Cuar. XV.] WITNESSED BY THE AUTHOR. 285 
and down, and business, which had been entirely 
suspended, went on again as usual. Altogether, 
the typhoon lasted nearly twenty-four hours. 
The following morning was calm and beautiful, 
but the scene was one of ruir. and devastation. 
The streets were strewed with broken tiles and 
mortar; many of the houses were completely un- 
roofed, walls were blown down, and every thing 
evinced the violence of the storm. In the fields 
the change was still more striking; but two days 
before the trees and hedges were green, the gardens 
were gay with flowers, and every thing bore the 
happy smiling aspect of summer ; now vegetation 
had changed from green to withered sickly brown, 
flowers had faded, trees were torn up by the roots 
and broken and shattered, and many of the crops 
were completely ruined. 
The accounts which reached us from sea after 
this typhoon proved that the loss of life had been 
very great. For many days after the gale had 
ceased, our vessels on the coast frequently met 
with large portions of wreck floating about, the 
remains of Chinese junks, which told a fearful tale. 
An English vessel on her way to Chusan was 
obliged to cut away her masts, and was towed into 
the harbour a day or two afterwards by one of the 
government steamers. Mr. Shaw, one of her pas- 
sengers, informed me that during the typhoon they 
had a perfect calm for some time, and that then the 
wind veered round to a different quarter, and blew 
with increased violence. This is not unfrequently the 
