16 A Twenty-second Memoir on the Law of Storms. [No. 1. 



2nd. I premise by saying that during a residence of twenty years 

 in Chittagong, I have seen nothing approaching to it in severity, 

 nor have older residents than myself seen any thing at all to be 

 compared with it since the awful and destructive hurricane of 1824, 

 which deluged the adjoining Islands and the low parts of the district 

 and caused an immense loss of life and property. 



3rd. On the 11th, it began to rain steadily, and occasionally it 

 rained heavily, the wind veering from the S. E. to S., the Barometer 

 standing at 29.73 ; Thermometer at 79° in the shade. There was 

 no indication, however, of any thing more than the setting in of the 

 periodical rains, the usual time for which had passed.* On the 12th, 

 the clouds were heavy but nothing indicative of any remarkable 

 change. The Barometer had fallen to 29.62^ and Thermometer 

 stood at 80° in the shade. The rain was light and drizzling and at 

 noon, the breezes were moderate from South to S. E. and cloudy 

 weather ; at 9 p. m. a strong breeze was succeeded by a severe hurri- 

 cane with heavy rain, blowing and beating with intense and unabating 

 fury. It commenced at N. W. veered round by the North and N. 

 E. b. East then S. and S. W. and 1ST., again this species of whirlwind 

 ivas repeated several times between 9 p. M. on the night of the 12th 

 to 3 A. m. on the morning of the 13th, and did not finally subside 

 till day light of the latter day. The Barometerf took a range 

 during the hurricane of one and a half inch, but it did not indicate its 

 approach, nor did it fall to any degree noticeable till the hurricane 

 had actually taken us. It is worthy of notice that during this 

 hurricane we had not one clap of thunder nor one flash of lightning 

 but some parties in the station felt the shock of an earthquake, while 

 others thought they saw phosphoric lights emitted from the ground 

 upwards. J On the afternoon and night of this day the 13th, there 

 was heavy rain, the country was deluged with water and strewed 



* The weather during the whole of this season having been unsettled with fre- 

 quent rain, rendered it unlikely that any extraordinary gale should happen at the 

 setting in of the monsoon. 



t It fell altogether from 29.62£ to 28.40 its lowest figure during the gale and 

 the hurricane appears to have embraced a portion of the country of about fifty miles 

 in diameter taking the town of Chittagong as its centre. 



% This report was made previous to my queries being circulated at the 

 station.— H. P. 



