WONDERS OF THE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS. irN "~? i,/ % i I I ii~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~h Grotto of Ganges, France T b;I~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'~~~ ~ ~ ~~rot t o ofaneFrne THE GALLERY OF NATURE; O R WONDERS OP TZE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS BY THOMAS MILNER, A.M. F.R.G.S. WITH INTERESTING INFORMATION FROM OTHER NATURALISTS. CONDENSED AND REVISED BY CA LEB WRIGHT, A. M., AUTHOR OF "TlRAVELS IN LNDIA," ETC. EMBELLISHED WITH NUMEROUS FULL-PAGE ILLUSTRATIONS, ENGRAVED EXPRESSLY FOR THIS WORK, BY THE BEST ARTISTS IN TWO VOLUMES. VOLUME II. ~irb: $mtrxtia (~itiza. BOSTON: CALEB WRIGHT, 68 CORNHILL. SOLD BY SUBSCPIPTION ONLY. Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1857 BY CALEB WRIGHT, In the Clerk's Office of the District Court of Massachusetts. CONTENTS OF THE SECOND VOLUME. CHAPTER XIII. Mountain chasms or passes. — Their military importance.- Sublimity of their scenery. -Valleys.- Deserts and fertile plains thousands of miles in extent.. 417 CHAPTER XIV. Artesian well 2200 feet deep. - Living fish discovered 156 feet below the surface of the earth. - Springs and wells that ebb and flow daily. - Hot springs. - Boiling springs. - Naphtha and rock oil springs. - Inflammable gas springs. - Mineral springs. - Petrifying or incrusting springs............ 457 CHAPTER XV. Rivers. — Remarkable cataracts. — Natural bridges, formed by rivers. - Subterranean passage of the Tigris through a mountain.- Subterranean passages of the Rhone, the Mole, the Hamps, the Manifold, and the Guadiana. 487 CHAPTER XVI. Lake Celano, drained by an artificial tunnel three miles in length, through the base of a mountain. - Lakes receiving large streams, but having no outlets. - Lakes containing floating islands. - Floating island ten miles long in the Mississippi River. 527 CHAPTER XVII. The ocean. — Its remarkable transparency in certain localities.- Beautiful submarine landscapes. - The Red Sea colored by red animalcules. - Luminous waters. - Calms. - Storms. - Ice fields and icebergs. - Origin of boulders... 547 CHAPTER XVIIL Waves of the ocean. - Tides. - Currents. - Immense quantities of pine and fir trees transported to Iceland by currents. - Plants, canoes, wrecks, &c., borne by currents from the western to the eastern continent......... 587 CHAPTER XIX. Struggle between sea and land for dominion. - Towns, cities, and entire provinces washed away by the ocean. - Additions many miles in breadth made by the ocean to the land. - Cities and fertile lands buried by drifting sand supplied by the ocean. 617 CONTENTS. CHAPTER XX. The atmosphere. - Trade winds. - Monsoons. - Land and sea breezes. - Etesian winds.- The simoom, harmattan, sirocco, &c. - Hurricanes, tornadoes, and typhoons. -Destructive storm in England in 1703. —An extensive forest destroyed by electricity. - Theory of storms. -Moving pillars of sand. - Waterspouts.... 643 CHAPTER XXL Evaporation. - Clouds. - Height of clouds. - Classification of clouds. Q- uantity of rain in various countries. - Rainy and dry seasons. - Drought in Buenos Ayres, causing the death of 1,000,000 cattle. - Snow. - Beauty and regularity of its crystals. - Snow storm of thirteen days' continuance. - Hail. - Remarkable hail storms. — Dew. - Hoar frost................... 684 CHAPTER XXII. Sheet and chain lightning. —- Startling effects of electricity witnessed by travellers inascending high mountains.-St. Elmo's fire. —Thunder storms. -Aurora Borealis...... -............. 718 CHAPTER XXIII. Halos. Mock suns and mock moons. - Solar and lunar rainbows. - Optical illusion. - Rivers and lakes apparently seen where there is onljr an expanse of dry sand. - Castles, palaces, armies, herds, and flocks seen suspended in the air over the Straits of Messina. -A cross seen in the sky at Miqu6, France.- Instances of persons seeing images of themselves upon clouds. - Images of ships in the sky. - Interesting experiments with an ignis fatus................. 741 CHAPTER XXIV. Shooting stars. - Fire balls. - Numerous instances well authenticated of stones and large masses of iron falling to the earth from the upper regions of the atmosphere. - Their gi.................. 765 CHAPTER XXV. Wonders of the heavens as revealed by the researches of astronomers. -The fixed stars not inferior in size to the sun, and supposed to -be centres around which systems of worlds revolve. — 2,400,000,000 of worlds within the limits explored by human vision, some of them more than 1,000,000 times larger than our own. — Their distances from each other immense, and their movement through space inconceivably rapid. — Probable diversity of scenery in the worlds which constitute the universe, and reflections respecting the beings by which they may be inhabited....... 789 \\ \~\ \.\i \ ~\\ \\\ Th Mouainas, of i il! C: I....;'; The i ountain Pass of Pir-i-zim. i,, ]',4,-, WONDERS OF THE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS. CHAPTER XIIIL MOUNTAIN CHASMS, OR PASSES. —THEIR MILITARY IMPORTANCE.- GRANDEUR AND SUBLIMITY OF THEIR SCENERY. VALLEYS. - SANDY DESERTS AND FERTILE PLAINS, THOUSANDS OF MILES IN EXTENT. CHAINS of mountains usually have numerous depressions, and though the base of these depressions is above the general surface of the earth, yet, when viewed from within, they have the appearance of being sunk far below it. They are mountain chasms, through which communication is maintained between opposite sides of the ridge they intersect, and are called cols in the Alps, ports in the Pyrenees, gaps in the United States, and in general gates, or passes. They abound in scenes of striking grandeur - overhanging rocks, undefended precipices, patches of wood, and cascades of water, rendered the more impressive by the seclusion of their sites. Some of the present passes across the Alps have been frequented from a very early period; but many natural obstacles have, in modern times, been removed by the art and labor of man, and the difficult mule paths of a former age have been converted into carriage roads. The Carthaginians are supposed to have entered Italy under Hannibal, by the 53 (417) 418 WONDERS OF THE EARTH pass of the Great St. Bernard, and by the same route Pepin led his army to attack the Lombards. A carriage road was constructed through this pass by order of Augustus. The Great Simplon road, through one of the most important of the Swiss passes, was constructed by Napoleon. It has terraces of massive mason-work many miles in length, ten galleries, either cut in solid rock or built of stone, six hundred and'eleven bridges, also twenty houses of refuge, to shelter travellers and to lodge the laborers constantly employed in taking care of the road. This stupendous work was completed in six years from its commencement in 1800, and the number of laborers employed was at times more than thirty thousand. The pass of Pir-i-zun, one of the gateways opening from the maritime provinces of Persia to the interior, is upwards of seven miles in length, and winds through chasms so deep and narrow as almost to exclude the light of day. Perpendicular walls rise in some places more than a thousand feet, and the path in the rock, excavated barely wide enough to allow a loaded camel to pass, winds along their face, occasionally crossing from side to side, on bridges suspended over chasms fearfully deep. In one of the precipitous rocks in this pass is a huge cavern, sometimes used by benighted wayfarers as a place of selter, and sometimes occupied by brigands. Beyond the pass are situated some beautiful valleys, where scarcely a human habitation is now to be seen. They were once inhabited by a very ancient tribe, which has been almost extirpated for its crimes. The few survivors have taken refuge in the almost inapproachable solitudes about the Pir-i-zun, where they subsist on a wretched kind of bread made of acorns, and thence, sallying forth, haunt the narrow, tortuous, and almost aerial road, thus enhancing its natural terrors and rendering the traveller's progress extremely uncertain. The Estroza pass, in the Island of Madeira, (see engraving,) winds around the side of a mountain, which rises almost - -- -- --...za as'aer. The/ road cut, insldrck..ot.era- h sa eea hiiiE s d etrbeowas, whilera Th e ract op rofk thelmoustai pierhans the clusea.eea budrelfet elw wil to opofte outan iecs the clouds._ — AND THE HEAVENS. 419 perpendicularly from the ocean to the region of clouds. The path, which almost overhangs the sea, several hundred feet below, has been excavated in the rock with great labor, and made quite easy to travel by its zigzag direction. The feeling of uneasiness experienced by travellers unaccustomed to these mural precipices, with the extended ocean lying far beneath, serves to give additional interest to the scene. "Among the strange places," says Dr. James Johnson, "into which man has penetrated, there is probably not one on this earth more wonderful than the mountain chasm at the baths of Pfeffers in Switzerland. [See engraving opposite page 457.] The deep ravine, which had hitherto preserved a width of some one hundred and fifty feet, suddenly contracts into a narrow cleft or crevasse, of less than twenty feet, whose marble sides shoot up from the bed of the torrent to the height of four or five hundred feet, not merely perpendicular, but actually inclining towards each other, so that at their summits they almost touch, thus leaving a narrow fissure, through which a faint glimmering of light descends, and just serves to render objects visible within this gloomy cavern. Out of this recess the Tamina darts in a sheet of foam and with a deafening roar. In approaching the entrance, the eye penetrates along a majestic vista of marble walls, in close approximation, and terminating in obscurity, with a narrow waving line of sky above, and a roaring torrent below. Along the southern wall of this sombre gorge, a fragile scaffold of only'two planks in breadth is seen to run, suspended, as it were in air, fifty feet above the torrent, and three or four hundred feet beneath the crevice that admits air and light into the profound abyss. It has been my fortune to visit -most of the wonderful localities of this globe, but an equal to this I never beheld." The plank scaffold is about a quarter of a mile in length. It leads to a hot spring within this narrow and gloomy pass, and the water is conducted through a wooden pipe along the scaffold to the celebrated baths of Pfeffers. 420 WONDERS OF THE EARTH "It is very natural," says Mr. Inglis, "to compare one mountain pass with another; and after having for the first time crossed any celebrated mountain, one naturally calls to mind the journeys which one may have made across other mountains, and the comparative interest with which such journeys have been attended. I need scarcely say, that there are certain features common to all mountain passes; that there is sublimity in elevation; that mountain clefts are filled by rivulets, which swell as they descend; that plants of less or more interest attract the eye; that from certain heights extensive prospects of the country below are laid open; and that the phenomena of clouds, rain, and rainbows, and the effects of lights and shadows, are common to all great elevations. But notwithstanding these features of common resemblance, mountains and their passes widely differ in interest, and consequently in the features by which nature has distinguished them. These differences, supposing the mountains to be equal in height, arise from the diversity in conformation, and the variety in their geological character. When we talk of one mountain pass being finer than another, we mean that the views it affords are more sublime, or more picturesque; that sublimity, and that picturesqueness, are the result of their shape and surface. I have never passed either Mount Cenis or the Simplon; I cannot, therefore, speak of them. The passes with which I am acquainted are, St. Gothard; Mount Albula; the pass by the sources of the Rhine; the Rhaetian Alps; the Brenner; the limb of the Pic du Midi; the pass of the Pyrenees *from Perpignan to Catalonia, and from Gavarnie by the Breche de Roland to Arragon; some of the mountain passes of Norway; and the Spanish Sierras. Now, it may seem singular that of these the lowest passes should be the finest; yet so it is, in my estimation. Mount Albula and the Breche de Roland are certainly lower than St. Gothard, and yet their features are more striking; and the truth is, that besides the causes I have already mentioned, arising from diversity in conformation and surface, the AND THE HEAVENS. 421 very lowness is itself the chief cause of superiority. Nor is that apparent paradox difficult to explain. Where a road traverses the summit of a mountain, there cannot be precipices above; and the mere fact that a road is necessarily led over the highest part of a mountain, is itself a proof that it is not indented by those deep valleys, clefts, and ravines, which, did they exist, would permit the road to be conducted across at a lower elevation. Where a road traverses the summit of a mountain the views may be extensive; but they must yield in sublimity to those which are presented where the road conducts the traveller through the heart of the mountain - among its deep recesses, its forests, and cataracts." The ancients esteemed the passes of the mountains bounding their respective territories,; or intersecting them, of great military importance, and added to their natural strength to render them impregnable. Pliny thus describes the defiles of the Caucasus, and the mode of maintaining them: "Each pass was closed by large beams of wood pointed with iron. In the midst of the narrow valley flowed a river. The southern extremity was protected by a castle built on a high rock. This defence was to prevent incursions from the people of the north." Three great passes through the Caucasus are spoken of by the classical writers —the Pyle Sarmatoe, the Pylke Albanike, and the Via Caspia. The former, probably the Porta Caucasia of Strabo, is the particular one referred to by Pliny, now the pass or valley of the River Terek, one of the ancient keys of the East. The river has its rise towards the centre, and flows northward, a foaming torrent, by the side of which the Emperor Alexander caused the present road out of Europe into Georgia to be constructed in the year 1804. The road winds by the edge of precipices rising up from the roaring waters of the Terek, while above, large projections of rock, many thousand tons in weight, hang from the beetling steep of the mountains, threatening destruction on all belownot always a vain apprehension. After the winter season, many of these huge masses have been launched downwards by 422 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the effect of a sudden thaw, blocking up the narrow pathway, or flooding it by the obstruction offered to the course of the river. The mountain sides of this pass —from one of which the lofty Kasibeck rises four thousand feet above the limit of perpetual snow- are so high, close, and overhanging, that even at midday the whole is covered with a shadow bordering on twilight. At Darial, about a day's journey up the European side of the pass, the Russians have a military post. The scene is here one of great magnificence. The walls of rock reach the height of nearly four thousand feet above the bed of the river. The passes of the Taurus, which are the channels of communication between the interior plains of Asia Minor and the southern coast, have milder features. The most celebrated in antiquity, - the Pylae Ciliciee, - through which the younger Cyrus and Alexander poured their armies, consists of a narrow defile, with cliffs covered a considerable way up with evergreens and pine trees, hanging in some places like a vast canopy over the road, while bare and desolate peaks tower above the clouds. The passes of the Andes and Himalaya exhibit Nature in her wildest and most terrific aspects, and are perilous sites. The latter especially, owing to their elevation in the regions of eternal ice and snow, are seldom traversed without the loss of human life, and yet are annually travelled by crowds of people journeying to and from the Indian and Tartarian sides, on purposes of traffic, rarely proceeding a mile, at the higher points, without meeting with the remains of some ill-fated wayfarer. Captain A. Gerard accomplished the ascent of the Mannering Pass, three thousand feet higher than Mount Blanc, and thus describes the scene and its dangers: "The River Darboong was lost among the fields of snow and ice by which it was generated; the whole space on every side was floored by ice, half hid under stones and rubbish. In some places the snow is of an incredible thickness, and lies in heaps. Having accumulated for years together, it separates by its gravity, and spreads wide desola AND THE HEAVENS. 423 tion in its route. Nowhere, in all my travels, have I observed such enormous bodies of snow and ice, or altogether such a scene. So rapid and incessant is the progress of destruction here, that piles of stone are erected to'guide the traveller, since the pathway is often obliterated in a few days by fresh showers of splinters. Our elevation was now upwards of sixteen thousand feet, although we had but ascended in company with the river. Here only began our toils: we scaled the slope of the mountain very slowly; respiration was laborious, and we felt exhausted at every step. The crest of the pass was not visible, and we saw no limit to our exertions. The road inclined to an angle'of thirty degrees. Vast benches of limestone, like marble, were passed under; the projections frowned over us in new and horrid shapes. Our situation was different from any thing we had yet experienced: it cannot be described. Long before we got, up, our respiration became hurried and oppressive, and compelled us to sit down every few yards; and then only could we inhale a sufficient supply of air. The least motion was accompanied by debility and mental dejection: and thus we labored on for two miles. The last half mile was over the perpetual snow, sinking with the foot from three to twelve inches, the fresh covering of the former night. The direct road leads to the centre of the gap, where the snow is very deep and treacherous; and we made a circuit to the right, to avoid the danger of being swallowed up in one of the dark rents into which shepherds and their flocks have often sunk, never to rise. The day was cloudy, and a strong wind half froze us. The rocks were falling on all sides, and we narrowly escaped destruction. I myself twice saw large blocks of rock pass with dreadful velocity through the line of people, and between two of them not four feet apart. At half past two I reached the summit." The broad and deep depressions in mountainous districts - properly speaking, valleys -are ranged into two classes, according to their direction in relation to the main elevations. Those which are situated between two principal ridges are 424 WONDERS OF THE EARTH termed longitudinal, and those which are at right angles with a great chain, or variously inclined, are called transverse. Valleys also are styled lateral which feed with tributary streams a great watercourse; and by the terms upper and lower valley, parts of the same valley, near and more remote from the source of a river flowing through it, are denoted. The canton of the Valais, in Switzerland, — one of the most remarkable spots upon the globe, combining within a very contracted area'the productions and temperature of every latitude from the arctic to the torrid zone, - is a longitudinal valley, the largest in the Swiss Alps. Its axis is parallel to the main chain of Mount Blanc and Mount Rosa on the south, and the ridge of the Bernese Alps, with the grand heights of the Jungfrau and Finster-Aar-Horn, on the north. The Rhone passes through it, rising at its western extremity among the glaciers of Mount Furca, at the height of five thousand seven hundred and twenty-six feet above the sea, descending to an elevation of thirteen hundred and fifty feet before it escapes out of the valley towards the Lake of Geneva. The valley is nearly a hundred miles long, the breadth of the base varying from a quarter of a mile to three miles. It can only be entered on level ground at one point, where the Rhone rushes out of it through a narrow gorge formed by the Dent du Midi and the Dent des Mlorcles, which rise eight thousand feet above its waters. Connected with this great longitudinal valley, there are thirteen lateral valleys on the south side, and three on the north, which bring down the waters of its enclosing mountains. The canton of the Grisons also comprises upwards of sixty transverse valleys, belonging chiefly to those which are longitudinal — those of the Upper and Lower Rhine, and the Inn. These by-valleys are often nooks into which man seldom pries, and where no specimens of his handiwork are to be found. There are no sights or sounds but those of Nature, exhibiting herself in rock, wood, heath, and mossy flower, and speaking by the rippling rivulet. The larger Pyrenean valleys differ from the Alpine in being AND THE HEAVENS. 425 transverse, running at various angles with the principal range. There are those which are longitudinal, but not of equal extent with the former. It is common also for a Pyrenean valley to present the form of a succession of basins, at various distances from each other, called "oules," meaning pots or boilers, in the language of the mountaineers. These basins are large, circular spaces covered with alluvial soil, sometimes eight miles in length by four in breadth, through which the streams flow sluggishly, owing to their level surfaces. They have all the appearance of having once been lakes, the beds of which have been emptied by the waters bursting through their mountain ramparts. In fact, in the upper parts of these valleys, the basins exhibit lakes at present, some of which are on very elevated sites. Malte-Brun enumerates eight which are at the height of six thousand five hundred and fifty-seven feet; but that of the Pic du Midi is eight thousand eight hundred and thirteen, and is perpetually covered with ice. In the regions of the Andes, the longitudinal and transverse valleys constitute the most majestic and varied scenes which the Cordilleras present, and produce, says Humboldt, the most striking effects upon the imagination of the European traveller. The enormous height of the mountains cannot be seen as a whole, except at a considerable distance, when in the plains which extend from the coast to the foot of the central chain. The table lands which surround the summits covered with perpetual snow are, for the most part, elevated from eight thousand to ten thousand feet above the level of the ocean. That circumstance diminishes to a certain degree the impression of grandeur produced by the colossal masses of Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, and Antisana, when seen from the table land of Quito. Deeper and narrower than those of the Alps and Pyrenees, the valleys of the Cordilleras present situations so wild as to fill the mind with fear and admiration. They are formed by vast rents, clothed with a vigorous vegetation, and of such a depth that Vesuvius might be placed in them without overtopping the nearest heights. Thus the sides of the celebrated 54 426 WONDERS OF THE EARTH valleys of Chota and Cutaco are four thousand eight hundred and seventy-five and four thousand two hundred and twentyfive feet in perpendicular height; their breadth does not exceed twenty-six hundred feet. The deepest valley in Europe is that of Ordesa, in the Pyrenees, a part of Mont Perdu;'but this, according to Ramond, is not more than thirty-two hundred feet deep. The valley form in more open regions is that of a depression, generally a watercourse, with rounded and gently swelling embankments. The largest specimens of this class in Europe are found along the course of the Danube. Of a similar character are the celebrated valleys of Cashmere, in Asia, with the vale of York, the vale of the Severn, and the vale of Exeter, upon a minor scale, in England. Some of the spots, too, which pass in that country under the humble name of dales, are true pictures, though in a miniature form, of the highwalled valleys of Alpine and Andean districts. Perhaps the best representation is the Dovedale of the Peak, so styled from its locality being in the Peak of Derbyshire, and from the name of the stream, the Dove, that flows through it. This is a valley between high and precipitous limestone rocks, three miles in extent, the sides closely approximating in some places, and again expanding. It seems as if it had been' formed at once by some convulsion of nature, which rent asunder what had before been a vast compact mass - an impression often made by the appearance of valleys in mountain regions. Sometimes their opposite sides present salient and reentering points, which so exactly correspond, that if it were possible to bring them together, it seems as though they would fit into'each other, leaving little trace of their former separation. Dovedale is approached on the west through a confined defile remarkable for its deep seclusion, of which Dr. Plot states, that the mountains are so high that in rainy weather their tops may be seen above the clouds, and they are so narrow that the inhabitants, a few cottagers, in that time of the year when the sun is nearest the tropic of Capricorn, never see it; and when AND THE HEAVENS. 