rought such havoc and
destruction. But all the same the loss of life and damage sustained,
covering a large extent of country, must have been of serious and
far-reaching magnitude. The city again suffered heavily in the matter
of trees and shrubs, which were uprooted and, last of all, the crows
of course contributed their usual heavy toll of death and temporary
annihilation.

THE CYCLONE OF 1887.

It is rather singular that though this happened about 20 years later
than the other two, the impression left on my mind as to the amount
of actual damage it caused is not half so clear and distinct, and my
recollections are confined more or less to one or two incidents of a
personal nature. I remember however for one thing that I was in
Darjeeling at the time, but I cannot recall any particulars that I may
there have heard, or subsequently on my return to Calcutta, about the
effect of the storm. I must therefore presume that nothing of a very
startling nature did occur in Calcutta. There is, however, one
outstanding event that I must relate, as it involved the loss of a man
well known in business circles and very highly respected, and who was
also a very dear and intimate friend of my own--Mr. Keith Sim, Agent
of the Queen Insurance Co. before they amalgamated with the Royal
Insurance Co. He had been suffering from a slight attack of fever and
had been recommended to take a trip to the Sandheads. He accordingly
embarked on a large and powerful steam tug, the _Retriever_, towing an
outward bound vessel, the _Godiva_, but the weather from the early
morning had been looking very lowering and threatening, and by the
time they reached Saugor Island It had become infinitely worse. Why
they were ever allowed to proceed to sea has always remained a mystery
to me. It must, I think, have been some bungling on the part of the
port authorities. The further they proceeded down the Bay, the worse
the weather became, until eventually they ran right bang into the very
teeth of a severe cyclone. The result, as was to be expected, proved
most disastrous. The hawser connecting the ship and steam tug snapped
in two, being unequal to the tremendous strain, and they parted
company. The vessel escaped by a miracle after having been battered
about and driven in all directions. She was eventually rescued by the
_Warren Hastings_, after the lapse of three days in the Eastern
Channel, in a completely gutted condition, but the steam tug foundered
wi