Notices of Books. 



[July 



find the details in the diary ; the barometer also was so much out of 

 order, that nothing can be correctly stated regarding the actual quan- 

 tity of depression.* The fall of rain was about five inches and a half. 

 It appears from the notices published at the time, that early on the 

 first of May the surf was observed to be unusually high, while thick 

 clouds continued to gather during the day from N. E. ; and that by day- 

 light on the second the wind blew very hard, accompanied by heavy 

 rain. About noon it increased, and towards midnight had arrived at 

 its greatest height, when it blew with incredible fury. A friend who 

 was at the Presidency at the time, and who had great reason to recol- 

 lect this storm, informs me, that raging with the greatest fury, it de- 

 stroyed every vessel in the roads, with the exception of three, a small 

 Spanish ship, an American, and a French cartel ship. These stood 

 out to sea, but the former was driven on shore near Covelong ; ninety 

 country vessels went down at their anchors, and all the rest were 

 driven on shore, along with the Dover frigate and Chichester store- 

 ship ; the whole beach having been covered with wreck and dead 

 bodies for two miles north and south from Madras. The papers stat- 

 ed that the storm was not felt at the distance of forty miles from Mad- 

 ras. 



"On the 24th of October 1818, a second violent storm occurred at 

 Madras. The moon had passed the last quarter about two days, and 

 was nearly at her greatest distance from the earth : the wind, which 

 was a strong northerly gale early in the morning, before ten in the 

 forenoon had increased to a storm. An awful pause of half an hour 

 occurred about this time ; after which it blew a complete hurricane 

 from the south, with a fury never perhaps before experienced at Madras. 

 Some of the oldest trees, which had resisted the former storm, were root- 

 ed up ; and the largest branches of others were torn off by the force of 

 the wind. In some trees of a tough description of wood, such 

 branches were seen hanging down and twisted, having been whirled 

 round and round by the fury of the storm. Such a scene of desola- 

 tion was presented has had hardly been witnessed at Madras ; num- 

 bers of native habitations were levelled, many of the larger buildings 

 injured, and some lives lost : several ships and brigs were at anchor 

 in the roads. All these got under weigh, but the latter were driven on 

 shore, and one of the ships foundered ; another was driven on shore 

 to the northward, and a third rendered unseaworthy, while the others 

 generally sustained great damage. The fall of rain was about five 

 inches. The barometer had fallen between eight o'clock p. m. of the 

 23d and day-light of the 24th, nearly three-tenths of an inch, standing 



* The depression shown does not appear to have been two-tenths of an inch, and con- 

 sequently the instrument had scarcely any action. 



