The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-21 00:00:00

THE RECENT GALES.

Since Saturday last the weather has been more like that
generally prevailing in March and-November than at the
latter end of May. The effects of the north-easterly gales
have been most severely felt at various points along the coast,
and accounts from more distant quarters are looked for with
the greatest anxiety. On Sunday the wind blew a perfect
hurricane, and the shipping detained by the easterly gales in
the Downs suffered much damage, many of them being driven
from their anchorage out to sea, and others cast ashore.
During the afternoon a schooner was observed by the Dover
boat-men rounding the South Foreland in great distress.
She was evidently at the mercy of the waves, and attempts
were made to render some assistance from the shore. Ihe
sea, however, ran so high that the efforts of the boatmen
were entirely fruitless, and the vessel shortly after went down
in deep water, when all hands perished. At an earlier pe-
riod of the day a large brig had driven ashore under the cliffs
eastward of Dover, but, being lightened, she fortunately
floated off with the next tide. Another brig got ashore near
the South Foreland Lighthouse, and has sustained much in-
jury. Yesterday morning a large barque, which had ridden
out the gale of Sunday in the Dover roads, parted both
anchors, and was driven out into the Channel, but, the wind
shortly after moderating slightly, assistance was sent off to
her, and she was brought to an anchorage again during the
afternoon. Margate, Dover, and Folkestone harbours are
crowded with vessels driven in by stress of weather, many
of them with loss of topmasts and spars, and in Sandgate
Bay yesterday afternoon there were no less than thirty-five
vessels at anchor waiting more moderate weather to proceed
up Channel.. They steam communication with the Continent
has been very materially interrupted by the weather. On
Saturday the vessels had considerable difficulty in getting
across, and on Sunday the Charon Government mail-packet,
bound for Calais, after beating about in the Channel for some
hours, was compelled to give up all hope of making that
port, and put into Boulogne, where she landed her mails and
passengers. The Charon was the first boat to leave Boulogne
yesterday, and during her passage the sea rose so high that
one of her passengers, who was seated on deck Rear the
helmsman, was washed overboard when the vessel was about
mid-channel. Fortunately the gentleman was a most expert
swimmer, and. notwithstanding the buffeting of the waves,
he kept himself afloat until the packet was put about and a
rope had been thrown to him, which he grasped firmly hold
of, and was then rescued from his perilous situation. The
Folkestone boat did not go out on Sunday night, and her
passengers remained at the South-Eastern Pavilion. The
wind greatly moderated during the latter part of yesterday
afternoon, and the Boulogne boat was within sight of Folke-
stone when the seven o'clock train left.

FATAL ACCIDENT AT THE LONDON DOCKS.—;
Yesterday morning, about half-past twelve o'clock, an
in
acci-
dent of a peculiarly frightful character happened the East-
ern Basin of the London Dock, to a man named Thompson,
belonging to the Sylph, a vessel trading to the West Indies,
and which is now unloading at that quay. He was aloft
doing something to the rigging, when, from some unex-
plained cause (being perfectly sober at the time), his foot
slipped, and he fell from the main-topsail yard, a height of
perhaps 30 feet, head-foremost on to the deck, striking, in
his descent, against the handle of the winch used for hoisting
out the; sugar hogsheads, which the men had left hardly
three minutes before. His skull was literally dashed to
pieces by the fall, and the deck strewed with his brains.
When taken up he was quite dead, and presented a shocking
spectacle; the face being smashed to a mummy, and the arms
and ribs completely broken. The horribly-mangled retnams
were conveyed on a stretcher to the dead-house of Sr.
George's-in-the-East, where they await a Coroner's inquest,
which will be held at the Wellington public-house, adjoining
the church, this day, " 'What renders the occurrence the more
lamentable. is, *that the poor man had rejoined his wife and
family only two days.before, after returning 'safely from a
voiakio to the Wed tudicqt