427 it does begin to appear, they do not see it till about one o'clock, N-hich they call Narrowdale noon, using it as a proverb when any thing is delayed. "Valley of Shadow! thee the evening moon Hath never visited; the vernal sun Arrive,. too late to mark the hour of noon In thy deep solitude: yet hast thou One Will not forsake thee: here the Dove doth run Mile after mile thy dreary steeps between." In Dovedale itself the high eminences that form the lateral walls of the valley- the projecting rocks, assuming the most fantastic shapes- sharp pinnacles and bold bluffs - the stream that flows at their base, now still, now murmuring, and dashing over a barrier of stones that have fallen from the heights into its bed - the wild flowers common to the limestone stratum-the copses of mountain ash, - all combine to form a scene that satisfies at first sight, and increases in interest the more it is examined. When the valley form of the earth occurs upon a grand scale, there are points at which the traveller loses sight of the masses of mountains that environ it. He beholds stretching out on every side a tract of level land, or at least the diversity of hill and vale occurs in such an unimportant degree as not essentially to disturb the idea of being in a flat country. The powerful upheavals and submergences which give to mountainous districts so peculiar a character of variety, have not operated upon these portions of the earth's surface; for while in the former the difference between high and low is that of thousands of feet in a very small space, in the latter frequently it does not amount to fifty feet, nor in some cases to ten, through a wide area, but the surface rises and falls in gentle, wavy lines, which offer no relief to the dull uniformity of the scene. The surface of these levels is usually composed of the most recent aqueous deposits, the loosely deposited beds of clay, sand, and rolled pebbles, characteristic of newly-elevated land. They may be classed under the general denomination 428 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of plains, but the term will then have great latitude of meaning, and include regions of very diverse aspect and character. Giving it a wide acceptation, not only will low, flat districts rank as plains, but tracts of horizontal land at an immense elevation above the sea, and extensive districts which are traversed by valleys, ravines, and hills, but exhibit, in contrast with mountainous countries, a generally level surface. The great levels of the earth vary as to their elevation above the sea from a few feet to between two and three miles, while some are actually depressed beneath it. To the more elevated plains, the terms plateau and table land are applied, which Humboldt proposes to confine to elevations producing a sensible diminution of temperature, or to heights which attain to eighteen hundred or two thousand feet, and upwards. Some writers, however, draw a distinction between plateau and table land, which seems appropriate. According to this distinction, a plateau is a great extent of country raised above the general surface, upon which there may be systems of mountains and valleys interspersed with plains, while true table land, on the contrary, consists simply of an extensive elevated region, which abruptly ascends from the neighboring country, with a level or gently undulating surface. The grandest example of plateau upon the face of the globe is in Central Asia. It consists of the region of Chinese Tartary and Tibet, an immense tract of country very imperfectly known, but at a mean height of many thousand feet above the sea. It is supported by immense ramparts of mountains, the summits of which rise far above the elevated interior. From the flanks of this plateau the largest rivers of Asia descend, and roll their waters across the space which divides it from different seas - the Brahmapootra, Ganges, Indus, Tigris, and Euphrates, proceeding southward to the Indian Ocean; the Yenisei and Obi, with their affluents travelling northwards through the swampy wilds of Siberia to the Arctic Ocean; the Hoang Ho, and Yang-tseu-Kiang, pursuing an easterly AND THE HEAVENS. 429 course to the Pacific. The interior region has its rivers, deserts, hills, and valleys. The second great example of plateau embraces nearly the whole of Mexico, and consists of the ridge of the Cordillera, continuous with the Andes, upon which there are vast tracts of champaign country, mutually connected, and interspersed with lofty mountains. The descent towards the coast is by a graduated series of terraces, which present an extraordinary diversity of vegetation. Of table lands, properly so called, or elevated plains which have a generally level surface, there are many examples in both continents. The Nilgherry district, in Hindustan, is a beautiful piece of table land formed by the gently-undulating top of the Blue Mountains, often visited by Europeans for the sake of enjoying its bracing air. The great extent to which the sound of the human voice may be conveyed, frequently observed in elevated regions, was here noticed by Mr. Hough, of Madras. "I have heard," he remarks, " the natives, especially in the morning and evening, when the air was still, carry on conversation from one hill to another, and that apparently without any extraordinary effort. They do not shout in the manner that strangers think necessary in order to be heard at so great a distance, but utter every syllable as distinctly as if they were conversing face to face. When listening to them I have often been reminded of those passages in holy writ where it is recorded thatb Jotham addressed the ungrateful men of Shechem from Mount Gerizim; that David cried from the top of a hill afar off to Abner, and to the people that lay about their master, Saul; and that Abner addressed Joab from the top of a hill." Numerous and extensive table lands occur in South-western Asia, at a great elevation, the majority of which are arid wastes, though some are green as an emerald in summer. The plain of Teheran, the modern capital of Persia, is at the height of three thousand seven hundred and eighty-six feet above the sea level, while that of Erzroum, the capital of Turkish Armenia, is not less than six thousand one hundred and fourteen. The central region of the Spanish peninsula also consists of a series of 430 WONDERS OF THE EARTH table lands, varying from two thousand to two thousand six hundred sixty-four feet in elevation, divided and bounded by mural precipices which rise far above them. The western continent likewise presents many remarkable specimens of high table lands. That upon which the city of Santa Fe' de Bogota is situated is an almost perfect level, eight thousand six hundred and forty feet above the sea, and forty-five miles by twenty in extent, environed with high mountains, through which the waters of the plain escape by a narrow outlet, and form the celebrated Fall of Tequendama. The great levels of the globe are, however, neither plateau nor table land districts, but vast territories, which have only a very inconsiderable elevation above the sea. They are classified, according to their respective physical conditions, into deserts and steppes. The former, to use the words of Humboldt, are mere dead, uninhabited plains, rendered impracticable both by man and by the powerful influence of vegetation, and remaining in all their primeval rudeness. The latter are more or less covered with grasses, or with small plants of the dicotyledonous class, as well as with various forms of animal life, and are only wearisome by their monotony and sameness. The word steppe is Russian, and means a large extent of flat uninhabited country destitute of trees. It is synonymous with the haiden or heaths of Germany, the landes of France, the savannas and prairies of North America, and the pampas and llanos of South America. It has been thought sufficiently characteristic of the leading divisions of the globe to say that Europe has heaths, Asia steppes, Africa deserts, and America savannas. But such a classification is manifestly incorrect, since Asia has large regions of true desert, as destitute of vegetation as the interior of Africa, while in the Great Sahara of the latter there are savannas and pastures in the midst of barren and unfruitful spots; and all the European plains are not heathy, nor all the American llanos grassy. Waiving generalizing, the levels of these different regions will be best discriminated by a notice of them in detail, taking Humboldt and Berghaus as the chief guides. AND THE HEAVENS. 431 The great lowland of Europe extends from Paris to the frontiers of Asia, an immense district, including part of Northern France, the Netherlands, the north of Germany, the entire kingdom of Prussia, with Poland, Northern Turkey, and Southern Russia, to the terraces of the Ural and the waters of the Black Sea. This region, in general very level and fertile, traversed by numerous navigable rivers, is the birthplace and surface land of a large amount of modern civilization. It is a vast plain, with two grand declivities inclining north and south-easterly, which determine the course of the superficial waters either to the Baltic Sea and the German Ocean, or to the basin of the Black Sea. As an instance, however, of the little inclination of the surface in some places, a prevailing north wind will drive the waters of the Stattiner-Haf into the mouth of the Oder, and give the stream a backward flow for an extent of thirty or forty miles. At the northern confine of the European lowlands, to a considerable distance from the shore, there is only a very slight elevation above the sea, and hence extensive marshes are formed along the coast. Holland is to a great extent so near the level of the waters as to require artificial means to protect it from inundation; and on approaching it the trees and spires seem as if planted upon the ocean. Notwithstanding the general fertility of this tract of country, we meet with many spots incapable of cultivation — either wholly bare of vegetation, or only producing a few grasses and dicotyledonous plants, which constitute true heaths and landes. The moor and bog lands of Westphalia are remarkable for their flat and table-formed surfaces. From the middle of the Beerktanger Bog heaven and earth seem to mingle - no tree, no bush is to be seen as far as the eye can reach; while here and there the play of refraction magnifies to elephants the small and coarse-woolled sheep which find a subsistence on the erica vulgaris, which vegetates on the scattered productive portions of the bog. The infertile plains, for the most part sandy, occur chiefly in North Germany and Prussia-those of Liineburg and its vicinity occupying a space of 432 WONDERS OF THE EARTH about six thousand square miles. Similar sandy plains, inter spersed with heaths and marshes, occupy an extensive space in the south of France, between the Gironde and the Pyrenees. Towards its eastern extremity the great level of Europe abounds with enormous tracts of pasture land, -which appear to have been rendered smooth by a long abode of the waters upon their surface. On these pastures nothing interrupts the view. The eye only finds a resting point at the horizon, and the traveller may pass over them for miles without meeting with a village or a single house. From the mouths of the Danube along the coasts of the Black Sea to the Don, these green plains terminate at the horizon with an azure line, such as is commonly perceived in the open sea. They possess the finest soil - a black rich mould -- which, with slight cultivation, produces in great abundance all the cerealia, and even hemp and poppies. Nature, here left to herself, affords the most luxuriant and succulent pastures, in which herds of splendid oxen, such as are found in Holstein and Holland, graze day and night. From time to time a few huts are met with, indicated on the charts as inns or post houses. The transition from cultivation to nomadic life is recognized in this region, which is more palpable as an easterly direction is pursued; and gradually the aspect of the country changes -becomes wavy, undulating, and less fertilev Every thing here, says Humboldt, speaking of the district east of the Don, awakes the anticipation of the steppes of Asia —the climate itself, with its hot summer, its cutting and sharp winter, and dry east wind, and even man himself. The region of the steppes commences in Europe, and occupies almost the whole of the north-west of Asia. They are extensive and almost treeless plains, intersected with barren ridges and hills, with vegetation of rank coarse grass in the intervening spaces; at least this is their general character on the European side of the Volga. Mr. Stephens, the American traveller, thus describes his first acquaintance with them: "At daylight we awoke, and found ourselves upon the wild steppes AND THE HEAVENS. 433 of Russia, forming a part of the immense plain which, beginning in Northern Germany, extends for hundreds of miles, having its surface occasionally diversified by ancient tumuli, and terminates at the long chain of the Urals, which, rising like a wall, separates them from the equally vast plains of Siberia. The whole of this plain was covered with an immense pasture, but bare of trees, like our own prairie lands, mostly uncultivated, yet every where capable of producing the same wheat which now draws to the Black Sea the vessels of Turkey, Egypt, and Italy, making Ru sia the granary of the Levant, and which, within the last year, we have seen brought six thousand miles to our own doors. Our road over these steppes was in, its natural state - that is to say, a mere track worn by caravans of wagons; there were no fences, and sometimes the route was marked at intervals by heaps of stones, intended as guides when the ground should be covered with snow. I had some anxiety about our carriage; the breaking of a wheel would have left us perfectly helpless in a desolate country, perhaps more than a hundred miles from any place where we could get it repaired. Indeed, on the whole road to Chioff there was not a single place where we could have had any material injury repaired; and the remark of the old traveller is yet emphatically true, that' there be small succor in these parts."' Nothing is more remarkable than the successive appearance of thousands of tumuli, which overspread the great levels of Southern Russia. They are mounds of earth - the mansions of the dead of past ages - occupying sites which are now tenantless for leagues around them, and only visited occasionally by droves of cattle and the passing traveller. Observing only a few specimens, they might be concluded to be indications of the route between different places, did not their number, symmetrical form, general resemblance, and contents, whenever opened, disprove the idea. The earliest adventurers from the west of Europe into these waste places mention the tumuli. "We journeyed," says William de Rubruquis, "with no other objects in view than earth and 55 434 WONDERS OF THE EARTH sky, and occasionally the sea upon our right, which is called the Sea of Tanais, and moreover the sepulchres of the Comani, which seemed about two leagues distant, constructed according to the mode of burial which characterized their ancestors." Simple as are these funereal monuments of an ancient world, their very simplicity is sublime, harmonizing with the appearances of nature in the steppes, unaffected by the hand of time, by which the Parian marble is speedily defaced. Among the occurrences of the steppes, that of a grass fire is not uncommon, occasioned by the unextinguished embers left by parties who have bivouacked in them, which lay hold of the high and dry vegetation in their neighborhood, and spread temporary desolation over large tracts of country. The monotony of these plains gives great effect to the appearance of the Caucasus. On the approach from the north these mountains are seen at a vast distance, rising abruptly from a level country, apparently an impassable barrier stretching from the Caspian to the Black Sea, the white head of Elbuirz towering above the lower summits of the range. On the eastern side of the Volga the steppes extend far into the heart of Asia; but their physiognomy greatly alters - the soil becomes more unfruitful; vegetation only shows itself here and there; the salt steppes appear, abounding in pools and streams of salt and bitter waters, on the banks of which the willow and the reed only grow- the sole means of supporting the herds of the Turcoman in winter, whom circumstances therefore render nomadic. The desert plains - meaning not merely solitudes, but sandy and stony wastes - occupy an enormous space of the lowland regions of the globe. They are rare on the continent of America, but occur in the lower part of Peru, where a considerable district is found, exhibiting the features of a true Sahara —a surface of rock covered with movable sand, not a drop of rain falling upon it. Still such tracts are seldom met with in the new world, while they are so abundant upon the ancient continent as to constitute a marked distinction between AND THE HEAVENS. 435 the two regions. The reproach is of old standing against Africa of being the most barren and unproductive of the great divisions of the earth- a reproach which especially applies to an immense domain extending on both sides of the tropic of Cancer, but having its main direction from west to east, and including more than a fifth part of the whole of that territory. This is the Sahara-bela-ma of the Arabs, or desert without water, called also the Baha-bela-ma, or ocean without water. Upon a large space of this district there is neither rain nor dew to awaken in the glowing bosom of the earth the germs of vegetable life. From the west coast of Africa, and between Morocco on the north and the Senegal River on the south, this wilderness extends easterly to the Red Sea, contracted towards the west by a projecting part of the kingdom of Fezzan, and interrupted on the east by the narrow valley of the Nile. It embraces a space of more than fortysix degrees of longitude and fifteen degrees of latitude, or a length of three thousand miles by a breadth of one thousand. A large extent of the Sahara is a dead level; but low sand hills, wadys or valleys, and projecting rocks are frequent. "Now the naked rock," says Humboldt, describing its characteristics, " appears to view perfectly smooth and level, which the traveller may pass over for days together without meeting even a grain of sand —where one sees only the heaven above and the hard stone pavement beneath; now we behold a flat plain covered with rolled pebbles, here and there intersected with ravines and valleys extending to about thirty feet below the surface; and now an ocean of sand presents itself, frequently containing so large a quantity of salt that whole tracts appear coated with it, and resemble fields of ice. Occasionally spots of verdure are found, known under the name of oases, which display palm trees and springs of water." The Egyptians, says Strabo, give the name of oases to inhabited spots surrounded by vast deserts of sand, and resembling islands in the sea. There are, he states, many such in Libya, while three border on-Egypt, and are referred to that 436 WONDERS OF THE EARTH country. Modern discovery has, however, made us acquainted with several of these isles of the African ocean of sand, which are rich in streams and vegetation. In the western part of Fezzan, in a hollow surrounded by rocks, lies the small Lake of Mandia, celebrated for the occurrence of trona, or pure natron, (soda.) Oudney and Clapperton, on their memorable expedition from Tripoli, visited this lake. Clapperton, as Oudney tells us, was sitting on the top of a high sand hill, and so pleased with the view that he called out several times to his companion to dismount from his camel to enjoy the treat. The appearance was beautiful. There was a deep sandy valley, containing only two large groves of date trees, enclosing a fine lake. The contrast between the bare lofty sand hills and the two insulated spots was the great cause of the sensation of beauty. There is something pleasing in a lake surrounded with vegetation; but when every other object within the sphere of vision is dreary, the scene will become doubly so. No doubt- the oases in general owe much of their reputation to the contrast they form with the absolute barrenness of the desert. With the exception of these spots the Sahara is uninhabitable for man; and it is only at periodic times that it is traversed by the trading caravans, which- proceed across it from Tafilet to Timbuctoo, and from Fezzan to Bornou. These are bold undertakings, the practicability of which depends upon the life of the camel — the ship of the desert, as the animal is termed in the poetical language of the Orientals. One chief source of danger arises from the simoom, a hot southerly wind, which rolls along in suffocating masses the sandy billows, darkening the air, and frequently overwhelming every object in their path. This wind, in passing over the desert, acquires an extraordinary degree of heat and dryness, and stops respiration at once upon exposure to it. To avoid its effects the Arabs drop the kafieh, a handkerchief which they wear upon their heads, so as to cover their faces. If the immediate perils of this fierce burning blast are escaped, it often happens that the water contained in the skins AND THE HEAVENS. 437 borne by the camels is absorbed; and in such circumstances, if at too great distance to obtain a fresh supply in time, the whole company fall victims to intolerable thirst. In this way an akkabah, or caravan, consisting of two thousand persons and eighteen hundred camels, was cut off in the year 1805. The Sahara is one principal theatre of that singular optical illusion called the " mirage," to which the Arabs apply the more poetical name of the Lake of the Gazelles. This is the appearance of tracts of water in the desert - a deception supposed to arise from the reflection which takes place between strata of air of different densities, owing to the radiation of heat from the plains of sand. These mock lakes - the " waters that fail," or have no reality - often torment the passenger oppressed with heat and thirst. Major Skinner describes a deception of this kind, the most perfect that could be conceived, which for a time exhilarated the spirits of the party with whom he journeyed in the desert, and promised an early resting-place. They had observed a slight mirage two or three times before; but the one in question surpassed all that could well be fancied. Although aware that these appearances have often led people astray, he could not bring himself to believe that this was unreal. Even the Arabs were doubtful. The seeming lake was broken in several parts by little islands of sand, which gave strength to the delusion. The dromedaries of the sheikhs at length reached its borders, and appeared to have commenced to ford, as they advanced'and became more surrounded by the vapor. They seemed to have got into deep water, and to be moving with greater caution. In passing over the sand banks their'figures were reflected in the water. So convinced was one of the party of its reality, that he dismounted and walked towards the deepest part of it, which was on the right hand. He followed the deceitful lake for a long time, and appeared to be strolling on its banks, his shadow stretching to a great length beyond. There was not a breath of wind; and the sultriness of the day would have added dreadfully to the disappointment, if the party had been 438 WONDERS OF THE EARTH much distressed for want of water. The Sahara is now well known to be advancing from east to west, besides being in a condition of internal instability, owing to the sand storms altering the appearance of the surface. The prevailing currents of air that sweep over it are from east to west, and the flying sands, travelling in that direction, there enlarge its bounds. The wandering sea is one of the Arab titles of a sandy desert. The Sahara apparently terminates at the valley of the Nile, but the same identical region is prolonged beyond that channel. It embraces nearly the whole of the Arabian peninsula, which, excepting a few enclosed valleys, is a stony and barren tract, and generally an infertile level, presenting great sandy plains, producing little besides the acacia vera, or Egyptian thorn, and a few other plants. Beyond this is the Syrian desert, which lies between the range of Lebanon and the Euphrates, in the heart of which is the oasis containing the relics of one of the mysterious cities of antiquity, the Tadmor in the Wilderness of a remote time, the Palmyra of a more modern age. It is not difficult to conceive of the effect of its ruins after passing through a waste in many places without a single object showing either life or motion; Corinthian columns of white marble contrasting finely in their snowy appearance with the apparently boundless yellow sands, the monuments of an opulence and art, every other trace of which has vanished with the people by whom it was enjoyed. A day in this desert is admirably described by the author of Eithen: "As you are journeying in the interior you have no particular point to make for as your resting-place. The endless sands yield nothing but small stunted shrubs; even these fail after the first two or three days, and from that time you pass over broad plains- you pass over newly-reared hills - you pass through valleys that the storm of the last week has dug; and the hills and the valleys are sand, sand, sand, and only sand, and sand, and sand again. The earth is so sandy, that your eyes turn towards heaven - towards heaven, I mean, AND THE HEAVENS. 