On shore, the hospital was one of the first buildings blown down upon the heads of the unfortunate inmates, wounding many, and aggravating the sufferings of all; yet only one man, a helpless idiot, was killed. The buildings being merely of temporary construction, most of them partly built of bamboo, barracks and all came tumbling down like children's card-houses. From half-past ten until two the hurricane was at its highest, the barometer at this time having descended to nearly 28.50 according to some, but on board the Nemesis it was never lower than 28.89. The air was filled with spray and salt, so that it was impossible to see anything that was not almost close at hand. Ships were now drifting foul of each other in all directions; masts were being cut away; and, from the strength of the wind forcing the sea high upon the shore, several ships were driven high and dry. The native Chinese were all distracted, imploring their gods in vain for help. Such an awful scene of destruction and ruin is rarely witnessed; hundreds of Chinese were drowned, and occasionally a whole family, children and all, floated past the ships, clinging, in apparent apathy, (perhaps under the influence of opium,) to the last remnants of their shattered boats, which soon tumbled to pieces, and left them to their fate. During the height of the typhoon, the engines of the Nemesis were kept going at half speed, and she rode through it very easy, without suffering any damage. But even those few vessels which did not drive were in constant danger of being run foul of by others which did; in fact, crowded as the bay was with shipping, it was a matter of wonder that even more serious damage was not done than actually did occur. The heaviest part of the typhoon appears certainly to have passed directly over Hong-Kong, for even at Macao, which is only thirty-five miles distant, it was much less severely felt, and, moreover, there was a difference of nearly four hours in the time of its occurrence; nevertheless, beyond Hong-Kong the typhoon was also very severely felt, and several ships were in the greatest danger.