But the most dreadful storm that ever happened on this coast in the memory of man, was that of the 18th of December, 1770. The following account of which was written by Mr. Robert Reeve, attorney-at-law, and merchant at Lowestoft, who was a spectator of this dreadful scene, and was published in the _Ipswich Journal_ of the 29th December, as follows: The dreadful storm on Wednesday the 19th instant, began about one o’clock in the morning, and continued with increasing violence till five; when the wind suddenly changed from south-west to the north-west, and for two hours raged with fury that was hardly ever equalled. Anchors and cables proved too feeble a security for the ships, which instantly parting from them, and running on board each other, produced a confusion neither to be described nor conceived; not a few immediately founded, others were dismasted, and none escaped unhurt. At day-light a scene of the most tragic distress wag exhibited; those who first beheld it assert, no less than eighteen ships were upon the sand before this place at one and the same time, and many others were seen to sink; of those upon the sand, one half were entirely demolished, with their crews, before nine o’clock; the rest were preserved a few hours longer: but this dreadful pause served only to aggravate the destruction of the unhappy men who belonged to them, who betook themselves to the masts and rigging; these continually breaking, eight or ten were not unfrequently seen to perish at a time, without the possibility of being assisted. Fifteen only, about two in the afternoon, were taken off one of the wrecks, and about as many more were saved by taking to their boats, or getting on board other ships when they boarded each other. It is impossible to collect with certainty how many lives, or how many ships were lost in this terrible hurricane. Twenty-five at least, perhaps thirty ships, and two hundred men, do not seem to be an exaggerated account. This, indeed, is too small a calculation, if credit is to be given to one of the seamen, who declares he saw six vessels sink not far without the Stanford, among which was a large ship bound for Lisbon, with sixty or seventy passengers on board. One or two of the ships which were lost belong to Yarmouth, and one to Plymouth, but the generality are colliers and belong to Sunderland, Shields and other places in the north. The concern this destructive scene occasioned to the spectators of it was increased by the following circumstance: when the masts of one of the ships, on which were eight or nine men, fell, two of them were some time afterwards seen struggling among the wreck, and at length, after unremmitted efforts, got upon the hull. In the afternoon, the pilot boat ventured from the shore, but it was found impracticable to