80 Cambridge Philosophical Society : — 



the catastrophe (the spelling and punctuation have been slightly 

 modernized): — 



" Harbourgill, 6th of the 2nd month, 1752. 



"DearBro' and Sister, — 



" These few lines I hope will find excuse : for it's not without a 

 cause that I have written no sooner to you. I fully purposed to 

 have seen you a considerable time since : but now, as things are at 

 present, I have lost all hopes of coming. Yet through the good provi- 

 dence of Heaven we are all alive and pretty well in health : which 

 is more than could be well expected, considering what dismal times 

 it has been with us in Dent. I hope I shall never live to see the like 

 again : for we had the greatest storm of wind and snow that conti- 

 nued for above a week with very little intermission : so that all the 

 watercourses, both in the mountains and elsewhere, were made level ; 

 the like never being remembered, for it excited the curiosity of 

 several persons to view them with wonder and astonishment : yet 

 little thinking that the consequences would have been so tragical to 

 many. For at the breaking up of the storm (i. e. frost) it began to 

 rain exceedingly in the evening, which continued all night and the 

 next day to that degree that, by 11 o'clock, the dismal scene began. 

 For the snow in the watercouses being no longer able to sustain the 

 great quantities of water, all began to slide down the mountains 

 together with incredible swiftness, driving great rocks, stones, and 

 earth, all before it ; roaring like claps of thunder ; which made us run 

 out of doors to see what was coming upon us. We ran to look at 

 the Gill ; and we directed our sights (by the noise that it made) the 

 right way ; and the frightfulness of the appearance at the very first 

 sight, which was when about the middle of the pasture, made us run 

 for our lives ; and we got no further than from the yet (i. e. gate) to 

 the sycamore trees, before the stable, peat-house, and all the calf- 

 parrack (i. e. paddock) and cow-parrack, was in a heap of the most 

 shocking ruins that ever your eyes beheld. I believe from the first 

 sight of it, when it was coming, till all was overturned, was less than 

 the quarter of a minute's time. It has brought rocks down past the 

 middle of the houme, which had gone through the peat-house and 

 stable, that I think three or four yoke of oxen could not be able to 

 move. The poor old horse was crushed to pieces in a moment. 

 Nothing but the good providence of God has preserved us from pe- 

 rishing ; for it's amazing to think how the barn stood the violence of 

 the shock. The waters run round our dwelling house, broke down 

 the garden wall, and continued running through it till next day in 

 the morning; so that it's become a bed of sand. It was about 11 

 o'clock when this happened, and we went from place to place, not 

 knowing where to be safe, expecting every moment more of the like 

 nature ; which accordingly happened ; for I think in the space of two 

 hours the face of things was so changed that one scarcely could have 

 known them. For they came down almost every slack*, carrying all 

 the walls before them ; so that we were obliged to run from one 

 place to another to escape their fury, which was with difficulty : for 

 it continued raining extremely, that we were wet to the naked skin, 

 * Slack {coom or hollow in the hill-side). 