439 in the sense of sky. You look to the sun, for he is your taskmaster, and by him,you know the measure of the work that you have done, and the measure of the work that remains for you to do; he comes when you strike your tent in the early morning, and then, for the first hour of the day, as you move forward on your camel, he stands at your near side, and makes you know that the whole day's toil is before you: then for a while, and for a long while, you see him no more - for you are veiled and shrouded, and dare not look upon the greatness of his glory; but you know where he strikes overhead by the touch of his flaming sword. No words are spoken; but your Arabs moan, your camels sigh, your skin glows, your shoulders ache; and for sights you see the pattern and web of the silk that veils your eyes, and the glare of the outer light; but conquering Time marches on, and by and by the descending sun has compassed the heaven, and now softly touches your right arm, and throws your lank shadow over the sand, right along on the way to Persia." Beyond the Euphrates to the Tigris, with the exception of slips along the two rivers, the country is a desert of burning sands and sterile gypsum, thickly studded with saline and sulphurous pools; and farther eastward the zone of deserts may be traced through Persia, Grand Tartary, and the great central plateau of Asia, extending thus in an almost continuous band of varying breadth from the Atlantic Ocean to the wall of China. Analogous phenomena to those of the Sahara — the mirage and encroaching sands —are displayed through the greater part of this zone, which proceeds in a circle, the arc of which is directed towards the south, through the whole of the ancient world. Especially in some regions of South-western Asia has the dry element sensibly advanced. Once rich and blooming territories, celebrated by the Persian poets as paradisiacal, the theatre of heroic deeds, the seat of political power and intellectual culture, the site of cities which in size and splendor were second to none in Asia, have been visited by the movable sand, leaving but few evidences of former grandeur and 440 WONDERS OF THE EARTH fertility apparent. At Samarcand and Bokhara, celebrated sovereign cities, from which, in the middle ages, bold and chivalrous princes overspread the East with their flying squadrons, the sands have with difficulty been kept at bay. The River Sihun has been compelled to alter its course, and the mighty Oxus of the ancients, according to historical evidence, has lost its Caspian arm in a struggle with the desert. Setting aside the fertile oases, Humboldt supposes the area of the sandy deserts, leaving out those of Central Asia, to be three hundred thousand square leagues. Those of the Tartarian table land cannot be less than a hundred thousand more, and adding a hundred thousand for similar tracts in Midland and Southern Africa, with some other districts, we have a grand total of half a million of square leagues of such surface in the old world - a space equal to the whole extent of Europe. The deserts to which the preceding notices refer are for the most part hot, sandy districts, or experience great alterations of heat and cold. Independently of these, there are cold tracts of low land, chiefly found in the northern regions of Asia. From the declivities of the Ural on the west to the coast of Kamschatka on the east, and from the foot of the Altaian Mountains on the south to the icy margin of the Arctic Ocean on the north, there is a country almost as large as Europe, a melancholy desert, in which, in latitude sixty-seven degrees, the growth of trees ceases altogether; and a little higher up the soil is frozen the whole year through, some few inches of the surface alone being subject to an annual thaw: but at a short distance from the surface, throughout Siberia, a bottom of perpetually frost-bound soil is met with. Gmelin the elder, in his Travels, states that shortly after the foundation of the town of Yakuzk, in latitude sixty-two and a half degrees north, at the end of the seventeenth century, the soil of that place was found to be frozen at a depth of ninety-one feet, and that the people were compelled to give up the design of sinking a well —a statement corroborated in our days by AND THE HEAVENS. 441 the travels of Erman and Humboldt. Until very lately nothing was known respecting the thickness of the frozen surface; but within these few years a merchant of the name of Schargin, having attempted to sink a well at Yakuzk, was about to abandon the project in despair of obtaining water, when Admiral Wrangel persuaded him to continue his operations till he had perforated the whole stratum of ice. This was done, and at the depth of three hundred and eighty-two feet the soil was found very loose, and the temperature of the earth was thirty-one degrees Fahrenheit. The external appearance of these cold districts is admirably depicted by a writer quoted by Berghaus. With painful feelings, he states, the traveller observes the trees diminishing in height the nearer he approaches the icy sea. At ninety German miles from the sea, erect and lofty larch trees afford a veil to expiring nature; but from this point their number diminishes, and they become small and crippled. The coating of moss that covers the tree is thicker than the stem itself; but nothing can save it from the destroying breath of the north. Some thin birches endeavor to contend against this fearful foe, but they perish when scarcely sprung from the bosom of the earth; and seventy degrees of latitude may be assigned as the limit of the growth of trees. It is only the moss, the true child of the north, which thrives and blooms even in the midst of winter, and scantily covers a soil which has been barren for thousands of years. From the last tree to the frozen ocean extends an enormous desert covered with lakes and lagoons. Some of the lakes are large and deep, and rich in fish, their lofty banks consisting of level beds of earth and ice, the ice covering the earth. Throughout this region a deathlike silence reigns, seldom interrupted except by the summer birds of passage. WTe now proceed to notice the flat lands of the new continent. A large portion of South America is only slightly raised above the level of the ocean. Supposing, as the effect of some particular attraction, the waters of the Atlantic to be 56 442 WONDERS OF THE EARTH raised fifty fathoms at the mouth of the Orinoco, and two hundred fathoms at that of the Amazon, the flood would cover over more than one half of that part of the new world, and the billows of the sea would dash against the eastern slope or foot of the Andes, which is now nearly two thousand miles from the coast of Brazil. Comparatively low, transverse ridges, running east and west, divide South America into three great districts. Through the northern district the Orinoco flows; through the central, the Amazon; and through the southern, the La Plata. The country on each side of these rivers consists of enormous levels, to which the terms llanos, selvas, and pampas are applied, distinguishing the regions bordering on these mighty streams, in the order in which they have been named. The llanos border on the Orinoco, and are plains, including the vast area of two hundred and sixty thousand square miles, at the mean height of two hundred feet above the level of the sea, sluggishly, therefore, bearing tributary streams to the great watercourse. The name is an abbreviation of locaplana, and was applied to them by the first Spanish conquerors, on account of their singular flatness. Humboldt has described the llanos with great felicity, and presents us with the following graphic picture: "The sun," he thus commences, "on our entrance into the basin of llanos, stood almost in the zenith; the ground, wherever it was naked and destitute of plants, was of a temperature which attained forty-eight or fifty degrees. No breeze was perceptible at the height on which we were sitting on our mules, yet there arose, in the midst of this apparent repose, an incessant cloud of dust driven by light breaths of wind, which swept only the surface of the ground, and produced differences of temperature, which were imparted to the naked sand and the spots of grass. These sand winds increase the suffocating heat of the air. Every grain of sand, hotter than the atmosphere which surrounds it, beams on all sides, and it becomes difficult to measure the temperature without the grains of sand beating AND THE HEAVENS. 443 against the ball of the thermometer. All around us the plains seemed to rise to heaven, and this vast and silent desert appeared to our eyes like a sea which is covered with sea weed, or the algae of the deep sea. According to the inequality of the mass of vapor floating in the atmosphere, and the alternating temperature of the breezes contending against each other, was the appearance of the horizon —in some places clear and sharply defined, in others wavy, crooked, and, as it were, striped. The earth there seemed to mingle with heaven. Through the dry mist we perceived palm trees in the distance. Stripped of their leaves and their green summits, these stems resembled the masts of a ship which one descries in the horizon at sea. There is something sublime, yet mournful, in the uniform spectacle of these steppes. Every thing in them appears immovable, except that perchance, occasionally, the shadow of a small cloud which passes over the zenith and announces the approach of the rainy season, falls on the savanna. I know not whether the first feeling of surprise at the first view of the llanos is not as great as at the first view of the chain of the Andes. Mountainous regions, however high even their highest points may be, have an analogous physiognomy; but it is only with difficulty that the eye can accustom itself to the llanos of Venezuela and Casanare - to the pampas of Buenos Ayres and of Chaco, which incessantly, and during journeys of from twenty to thirty days, remind one of the watery mirror of the tropic sea. I had seen the llanos or plains of La Mancha in Spain, and the haiden, which extend from the extreme point of Jutland, through Luneburg and Westphalia, to the mouth of the Scheldt. These haiden are true steppes, from which during centuries mankind have only been able to win a few small spots for the plough; yet these plains of the west and north of Europe afford but a faint image of the immeasurable llanos of South America." The llanos exhibit a somewhat various aspect, the grasses rising to the height of four feet in the neighborhood of the streams, which only reach a few inches at a distance from 444 WONDERS OF THE EARTH them. The palms and dicotyledonous plants are also more abundant in such situations, and here is the favorite haunt of the jaguar, the tiger of the western continent, lying in wait for some straggler from the droves of horses that occupy these plains. But different seasons of the year produce a wonderful alteration in the appearance of these districts, particularly those which are removed from the watercourses. The surface displays a beautiful green verdure in the rainy season, but in the dry months its aspect is that of a desert. At that period the grasses wither, and are reduced to powder, the ground cracks, the crocodiles and great serpents remain embedded in the dried mud, till the showers of returning spring awaken them from their lethargy, when the whole scene changes, and puts on an air of great luxuriance. Humboldt determined by barometrical observations that the llanos have not more than a height of from forty to fifty fathoms above the level of the sea. Hence the streams are sluggish, their motion in some places scarcely perceptible, and the slightest wind upon the Orinoco contrary to its course will suffice to raise its waters, and drive back the rivers that are tributary to it. There is then the phenomenon exhibited of water ascending and descending in the same channel, a mass of standing water separating the two, in which whirlpools are formed by the disturbance of the equipoise. The same authority strikingly dilates upon the almost liquid uniformity of the surface of these regions, large spaces occurring without an elevation a foot high. But notwithstanding their appatrent uniformity of level, the llanos offer two kinds of inequalities. There are banks of limestone and sandstone, or bancos, standing four or five feet above the plains, sometimes several leagues in length, quite flat at the top; and vaulted elevations, or mesas, rising imperceptibly a few feet, which occasion the divertia aquarum of Livy, the parting of the waters, where the river flows in opposite directions. The streams which proceed southward to the Orinoco, and northward to the coast of Terra Firma, have their course determined by these convexities of the AND THE HEAVENS. 445 surface which lie between them, and are of very trivial elevation. According to Humboldt, the general level face which these regions present; the extraordinary rareness of habitations; the periodical difficulties of traversing dried downs, under a burning sky, and in an atmosphere darkened with dust; the aspect of the horizon, which incessantly seems to fly before the traveller; the isolated stems of palm trees which all possess the same physiognomy, and which appear never to be reached, because confounded with other stems which gradually appear to view, - all these causes, taken together, make the llanos apparently much larger than they really are. Still they unfold immense spaces of surface completely monotonous, equal in extent to the distance between Paris and Naples, and in some instances from Timbuctoo to the northern margin of the Sahara. The central level of South America bears the local name of selvas, (woods,) and extends along both sides of the River Amazon, from the Andes to the ocean. It embraces an area about six times larger than France, and of equal size with European Russia. It is an immense forest region, with open patches of a similar character to the llanos, intersected by numerous rivers flowing into the great basin of the Amazon. This district is but little known to Europeans, except on the borders of the streams; and many of these have not been traversed through the whole of their course. The powerful vegetation here conceals, in a great measure, the uniform level of the soil. The trees attain a great height, with straight, clear stems, the foliage uniting in a canopy above, and leaving all beneath in perfect shade and quiet. This longitudinal development is unfavorable to protracted existence, as age and climate soon attack the trees; but others very speedily fill up their vacant places. These primeval woods occupy about seven hundred and nineteen thousand square miles of territory; and including the waters, enclosed open plains, and some ranges of hills, the whole surface presents an area of two million three hundred and forty thousand. The trees vary 446 WONDERS OF THE EARTH greatly in species, scarcely any two trees standing together being of the same kind. Thirty or forty different species are found in an area of twenty square yards. Bushes and creepers fill up the intervals between them, uniting the whole together, and constituting a woody fabric which defies the intrusion of man. South of the forest-covered plain of the Amazon, we come to the third great level of South America, - the region of the pampas, an Indian word signifying a flat, given to districts which are true steppes, — plains rich in grass, but without trees. They extend in an almost uninterrupted band from latitude fifteen degrees south to forty-five degrees, or about eighteen hundred geographical miles, by a width varying from three hundred to nine hundred; and while at one extremity we find the palm, at the other, where the ground is extremely low, it is covered with perpetual ice. Sir Francis Head describes the pampas, stretching from Buenos Ayres to the Andes, as a vast plain, divided into regions of different climate and produce. The first of these regions is covered with clover and thistles; the second region produces long grass; and the third region, which reaches the base of the Cordillera, is a grove of low trees and shrubs. The second and third of these regions exhibit nearly the same appearance throughout the year. The trees and shrubs are evergreens, and the immense plain of grass only changes its color from, green to brown. But the first region varies with the four seasons of the year in a most extraordinary manner. In winter the leaves of the thistles are large and luxuriant, and the whole surface of the country has the rough appearance of a turnip field. The clover in this season is extremely rich and strong; and the sight of the wild cattle grazing in full liberty on such pasture is very beautiful. In spring the clover has vanished, the leaves of the thistles have extended along the ground, and the country still looks like a rough crop of turnips. In less than a month the change is most extraordinary; the whole region becomes a luxuriant wood of enormous thistles, which have AND THE HEAVENS. 447 suddenly shot up,to a height of ten or eleven feet, and are all in full bloom. The road or path is hemmed in on both sides; the view is completely obstructed; not an animal is to be seen; and the stems of the thistles are so close to each other, and so strong, that, independently of the prickles with which they are armed, they form an impenetrable barrier. The sudden growth of these plants is quite astonishing; and though it would be an unusual misfortune in military history, yet it is really possible that an invading army, unacquainted with this country, might be imprisoned by these thistles before they had time to escape from them. The summer is not over before the scene undergoes another rapid change; the thistles suddenly lose their sap and verdure; their heads droop; the leaves shrink and fade; the stems become black and dead; and they remain rattling with the breeze one against another, until the violence of the pampero or hurricane levels them with the ground, where they rapidly decompose and disappear- the clover rushes up, and the scene is again verdant. Such, in the main, is Captain Head's description of the extraordinary spectacle, which has doubtless been annually exhibited by this division of the pampas ever since its emergence from the ocean, under whose billows it once lay. It must not be imagined, however, that the region of the pampas displays uniformly this vigorous vegetation. There are large spaces which are absolutely sterile tracts of sand and stone, but surrounded with districts sufficiently luxuriant to pasture enormous droves of cattle, which are more or less under the dominion of man. Along the foot of the Andes, the streams from the mountains collect in large lakes, swamps, lagoons of prodigious size, and wide-spreading salines. The swamp or lagoon of Ybera, of one thousand square miles, is entirely covered with aquatic plants. These swamps are swollen to thousands of square miles by the annual floods of the rivers, which also inundate the pampas, leaving a fertilizing coat of mud. Multitudes of animals perish in the floods, and the drought that 448 WONDERS OF THE EARTH sometimes succeeds is more fatal. Between the years 1830 and 1832, two millions of cattle died from want of food. Millions of animals are sometimes destroyed by casual and dreadful conflagrations in these countries when covered with dry grass and thistles. The northern division of the western continent contains a single connected tract of flat country, which forms the central part of North America, reaching from the coasts of the Mexican Gulf to the inhospitable shores of Hudson's Bay and the Arctic Sea. This vast region, almost as large as the whole of Europe, is the site of two of the greatest river systems of the earth, that of the Mississippi with its affluents, and that of the St. Lawrence with the chain of the Canadian lakes. No prominent elevation appears between these rivers pursuing different directions, serving as a watershed; and as little observable is the elevation of the partition which separates the streams flowing to the St. Lawrence and to Hudson's Bay. Both have a very gentle descent, and proceed from unimportant heights above the level of the sea. Lake Superior is only six hundred feet above the level of the ocean, Lake Erie five hundred and twenty-eight feet, and Lake Ontario two hundred and sixteen feet, while the plains about Cincinnati have scarcely an absolute height of four hundred and eighty feet, and yet the Ohio is there fourteen hundred' miles from its confluence with the sea by means of the Mississippi. In this great district a person may have been born, may have lived to old age, and travelled much, without once seeing an elevation worthy of the name of mountain. It extends through all zones of vegetation, having palms and bamboos in its southern portions, while its northern margin, during great part of the year, is covered with snow and ice. Flint, the geographer, classes under the three distinct aspects of the wooded, the barrens, and the prairie country, the general surface of this territory. In the timber region the trees are remarkable for the grandeur of their form and size. Frequently there are but few low shrubs, and the large, tall trees are branchless a -, --—,~~~~~~~~~=Z ~-~~ —-— ~ —-~- ------— Q6the brokside ever grainof said upo the eashor, is rajj()l,,j -i tll jesolls —-----.;r~;~-~~ ~ -~ —-~-I~~ -i-~-~~ ~L = ---- — ~~of wisdom to~_~ the nihi which s fitte to reciv and omprehed its smi lie mpol-t. AND THE HEAVENS. 