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The colony, but a few hours before a perfect paradise of beautyand order, was now to a great extent wrecked. The streets wereburied three feet deep in earth and rocks, and large gangs ofcoolies, supervised by soldiers, were kept working for weeks toremove them. All the damage done was not repaired in less thantwo years, and the estimated cost was a million dollars(£Stgl60000).Turner, who was a scholar and a keen observer as well as adedicated Wesleyan, had many opportunities to witness thefury of the weather during his mission . . .In June 1891 sickness compelled us to leave the malarialswamps of Fat Shan and move to Hong Kong. Soon after wearrived there a typhoon burst upon us. To guard against suchstorms the windows of our houses are fitted with jalousies orwooden shutters, something like Venetian blinds, only withmuch thicker slips, and capable of being made fast with verticalbars. It was night when the storm began to howl around us. Therain came down in torrents and the wind pressure wasenormous; the house in which we were staying was the newUnion Church Manse, kindly lent us by the devoted andsuccessful past or, Rev G. H. Eondfield; though new and solidlybuilt of brick with granite foundations it perceptibly rocked.Ever and anon these typhoons or great winds visit the ChinaSeas, and many are the narrow escapes that steamers have hadwhen caught in the path of the storm. Small craft are quicklyswamped or dashed upon the shore. For their warning a red ballis hoisted at Kowloon when a typhoon is known to beapproaching; they then make their way as quickly as possible tothe shelter of a breakwater, specially provided for them inCauseway Bay. Not always, however, does the warning comein time. Such was the case in December 1892, when hundreds ofChinese craft were wrecked and about a hundred lives lost. Thedeaths are numerous on such occasions, because every boat beinga home, contains a family. Yet, even on this occasion, thesurvivors showed their usual stolidity, though it was noticeablethat one old woman was inconsolable because she had lost—herclock!51