The Storm: or, a Collection of the most Remarkable Casualties and Disasters which Happen'd in the Late Dreadful Tempest, both by Sea and LandDefoe, Daniel
History
The Storm: or, a Collection of the most Remarkable Casualties and Disasters which Happen'd in the Late Dreadful Tempest, both by Sea and Land
Defoe, Daniel
Storms -- Early works to 1800
7. A young Man of the same Parish, who was sent abroad to look after
some black Cattle and Sheep that fed in an Inclosure, in, or near to
which there were some Stacks of Corn blown down, reports, That tho'
he had much difficulty to find the Inclosure in the dark, and to get
thither by reason of the Tempest then raging in the height of its
fury; yet being there, he saw a mighty Body of Fire on an high ridge
of Hills, about 3 parts of a Mile from the said Inclosure, which
gave so clear a Light into the Valley below, as that by it the said
young Man could distinctly descry all the Sheep and Cattle in the
said Pasture, so as to perceive there was not one wanting.
8. At _Ashegrove_, in the same Parish (where many tall Trees were
standing on the steep side of an Hill) there were two Trees of
considerable bigness blown up against the side of the Hill, which
seems somewhat strange, to such as have seen how many are blown, at
the same place, a quite contrary way, _i.e._ down the Hill; and to
fall downwards was to fall with the Wind, as upward, was to fall
against it.
9. One in this Neighbourhood had a Poplar in his Back-side of near
16 Yards high blown down, which standing near a small Current of
Water, the Roots brought up near a Tun of Earth with them, and
there the Tree lay for some days after the Storm; but when the Top
or Head of the Tree was saw'd off from the Body (tho' the Boughs
were nothing to the weight of the But End, yet) the Tree mounted,
and fell back into it's place, and stood as upright without its Head,
as ever it had done with it. And the same happen'd at the Lady
_Banks_ her House near _Shaftsbury_, where a Wall-nut-Tree was
thrown down in a place that declin'd somewhat, and after the greater
Limbs had been cut off in the day time, went back in the Night
following, of it self, and now stands in the same place and posture
it stood in before it was blown down. I saw it standing the 14th of
this Instant, and could hardly perceive any Token of its having been
Down, so very exactly it fell back into its place. This is somewhat
the more remarkable, because the Ground (as I said) was declining,
and consequently the Tree raised against the Hill. To this I shall
only add, at present, that
10. This Relator lately riding thro' a neighbouring Parish, saw two
Trees near two Houses thrown besides the said Houses, and very near
each House, which yet did little or no harm, when if they had fallen
with the Wind, they must needs have fallen directly upon the said
Houses. And
11. That this Relator had two very tall Elms thrown up by the Roots,
which fell in among five young Walnut Trees, without injuring a Twig
or Bud of either of them, as rais'd the admiration of such as saw
it.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account