449 considerable way up, their smooth, straight trunks appearing like stately pillars. The rays of the sun playing upon the magnificent upper foliage, and glancing through it, give to the forest the aspect of a cathedral in which the light is modified by the stained windows, and falls in tinted streams upon the Gothic arches and columns. The barrens, or barren grounds, exhibit an undulating surface covered with long, coarse grass, interspersed with copses of hazel and underwood, and a few stunted oaks scattered here and there, which resemble the masts of ships seen at a distance. They are found east and west of the Mississippi, and occupy extensive spaces, -but are chiefly situate along the margin of the Alleghany and Rocky Mountains, where they form a series of small plateaus. The remaining, and by far the most extensive division, is that of the prairies, which exhibit no inconsiderable diversity of aspect. These are immense meadows, classed as wet, or dry, or heathy, according to their character. The heathy prairies are covered with bushes of hazel and furze, small sassafras shrubs, with grape vines, and an infinite variety of flowers in the summer season. The wet prairies occur by the side of the great watercourses, and are scenes of exhaustless' fertility-almost dead levels; but they are found also apart from the rivers, and form insalubrious marshes, like the Dismal Swamp in Virginia, and the great morasses of Florida. The dry prairies constitute the most extensive class, and are for the most part destitute of springs, and of all vegetation but weeds, flowering plants, and grass. They are the plains over which the buffaloes range, without wood or water, on which the traveller may wander for days, beholding the heavens on every side sinking to contact with the grass, and hearing little beyond his own footfall. They have gently undulating and wavy surfaces, which has originated the name of the rolling prairies. "After a toilsome march," says Washington Irving, " of some distance through a country cut up by ravines and brooks, and entangled by thickets, we emerged upon a grand prairie. Here one of the 57 450 WONDERS OF THE EARTH characteristic scenes of the' Far West' broke upon us -an immense extent of grassy, undulating, or, as it is termed,' rolling' country, with here and there a clump of trees dimly seen in the distance, like a ship at sea, the landscape deriving sublimity from its vastness and simplicity. To the south-west, on the summit of a hill, was a singular crest of broken rocks, resembling a ruined fortress. It reminded me of the ruin of some Moorish castle crowning a height in the midst of a lovely Spanish landscape. The weather was verging into that serene, but somewhat arid season, called the Indian summer. There was a smoky haze in the atmosphere that tempered the brightness of the sunshine into a golden tint, softening the features of the landscape, and giving a vagueness to the outlines of distant objects. This haziness was daily increasing, and was attributed to the burning of distant prairies by the Indian hunting parties." The richer prairies are scenes of astonishing beauty during the months of vegetation, owing to the variety and hues of the flowering plants, with their tall, arrowy stems, and spiked or tasselled heads. Through the summer months there is a distinct succession of dominant colors, the prairie appearing like a carpet of purple velvet in spring, passing to one of red at midsummer, and gold in autumn. Striking examples of these districts in the western world appear upon a small scale upon the surface of the level land of Europe. Though this has already been cursorily noticed, yet it deserves another glance. The great space extending from the shores of the Black to the coasts of the White Sea, and from the western foot of the Ural Mountains to the English Channel and the Atlantic Ocean, presents savannas, pri. meval forests, barrens, morasses, and the most richly cultivated plains, alternating with each other in a manner the most diversified, inhabited in some parts by nations of the highest degree of intelligence, while in others nomadic tribes wander on its surface from pasture to pasture. Surprise has often been excited at the enormous droves of oxen, horses, and AND THE HEAVENS. 451 mules that feed upon the plains of America; but the aggregate amount which find pasture upon the European levels is not less prodigious, the number of oxen, cows, and calves, alone, sustained upon those flats of the Danube that are within the limits of the Austrian monarchy, being estimated at upwards of thirteen millions. The south and south-western ~parts of the vast Sarmatian plain, which includes nearly the whole of European Russia, has, large districts of rich, black loam of almost incredible fertility. This is remarkably the case with the great, wide plateau of Podolia and Volhynia, which abuts against the outliers of the Carpathian Mountains. " The traveller," says a very attentive observer, "who proceeds from the north to the south, sees it afar in the blue horizon, hails it as a happy island after having traversed, for days together, monotonous fields of sand, or the melancholy and gigantic morasses of Katner and Pinsk; nor will he find himself deceived in his expectations. He reaches a region as rich and fruitful as it is kind and hospitable; he finds lovely landscapes and beautiful tracts of country." The origin of the peculiar black, vegetable earth which distinguishes this southern margin of the Sarmatian plain, has thus been intimated by Dubois. If we remember, he remarks, that this territory was in early times covered with a splendid growth of trees; that even at the time of Herodotus the Scythians cultivated it, rooting up the woods, according to their ancient usage, considering them as so many encroachments upon their tracts of pasture; that those nomadic races, the Tartars, who drove their numerous herds on this great highway of Oriental nations, inherited the Scythian aversion to trees -if we remember these facts, we shall not be surprised at finding that these beds of thick, black, vegetable earth now form a mine of gold to the country. Westward, along the banks of the Vistula, between the town of Thorn and the sea, we have plains celebrated for their fertility and productiveness, which now fill the granaries of Dantzic with corn, and which the German knights rescued from the waves in the thirteenth century, and rendered 452 WONDERS OF THE EARTH them integral portions of the continent by artificial mounds similar to those which at present, to a greater extent, defend them from the waters of the Baltic. The dike of the plain of Marienburg, it is known, existed before the year 1397; and that of the plain of Thorn has now an'extent of forty-five German miles, without including its numerous small windings and turns. Immediately contiguous are plains which remain in their original condition, and are only in part used as pastures, being overgrown with bushes, the haunts of wild animals. Here also lie the remains of one of the aboriginal forests of Lithuania, a waste of wood consisting of firs, pine trees, and oaks, which man has seldom visited, and into the interior of which the axe of the woodman has never penetrated. It bears the name of Niezarow, or the " unknown country," as the number of stems which have fallen upon and across one another render it thoroughly impassable. An abundance of moose deer, bears, lynxes, and wolves inhabit this forest region, in the heart of Europe, which is analogous to the selvas of the Amazon. Compared with the north of Germany, the spring here begins late, and is short; the summer is foggy and stormy; and the mean temperature lower than that of more northerly districts. Proceeding in a westerly direction, the flat land traverses the north of Germany, and here forma a series of ascents and descents from the shores of the Baltic to the foot of the Alps, in which, however, the ascent becomes more marked as the south is approached. A line drawn from the Island of Usedom, at the mouth of the Oder, through New Strelitz, Berlin, Leipsic, Greitz, Baireuth, Ratisbon, and Munich, to the Tegern Lake, divides Germany into two parts, the east and west; and along its whole extent, there is only a single mountainous tract to pass over, which commences at Greitz, about the middle distance. Following this line from the north, the traveller gradually rises by a series of terraces, the loftiest of which, at whose southern margin the Alps with their high masses plunge into the depths beneath, stands about AND THE HEAVENS. 453 fourteen hundred feet above the spot where he commenced his journey. The physiognomy of the country through which he passes is of the most varied kind. At its northern extremity are the gently-undulating hills of Usedom, with their beautiful and verdant forests,' affording in open spots, on the one hand, a view of that billowy sea which only terminates with the sky, and on the other the tranquil waters of the mouth of the Oder are seen, with the coast of Pomerania, enlivened by numerous sails which the active commerce of Stettin sends into distant lands beyond the ocean, into other hemispheres and other climates. The coast of Pomerania is to a considerable extent an open cornfield, without a tree or bush, a fruitful solitude, wearisome from its sameness. Beyond, at the horizon, a sharp line arrests the eye - the heights of Mecklenburg, a district where the scene alters, and the abodes of a rich pop ulation appear, enclosed in fruitful gardens, around the capital of the beautiful country of New Strelitz. Farther towards the south the soil changes; sand becomes the prevailing element, and woods of the gloomy pine and common fir intermingle with the meagre sand fields on which man can only obtain a scanty subsistence from the earth. This is the prevailing character of the country through the Mark of Brandenburg, the whole of which is covered with erratic blocks, many of enormous size, which some great inundation has apparently borne hither from their native Scandinavian bed. Reaching the Elbe, a new soil commences on its southern bank; luxuriant cornfields appear, which only become more productive, till the fruitful fields of Leipsic open before us. The great plain we have been following from the Baltic ends at Greitz, on the White Elster; and at the south bank of the river, the traveller ascends the first terrace of the plateau of Southern Germany. It is not, however, a ridge which he attains, but a plain, reaching to Gera, where he beholds before him plains again and again, which rise, like terraces, one above the other. Farther on, he wanders through narrow valleys overshadowed by the powerful stems of the red and 454 WONDERS OF THE EARTH white fir, leading to the foot of the mountain chain whichl abuts against the ramparts of Bohemia. The valley plain of the Maine is now entered, presenting variegated meadows, rich cornfields, the red roofs of innumerable villages; and afterwards we proceed to the plateau of the Upper Palatinate, which, by its barrenness, strikingly contrasts with the region we have just left. The northern fir, here and there mixed with the pine, becomes again the prevailing tree; and the country has all the aspect of the plains of Brandenburg, till we arrive, by a wood of pines passing over a mountain ridge, within sight of the venerable Ratisbon. WTild and deep rushes the Danube past its walls, not so much splashing as foaming against the pillars of the lofty bridge which conducts us across a fertile plain, with wavy elevations, to the valley of the Isar, which forms only a moderate depression in it. Here, standing on some heights near the small town of Freising, the traveller sees on the southern horizon what he thinks at first a mere vapor in the air - a heap of clouds, the edges of which appear serrated. It is the Alps. Over a plain more smooth and level than any which are observed in the north of Germany, we travel to the capital, Munich, which, with all its palaces and monuments, stands in the midst of a large, unattractive level, extending, with few interruptions, to the Tegern Lake, one of the entrance gates of the Alps. The level land of the north of Germany extends westward through Holland, Belgium, and France; and in the latter country it surrounds in a great arc, with but few interruptions, that system of mountains which, rising in Cevennes, extends to the Lower Rhine. Great diversity in the form and soil of the surface, and the nature of its cultivation, is the character of this part of the neighboring kingdom, which, with fertile and most fruitful districts, exhibits true steppes and actual deserts. The following sketch of a portion of this flat land - that on the western coast -is indebted for several of its features to the lively pictures of modern travellers. Setting out from the Pyrenees, and proceeding to Bourdeaux, we pass over AND THE HEAVENS. 455 the department of the Landes, the direct track lying through a wild, sandy desert, in many parts too unproductive even for sheep walks, in others presenting forests of pine of vast extent. The peasantry live in solitary cabins, employed in cultivating the soil where it is not absolutely sterile; tending hardy sheep, or making charcoal in the woods; traversing the deserts on stilts in order to pass the intervening morasses dry shod. Reaching the wide and bay-formed mouth of the Gironde, in which its waters lose the wild tempestuousness which marks their early career in the Pyrenees, we meet with a country on the right bank, which in appearance is tolerably rich, covered with plantations of vines, and sinking softly in innumerable hills down to the sea. The chain of sand on the sea coast is bordered by a beautiful alternation of fields, woods, and meadows, with villages bearing the aspect of cleanliness and comfort, their white houses and green window shutters contributing to the agreeable effect of the landscape. Here is the district of Saintonge, which, with its waving valleys and classic reputation, acquired in poetry the name of the Flower of France. Along the whole coast lighthouses have been erected, that of the tower of Cordouan, built by order of Henry IV., being the most ancient and admired, and the most celebrated, in France. It stands on a rock two miles out amid the waves, announcing the vicinity of a dangerous coast; and the fancy readily turns to it as a memorial of sorrow, on the grave of a city ingulfed by the encroaching waters — the Novioregum of antiquity. A melancholy spectacle is presented farther north, towards Rochefort —that of flat, barren wastes, and salt marshes, with here and there a spot planted with trees, and occasionally there is a village deserted and in ruins, high grass, and elder bushes mingling with its remains. It is hence with pleasure that the traveller descries the dome of the hospital and the walls of Rochefort; but, notwithstanding its fresh and smiling aspect, and the pleasant murmuring of its large elms, the town has been literally snatched, at an immense cost, from the 456 WONDERS OF THE EARTH morass, and no sooner is it passed than the dismal swamp again appears. The whole road to La Rochelle is of a melancholy character, and especially so if traversed under a cloudy sky. It crosses a dreary steppe, of which the sea is the limit on one hand, and which is apparently boundless on the other. At distant intervals are a few tamarind trees; or a lonely farmhouse sends out its gloomy smoke; or some conical hayricks are passed, standing round a neglected barn; or a meagre horse, with scanty mane, stands beside the road and neighs at the approaching storm. The sea beats against the foundations of the road, and the seamews cross it, driven by the wind, their white wings contrasting strongly with the dark and lowering clouds. Thus, at both extremities of the flat land of Europe, the western, where it reaches the Atlantic, and the eastern, where it ends with the Caspian, - we find the same superficial aspect - a monotonous, desolate, and treeless waste. i~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~I~ (Ji,~ ~!~ i!~~.i'~i,~?..l~t."~-. _,.... "~,~,~/'~:i~ ~,~,,'~ \~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~: \ oteo p n o ote r i...,~ I i, 1~ ~i~,' ~i ~l~%~ ~!!!I ~;1,ti,~,~,~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ \~.~~~~~~~~~~~~?,1, ~..'~~~~~i.:\~~~~~~~~~~~'~-'~~~~,,-'~, i/ /""" i_'- B~l ~,i -'~~ ~!ii'~i X~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~n, ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~itii 1111\ \\ i-s~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~! ii.?.;~;~I: ~~~~\il f/ l/~I/~!/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~'' i "~ ]~~saet teHt pinsi agre fth ierTmna wizrarml AND THE HEAVENS. 457 CHAPTER XIV. SPRINGS. - ARTESIAN WELLS. --- WELL AT PARIS, EIGHTEEN HUNDRED FEET DEEP. —-WELL AT ST. LoUIS, TWO THOUSAND TWO HUNDRED FEET DEEP. -— SUBTERRANEAN RIVULET, CONTAINING FISH, DISCOVERED AT THE DEPTH OF ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY-SIX FEET, BY SINKING A WELL. - PERENNIAL AND INTERMITTENT SPRINGS. - SPRINGS AND WELLS THAT EBB AND FLOW DAILY. -HOT SPRI.NGS. -SPRINGS THAT THROW UP JETS OF HOT WATER. -THE GREAT GEYSER. - NAPHTHA AND ROCK OIL SPRINGS. -INFLAMMABLE GAS SPRINGS. - MINERAL SiRINGS. - PETRIFYING OR INCRUSTING SPRINGS. EVERY one is familiar with the fact, that certain porous soils, such as loose sand and gravel, absorb water with rapidity, and that the ground composed of them soon dries up after heavy showers. If a well be sunk in such soils, we often penetrate to considerable depths before we meet with water; but this is usually found on our approaching the lower parts of the formation, where it rests on some impervious bed; for here the water, unable to make its way downwards in a direct line, accumulates as in a reservoir, and is ready to ooze out into any opening which may be made, in the same manner as we see the salt water flow into, and fill, any hollow which we dig in the sands of the shore at low tide. Thifacility with which water can percolate loose and gravelly soils is clearly illustrated by the effect of the tides in the Thames, between Richmond and London. The river, in this part of its course, flows through a bed of gravel overlying clay, and the porous superstratum is alternately saturated by the water of the Thames as the tide rises, and then drained again to the distance of several hundred feet from the banks 58 458 WONDERS OF THE EARTH when the tide falls, so that the wells in this tract regularly ebb and flow. If the transmission of water through a porous medium be so rapid, we cannot be surprised that springs should be thrown out on the side of a hill, where the upper set of strata consists of chalk, sand, or other permeable substances, while the subjacent are composed of clay or other retentive soils. The only difficulty, indeed, is to explain why the water does not ooze out every where along the line of junction of the two formations, so as to form one continuous land soak, instead of a few springs only, and these far distant from each other. The principal cause of this concentration of the waters at a few points is, first, the frequency of rents and fissures, which act as natural drains; secondly, the existence of inequalities in the upper surface of the impermeable stratum, which lead the water, as valleys do on the external surface of a country, into certain low levels and channels. That the generality of springs owe their supply to the atmosphere is evident from this, that they become languid, or entirely cease to flow, after long droughts, and are again replenished after a continuance of rain. Many of them are probably indebted for the constancy and uniformity of their volume to the great extent of the subterranean reservoirs with which they communicate, and the time required for these to empty themselves by percolation. Such a gradual and regulated discharge is exhibited, though in a less perfect degree, in every great lake which is not sensibly affected in its level by sudden showers, but only slightly raised; so that its channel of efflux, instead of being swollen suddenly like the bed of a torrent, is enabled to carry off the surplus water gradually. Much light has been thrown, of late years, on the theory of springs, by the boring of what are called by the French "Artesian wells," because the method has long been known and practised in Artois; and it is now demonstrated that there are sheets, and in some places currents, of fresh water at various depths in the earth. The instrument employed in - I bI Ih.V~~~~~~~~~~ ii ~' cu An hilmr:nmtble sprinlg, in Rushville, N. Y. By applying a lighted match, the gas which issues from the w, ter!bursts into flame, and contfinues to I urn. A picnic palrtv asscilblcd here are preparillg tea. 8ee page 484. AND THE HEAVENS. 459 excavating these wells is a large auger, and the cavity bored is usually from three to four inches in diameter. If a hard rock is met with, it is first triturated by an iron rod, and the materials, being thus reduced to small fragments or powder, are readily extracted. To hinder the sides of the well from falling in, as also to prevent the spreading of the ascending water in the surrounding soil, a jointed pipe is introduced, formed of wood in Artois, but in other countries more commonly of metal. It frequently happens that, after passing through hundreds of feet of retentive soils, a water-bearing stratum is at length pierced, when the fluid immediately ascends to the surface and flows over. The first rush of the water up the tube is often violent, so that for a time the water plays like a fountain, and then, sinking, continues to flow over tranquilly, or sometimes remains stationary at a certain depth below the orifice of the well. This spouting of the water in the first instance is probably owing to the disengagement of air and carbonic acid gas, for both of these have been seen to bubble up with the water. At Sheerness, at the mouth of the Thames, a well was bored on a low tongue of land near the sea, through three hundred feet of the blue clay of London, below which a bed of sand and pebbles was entered, belonging, doubtless, to the plastic clay formation: when this stratum was pierced, the water burst up with impetuosity, and filled the well. By another perforation at the same place, the water was found at the depth of three hundred and twenty-eight feet below the surface clay; it first rose rapidly to the height of one hundred and eighty-nine feet, and then, in the course of a few hours, ascended to an elevation of eight feet above the level of the ground. In 1824 a well was dug at Fulham, near the Thames, at the Bishop of London's, to the depth of three hundred and seventeen feet, which, after traversing the tertiary strata, was continued through sixty-seven feet of chalk. The water immediately rose to the surface, and the discharge was about fifty gallons per minute. In the garden of the 460 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Horticultural Society at Chiswick, the borings passed through nineteen feet of gravel, two hundred forty-two and a half feet of clay and loam, and sixty-seven and a half feet of chalk, and the water then rose to the surface from a depth of three hundred and twenty-nine feet. At the Duke of Northumberland's, above Chiswick, the borings were carried to the extraordinary depth of six hundred and twenty feet, so as to enter the chalk, when a considerable volume of water was obtained, which rose four feet above the surface of the ground. In a well of Mr. Brooks, at Hammersmith, the rush of water from a depth of three hundred and sixty feet was so great, as to inundate several buildings and do considerable damage; and at Tooting, a sufficient stream was obtained to turn a wheel, and raise the water to the upper stories of the houses. In 1838 the total supply obtained from the chalk near London was estimated at six million gallons a day, and in 1851 at nearly double that amount, the increase being accompanied by an average fall of no less than two feet a year in the level to which the water rose. The water stood commonly, in 1822, at high water mark, and had sunk in 1851 to forty-five, and in some wells to sixty-five feet below high water mark. This fact shows the limited capacity of the subterranean reservoir. In the last of three wells bored through the chalk, at Tours, to the depth of several hundred feet, the water rose thirty-two feet above the level of the soil, and the discharge amounted to three hundred cubic yards of water every twenty-four hours. By way of experiment the sinking of a well was commenced at Paris in 1834, which had reached, in November, 1839, a depth of more than sixteen hundred English feet, and yet no water ascended to the surface. The government were persuaded by M. Arago to persevere, if necessary, to the depth of more than two thousand feet; but when they had descended above eighteen hundred English feet below the surface, the water rose through the tube, (which was about ten inches in diameter,) so as to discharge half a million of gallons of limpid water every twenty-four hours. The tem AND THE HEAVENS. 