As the grand deluge had been come again And all the world should perish by the rain.
Todd also gives from Sir T. Hubert's travels "we believed a herocane was begun, a vast or unwonted tumor in the air." This then I conceive to have been the original meaning of the word, not derived from the Carribbean islanders or West India islands at all, but signifying a violent storm accompanied by an extraordinary fall of water. As I said before I have been witness of several hurricanes, and I can especially refer to one in 1844 and another in 1846. — In the former hurricane at Havana there were 2,546 houses entirely thrown down and double the number injured. In the latter of 1846 of the houses that had been spared by the former or had been newly rebuilt there were 1,872 thrown down and 5,051 injured; among which were included the Government House, the Cathedral, all the Churches but one, one being quite thrown down, the Principal Theatre, the College of San Carlos, and one of the City Gates. 53 vessels were sunk in the harbor, of which one was a French Corvette of war, 3 Spanish vessels of war, and 3 Steamers. 55 vessels were driven ashore or much injured, including the French Admiral's ship driven ashore and the Steamer Tonnerre dismasted, and 10 Spanish vessels of war much damaged. I mention these circumstances to give an idea of the violence of the gale, and yet I should say that it was not the wind that was so remarkable a characteristic of it, as the water thrown upon us not like rain, but in sheets spouting cataracts — the air seemed altogether charged with water and above all it was salt water. The hurricane of 1844 was more widely extended over the island, and though it did much damage to the crop of that year yet the salt water killed the insects that were injurious to the cane and benefited the land otherwise so much that in the following year the canes sprung up more vigorously than before. I trust this will suffice to show that my derivation therefore is not so fanciful as it might at first appear. The Basques are the best sailors of Spain, and it was from them that many nautical words and phrases would thus be extended over Spain and Europe. I may claim the privilege of adding them hereafter. At present I content myself with naming a few chiefly relating to trade which the English language appears to me to have derived from them. To sell and sale are derived both in Todd and Richardson from the Gothic saljan, Saxon syllan, dare, tradere; the former adds Icelandic selia, transmittere, vendere, this appears to me a forced or
