The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1838-12-04 00:00:00

THE STORM.

(From the Morning Herald of Friday.)
On Wednesday evening a storm commenced in the metro-
polis which continued with intermissions throughout the
night, and between two and three o'clock on Thursday
morning the wind, and rain, and hail, and thunder, and
lightning seemed to be contending for mastery with almost
unprecedented violence. The flashes of lightning were
remarkably vivid, and succeeded each other in rapid suc-
cession, and were quickly followed by peals of thunder that
shook the houses in the northern parts of London and the
neighbourhood to their foundations. The following are the
only disasters from the storm that we have yet heard of,.but
we fear the damage sustained will prove to be very extensive.
Shortly after four o'clock N esteiday afternoon the persons
engaged in the long room at the Custom House were suddenly.
greatly alarmed, in consequence of a large portion of the
glass from the windows fronting the Thames being blown in,
as also the dead lights. The damage done is very consider-
able, but no person received the slightest injury.
On Wednesday evening a large stack of chimneys at
Spitalfields workhouse fell with a tremendous crash into the
centre of one of the sick wards, burying in the ruins several
of the inmates who were sitting round the fire. An aged
man named Moss was killed, it is supposed instantaneously,
and four men and one woman have sustained very severe
contusions.

A young man was !dawn overboard a west-country barge
yesterday morning off Battersea, and was unfortunately lust.
Numbers of boats, barges, and logs of timber, were seen
floating about the river, dashing violently against each other,
having broken from their moorings.
Kensington Gardens, Hyde, St. James's, and the Regent's
Parks, are strewed with trees of every description, that have
been torn up by their roots. 'The coachmen and guards of
the various mails and stage-coaches represent the storm to
be one of the most violent that has been known fur many
years past:
Between the Lower-road, Islington, and the Kingsland-
road, the violence of the storm was particularly fell. About
half-past five yesterday morning the electric fluid struck the
back part of the residence of Mrs. Hannah Gaylor, a widow
lady, residing on Canal-terrace, Kingsland-road, and forced
in a portion of the wall of the first floor story, to the extent
of several feet. Fortunately no person was in the room.
Reports are rife of considerable injury havir, been done
amongst the shipping in the Pool.
THE RlVfilt.—W hen the tide rose yesterday morning, at
a few minutes after twelve o'clock, the river was swollen
several feet above its usual height, overflowing the banks on
both sides, and, for two or three hours, the low streets in the
neighbourhood of Horselydown, Rotherhithe, and Bankside,
were inundated. Up the river, towards Chelsea; Battersea,
and Kew, the water presented almost double its width, carry-
ing away with its strong current several hut Sand habitations
of poor fishermen, whose condition and cries were of a most
distressing description. Deptford, Greenwiah, . Woolwich,
and various other waterside places, have sustained consider-
able injury, the river having flowed into the houses situated
on the banks, and several have become in ruins, the walls
having sunk from the effect of the water far beyond their
foundations. In the river, from London-bridge to Deptford-
reach, the shipping presents a woeful appearance from the
violence of the hurricane, which roared with tremendous fury,
carrying with it rigging and everything that came in its way;
innumerable tiers of vessels were carried away from their
moorings, and drifted against other tiers, which were either
driven from their anchorage, or the craft stove in, and the
rigging smashed to pieces.
Duriug the raging of the storm a flash of lightning struck
a factory chimney on the premises of Messrs. Cuthwell and
Co., shipwrights, Lower Itotherbithe, and shivered it to
atoms.
It was not until between two and three o'clock on Thurs-
day morning that the tempest brought its full force to bear
upon the neighbourhood of Piccadilly and the parks. It was
at that time truly awful in that quarter. The clouds which
had hitherto swept along in broken fragments, had crowded
into one dense mass, and covered the whole horizon with
more than midnight darkness; the moon had totally disap-
peared, the rain came down in torrents, the wind blew, the
thunder pealed, and the lightning may be said actually to
have blazed in' the firmament. Perhaps one of the most
magnificent objects, taking all these circumstances together,
that ever presented itself to the human eye, was to be seen
for an instant at Hyde-park Corner. The aid of powerful
Contrast was not wanting to complete the picture of the sub-
lime. At first there was nothing to be seen but the quivering
light of the lamps, which the storm was threatening to ex-
tinguish. The park itself was wrapped in the deepest gloom,
when suddenly a single flash illuminated the whole visible
horizon. The effect was indeed electric. It is astonishing
what a multitude of objects were presented to the eye and
impressed upon the mind in one short moment, and in the
brief revelation of a single glance. The magnificent gate-
way, the figure of Achilles, the trees, the houses, were exhi-
bited with a sort of supernatural distinctness and collective-
ness, and then sunk into darkness again. It was like magic
—it was lightning. As the storm roiled on to the north-west
the flashes and thunder-peals were repeated at intervals, but
its fury did not last above twenty minutes in the neighbour-
hoed of Hyde-park and Brompton. After that period the
limit's in these neighbourhoods began to disperse, but flashes,
,::•laPPgh fainter and fainter, still continued to cross the eye of
kre traveller, and the distant roll of thunder, decreasing at
ey4 •epetitiou, but removed it to another scene. We can-
not ,thcer conclude this account than by the following extra-
ordi y circumstance connected with this phenomenon,
which we copy from the Standard of last night :
"The storm in the metropolis last night and this morning
was one of the most severe to be remembered. It is hut jus-
tice to Mr. Murphy to say that he predicted it to the hour;
and to add that the predictions of his almanack generally
have been fulfilled with remarkable fidelity as regarded all
that may be called extreme variations of the weather,ahough
there have been aberrations, but not numerous or serious
ones, in Iris anticipations of lighter changes. After the ex-
perience of the last year, it is scarcely possible to doubt that
the author of the Weather Alrnanack' has arrived ar a prin-
ciple, which, carefully and scientifically fullowed up, may
enable us to calculate almost with certainty 'upon atmosphe-
rical changes."