461 perature of the water increased at the rate of one degree eight minutes Fahr. for every one hundred and one English feet, as they went down, the result agreeing very closely with the anticipations of the scientific advisers of this undertaking. In St. Louis, Missouri, there is an Artesian well, the depth of which exceeds that of the celebrated one at Paris by more than four hundred feet. ~. The rise and overflow of the water in Artesian wells is generally referred, and apparently with reason, to the same principle as the play of an artificial fountain. Let the porous stratum, or set of strata, a a, rest on the impermeable rock d, and be covered by another mass of an impermeable nature. The whole,mass a a may easily, in such a position, become saturated with water, which may descend from its higher and exposed parts - a hilly region, to which clouds are attracted, and where rain falls in abundance. Suppose that at some point, as at b, an opening be made, which gives a free passage upwards to the waters confined in a a, at so low a level that they are subjected to the pressure of a considerable column of water collected in the more elevated portion of the same stratum. The water will then rush out, just as the liquid from a large barrel which is tapped, and it will rise to a height corresponding to the level of its point of departure, or, rather, to a height which balances the pressure previously exerted by the confined waters against the roof and sides of the stratum or reservoir a a. In like manner, if there happen to be a natural fissure c, a spring will be produced at the surface on precisely the same principle. Among the causes of the failure of Artesian wells, we may mention those numerous rents and faults which abound in 462 WONDERS OF THE EARTH some rocks, and the deep ravines and valleys by which many countries are traversed; for, when these natural lines of drainage exist, there remains a small quantity only of water to escape by artificial issues. We are also liable to be baffled by the great thickness either of porous or impervious strata, or by the dip of the beds, which may carry off the waters from adjoining high lands to some trough in an opposite direction, as when the borings are made at the foot of an escarpment where the strata incline inwards, or in a direction opposite to the face of the cliffs. The mere distance of hills or mountains need not discourage us from making trials; for the waters which fall on these higher lands readily penetrate to great depths through highlyinclined or vertical strata, or through the fissures of shattered rocks, and after flowing for a great distance, must often reamend and be brought up again by other fissures, so as to approach the surface in the lower country. Here they may be concealed beneath a covering of undisturbed horizontal beds, which it may be necessary to pierce in order to reach them. It should be remembered that the course of waters flowing under ground bears but a remote resemblance to that of rivers on the surface, there being in the one case a constant descent from a higher to a lower level from the source of the stream to the sea, whereas in the other the water may at one time sink far below the level of the ocean, and afterwards rise again high above it. Among other curious facts ascertained by aid of the borer, it is proved that in strata of different ages and compositions, there are often open passages by which the subterranean waters circulate. Thus, at St. Ouen, in France, five distinct sheets of water were intersected in a well, and from each of these a supply obtained. In the third water-bearing stratum, at the depth of one hundred and fifty feet, a cavity was found in which the borer fell suddenly about a foot, and thence the water ascended in great volume. The same falling of the instrument, as in a hollow space, has been remarked in other coun AND THE HEAVENS. 463 tries. There is in Lockport, New York, an Artesian well four hundred feet in depth, from the bottom of which rises a vein of salt water, holding in combination a large percentage of diliquescing chlorides, which, mingling with waters of other veins, produce instantaneous crystallizations of beautiful selenite in flattened eight-sided prisms of about an inch in length, an eighth of an inch in width, and a sixteenth of an inch in thickness. The laminae of these are so perfect that a single crystal may be divided, by means of heat, into two dozen distinct sheets. This well is accustomed to spout salt water for but a few moments at a time, and then, subsiding, remains quiet for the space of an hour, at the conclusion of which it again begins to puff and roar, and shoot forth its saline jets. When the workmen were sinking this well, the, auger, upon attaining a depth of two hundred and thirty-five feet, fell suddenly about fourteen feet, and reached the bottom of a subterranean river, flowing with so strong a current as to produce*a perceptible motion in the upper part of the stem of the auger. At Tours, in 1830, a well was perforated quite through the chalk, when the water suddenly brought up, from a depth of three hundred and sixty-four feet, a great quantity of fine sand, with much vegetable matter and shells. Branches of a thorn several inches long, much blackened by their stay in the water, were recognized, as also the stems of marsh plants, and some of their roots, which were still white, together with the seeds of the same in a state of preservation, which showed that they had not remained more than three or four months in the water. Among the seeds were those of the marsh plant galium uliginosum, and among the shells a fresh water species, (planorbis marginatus,) and some land species, as helix rotundata and helix striata. M. Dujardin, who, with others, observed this phenomenon, supposes that the waters had flowed from some valleys of Auvergne or the Vivarais since the preceding autumn. An analogous phenomenon is recorded at Reimke, near Bochum, in Westphalia, where the water of an Artesian 464 WONDERS OF THE EARTH well brought up, from a depth of one hundred and fifty-six feet, several small fish, three or four inches long, the nearest streams in the country being at the distance of some leagues. In each case it is evident that water had penetrated to great depths, not simply by filtering through a porous mass, — for then it would have left behind the shells, fish, and fragments of plants,- but by flowing through some open channels in the earth. Such examples may suggest the idea that the leaky beds of rivers are often the feeders of springs. In order to give a distinct, though general view of the curious and complicated phenomena of springs, they may be advantageously considered under different heads. 1. Perennial. - Some springs are ever flowing, and answer to the expression of sacred poetry -the "fountains of living water." They do not dry up during the longest continued drought, and suffer little or no diminution in their volume. These are obviously quite independent of the last showers that have fallen, though their supply may primarily proceed from the rain and melted snow. It is reasonable to suppose that they gush from a body of water collected in subterranean cavities, so vast as not to be drained off by the constant stream during the most protracted season of dry weather before the interior basin is replenished. Of this nature is the celebrated spring of St. Winifred, at Holywell, in Flintshire, England, one of the finest in the world, which appears to be situate at the point where the limestone first comes in contact with the coal measures. The quantity of water thrown up is estimated at eighty-four hogsheads, or twenty-one tons in a minute. It has never been known to fail, but is subject to reduction during drought. The stream never freezes; and though its course is little more than a mile before it arrives at the sea, yet eleven mills are put in motion by it. The spring issues from the rock into a beautiful polygonal well, over which the Stanley family erected a chapel about the time of Henry VII. Upon the windows the chief events of St. Winifred's life are painted. AND THE HEAVENS. 465 The saint is reported to have been a virgin martyr, who suffered upon this spot, the spring miraculously rising from her blood; and hence the veneration for the well in Popish times. Pennant says of his own time, "The custom of visiting this well in pilgrimage, and offering up devotions there, is not yet entirely set aside. In the summer a few are still to be seen in the water, in deep devotion, up to their clhins for hours, sending up their prayers, or performing a number of evolutions round the polygonal well. In the year 1686 James II: visited this well, and received as a reward a present of the very shift in which his great grandmother, Mary Queen of Scots, lost her head." There are springs similarly powerful along the confines of the limestone district, which vary very little in their quantity of water, either in drought or after the heaviest rains. About Denton, in Yorkshire, the roaring of the waters is incessant. 2. Intermittent.- Many springs gush with vehemence, then subside, shrink away, and disappear, renewing their tide in its full strength at irregular intervals. They clearly derive their supply from the last rains, and hence fail altogether in dry seasons. On the chalk downs of the south of England, in Wilts and Dorset, it is a very common circumstance for the valleys to be quite dry in one part of the year, and very fully watered in another; and hence a Wiltshire proverb says, - "As the days lengthen, the springs strengthen." 3. Reciprocating. - There are springs which exhibit phenomena analogous to the flux and reflux of the tides of the ocean - some at regular intervals during the day, and others at more distant and uncertain periods. In one of the two letters addressed by the younger Pliny to Licinius, he describes a spring of this kind by the Larian Lake, the modern Lake of Como: "I have brought you," he remarked, "as a present, out of the country, a query which well deserves the consideration of your extensive knowledge. There is a spring 59 466 WONDERS OF THE EARTH which rises in a neighboring mountain, and, running among the rocks, is received into a little banqueting room, from whence, after the force of its current is a little restrained, it falls into the Larian Lake. The nature of this spring is ex tremely surprising; it ebbs and flows regularly three times a day.' The increase and decrease are plainly visible, and very amusing to observers. You sit down by the side of the fountain, and whilst you are taking a repast, and drinking its water, which is extremely cool, you see it gradually rise and fall. If you place a ring, or any thing else, at the bottom when it is dry, the stream reaches it by degrees till it is entirely covered, and then gently retires; and if you wait you may see it thus alternately advance and recede three successive times. Shall we say that some secret current of air stops and opens the fountain head as it approaches to, or retires from it, as we see in bottles and other vessels of that nature when there is not a free and open passage? Though you turn their necks downwards, yet, the outward air obstructing the vent, they discharge their contents as it were by starts. But may it not be accounted for upon the same principle as the flux and reflux of the sea? Or, as those rivers which discharge themselves into the sea, meeting with contrary winds and the swell of the ocean, are forced back into their channels, so may there not be something that checks this fountain, for a time, in its progress' Or is there, rather, a certain reservoir that contains these waters in the bowels of the earth, which while it is recruiting its discharges, the stream flows more slowly and in less quantity, but when it has collected its due measure, it runs again in its usual strength and fulness? Or, lastly, is there I know not what kind of subterraneous counterpoise, that throws up the water when the fountain is dry, and stops it when it is full?' You, who are so well qualified for the inquiry, will examine the reasons of this wonderful phenomenon: it will be sufficient for me if I have given you a clear description of it. Farewell." The fact of the flow and ebb was reported, in antiquity, of AND THE HEAVENS. 467 a fountain, the celebrity of which is coextensive with the prevalence of Christianity itself: - " Siloa's brook, that flowed Fast by the oracle of God." The pool of Siloam is a reservoir of artificial construction, fifty-three feet long by eighteen broad, into which a small stream flows, and is led off to irrigate the gardens of fig and fruit trees that lie along the slope of the Valley of Jehoshaphat. The stream enters the pool through a subterranean channel cut in the solid rock, and comes from the fountain of the Virgin, higher up in the valley. The irregular flow of the water is first distinctly mentioned by Jerome in one of his Commentaries, towards the close of the fourth century, who remarks, " Siloam is a fountain at the foot of Mount Zion, whose waters do not flow regularly, but on certain days and hours, and issue with a great noise from hollows and caverns in the hardest rock." An earlier record in the same century - that of a still extant itinerary from Bourdeaux to Jerusalem - magnifies this circumstance into a flowing for six days and nights, and a resting on the seventh day - an ancient popular legend, which might have originated the statement of the elder Pliny of there being a river in Judea that dries up on the Sabbath day. The popular belief is still firm among the inhabitants of Jerusalem respecting the flow and ebb of-the water; but most modern travellers seem to have regarded it as an idle story, till Dr. Robinson was enabled to establish its truth. From him we have recently had the following account: " Having been, very unexpectedly, witnesses of the phenomenon in question, we are enabled to rescue another ancient historical- fact from the long oblivion, or rather discredit, into which it has fallen for so many centuries. As we were preparing to measure the basin of the upper fountain, (in the afternoon of April 30,) and explore the passage leading from it, my companion was standing on the lower step near the water, with one foot on the step and the other on a loose 468 WONDERS OF THE EARTH stone lying in the basin. All at once he perceived the water coming into his shoe; and supposing the stone had rolled, he withdrew his foot to the step, which, however, was also now covered with water. This instantly excited our curiosity; and we now perceived the water rapidly bubbling up from under the lower step. In less than five minutes it had risen in the basin nearly or quite a foot; and we could hear it gurgling off through the interior passage. In ten minutes more it had ceased to flow; and the water in the basin was again reduced to its former level. Thrusting my staff in under the lower step, whence the water appeared to come, I found that there was here a large hollow space; but no further examination could be made without removing the steps. Meanwhile a woman of Kefr Selwan came to wash at the fountain. She was accustomed to frequent the place every day; and from her we learned that the flowing of the water occurs at irregular intervals - sometimes two or three times a day, and sometimes, in summer, once in two or three days. She said she had seen the fountain dry, and men and flocks, dependent upon it, gathered around and suffering from thirst, when all at once the water would begin to boil up from under the steps, and (as she said) from the bottom in the interior part, and flow off in a copious stream. In order to account for this irregularity, the common people say' that a great dragon lies within the fountain; when he is awake he stops the water; when he sleeps it flows."' The far-famed pool of Siloam is thus to be classed with the ebbing and flowing wells, though it does not appear that any character of periodicity belongs to the phenomenon. We have similar examples in Europe. In the diocese of Paderborn, in Westphalia, there is a spring which disappears twice in every twenty-four hours, returning always with considerable noise after six hours, and hence called by the inhabitants the bolderborn, or boisterous spring. Lay Well, near Torbay, also ebbs and flows very visibly several times every hour, the distance between high and low water mark, accord AND THE HEAVENS. 469 ing to one observer, being somewhat less than half a foot. Another irregularly reciprocating spring occurs in the neighborhood of Giggleswick, in Yorkshire, at the foot of the Scar, an almost perpendicular cliff of limestone and gravel, apparently about one hundred and fifty feet high, and extending above three miles in length. The water discharged from the rock falls immediately into a stone trough, in the front of which are two holes near the bottom — the outlets of two streams that flow constantly from the artificial cistern. An oblong notch is also cut in the same side of the trough, which extends from the brim of it nearly to the level of the two holes already mentioned. This aperture is intended to show the fluctuations of the well; for the water subsides in the notch when the stream issuing from the rock becomes languid; on the contrary, the surface of the water rises again in the notch so soon as the influx into the trough begins to be more copious. The reciprocations of the spring are easily observed by this contrivance; and they appear to be very irregular, both in respect of duration and magnitude. The interval of time betwixt any two succeeding flows is sometimes greater, and at other times less than a similar interval which the observer may happen to take for his standard of comparison. The rise of the water in the cistern, during the time of the well's flowing, is also equally uncertain; for it varies from one inch to nine or ten inches in the course of a few reciprocations. The spring discharges bubbles of air, more or less copiously, into the trough. These appear in the greatest abundance at the commencement of the flow, and cease during the ebb, or at least issue from the rock very sparingly at that time. The water is limpid, cold, and wholesome, and has no particular taste. Weeding Well, in the Peak of Derbyshire, otherwise called the Ebbing and Flowing Well in the locality where it is situated, exhibits the same characteristic. It lies in a field by the road side in the neighborhood of Castleton Dale, surrounded'with mud and weeds. The motion of the water depends upon the quantity of rain during the season, 470 WONDERS OF THE EARTH and is by no means regular, as it has ceased to flow for several weeks during a drought; but in very wet weather it will flow and ebb more than once in an hour. The time which it continues to flow varies; but it is sometimes four or five minutes, the water appearing at first slightly agitated, and then issuing forth from nine small apertures with a gurgling sound. After remaining stationary, it then ebbs to its ordinary level. The well is scarcely enclosed, and has the appearance of a pool; but the height to which it would rise would probably exceed a foot, if the margin were protected so as to prevent the overrunning of the water. It has been known to discharge twenty-three hogsheads in a minute. No theory has yet been proposed to account for the peculiarity of these springs which is perfectly satisfactory; but probably Pliny's comparison of their fluctuations to the interrupted and irregular stream which issues from an inverted bottle may have some portion of truth, as well as the common hypothesis of an interior cavity of water discharging itself by a siphon-formed channel. 4. Thermal. —Springs characterized by a higher temperature throughout the year than the mean of the latitude where they are situated abound in active volcanic districts, as in the Neapolitan territories and Iceland, and are obviously referable to the action of subterranean fire. They are frequent, also, in localities which have been the scenes of volcanic activity in past ages, as in Asia Minor, the neighborhood of Rome, and Auvergne. They are found, likewise, in countries far apart from both active and extinct volcanoes, and are probably due to a variety of causes - to the disengagement of subterranean gases powerfully combined with caloric, to the decomposition of mineral substances, and to the internal heat of the globe. There are varieties of pyrites which are converted into sulphate of iron by the contact of water, an evolution of heat accompanying the change; and supposing a spring to flow through a bed of such pyrites, its waters might become thermal by such a decomposition. It is, however, a well-known AND THE HEAVENS. 471 fact that the internal temperature of the globe increases with the distance from the surface, and many of the warm springs may be simply occasioned by the superficial waters percolating through cracks and fissures to an immense depth, where they are variously heated by the high temperature of the interior, according to the extent of their penetration, and return to the surface before being cooled down. Warm springs occur in England at Buxton, Stoney Middleton, and Matlock, in Derbyshire, which, on account of their properties and the beautiful localities in which they are situated, annually attract a number of visitors, and verify the remark of Seneca, " Whereever warm springs abound new places of amusement are sure to rise up." The heat of the Matlock water ranges from sixty-six to sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit; that of Stoney Middleton, where it is believed the Romans established a bath, is two degrees higher; while that of the Buxton water is eighty-two degrees, and never varies at any hour of the day, or season of the year. At the latter spot some lines are still shown as those which Mary Queen of Scots is said to have scratched upon one of the windows of the apartment she occupied: — "Buxtona, quaa calidie celebrabere nomine lymphze, Forte mihi posthac non adeunda, vale." "Buxton, farewell! no more perhaps my feet Thy famous tepid streams shall ever greet." The south thermal waters of England, in the counties of Gloucester and Somerset, excepting Bristol, have a higher temperature than those of the north division, that of three of the springs of Bath being as follows: Cross Bath, one hundred and nine degrees; King's Bath, one hundred and fourteen degrees; Hot Bath, one hundred and seventeen degrees. It appears somewhat remarkable that the tepid springs of Matlock rise from fifteen to thirty yards above the level of the River Derwent, while those that rise above and below that range are cold; and the common occurrence of hot and cold 472 WONDERS OF THE EARTH springs, in close juxtaposition, seems not less anomalous. Homer, in describing the flight of Hector before Achilles, attributes to the Scamander two fountain heads, the one hot and the other cold: "Next by Scamander's double source they bound, Where two famed fountains burst the parted ground; This hot through scorching clefts is seen to rise, With exhalations streaming to the skies; That the green banks in summer's heat o'erflows, Like crystal clear, and cold as winter snows." Homer is wrong in assigning such a source to this particular river, which bursts at once from a dark chasm in the Idaean Mountains, amid scenery of the grandest description; but the fact of hot and cold springs in the immediate vicinity of each other, blending their waters in one stream, is not an uncommon physical occurrence. Lieutenant Wilkes witnessed a remarkable example of this in one of the islands of the Feejee group. On landing, the beach was found absolutely steaming, warm water oozing through the sands and gravel, in some places too hot to be borne by the feet. The springs were five in number, at some distance from the beach, occupying a basin forty feet in diameter. A small rivulet of fresh water passed close to the basin, so that one hand might be put into a scalding spring, and the other in water of the temperature of'seventy-five degrees. That of the spring was from two hundred to two hundred and ten degrees. The waters joined below, and the united streams stood at one hundred and forty-five degrees, diminishing in temperature until they' entered the sea. No gas appeared to be disengaged from the springs, in which the natives customarily boil their food, which is well done in about a quarter of an hour. Similar springs are found in Arkansas. A traveller writing from Little Rock, says, "I have just returned from the celebrated Hot Springs, where I have been spending a few weeks of recreation. They are situated about sixty miles from this city, to the south-west. The springs are eighty in num AND TIE HEAVENS. 