By the Rev. A. C. Smith. 



371 



the School, it began a furious onslaught on the timber all around, 

 uprooting one of the large yews on my glebe, but sparing the pride 

 of our churchyard, (which without partiality I believe to the finest 

 and best grown yew tree in the county) and overturning right and 

 left, on either side of the church, the large trees on the property 

 of Mr. Charles Tanner, which were the ornament of that portion 

 of the parish. Then straight away for Mr. John Tanner's and the 

 south end of the village, where it did more damage than in any 

 other spot in its whole course : for first it entirely unroofed several 

 cottages, ricks and barns : then threw down chimneys and out- 

 houses : lifted off in a mass the entire roof of a long cattle-shed, 

 which was in a measure protected on the windward side by a large 

 barn at no great distance from it : smashed in the windows on 

 the south front of the house : laid flat the east and west walls 

 of the kitchen garden : prostrated two barns ; and uprooted or 

 broke off almost all the fine elms round the house : in addition 

 to the playful freaks of throwing a cow into a pond, hurling one 

 of the large cart horses from one end of the yard to the other, and 

 dashing him at length against the shed at the extreme end ; and 

 as a climax, taking up a heavy broad- wheeled waggon weighing 22 

 cwt., and lifting it over a high hedge, depositing it on its side a 

 dozen yards or more from where it stood. After these eccentric 

 manoeuvres and wondrous feats of strength, away goes the hurri- 

 cane for Winterbourne Monkton, coursing again for two miles over 

 the open country, and only marking its path here and there by 

 overthrowing the few trees which stood in its way. Arrived at 

 Monkton, a large barn, a cattle shed, and the trees which sur- 

 rounded the stack-yard, all in the occupation of Mr. Eyles, were 

 the first victims it attacked, throwing down the barn ; an excellent 

 one, and of great strength and in good repair ; seizing the heavy 

 substantial roof of the long and perfectly new cattle shed, (mea- 

 suring 53 feet by 16,) and lifting it off the walls which supported 

 it in a solid mass ; snapping off the fir trees, and uprooting a 

 vast number of elms : indeed Mr. Eyles, is the chief sufferer at 

 Monkton, though not by any means the only one. The Church 

 received considerable damage, the west window being beaten in, 