(From the Morning Herald, of Saturday.)
The severe hurricane, attended with thunder and lightning,
which. Commenced on Tuesday night, and continued during
Wednesday and Thursday, was, on the night of the day
nearly as severe on Wednesday night. During Thursday
were numerous showers attended with violent gusts of wind.
As the evening advanced vivid flashes of lightning streaked
the heavens in rapid succession, and about 10 o'clock the
metropolis and its environs were visited by a thunder storm,
the effects of which were most felt westward of town. About
Hammersmith, Shepherd's Bush, Fulham, &c., it was ex-
tremely severe, the rain descending in torrents, while the
rolling of the thunder and the howling of the wind was most
terrific, when at its height a policeman of the T division,
while endeavouring to gain a shelter from the pelting of the
storm, was struck, opposite Lee's nursery ground, near Ham-
mersmith turnpike, by a flash of lightning, which nearly de-
prived him of his senses; and he describes, that the house
which he was passing, at the moment he was struck, appeared
to him to be enveloped with blue flames. Between twelve
and one o'clock a tremendous storm of hail came on, which,
however, lasted only a few minutes, after which the moon
burst forth in resplendent light until between three and four
o'clock yesterday morning, when it again became cloudy,
and about four o'clock there was another storm of thunder
and lightning. During yesterday the weather was more
serene, the wind having shifted to the west, with but little
rain.