473 ber, and all within a stone's throw of each other. They burst out at the base and side of a mountain that rises somewhat abruptly to an elevation of six hundred feet. The temperature of the water, as found by myself, is one hundred and fifty degrees Fahrenheit. It is generally reported as being much greater; but I could not, after repeated trials, find a different result. Within the range of the water flowing from the springs there is a copious deposit of lime rock, not, however, very pure. But, curiously enough, no other traces of lime have been discovered within sixty miles. The springs discharge a sufficient quantity of water to turn a mill, and actually render that service. But the most singular feature of the whole is a cold spring, situated within ten feet of a hot one. Both bubble up from the mountain side, alike to all appearance; and yet one has a temperature of fifty degrees, and the other of one hundred and fifty. From one you can take a draught of refreshing coolness, and from the other a boiled egg, as I have frequently seen done. What is more, I have repeatedly seen hogs scalded in these perpetual caldrons by the negro butchers. The waters are found to have a very salutary effect upon persons troubled with rheumatic and nervous diseases." Strange as it appears to find hot and cold streams pouring from the bosom of the earth within a few paces of each other, their subterranean courses may be far apart, and be prosecuted under widely different circumstances, the one percolating through substances which occasion the evolution of heat, or rising up from an immense depth where it has been heated by interior fires, and the other confined entirely to the superficial strata. When the Romans came into Gaul, they found a warm spring in Provence, which furnished an abundant supply of water, and which received the name of Aque Sextice, from Sextus Calvinus, who established baths, and laid the foundation of the modern city of Aix upon the spot. Through digging in the neighborhood, about a thousand paces distant, some cold springs were laid open, and the spring of Sextus gradually diminished, and became per60 474 WONDERS OF THE EARTH fectly dry. In 1721, the plague then raging at Aix, the physicians declared that the warm spring would be highly beneficial for bathing,. and the other springs were accordingly stopped, and in twenty-two days that of Sextus reappeared. It seems evident, therefore, that their waters are identical, cold and hot within the superficial distance of a thousand paces; but their passage from the one point to the other is no doubt that of a descent to a great depth, where the warm temperature is acquired, from whence they remount to the surface. Thermal springs are common in the Alps and Pyrenees, and in the districts lying around their roots, particularly in the grand duchy of Baden, where they have occasionally a very high temperature. The town of Baden was the Civitas Aurelia Aquensis of the Romans, and possesses thirteen warm springs, the principal of which, called the Ursprung, produces seven million five hundred thousand cubic inches of water in twenty-four hours, with a temperature of one hundred and fifty-three and a half degrees. The temperature of the thermal springs on the northern side of the Alps isLeuk, twelve springs, varying from one hundred and seventeen to one hundred and twenty-six degrees; Naters, eightysix degrees; St. Gervaise, ninety-four to ninety-eight degrees; Aix les Bains, one hundred and fourteen to one hundred and seventeen degrees; Moutiers, one hundred and one degrees; and Brida, ninety-seven degrees. These springs rise near the bottom of the great calcareous formation that covers the northern side of the Alps, and near its junction with the mica slate that covers the granite. Mr. Bakewell refers the temperature of the thermal waters of the Alps and Pyrenees to interior combustion, to the agency of which the original elevation of the mountains may be due; and the conclusion is supported by the fact, that the districts where the hot springs are situated have been subject to great and frequent convulsions, particularly the Haut Vallais, where the temperature of the water is the highest. In the year 1755, at Brieg, AND THE HEAVENS. 475 Naters, and Leuk, the earth was agitated with earthquakes every day for four months, and some of the shocks were so violent, that the steeples of churches were thrown down, the walls were split, many houses became uninhabitable, and the waters of the Rhone were observed to boil. It is probably true of most hot springs that they owe their temperature to subterranean fire, as much as those in the neighborhood of Vesuvius, though occurring in countries where no indications of igneous action are exhibited by the superficial crust of the earth. It is corroborative of this statement, that during the great earthquake that destroyed Lisbon, in 1755, the hot springs at Moutiers, in Savoy, ceased to flow for forty-eight hours, and increased in quantity when they flowed again, a similar effect being produced at the same time at the hot springs of Toplitz, in Bohemia. The earthquake at Brusa, in 1855, caused one of the celebrated hot springs at that place to change its course, and two others to disappear. There are several tepid springs which appear to alter considerably in their temperature, being warmer in the winter than the summer- an apparent variation merely, caused by the real variation in the temperature of the atmosphere. There are warm springs, however, in which the temperature is really different at different seasons, as measured by the thermometer immersed in the water -alterations which are periodical in some cases, and irregular in others. The following passage occurs in Lucretius: — " A fount,'tis rumored, near the temple purls Of Jove Ammonian, tepid through the night, And cold at noonday; and th' astonished sage Stares at the fact, and deems the punctual sun Strikes through the world's vast centre, as the shades Of midnight shroud us, and with gay reverse Maddens the well-spring - creed absurd and false." Pliny refers to this fountain, with some exaggeration, as cold in the daytime, and scorching hot at night; and Ovid like. wise: - 476 WONDERS OF THE EARTH " Thy stream, O horn-crowned Ammon! in the midst Chills us at noon, but warms at morn and eve." The alteration in the temperature of the fountain is analogous to that of the caverns incrusted with ice in summer, and warm in winter, and may have been produced in the same way by evaporation. 5. Ebullient. - Springs displaying violent ebullition, sending off vast clouds of steam, and throwing up their scalding water to a considerable height in the form of a jet, are the common phenomena of volcanic regions. In the Island of St. Michael, one of the Azores, there is a round, deep, and lovely valley, its sides covered with myrtles, laurels, and mountain grapes, with wheat, Indian corn, and poplars waving upon its fields, in which many boiling fountains occur. The principal, called the Caldeira, is on a gentle eminence by the side of a river, and boils with great fury, and the river itself exhibits ebullition in various places, where the water is too hot to be borne by the hand. But the most remarkable of these springs are found in Iceland, and constitute, owing to their diversified appearances, sublime, beautiful, and terrible objects in that strange region, where the extremes of heat and cold, in the form of ice and fire, are in near proximity. They are found in various parts of the island, but the chief are situated in its south-western division, on a plain at the base of a low range of hills, about thirty-six miles from Hecla. Here, within a circle of two miles, above a hundred are contained, some of which boil incessantly, without any discharge of their contents, while others cast their waters high into the air. To the principal of these springs the name of Geyser is applied - a term derived from the Icelandic geysa, signifying to burst forth with vehemence and impetuosity. There are two, more remarkable than the rest, called the Great Geyser and the New Geyser, whose columns of vapor are seen by the traveller long before he reaches their site. "At the distance of several miles," says Henderson, " on turning round the foot of a high mountain on our left, we could descry, from the clouds of AND THE HEAVENS. 477 vapor that were rising and convolving in the atmosphere, the spot where one of the most magnificent and unparalleled scenes in nature is displayed." The Geysers are intermittent hot springs; and on approaching the Great Geyser, when in a quiet state, it presents the appearance of a large circular mound, formed by the depositions of the fountain. Ascending the mound, a spacious basin is seen partly filled with hot water, clear as crystal, and gently bubbling. In the centre there is a cylindrical pipe or funnel, about eighty feet in depth, and from eight to ten feet in diameter, widening at the top, and opening gradually into the basin. The inside exhibits a whitish surface, consisting of a silicious incrustation, which has been rendered smooth by the action of the boiling water. The basin is about one hundred and fifty feet round; and, when fall, the water it contains is about four feet deep, measuring from the surface to the commencement of the pipe. The water, occasionally running over the edges of the mound, has deposited silicious matter upon the surrounding peat, mosses, and grass, furnishing fine specimens of incrustation. Such is the Geyser when asleep. The whole scene changes when it is in action, which occurs at irregular intervals. Explosions in the interior of the earth, like reports of cannon, shake the ground, and warn the visitor to retire to a distance, for they announce an eruption. The water in the basin becomes more and more agitated; it boils furiously; and at last it is suddenly projected into the air, in a succession of jets, which are at first inconsiderable, but become more powerful, till a magnificent column is sent up to a great height, finishing the display, as though the Geyser, like a thing of life, su-mmoned all her power to dignify her retreat. This is the grandest part of the exhibition. The atmosphere is filled with immense volumes of steam, rolling over each other as they ascend, through which the columns of water, shivering into foam and spray, are seen spreading in all directions. As the jets rise out of the basin, the water reflects the most beautiful colors - sometimes a pure and brilliant blue, or a bright sea 478 WONDERS OF THE EARTH green; but, in its farther ascent, all distinctness of color is lost; and the tops of the jets, receiving the rays of the sun, are white as snow. It appears, from the observations of various visitors, that the height of the jets is very irregular, and the power of the Geyser very unequal. In Olafsen and Povelsen's tifte the water was carried to the height of three hundred and sixty feet. When seen by Von Troil, in 1772, it rose to ninety-two feet. Sir John Stanley states the highest jet observed by his company, in 1789, to have been ninetysix feet. Lieutenant Ohlsen, a Danish officer, in 1804, found by a quadrant that the highest jet rose to two hundred and twelve feet. In 1809 Mr. Hooker mentions its rising to upwards of a hundred feet; and Sir George Mackenzie states ninety feet to have been the height to which he saw the water thrown in 1810. The New Geyser is somewhat different in its external structure from the preceding fountain, but its eruptions are marked with the same characteristic features. The name of Stockr is applied to it by the Icelanders, signifying to agitate - originally the name of a fountain close by, which, immediately after an earthquake in 1789, became entirely tranquil, when New Stockr began to erupt. Henderson witnessed the joint eruption of both Geysers, of which he gives the following description: "About ten minutes past five in the morning we were aroused by the roaring of Stockr, which blew up a great quantity of steam; and when my watch stood at the full quarter, a crash took place as if the earth had burst, which was instantaneously succeeded by jets of water and spray, rising in a perpendicular column to the height of sixty feet. As the sun happened to be behind a cloud, we had no expectation of witnessing any thing more sublime than we had already seen. But Stockr had not been in action above twenty minutes, when the Great Geyser, apparently jealous of her reputation, and indignant at our bestowing so much of our time and applause on her rival, began to thunder tremendously, and emitted such quantities of water and steam, that AND THE HEAVENS. 479 we could no t be satisfied with a distant view, but hastened to the mound with as much curiosity as if it had been the first eruption we had beheld. However, if she was more interesting in point of magnitude, she gave the less satisfaction in point of duration, having again become tranquil in the course of five minutes; whereas her less gaudy but more steady companion continued to play till within four minutes of six o'clock." Henderson mentions the singular fact, that by throwing a great quantity of large stones into the pipe of Stockr, he could awaken the slumbering giant, and bring on an eruption in a few minutes. It has been thought a remarkable circumstance, that the old Icelandic annals should be entirely silent respecting these marvels of the island. An apparent allusion to them occurs in the ancient poem, the Vijluspa, in the Edda: "At the end of time The vapors rage, (geysar,) And playful flanes Involve the skies." Ari Frode, the first historiographer of the north, who flourished in the eleventh century, was educated within a mile of the Geysers, yet makes no mention of them; nor are they referred to by a native Icelander till the time of Svenson, Bishop of Skalpolt, in the seventeenth century. But no argument can be founded upon this fact, to prove that the boiling fountains were not in full play when the first Norwegian colonists took possession of the soil, in the ninth century, more than that HIerculaneum and Pompeii were not overwhelmed by the eruption of Vesuvius in the year 79, because Pliny, who saw the volcano explode, who lost his uncle by it, and minutely describes the event, omits all notice of the buried cities — one of the most unaccountable circumstances in the range of history. The explanation of these great efforts of nature, given by Mr. Lyell, is simple and ingenious, founded upon the general supposition of a subterranean cavity where water and steam 480 WONDERS OF THE EARTH collect, and where the free escape of the steam is prevented till it acquires sufficient force to discharge the water. He supposes water from the surface of the earth to penetrate into the cavity A D by the fissures F r; while at the same time steam, at an extremely high temperature, rises upwards through.__ J the fissures c c. When the steam reaches the cavity, a portion of it is at first condensed into water; and it gradually raises the temperature of the water already there, till at last the lower part of the cavity is filled with boiling water, and the upper part with steam under high pressure. As the pressure of the steam increases, its expansive force becomes greater; and at length it forces the boiling water up the fissure or pipe E B, and a considerable quantity runs over the rim of the basin. When the pressure on the steam in the upper part of the cavity is thus diminished, it expands till all the water, D, is driven to E, the bottom of the pipe; and when this happens the steam rushes up with great velocity, as on the opening of the valve of a steam boiler. Mr. Lyell, upon the same principle, accounts for the eruption of volcanoes, referring it to the agency of steam upon melted lava accumulated in cavities in the interior of the earth- a theory which, though not demonstrable, is invested with a high degree of probability. Incidental notice may here be taken of some springs which appear to boil, but are cold to the touch and to the thermometer. They are occasioned by currents of pure air or gases being in connection with their waters. There is one of this kind at Peroul, near Montpellier, which bubbles and heaves up furiously; and some parts of the River Etang, in the vicinity, exhibit the same appearance. Dr. Robinson found, in several dry places of the ground in that district, many small passages or clefts, at the mouth of which he placed light bodies, such as feathers, straws, and leaves, which were speedily blown aside. !(.';:...,~ii;~',{ tL~'i~I?,5 __ __ ~ \':;____'l~'l''? ______ ~III It,~,~,i',: _ i"_li_ _'_'_ _,; I he Grea... Ir I:i.l, The Great Geyse~~ i~ir, Icead AND THE HEAVENS. 481 A remarkable spot was visited by Humboldt, in South America, where phenomena of a class similar to those of the ebullient springs appeared - the eruption of water, mud, and air from the surface. The scene of this exhibition was near the Indian village of Turbaco, in the neighborhood of Carthagena - a beautiful district, adorned with luxuriant vegetation. After pushing his way through thickets of palm trees, he reached an open space almost entirely devoid of verdure, called, by the natives, Los Volcanitos. They affirmed that, according to a tradition preserved in the village, the ground had formerly been ignited, but that a monk had extinguished it by frequent applications of holy water, and converted the fire volcano into a water volcano. The Volcanitos consisted. of several small truncated cones, having a height of about twenty feet, and their circumference at the base near eighty yards. At the top of each cone there was an aperture, about two feet in diameter, filled with water, through which air bubbles obtained a passage. Each of the bubbles contained upwards of a cubic foot of elastic fluid; and their power of expansion was often so great, that the water was projected over the brim of the cone.. Some openings by which air escaped were observed in the plain, without being surrounded by any prominence of the ground. The natives asserted that there had been no observable change in the form and number of the cones for twenty years, and that the little cavities are filled with water even in the driest seasons. The temperature of the water and mud was not higher than that of the atmosphere; the latter having been 815~0, and the former 80'6~, or 81~, at the time of Humboldt's visit. A stick could easily be pushed into the apertures to the depth of six or seven feet; and the dark-colored clay or mud was exceedingly soft. An ignited body was immediately extinguished on being immersed in the gas collected from the bubbles, which was found to be pure nitrogen. Here, botanizing in the magnificent woods around, the traveller spent several happy days with Bonpland, — the scientific companion of his journey, afterwards seized 61 482 WONDERS OF THE EARTH by the tyrant Francia, - the subject of the following pleasing allusion, written in 1831: "At Turbaco we lived a simple and laborious life. We were young, possessed a similarity of taste and disposition; looked forward to the future with hope, were on the eve of a journey which was to lead us to the highest summits of the Andes, and bring us to volcanoes in action in a country continually agitated by earthquakes; and we felt ourselves more happy than at any other period of our distant expedition. The years which have since passed, not all exempt from griefs and pains, have added to the charms of these impressions, and I love to think that, in the midst of his exile in the southern hemisphere, in the solitudes of Paraguay, my unfortunate friend M. Bonpland sometimes remembers with delight our botanical excursions at Turbaco - the little spring of Torecillo - the first sight of a gustavia in flower — or of the cavanillesia loaded with fruits, having membranous and transparent edges." 6. Inflammable. - Springs capable of supporting flame are found in several parts of the globe, and, though not very numerous, they have been known from a very early era. The substance usually found oozing out of the earth, in connection with their waters, passes under the various names of pitch, naphtha, petroleum or rock oil, and bitumen. Naphtha is the purest state of this substance, which becomes petroleum upon a certain exposure to the air, and bitumen upon a continued exposure to it. The fountain by the temple of Jupiter, at Dodona, was inflammable, according to the account given of it by the Roman natural philosopher and poet Lucretius - "A fount there is, too, which, though cold itself, With instant flare the casual flax inflames Thrown o'er its surface; and the buoyant torch Kindles alike immediate, o'er its pool Steering the course th' ethereal breeze propels." Pliny confirms this representation; and if, with Colonel Leake, we suppose Dodona to have been in the valley south AND THE HEAVENS. 483 of the Lake of Ioannina, in Epirus, the statement may be true; for now, in Illyria and Zante, at no great distance, there are pitch springs; and in the latter they were certainly in existence two thousand three hundred years ago, as we learn from Herodotus. "In Zacynthus," says the historian, " I saw pitch brought up out of the water of a pond. Indeed there are several of these ponds; but the largest of them is about seventy feet square, and twelve feet deep. The mode of procuring the pitch is the following: They take a pole, and push it into the water with a myrtle branch at the end; and, on pulling it up, they find the pitch adhering to it, which in smell is like asphaltus, but of a better quality than the common pine pitch. They collect this pitch in a kind of vat or receptacle which they have dug near the pond; and when the quantity is considerable, they put it in large jars or barrels." The historian might be describing an operation of the present day, so exactly do the proceedings of the modern Zantleotes correspond with his account. The great region of naphtha springs is to the west of the Caspian, in the territory of Baku, where a scene presents itself alike marvellous and unique. The naphtha streams spontaneously through the surface, and rises wherever a hole is bored. Speaking of a spot where it most abounds, Colonel Rottiers states, "It appears to undergo distillation as it ascends to the surface, and thence falls down the sides of the mountains into reservoirs, constructed at some unknown period. It is conjectured that entire forests of resinous trees were once ingulfed by some violent effort of nature, and that their decomposition is the origin of this inflammable liquid. The color of the oil is black; but it shines with a reddish tint when the sun's rays are upon it." Not far from the same spot he observed a current of white oil gushing out, which readily inflames and burns upon the surface of water; and in calm weather the people of the country amuse themselves by pouring whole tons of it into a bay of the Caspian. They then set fire to it; and it is borne out of sight, giving the waves the appear 484 WONDERS OF THE EARTH ance of a sea of fire; and, in comparison with this splendid exhibition, our finest illuminations and fireworks sink into insignificance. Petroleum springs occur in the territory of Modena and Parma, in Sicily, and in the Burman empire, where, in one locality, there are said to be upwards of five nundred wells, yielding annually four hundred thousand hogsheads. Around the Island of Trinidad, also, fluid bitumen oozes from the bottom of the sea, and rises to the surface of the water; while in the interior of the island there is a vast collection of bituminous matter, forming a great pitch lake, with frequent crevices and chasms filled with water. The origin of the substance in this locality is referred by some writers to the immense quantities of woody and vegetable bodies brought down in the course of ages by the River Orinoco, which, becoming arrested in particular places by the influence of currents and eddies, and subject to the agency of subterranean fire in this region of volcanic action, have undergone those transformations and chemical changes which produce petroleum,: converted into pitch upon being forced up to the surface and exposed to the air. There are waters, however, unconnected with bitumen, from whose surfaces flames dart out, without the liquid being at all hot. These contain inflammable gases, disengaged from masses of iron, zinc, and tin, dissolved by sulphuric and muriatic acids. Such are the fountains of Poretta Nuova, and a brook near Bergerac, which may be kindled by a lighted straw. Similar springs have ap-' peared near Wigan, in Lancashire, and Brosely, in Salop, by the banks of the Severn. 7. iMineralized. — Water is seldom found in a pure state, that is, without color, taste, or odor. It is generally met with possessing these properties; and even when its odor is not cognizable by man, the keener sense of the camel will scent it afar off in the desert. Rain water is impregnated with whatever foreign ingredients may exist in the atmosphere through which it descends; and spring water, besides betraying the ingredients usually found in the rains from which it proceeds, AND THE HEAVENS. 