The Sun.
London, England, 1824-11-25 00:00:00

THE LATE GALES.

'WEYMOUTH, Nov. 23.—We have had as violent a gale of
wind blowing from the westward as the oldest inhabitant ever
remembers. The estimate of inishief done in Weymouth alone
is 20,000/. The
. fine Parade, faced with Portland stone, in
.nl7/
oflewvehlicwhitlitt ttea:etrannteddishaa mveitasheeonf mud:
foreed
1101arhegfleelertbgdleoi scntkalsantteisP .into the areas of the houses, many of the latter
and extends for exactly 3 quarters of a mile, scarcely a
s
have two or three feet water in the kitchens. The Paradehere is
:reit remains; but what is still Inure important to the
ciiarctinil
safety of the town, the artificial Jetty, composed of large rock
atones, to protect the Bay and Esplanade from the fury of the
south-east gales, is now no more to be seen ;—in con-
sequence, should the wind, with the present tremendously
high sea, shift to the eastward, Weymouth must become
a wreck of bricks and mud. I had a friend knocked
down by a wave (whilst endeavouring to save his horses) al-
tthwooughu n
dhreewd atsee
tbefrhoi nind
the rou
swu
31141
it :11114(10,f atinied
sdettanlt
hatavleeatsot
relate a melancholy event. A man very much respected,
and who has for years farmed the ferry that communicates
bestrided upon him, was washed away.
between this and Portland, in endeavouring to save a trooper
horse,
The Rev. Mr.
Richmond and his wife, at Dorchester, are both killed by
the falling of a stack of chimneys. 'The Regulator, Weymouth
coach is now lying in the Downs, having been twice overturned.
Several of the wrecks of the bathing machines are strewed about
on the steps of the houses in the Terrace and at Belvidere.—
Many of the houses at the upper part of the town have men
employed with buckets, bailing out the sea water; and had not
the wind shifted at about five in the morning from E.S.E., I
have but little doubt the mischief done would have been dread-
ful to houses anti inhabitants; the barrier being broken down,
the inroads of the ocean must have carried every thing before it,
had the wind not gone round to the W.S.W., which is behind
Weymouth, and instantly blowing against the Bay and British
Channel. A Dutch galliot came on Shore near Sandsfoot
Castle ; crew saved, but vessel a complete wreck.
.A sloop of N
tons burthen is thrown high and dry upon the Chiasel Bunk,
which itself is 00 or 70 feet above the common height of the sea.
As we have no communication with Portland, it is impossible
to say what mischief has been clone there. It is reported that the
Pebble Bank at Cllissel, mentioned by Camden and Leland, but
more particularly in Hutchings' "History of Dorsetahire" has
given way. 1 shall only at present observe, that this most extraor-
dinary production of nature,the Chissel Bank extends for 14 miles
in one continued mighty ridge,a bulwark of loose round pebbles,
gradually increasing in size to the top, which is rather concave ;
the height may be (from the sea) from iis to 70 feet, breadth at
the base about 300 feet, at the top about 10. (I write in a
hurry, and under some little degree of agitation, and have no
books of reference.) Should this singular and siuuendous na-
tural barrier give way (which is positively said to be the
case) all the low lands must be deluged, and every living
and inanimate thing swept before the irresistible fury of the
awful ocean. I can only say that I saw a body of water break-
ing over, and I think through it, Or its continuity and size,
made it clear to me that it was not a wave or the spray of the
sea; but when I inform you that unless the spectator was un-
der the lee of a wall he could not face, the wind, and that it was
very hazy besides, I trust I am deceived in reporting the awful
v e ent of the Chissel Bank having given way. Two persons are
known to have been drowned on the beach between this and
Preston. Many of the windows and doors of the houses have
been driven in by the waves. I have just returned from the
leTrehethevettacal;ims calamity town,
a tremendous sea running.
.the bay, and
a melanc.noly spectacle; shops are all shut, chimneys
the public highway. Some tamales getting out
down, roofs
ofvseorti,
of the 'town, with all haste, for Dorchester; and should the
Portland
will end.
wind get to the eastward, or even the gale continue, God in
:toads have for the moat part drifted, but it is impossible to
ascertain what accidents have occurred or will occur during the
Iltlranarceinout gracious mercy
cyassoinslty thkenotwoswnw!
night. A vessel is in a distant part of the bay with her two
masts cut away and driving, and a smaller one is in the haze
in the same critical state. the Ilinclunbrook packet is riding
hard, and a schooner gone down, all
, .hands lost. Thirty houses
(A
and sonic families swept away at twell, Portland.

DISTRESSING CATASTROPHE.
(Extract of a private letter, dated Dorchester, Nov. 23.)
" Last niOn: tins town was visited with a tremendous gale
from the S.W., which for several hours continued to increase,
till the most violent hurricane prevailed ever remembered by
the oldest inhabitant. Its devastating effects were felt in every
oqivachrtiemr,naiesnd, tiladamageandtogillei,licrngea-it'e°TBaelsa and anxiety titer
the in the destructionthe safety of the roofings,,affrghted families. About six ()Mock this
morning a heavy stack of chinmies on the house of the Rev. 11.
J. Richman was blown down with a tremendous crash, and
falling on the bed of the Rev. Gentleman, crushed him and his
amiable wife beneath the ruins. Instant alarm was given, and
medical attendance promptly obtained; but it was too late
one common and instantaneous destruction involved them both.
Mr. Richman was rector of the Holy Trinity in this town,

and had but a few weeks enjoyed the possession of the new
church recently erected in that parish. The completion of this
building had been long looked forward to by him with anxi-
ous solicitude; but the many embellishments and improve-
ments he had contemplated, and which were in progress, he
was not permitted to see perfected. He was a man of singular
learning and piety, and remarkable for great simplicity of
manner and singleness of life, anti during a residence of more
than 30 years had secured to himself the regard and confidence
of all who knew him. In the 71st year of his age, an awful
calamity awaited him, which has overwhelmed- his family
and friends with affliction and distress. A Coroner's Jury was
summoned, and a verdict recorded of " Accidental Death."_
The effects of the storm are not confined to this town ; and af-
flicting accounts of the loss of lives and property must be ex-
pected from along the whole 'coast. Weymouth has suffered
very considerably ; a large portion of the Esplanade being
completely carried away, and other loss to the estimated amount
of several thousand pounds. " A Dutch ship is on shore in the
bay, near the Old Castle ; and other vessels in Portland-roads,
already dismasted, and otherwise damaged, are expected to
share the same fate. Some idea may be formed of the violence
of the wind, when it is stated, that the !legislator, Exeter
coach, was blown over twice between this town and Salisbury."

AWFUL CATASTROPHE.-The ship Maria, Captain M. I;
Behn, from London to Hamburgh, was totally lost off Heligo-
land during the late gales ; 6 passengers and all the crew were
drowned. The Captain was on the eve of being married to a
young lady, who expected his return at Hamburgh, where she
went accompanied by her mother, aged 61l ; the other passen.
gers consisted of three ladies and three lierman merchants,. a
large inheritance awaited one of them, had he safely reached
his native shores; the brother of the Captain, who but a short
time since lost the most affectionate of wives,leaves 4 children un.
educated and not provided for. Subscriptions have been im-
mediately entered • into at Hamburgh by the numerous friends
of the deceased for the education of his children, whose loss is
regretted by every one to whom his excellent character was
known—an example most readily followed by his
,liberal coun.
trymen in England.