284 DESCRIPTION OF A TYPHOON § ([Cuar. XV. 
of the Chinese. On the opposite side of the river, 
we observed great numbers engaged in the same 
lawless occupation. ‘The city walls, here, run paral- 
lel with the river, and these rascals were coolly 
hoisting the wood over the walls and ramparts, as- 
sisted by their friends inside the city ; nor was this 
attempted to be checked. 
At about nine o’clock in the morning, the wind, 
which commenced from the north, had veered round 
to the east and south, but still raged with fearful 
power. On retracing our steps, which we had some 
difficulty in doing, owing to the flooded state of 
the country, and the force of the wind, we encoun- 
tered a family group in the fields surrounding a 
coffin, which the wind seemed inclined to carry off 
in spite of all their efforts to fasten it to the ground. 
It is customary in this part of the country to place 
the remains of the dead upon the surface of the 
ground, sometimes supporting the coffins on short 
stakes, to raise them a few feet from the earth. In 
this instance the poor people were actually fighting 
with the winds, but were at last able to secure the 
remains of their relative, and allow him to sleep 
the long sleep of death in peace. At this time the 
barometer stood at 28° 30’, but the wind was still 
blowing a perfect gale until about mid-day, when 
it gradually became less violent. In the evening, 
although the sky still looked wild, it was evident 
the gale had passed away, and the wind was then 
blowing from the south-west. The river soon re- 
turned to its former limits, boats began to sail up 