485 becomes charged with a variety of substances and gases in percolating through the superficial strata of the earth. When these are present in an extraordinary degree, so as to produce some sensible effect upon the animal economy, the springs so constituted are termed mineral, and are both cold and thermal. The mineral waters may be grouped generally into the four following classes: chalybeate and acidulous, saline aperient, alkaline, and sulphureous. The waters of many of the chalybeate springs frequently hold in solution so large a quantity of iron as to encase with a ferruginous deposit the channels through which they pass, depriving of their natfral green the mosses and grasses which are laved by the stream, and covering them with a yellow incrustation. The brine springs of Northwich, England, which rise up through beds of rock salt, are also so fully saturated as to yield an annual supply of upwards of forty thousand tons of salt manufactured from them, besides the large quantity taken from the mines. But of all mineral ingredients, lime combined with carbonic acid occurs in the greatest abundance in springs, some of which are thermal. The deposition of the calcareous matter held in solution takes place when the acid is dissipated in the atmosphere, and extensive formations are produced. So rapid is the precipitation of carbonate of lime at the hot baths of St. Vignone, in Tuscany, that half a foot of solid travertine is the annual product near their source. The hot waters of Hierapolis have been similarly productive. This city, now a site of desolate ruins, was formerly one of the most flourishing in Asia Minor, and was resorted to for its thermal springs celebrated in a still extant inscription: "Hail, golden city Hierapolis! the spot to be preferred before any in wide Asia, revered for the rills of the nymphs, adorned with splendor!': The ancients speak of the transforming power of the waters, and relate that, being conducted about the vineya:ds and gardens, the channels became long fences, each a single stone. There is now a powerful hot spring feeding numerous rills, and a calcareous cliff, an entire deposition from it. ]'he 486 WONDERS OF THE EARTH occurrence of incrustations, which puzzled science a century ago, and which rustic ignorance accepted as instances of the real transmutation of different objects into stones, is now well known to arise from the deposition upon them of the earthy ingredients of the waters to which they are exposed, investing them with a calcareous or silicious crust. The Dripping Well at Knaresborough, on the banks of the Nidd, often visited on account of its inviting scenery, and the cave of Eugene Aram in the neighborhood, is a curious incrusting spring; and at the Matlock Wells the process of incrustation is shown, objects which are put into them becoming soon incrusted with the limestone precipitated from the water as it evaporates. A considerable number of springs have recently been found to contain iodine or bromine. Those which issue from the lias at Leamington, Gloucester, Tewksbury, and Cheltenham contain iodine. The saline aperient waters of Epsom contain a small quantity of bromine, which is also found in the springs from the coal formation of Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Newcastle, and Kingswood. In several European springs a remarkable animal substance has been detected, termed glairine, which may be derived from strata containing animal fossil remains, through which the water percolates. L.-WM~ _a i'~~~~~ if,'~r.,.~,,,,...~ ~ r Vriew on the Apurimac, in Peruti Showing the immense depth of the, Channel which the River has worn in the Rock. The height of the Rope Bridge above the surface of the River is 300 feet AND THE HEAVENS. 487 CHAPTER XV. RIVERS. - REMARKABLE CATARACTS.- NATURAL BRIDGES FORMED BY RIVERS. —SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGE OF THE TIGRIS THROUGH A MOUNTAIN. - SUBTERRANEAN PASSAGES OF THE RHONE, THE MOLE, THE HAMPS, THE MANIFOLD, AND THE GUADIANA. - REMARKABLE RIVERFLOODS. -PERIODICAL OVERFLOW OF RIVERS. RIVERS frequently derive their origin from lakes, which they unite with the sea; in other instances they spring from small elevations in the plains, from perennial sources in -.the mountains, alpine lakes, melted snow, and glaciers; but the everlasting storehouses of the mightiest floods are the ice-clad mountains of table lands. The Shannon has its source in a lake, the Rhone in a glacier, and the Abyssinian branch of the Nile in a confluence of fountains. The country where some of the mightiest rivers of the globe have their rise has not yet been sufficiently explored to render their true source ascertainable. The origin of others is doubtful, owing to a number of rills presenting equal claims to be considered as the river head; but many are clearly referable to a single spring, the current of which is speedily swelled by tributary waters, ultimately flowing in broad and deep channels to the sea. Inglis, who wandered on foot through many lands, had a fancy, which he generally indulged, to visit the sources of rivers, when the chances of his jourhey threw him in their vicinity. Such a pilgrimage will often repay the traveller by the scenes of picturesque and secluded beauty into which it leads him; and even when the primal fount is insignificant in itself, and the surrounding landscape exhibits the tamest features, there is a reward in the associations that are instantly wakened up, the thought of a humble and modest commence 488 WONDERS OF THE EARTH ment issuing in a long and victorious career - of the tiny rill, proceeding, by gradual advances, to become an ample stream, fertilizing by its exudations, and rolling on to meet the tides of the ocean, bearing the merchandise of cities upon its bosom. The Duddon, one of the most picturesque of the English rivers, oozes up through a bed of moss near the top of Wrynose Fell, a desolate solitude, yet remarkable for its huge masses of protruding crag, and the varied and vivid colors of the mosses watered by the stream. Petrarch's letters and verses have given celebrity to the source of the Sorgues the spring of Vaucluse, which bursts in an imposing manner out of a cavern, and forms at once a copious torrent. The Scamander is one of the most remarkable rivers for the grandeur of its source — a yawning chasm in Mount Gargarus, shaded with enormous plane trees, and surrounded with high cliffs, from which the river impetuously dashes in all the greatness of the divine origin assigned to it by ancient fable. Following the course of the Angitas up to its source, we come to one of the most picturesque sites in Macedonia, supposed to be the nymphaeum or grotto of Onocaris. Blocks of marble rudely piled, as if tossed together by an earthquake, obstruct its entrance, which can only be passed in a crawling posture; but these difficulties being overcome, a cave like a temple appears, from the farther end of which runs the limpid stream, flowing silently over a sand bed, but rippling when it escapes from the grotto. The Ganges, which receives the religious homage of one tenth of the human race, issues from a mass of ice in the Himalaya Mountains. To discover the source of the Nile, hid from the knowledge of all antiquity, was the object of Bruce's adventurous journey; and we can readily enter into his emotions, as he stood by the two fountains, after all the toils and hazard he had braved. "It is easier to guess," he remarks, "than to describe the situation of my mind at that moment - standing in that spot which had baffled the genius, industry, and inquiry of both ancients and moderns, for the course of three thou IV: n-: —_ The Ganges at Daraol Rockz. AND THE HEAVENS. 489 sand years. Kings had attempted this discovery at the head of armies; and each expedition was distinguished from the last only by the difference of the numbers which had perished, and agreed alone in the disappointment which had uniformly and without exception followed them all. Fame, riches, and honor had been held out for a series of ages to every individual of those myriads these princes commanded, without having produced one man capable of gratifying the curiosity of his sovereign, or wiping off this stain upon the enterprise and abilities of mankind, or adding this desideratum for the encouragement of geography. Though a mere private Briton, I triumphed here, in my own mind, over kings and their armies; and every comparison was leading nearer and nearer to presumption, when the place itself where I stood - the object of my vainglory —suggested what depressed my shortlived triumphs. I was but a few minutes arrived at the sources of the Nile, through numberless dangers and sufferings, the least of which would have overwhelmed me, but for the continual goodness and protection of Providence. I was, however, but then half through my journey; and all those dangers which I had already passed, awaited me again on my return. I found a despondency gaining ground fast upon me, and blasting the crown of laurels I had too rashly woven for myself." Bruce, however, labored under an error in supposing the stream he had followed to be the main branch of the Nile. He had traced to its springs the smaller of the two great rivers which contribute to form this celebrated stream. The larger arm issues from a more remote part of Africa, and has not yet been ascended to its source. Upon examining the map of a country we see many of its rivers travelling in opposite directions, and emptying their waters into different seas, although their sources frequently lie in the immediate neighborhood of each other. The springs of the Missouri, which proceed south-east to the Gulf of Mexico, and those of the Columbia, which flow north-west to the Pacific Ocean, are only a mile apart, while those of some of the 62 490 WONDERS OF THE EARTH tributaries of the Amazon flowing north, and of the La Plata flowing south, are closely contiguous. There is a part of Volhynia, of no considerable extent, which sends off its waters, north and south, to the Black and Baltic Seas; while from the field on which the battle of Naseby was fought, the Avon, Trent, and Nen receive affluents, which reach the ocean at opposite coasts of the island, through the Humber, the Wash, and the Bristol Channel. The field in question is an elevated piece of table land in the centre of England. The district referred to, where rivers proceeding to the Baltic and the Euxine take their rise, is a plateau about a thousand feet above the level of the sea. The springs of the Missouri and the Columbia are in the Rocky Mountains; and it is generally the case that those parts of a country from which large rivers flow in contrary directions are the most elevated sites in their respective districts, consisting either of mountain chains, plateaus, or high table lands. There is one remarkable exception to this in European Russia, where the Volga rises in a plain only a few hundred feet above the level of the sea, and no hills separate its waters from those which run into the Baltic. The great majority of the first class rivers commence from chains of mountains, because springs are there most abundant, perpetually fed by the melting of the snows and glaciers. They have almost invariably an easterly direction, the westward-bound streams being few in number, and of very subordinate rank. Of rivers flowing east we have grand examples in the St. Lawrence, Orinoco, Amazon, Danube, Ganges, Amour, Yang-tse-Kiang, and Hoang Ho. The chief western streams are the Columbia, Tagus, Garonne, Loire, and Neva, which are of far inferior rank to the former. The rivers running south, as the Mississippi, La Plata, Rhone, Volga, and Indus, are more important, as well as those which proceed to the north, as the Rhine, Vistula, Nile, Irtish, Lena, and Yenisei. The easterly direction of the great rivers of America is obviously due to the position of the Andes, which run north and south, on the western side of the continent, while the AND THE HEAVENS. 491 chain of mountains which traverses Europe and Asia, from west to east, causes the great number of rivers which flow north and south. The whole extent of country from which a river receives its supply of water, by brooks and rivulets, is termed its basin, because a region generally bounded by a rim of high lands, beyond which the waters are drained off into another channel. The basin of a superior river includes those of all its tributary streams. It is sometimes the case, however, that the basins of rivers are not divided by any elevations, but pass into- each other, a connection. subsisting between their waters. This is the case with the hydrographical regions of the Amazon and Orinoco, the Cassiaquaire, a branch of the latter, joining the Rio Negro, an affluent of the former. The vague rumors that were at first afloat respecting this singular circumstance were treated by most geographers with discredit, till Humboldt ascertained its reality, by proceeding from the Rio Negro to the Orinoco, along the natural canal of the Cassiaquaire. Rivers have a thousand points of similarity and of discordance. Some exhibit an unbroken sheet of water through their whole course, while others are diversified by numerous islands. This peculiarly characterizes the vast streams of the American continent, and contributes greatly to their scenical effect. The St. Lawrence, soon after issuing from the Lake Ontario, presents the most remarkable instance to be found of islands occurring in a river channel. It is here called the Lake of the Thousand Islands. The vast number implied in this name was considered a vague exaggeratioratill the commissioners employed in fixing the boundary with England actually counted them, and found that they amounted to sixteen hundred and ninety-two. They are of every imaginable size, shape, and appearance - some barely visible, others covering fifteen acres; but in general their broken outline presents the most picturesque combinations of wood and rock. The navigator in steering through them sees an ever-changing scene, which reminds an elegant writer of the Happy Islands 492 WONDERS OF THE EARTH in the Vision of Mirza. Sometimes he is enclosed in a narrow channel; then he discovers before him twelve openings, like so many noble rivers; and soon after a spacious lake seems to surround him on every side. River islands are due to original surface inequalities, but many are formed by the arrest and gradual accretion of the alluvial matter brought down by the waters. There is great diversity in the length of rivers, the force of their current, and the mass and complexion of their waters; but their peculiar character is obviously dependent upon that of the country in which they are situated. As it is the property of water to follow a descent, and the greatest descent that occurs in its way, the course of a river points out generally the direction in which the land declines, and the degree of the declination determines in part the velocity of its current; for the rapidity of a stream is influenced both by its volume of water and the declivity of its channel. Hence one river often pours its tide into another without causing any perceptible enlarge. ment of its bed, the additional waters being disposed of by the creation of a more rapid current; for large masses of water travel with a swift and powerful impetus over nearly a level surface, upon which smaller rivers would have only a languid flow. In general the fall of the great streams is much less than what would be supposed from a glance at their currents. The rapid Rhine has only a descent of four feet in a mile between Schaffhausen and Strasburg, and of two feet between the latter place and Schenckenschautz; and the mighty Amazon, whose collision with the tide of the Atlantic is of the most tremendous description, falls but four yards in the last seven hundred miles of its course, or one fourth of an inch in a mile and a quarter. In one part of its channel the Seine descends one foot in a mile; the Loire between Pouilly and Briare one foot in seven thousand five hundred, and between Briare and Orleans one foot in thirteen thousand five hundred and ninety-six; and for four hundred miles from its termination, the Paraguay has a descent of but one thirty-third of an inch in the whole distance. The fall of rivers is very unequally AND THE HEAVENS. 493 distributed; such, for instance, as the difference of the Rhine below Cologne and above Strasburg. The greatest fall is commonly experienced at their commencement, though there are some striking exceptions to this. The whole descent of the Shannon from its source in Lough Allen to the sea, a distance of two hundred and thirty-four miles, is a hundred and fortysix feet, which is seven inches and a fraction in a mile; but it falls ninety-seven feet in a distance of fifteen miles, between Killaloe and Limerick, and occupies the remaining two hundred and nineteen miles in descending forty-nine feet. When water has once received an impulse by following a descent, the simple pressure of the particles upon each other is sufficient to keep it in motion long after its bed has lost all inclination. The chief effect of the absence of a declivity is a slower movement of the stream, and a more winding course, owing to the aqueous particles being more susceptible of divergence from their original direction by impediments in their path. Hence the tortuous character of the watercourses, chiefly arising from the streams meeting with levels after descending inclined planes, which so slackens their speed that they are easily diverted from a right onward direction by natural obstacles, to which the force of their current is inferior. The Meeander was famed in classical antiquiity for its mazy course, descending from the pastures of Phrygia, with many involutions, into the. vine-clad province of the Carians, which it divided from Lydia near a plain properly called the Maeandrian, where the bed was winding in a remarkable degree. From the name of this river we have our word "meandering," as applied to erratic streams. This circumstance increases prodigiously the extent of their channels, and renders their navigation tedious; but the absence of that velocity of the current which would make it difficult is a compensation, while a larger portion of the earth enjoys the benefit of their waters. The sources of the Mississippi are only twelve hundred and fifty miles from its mouth, following a straight line, but thirty-two hundred miles pursuing 494 WONDERS OF THE EARTH its real path; and the Forth is actually three times the length of a straight line drawn from its rise to its termination. The rivers which flow through flat alluvial plains frequently exhibit great sinuosities, their waters returning nearly to the same point, after an extensive tour. The Moselle, after a curved course of seventeen miles, returns to within a few hundred yards of the same spot; and a steamer on the Mississippi, after a sail of twenty-five or thirty miles, is brought round again almost within hail of the place where it was two or three hours before. In high floods the waters frequently force a passage through the isthmuses which are thus formed, converting the peninsulas into islands, and forming a nearer route for the navigator to pursue. By the " grand cut off" on the Mississippi, vessels now pass from one point to another in half a mile, in order to accomplish which they had formerly a distance of twenty miles to traverse. Rivers receive a peculiar impress from the geological character of the districts through which they flow. Those of primary or transition countries, where sudden declivities abound, are bold and rapid streams, with steep and high banks, and usually pure waters, owing to the surface not being readily abraded, generally emptying themselves by a single mouth, which is deep and unobstructed. The streams of secondary and alluvial districts flow with slow but powerful current, between low and gradually descending banks, which, being composed of soft rocks or alluvial grounds, are easily worn away by the waters; and hence great changes are effected in their channels, and a peculiar color is given to their streams by the earthy particles with which they are charged. Many rivers have their names from this last circumstance. The Rio Negro, or Black River, which flows into the Amazon, is so called on account of the dark color of its waters, which are of an amber hue wherever it is shallow, and dark brown wherever the depth is great. The names of the two great streams which unite to form the Nile, the Bahr-el-Abiad, or White River, from the Mountains of the Moon, and the Bahr-el-Azrek, or Blue River, AND THE HEAVENS. 495 from Abyssinia, refer to the color which they receive from the quantity of earth with which they are impregnated. The united rivers, for some distance after their junction, preserve their colors distinct. This is the case likewise with the Rhine and the Moselle, the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa. The Upper Mississippi is a transparent stream, but assumes the color of the Missouri upon joining that river, the mud of which is as copious as the water can hold in suspension, and of a white, soapy hue. The Ohio brings into it a flood of a greenish color. The bright and dark-red waters of the Arkansas and Red River afterwards diminish the whiteness derived from the Missouri, and the volume of the Lower Mississippi bears along a tribute of vegetable soil, collected from the most distant quarters, and of the most various kind — the marl of the Rocky and the clay of the Black Mountains, the earth of the Alleghanies, and the red loam washed from the hills at the sources of the Arkansas and the Red River. Mr. Lyell states that water flowing at the rate of three inches per second will tear up fine clay; six inches per second, fine sand; twelve inches per second, fine gravel; and three feet per second, stones of the size of an egg. He remarks, likewise, that the rapidity at the bottom of a stream is every where less than in any part above it, and is greatest at the surface; and that in the middle of the stream the particles at the top move swifter than those at the sides. The ease with which running water bears along large quantities of sand, gravel, and pebbles, ceases to surprise when we consider that the specific gravity of rocks in water is,much less than in air. It is chiefly in primary and transition countries that the rivers exhibit those sudden descents, which pass under the general denomination of falls, and form either cataracts or rapids. They occur in secondary regions, but more rarely, and the descent is of a more gentle description. The falls are generally found in the passage of streams from the primitive to the other formations. Thus the line which divides the primitive and alluvial formations on the coast of the United 496 WONDERS OF THE EARTH States is marked by the falls or rapids of its rivers, while none occur in the alluvion below. Cataracts are formed by the descent of a river over a precipice which is perpendicular, or nearly so, and depend for their sublimity upon the height of the fall and the magnitude of the stream. Rapids are produced by the occurrence of a steeply-inclined plane, over which the flood rushes with great impetuosity, yet without being projected over a precipice. The River Adige, in the Tyrol, near Meran, rushes, with resistless force and deafening noise, down a descent nearly a mile in length, between quiet, green, pastoral banks, presenting one of the most magnificent spectacles to be met with in Europe. The celebrated cataracts of the Nile are, more properly speaking, rapids, as there is no considerable perpendicular fall of the river; but for a hundred miles at Wady Hafal, the second cataract, reckoning upwards, there is a succession of steep descents, and a multitude of rocky islands, among which the river dashes amid clouds of foam, and is tossed in perpetual eddies. It i~ along the course of the American rivers, however, that the most sublime and imposing rapids are found, rendered so by the great volumes of water contained in their channels. The more remarkable are those of the St. Lawrence, the chief of which, called the Coteau du Luc, the Cedars, the Split Rock, and the Cascades, occur in succession for about nine miles above Montreal and the junction of the Ottawa. At the Rapid of St. Anne, on the latter river, the more devout of the Canadian voyageurs are accustomed to land and implore the protection of the patron saint on their perilous expeditions, before a large cross at the village that bears her name. The words of a popular song have made familiar this habit of the hardy boatmen: — " Faintly as tolls the evening chime, Our voices keep tune, and our oars keep time. Soon as the woods on shore look dim, We'll sing at St. Anne's our parting hymn. Row, brothers, row; the stream runs fast; The Rapids are near, and the daylight's past. AND THE HEAVENS. 