis of Abercorn's gardens, to 

 Mr. Blackwell's premises, where it changed its direction from 

 north by west, to north by east, passing over part of Bushey 

 village, through Mr. Bellas's farm and orchard, and finally 

 exhausting its fury about a mile and a half further. At Mr. 

 Dickson's farm it removed some ridge tiles, and part of the 

 thatch of the outhouses and ricks ; and on reaching the widow 

 Woodbridge's orchard it had obtained much greater force, as 

 it levelled the fruit trees, and tore away a great part of the tiling 

 of the cottage, against which it carried a wooden building 

 several feet with great violence. In passing through Mr. 

 Robert's field, it blew down 1 1 large elms, the breadth of the 

 tornado at this place not exceeding one hundred yards, as was 

 evident from the trifling injury sustained by the other trees to 

 the right and left ; crossing the road leading to Stanmore, it 

 entered Mr. Riddock's nursery, where it did considerable injury 

 to the young trees, and almost entirely stripped one side of the 

 house, carrying away the thatch of the hayricks, and unroofing 

 some of the outhouses. In the adjoining premises of Mr. Martin, 

 ten trees were torn up, and his house and buildings much 

 injured. A large may-bush, that stood not 20 yards in front of 

 the green-house, was rooted up ; but neither the building or glass 

 received the smallest injury ; while a shed at the back, and 

 likewise the low house, which almost adjoined, had many tiles 

 carried away. It next entered Mr. Utterson's plantations, and 

 destroyed 50 trees, appearing to have selected particular ones 

 on which to wreak its fury ; for while one was torn up by the 

 roots, those immediately around it were untouched, and some 

 were broken in two places as though they had been twice sub- 

 jected to the action of the vortex. On approaching Mr. Utter- 

 son's beautiful cottage, the storm divided into two parts, one 

 proceeding to the right, the other to the left, as was shown by 

 the thatch remaining perfectly undisturbed, while trees standing 

 both in front and behind of the house were thrown down. At 

 the extremity of the house the storm seems to have again united, 

 as it tore away some wooden paling, though completely sheltered 

 by the building, stripping the tiles of the lower outhouses, and 

 throwing down a considerable portion of the garden wall. At 

 the Marquis of Abercorn's, it passed close by an elm, one of 

 whose branches it carried away, the remainder being untouched; 

 and it then threw down about 75 yards of garden wall, and 

 leaving an interval of the same extent uninjured, destroyed 30 

 more ; this seems to imply that the storm had here a second 

 time divided. Near this spot one of the Marquis's workmen was 

 thrown down by the violence of the wind, and after being rolled 

 over repeatedly, was at length compelled to hold by the grass, 