From the accounts which have reached us it would appear
that the ravages of the hurricane, although its duration has
been longer, have not on shore been so extensive and la-
mentable as that of the 28th of November, 1837. On that
memorable occasion in Kensington-gardens, in one planta-
tion, 25 venerable and lofty trees were made to bite the dust,
rearing their massive roots high in the air, by one single gust.
On this occasion, however, the damaae done in either the
gardens or in any of the royal parks has been compara-
tively trifling.
At Kensington and along the road as far as Turnham-
green, with the exception of a lew tiles, chimney-pots, &c.,
scarcely inv damage has been done. At Ealing, and west-
ward towards Uxbridge, Harefield, &c., and on to Bucking-
hamshire and Hertfordshire, from the excessive rains most
of the fields are under water, and the cross-lanes leading
between the various villages are almost impassable.
On Thursday morning, about three o'clock, Policeman
John Hussey, T 114, had a most narrow escape from being
struck dead by lightning. While passing on duty along the
Addison-road, Kensington, the electric fluid struck him with
such violence as to deprive him both of sight and speech. In
the course of the morning he, however, gradually recovered
both faculties, and has nearly got over the shock.
At about a quarter past four o'clock on Thursday afternoon
one of the most singular accidents occurred at No. 2, Stone-
buildings, Lincoln's Inn. Just as the gentlemen were leav-
ing their chambers, a dreadful crash from the roof downwards
struck terror into all present. It appea'rs that a stack, con-
sisting of eight iron chimneys, had yielded to the pressure of
the elements, and fell through the skylight, taking with it a
large portion of a massive stone staircase, and sinking to a
considerable depth into the foundation of the building. Two
persons narrowly escaped with their lives. A Mr. Fitzpatrick,
in the act of coining out of Mr. Spence's chambers, was vio-
lently struck on the head by a portion of the descending
ruin ; but though his hat was crushed he miraculously es-
caped personal injury. Had he been two steps higher up
the staircase he must inevitably have been killed. The other
party, a lad, was at the bottom of the stairs at the moment,
bet the mass swept past and left him unhurt. The injury
done to the building 13 very considerable. 'The noise occa-
sioned by the fall was heard at a great distance.
Yesterday afternoon the melancholl tidings arrived in
town of a ship having gone down on the Goodwin Sands,
with the loss of all hands.
During the squally weather on Thursday morning a laden
coal-barge, navigated by two lightermen in the employ of
Messrs. \ esey and Pate, was proceeding up the river, when
the Diamond steamer passed her going down, and the united
force of the swell raised by her, and the wind, which blew
very bard.at the time, *wamped the barge, and it almost im-
mediately went down,ancl discharged the cargo, 35 tons of
coals out of her. The two lightermen were for some time
struggling in the water before the crew of a Thames police
galley could reach them, when they were picked up in the
most exhausted condition imaginable and conveyed ashore.
The barge, after being emptied of the coals, rose bottum-up-
wards and was towed to a place of safety.

(From the North Devon Advertiser.)

On Wednesday mornrng last, a fishing boat, belonging to
Mr. Richard Blackmorc, called the Lynmouth, of Lyntnouth,
left that place about three o'clock in the morning; at half-
past nine a squall came un, by which the boat was instantly
filled, and the crew, consisting of the owner, with two men,
named Richard Fay and Jobn Widlake, were lost. Another
boat, with two hands on board, was missed in a dense fog
about 11 o'clock on Wednesday morning, and has not since
been beard of.

(From the Cornwall Royal Gazette.)
Owing to the late excessive rains the river Camel has risen
to a prodigious height. Indeed the waters have never been
so much swollen, since the water-spout which burst a little
above Camelford, about 40 years ago. On that occasion many
persons were assembled to witness the flood, when they ob.
served a.hare sitting in a bay-rick which had been carried
away by the stream, apparently quite unconcerned ; and yes-
terday, as some people were gathered together at Buscarne,
about a mile and a half from Bodinin, watching the swelling
of the same river, they observed a cock-pheasant, swimming
down the torrent. and looking around him from side to side,
as unconcerned as a duck. They watched him till they could
see him no longer, and he still kept his scat. Perhaps the
extreme rapidity of the water prevented him from taking
flight, and he was probably drowned.

(From the Dublin Evening Mail of Wednesday.)
For several days we have had, with little cessation, a vio-
lent gale of wind from the south-east, accompanied with a
heavy fall of rain. Yesterday morning the storm increased
to a rrican,,, and we understand blew with such fierceness
at Kingstown th.it the Holyhead packet boat did not venture
to sea. In the afternoon there was a lull; but we regret to
say that towards morning the storm arose again, and has con-
tinued with unabated violence to this boor (two o'clock).
The fall of rain, an unusual circumstance with so high a
wind, has been one of the heaviest in our recollection; and
all the low grounds in the neighbourhood of the city are co-
vered with water. We have not heard of any positive da-
mage done; but we fear the worst accounts may be expected
from the coast.

(From the Dublin Ereniflg Packet of Thursday.)
The weather durinv, the whole of yesterday was extremely
tempestuous. A large French vessel, laden with rum,
brandy, and wheat, was driven ashore on Tuesday at a place
called Six-mile Point on the Wicklow coast; one of the crew
fell from the main-yard, and the other hands, from the petit
in which they were themselves placed, could not render him
any assistance. A pilot boat put out to the assistance of the