497 "Utawa's tide! this trembling moon Shall see us float over thy surges soon. Saint of this green isle, hear our prayers; O, grant us cool heavens and favoring airs. Blow, breezes, blow; the stream runs fast; The Rapids are near, and the daylight's past." The Kaaterskill Falls are celebrated for their picturesque beauty. The waters which supply these cascades flow from two small lakes in the Catskill Mountains, on the west bank of the Hudson. The upper cascade falls one hundred and seventy-five feet, and a few rods below the second pours its waters over a precipice eighty feet high, passing into a picturesque ravine, the banks of which rise abruptly on each side to the height of a thousand to fifteen hundred feet. In the grandeur of their cataracts, also, the American rivers far surpass those of other countries, though several falls on the ancient continent have a greater perpendicular height, and are magnificent objects. In Sweden, the Gotha falls about one hundred and thirty feet at Trolhetta, the greatest fall in Europe of the same body of water. The river is the only outlet of a lake, a hundred miles in length and fifty in breadth, which receives no fewer than twenty-four rivers; the water glides smoothly on, increasing in rapidity, but quite unruffled, until it reaches the verge of the precipice; it then darts over it in one broad sheet, which is broken by some jutting rocks, after a descent of about forty feet. Here begins a spectacle of great grandeur. The moving mass is tossed from rock to rock, now heaving itself up in yellow foam, now boiling and tossing in huge eddies, growing whiter and whiter in its descent, till, completely fretted into one beautiful sea of snowy froth, the spray, rising in dense clouds, hides the abyss into which the torrent dashes;. but when momentarily cleared away by the wind, a dreadful gulf is revealed, which the eye cannot fathom. Upon the arrival of a visitor at Trolhetta, a log of wood is sent down the fall, by persons who expect a trifle for the exhibition. It displays the resistless power of the element. The log, which is of gigantic dimen63 498 WONDERS OF THE EARTH sions, is tossed like a feather upon the surface of the water, and is borne to the foot almost in an instant. In Scotland, the falls of its rivers are seldom of great size; but the rocky beds over which they roar and dash in foam and spray — the dark, precipitous glens into which they rush - and the frequent wildness of the whole scenery around, are compensating features. The most remarkable instances are the Upper and Lower Falls of Foyers, near Loch Ness. At the upper fall the river precipitates itself, at three leaps, down as many precipices, whose united depth is about two hundred feet; but at the lower it makes a descent at once of two hundred and twelve feet, and after heavy rains exhibits a grand appearance. The fall of the Rhine at Schaffhausen is only seventy feet; but the great mass of its waters, four hundred and fifty feet in breadth, gives it an imposing character. The Teverone, near Tivoli, a comparatively small stream, is precipitated nearly one hundred feet; and the Velino, near Terni, falls three hundred, which is generally considered the finest of the European cataracts. This "hell of waters," as Byron calls it, is of artificial construction. A channel was dug by the Consul Curius Dentatus, in the year 274 B. C., to convey the waters to the precipice; but having become filled up by a deposition of calcareous matter, it was widened and deepened by order of Pope Paul IV. "I saw," says Byron, "the Cascata del Marmore of Terni twice at different periods; once from the summit of the precipice, and again from the valley below. The lower view is far to be preferred, if the traveller has time for one only; but in any point of view, either from above or below, it is worth all the cascades and torrents of Switzerland put together." In the Alpine highlands, the Evanson descends upwards of twelve hundred feet, and the Orco forms a vertical cataract of twenty-four hundred; but in these instances the quantity of water is small, and the chief interest is produced by the height from which it falls. At Staubbach, in the Swiss canton of Berne, a small stream descends fourteen hundred feet, AND THE HEAVENS. 499 which is scattered almost entirely into spray before it reaches the bottom. Waterfalls appear upon their grandest scale in the American continent. They are not remarkable for the height of the precipices over which they descend, or for the picturesque forms of the rocky cliffs amid which they are precipitated, like the Alpine cataracts; but while these are usually the falls of streamlets merely, those of the western world are the rush of mighty rivers. The majority are in the northern part of the continent, but the greatest vertical descent of a considerable body of water is in the southern, at the Falls of Tequendama, where the River Funza disembogues from the elevated plain or valley of Santa Fe de Bogota. This valley is at a greater height above the level of the sea than the summit of the Great St. Bernard, and is surrounded by lofty mountains. It appears to have been formerly the bed of an extensive lake, whose waters were drained off when the narrow passage was forced through which the Funza River now descends from the elevated enclosed valley towards the bed of the Rio Magdalena. Respecting this physical occurrence, Gonzalo Ximenes de Quesada, the conqueror of the country, found the following tradition disseminated among the people, which probably contains a stratum of truth invested with a fabulous legend. In remote times the inhabitants of Bogota were barbarians, living without religion, laws, or arts. An old man, on a certain occasion, suddenly appeared among them, of a race unlike that of the natives, and having a long, bushy beard. He instructed them in the arts; but he brought with him a malignant, although beautiful woman, who thwarted all his benevolent enterprises. By her magical power she swelled the current of the Funza, and inundated the valley, so that most of the inhabitants perished, a few only having found refuge in the neighboring mountains. The aged visitor then drove his consort from the earth, and she became the moon. He next broke the rocks that enclosed the valley on the Tequendama side, and by this means drained 500 WONDERS OF THE EARTH off the waters. Then he introduced the worship of the sun, appointed two chiefs, and finally withdrew to a valley, where he lived in the exercise of the most austere penitence during two thousand years. The Tequendama Cataract is remarkably picturesque. The river, a little above it, is one hundred and forty-four feet in breadth, but at the crevice it is much narrower. The height of the fall is five hundred and Seventy-four feet, and the column of vapor that rises from it is visible from Santa Fe at the distance of seventeen miles. At the foot of the precipice the vegetation has a totally different appearance from that at the summit, and the traveller, following the course of the river, passes from a plain in which the cereal plants of Europe are cultivated, and which abounds with oaks, elms, and other trees resembling those of the temperate regions of the northern hemisphere, and enters a country covered with palms, bananas, and sugar canes. In North America, however, we find the greatest of all cataracts, that of the Niagara —the sublimest object on earth, according to the general opinion of all travellers. More varied magnificence is displayed by the ocean, and the giant masses of the Andes and Himalaya; but no single spectacle is so striking and wonderful as the descent of this sea-like flood, the overplus of four extensive lakes. The river is about thirtythree miles in length, extending from Lake Erie to Lake Ontario, and three quarters of a mile wide at the fall. There is nothing in the neighboring country to indicate the vicinity of the astonishing phenomenon here exhibited. Leaving Lake Erie, the traveller passes over a level though somewhat elevated plain, through which the river flows tranquilly, bordered by fertile and beautiful banks; but soon a deep, awful sound, gradually growing louder, breaks upon the earthe roar of the distant cataract. Yet the eye discerns no sign of the spectacle about to be disclosed until a mile from it, when the water begins to ripple, and is broken into a series of dashing and foaming rapids. After passing these the river becomes more tranquil, though rolling onwards with tremen AND THE HEAVENS. 501 dous force, till it reaches the brink of the great precipice. The fall itself is divided into two unequal portions by the intervention of Goat Island, a facade near one thousand feet in breadth. The one on the British side of the river, called the Horseshoe Fall, from its shape, according to the most careful estimate, is twenty-one hundred feet broad, and one hundred and forty-nine feet nine inches high. The other, or American Fall, is eleven hundred and forty feet broad, and one hundred and sixty-four feet high. The former is far superior to the latter in grandeur. The great body of the water passes over the precipice with such force that it forms a curved sheet which strikes the stream below at the distance of fifty feet from the base; and some travellers have ventured between the descending flood and the rock itself. Hannequin asserts that four coaches might be driven abreast through this awful chasm. The quantity of water rolling over these falls has been estimated at six hundred and seventy thousand two hundred and fifty tons per minute. It is impossible to appreciate the scene created by this immense torrent, apart from its site. "The thoughts are strange that crowd into my brain, While I look upward to thee. It would seem As if God poured thee from his hollow hand, And hung his bow upon thine awful front, And spoke in that loud voice which seemed to him Who dwelt in Patmos for his Savior's sake The sound of many waters, and had bade Thy flood to chronicle the ages back, And notch his centuries in the eternal rocks. Deep calleth unto deep. And what are we, That hear the question of that voice sublime? O, what are all the notes that ever rung From war's vain trumpet, by thy thundering side? Yea, what is all the riot man can make, In his short life, to thy unceasing roar P And yet, bold babbler, what art thou to Him Who drowned a world, and heaped the waters far Above its loftiest mountains? A light wave, That breaks, and whispers of its Maker's might." It has been remarked that at Niagara several objects 502 WONDERS OF THE EARTH composing the chief beauty of other celebrated waterfalls are altogether wanting. There are no cliffs reaching to an extraordinary height, crowned with trees, or broken into picturesque and varied forms; for, though one of the banks is wooded, the forest scenery, on the whole, is not imposing. The accompaniments, in short, rank here as nothing. There is merely the display, on a scale elsewhere unrivalled, of the phenomena appropriate to this class of objects. There is the spectacle of a falling sea, the eye filled almost to its utmost reach by the rushing of mighty waters. There is the awful plunge into the abyss beneath, and the reverberation thence in endless lines of foam, and in numberless whirlpools and eddies; there are clouds of spray that fill the whole atmosphere, amid which the most brilliant rainbows, in rapid succession, glitter and disappear; above all, there is the stupendous sound, of the peculiar character of which all writers, with their utmost efforts, seem to have vainly attempted to convey an idea. Bouchette describes it as "grand, commanding, and majestic, filling the vault of heaven when heard in its fulness" - as " a deep, round roar, an alternation of muffled and open sounds, to which there is nothing exactly corresponding." Captain Hall compares it to the ceaseless rumbling, deep, monotonous sound of a vast mill, which, though not very poetical, is generally considered as approaching near to the reality. Dr. Reed states, "it is not like the sea; nor like the thunder; nor like any thing I have heard. There is no roar, no rattle; nothing sharp or angry in its tones; it is deep, awful, One." The diffusion of the noise varies according to the state of the atmosphere and the direction of the wind; but it may be heard, under favorable circumstances, through a distance of forty-six miles, at Toronto, across Lake Ontario. To the geologist the Niagara Falls have interest, on account of the movement which it is supposed has taken place in their position. The force of the waters appears to be wearing away the rock over which they rush, and gradually shifting the cataract higher up the river. It is conceived that by this AND THE HEAVENS. 503 process it has already receded in the course of ages through a distance of more than seven miles, from a point between Queenstown and Lewiston, to which the high level of the country continues. The erosive action of running water, which is urging the Niagara Falls towards Lake Erie, is strikingly exhibited by several rivers which penetrate through rocks and beds of compact strata, and have either scooped out their own passage entirely, or widened and deepened original tracts and fissures in the surface into enormous wall-sided valleys. The current of the Simeto- the largest Sicilian river round the base of Etna - was crossed by a great stream of lava about two centuries and a half ago; but since that era, the river has completely triumphed over the barrier of homogeneous hard blue rock that intruded into its channel, and cut a passage through it from fifty to a hundred feet broad, and from forty to fifty feet deep. The formation of the magnificent rock bridge which overhangs the course of the Cedar Creek, one of the natural wonders of Virginia, is very probably due in part to the solvent and abrading power of the stream. This sublime curiosity is two hundred and thirteen feet above the river, sixty feet wide, ninety long, and the thickness of the mass at the summit of the arch is about forty feet. The bridge has a coating of earth, which gives growth to several large trees. To look down from its edge into the chasm inspires a feeling answering to the words of Shakspeare:"Come on, sir; here's the place: stand still. How fearful And dizzy'tis to cast one's eyes so low! " Few have resolution enough to walk to the parapet, in order to peep over it. But if the view from the top is painful and intolerable, that from below is pleasing in an equal degree. The beauty, elevation, and lightness of the arch, springing as it were up to heaven, present a striking instance of the graceful in combination with the sublime. This great arch of rock gives the name of Rockbridge to the county in which it is 504 WONDERS OF THE EARTH situated, and affords a public and commodious passage over a valley which cannot be crossed elsewhere for a considerable distance. Under the arch, thirty feet from the water, the lower part of the letters G. W. may be seen carved in the rock. They are the initials of Washington, who, when a youth, climbed up hither, and left this record of his adventure. Lebanon, the feeder of the Jordan, from its internal reservoirs, along with "Abana and Parphar, rivers of Damascus," and the Orontes, gives birth to many rapid and brawling streams, and a thousand cascades when its snows melt, which strikingly display the erosive power of running water. Deep passages have been cut in the rocks, bestrided by natural arches, like the rock bridge of Virginia. Of this description is the natural bridge over the Ain el Leban, rising nearly two hundred feet above the torrent which has gradually dug the excavation, as annually the spring has renewed its strength. We have several examples of the disappearance of rivers, and their emergence after pursuing for some distance a subterranean course. In these cases a barrier of solid rock, overlaying a softer stratum, has occurred in their path; and the latter has been gradually worn away by the waters, and a passage been constructed through it. Thus the Tigris, about twenty miles from its source, meets with a mountainous ridge at Diglou, and, running under it, flows out at the opposite side. The Rhone, also, soon after coming within the French frontier, passes under ground for about a quarter of a mile. Milton, in one of his juvenile poems, speaks of the "Sullen Mole, that runneth underneath;" and Pope calls it, after him, the "Sullen Mole, that hides his diving flood" The Hamps and the Manifold likewise -two small streams in Derbyshire — flow in separate subterraneous channels for several miles, and emerge within fifteen yards of each other in the grounds of Ilam Hall. That these are really the streams AND THE HEAVENS. 505 which are swallowed up at points several miles distant, has been frequently proved by watching the exit of various light bodies that have been absorbed at the swallows. At their emergence, the waters of the two rivers differ in temperature about two degrees - an obvious proof that they do not any where intermingle. On the side of the hill which is overshadowed with spreading trees, just above the spot where the streams break forth into daylight, there is a rude grotto, scooped out of the rock, in which Congreve is said to have written his comedy of the "Old Bachelor" and a part of his "Mourning Bride." In Spain a similar phenomenon is exhibited by the Guadiana; but it occurs under different circumstances. It disappears for about seven leagues, - an effect of the absorbing power of the soil, -the intervening space consisting of sandy and marshy grounds, across which the road to Andalusia passes by a long bridge or causeway. The river reappears with greater power, after its dispersion, at the Ojos de Guadiana-the "eyes" of the stream. Many rivers are subject to a considerable elevation of the level of their waters. This is periodical or irregular in its occurrence, according to the nature of the producing cause. Casual temporary floodings, as the effect of extraordinary rains, are common to the streams of most countries, and sometimes occasion great changes of the surface, anql destruction of life and property. One of the most remarkable instances of this kind in modern times occurred on the 4th of August, 1829, in Scotland, when the Nairn, Spey, and Findhorn rose above their natural boundaries, and spread a devastating deluge over the surrounding country. The rain which produced this flood fell chiefly on the Monadhleadh Mountains, where the rivers in question have their feeders, situated between the south of Loch Ness and the group of the Cairngorums. Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, in his interesting account of this inundation, considers the westerly winds, which prevailed for some time previously after a season of unusual heat, to have produced a gradual accumulation of vapor, somewhere north of the island; and the 64 506 WONDERS OF THE EARTH column being suddenly impelled by a strong north-easterly blast, it was driven towards the south-west, till arrested in its course by the lofty mountains upon which it discharged itself in torrents perfectly unexampled. The rain fell occasionally in heavy drops, but was for the most part broken by the blast into extre melyminute particles, so thick that the very air itself seemed to be descending in one mass of water upon the earth. It deluged every house whose windows were exposed to the south-east. The lesser animals, the birds, and especially game of all kinds, were destroyed in great numbers, by the rain alone; and the mother partridge, with her progeny and mate, were found chilled to death amidst the drenching wet. At Huntly Lodge, according to an accurate observation, between five o'clock of the morning of the 3d of August and the same hour of the succeeding day, there fell three and three fourths inches of rain, or about one sixth of the annual allowance of rain descended there in twenty-four hours. This was at a considerable distance from tile mountains, -the central scene of the rain, — where its quantity must have been much greater, sufficient to account for the tremendous flood that followed, far exceedingin its rise, duration, and havoc any other that ever affected the same locality. The Findhorn and Spey assumed the appearance of inland seas; and when the former began to ebb, a fine salmon was driven ashore and captured, at an elevation of fifty feet above its ordinary level. The Don, upon the premises of Mr. Farquharson, forced a mass of four or five hundred tons of stones, many of them of great size, up an inclined plane, rising six feet in ten yards; and one of nearly four tons' weight, which he had long known in a deep pool of the river, was borne upwards of a hundred yards from its place. Yet evidence appears of the transporting power of water having been in action, at some former period, in this locality, with more gigantic energy than was developed in 1829; for a block of gneiss, weighing about a hundred tons, and lying below the junction of the Divie and the Dorback, upon a shelf of schistus, was not moved an inch by the latter flood, which must have AND THE HEAVENS. 507 been translated to its present position, and therefore by a more formidable inundation, as there is no rock of a similar kind for a considerable distance from it. The mill at Logie, on the Findhorn, standing fifteen feet above the ordinary level of the stream, was saved by the lower story being completely filled up to the ceiling with sand by the flood, which prevented the water working within it, though it rose in the upper story three feet deep. Sir Thomas Dick Lauder mentions upon his own estate at Relugas the loss of ten thousand points of locality, on which hung many iong-cherished associations with the memory of those who can never return to sanctify the new scenes resulting from the catastrophe. " On Sunday," he observes, " the 2d of August, I returned from church by the river walk. The day was sultry and cloudy, and a gentle shower began to fall, which hardly penetrated the canopy of leaves overhead, and but added freshness to the surrounding natural objects, and especially to the roses and rhododendrons that were flowering among the rocks; this was the beginning of the rain, that continued without intermission all the night and for the next two days." The river walk referred to was on one of the banks of the Divie, leading down to the point of its junction with the Findhorn - a pleasure walk which had been constructed with especial care to conduct the line at an elevation considered to be beyond the reach of injury from floods. "The rocks and recesses of the wooded banks, and the little grassy slopes, were covered, in a wild way, with many thousand shrubs of all kinds, especially with laurels, rhododendrons, azaleas, lilacs, and a profusion of roses, which were thriving vigorously, and beginning to bear blossoms, whilst the rocks were covered with the different saxifrages, hung with all sorts of creepers, and enamelled with a variety of garden flowers, all growing artlessly, as if sown by the hand of Nature. The path was therefore considered to be not unworthy of the exquisite scenery through which it led; but the flood of the 3d and 4th of August left not one fragment of it remaining, from one end to the other. Not a tree, or shrub, or flower, or piece of soil, 508 WONDERS OF THE EARTH nay, or of moss or lichen, is to be seen beneath that boldly and sublimely sketched line of flood, that appears on either side, and from end to end of these rocks, like the awful handwriting of God on the wall! " Principal Baird, then on his way to Relugas, called to the postboy to stop, as he was crossing the Divie bridge, that he might enjoy the view of the scenery; but, "Na, na, sir," was the reply; " these are ower kittle times to be stopping on brigs! " The difference in the condition of Relugas immediately before and after being subjected to the action of the flood remarkably illustrates the tremendous power with which the Divie rushed down its beautiful glen. Its sloping banks were converted into perpendicular walls, and a mass of rock appears in the mid channel which before was at the side of the stream. The offices of the house, originally more than fifty yards from the water edge, and forty feet in perpendicular height above its level, were within a yard of the crumbling precipice. The Divie was before remarkable for the depth of its pools; but owing to the'accumulations of sand and gravel brought into its bed, these were so completely obliterated, that, for many weeks afterwards, a dog might have walked down its whole course, from Edenkillie church to the Findhorn, without difficulty. The swimming pool at Relugas had a depth of sixteen feet of water; but a deposit of gravel twenty feet deep was laid in it, changing the pool into a shallow, the bottom of which was four feet higher than the former surface of the water. " The whole scene, while enacting," remarks the proprietor, "had an air of unreality about it that bewildered the senses. It was like some of those wild melodramatic exhibitions where nature's operations are outheroded by the mechanist of a theatre, and where mountains are thrown down by artificial storms. Never did the unsubstantiality of all earthly things come so perfectly home to my conviction." What transpired in this neighborhood may be taken as a sample of the changes that were produced through the wide extent of country reached by the waters of the flood. At Loch-na-mhron, a small lake with a swampy AND THE HEAVENS. 509 island in the centre, a current drove into it with such force as to undermine and tear up the island, and carry it in mass to the opposite shore, where it was left stranded upon the bank. We have a record of remarkable transitions at a point of the River Nethey, extremely interesting to the geologist, the work of successive floods occurring during the interval of about a hundred years. A company once were pounding iron ore with their ponderous hammers, moved by active machinery, in its bed. These actors disappeared, and the river soon obliterated all traces of them and of their works, by filling up its channel there with rounded masses of stone mingled with gravel, upon which its waters were compelled to seek another bed considerably to the westward. But flood succeeded flood; and the quieter portions of each successive inundation spread over the ground, where by degrees they deposited a deep and fertile soil, forming a rich piece of land, the surface of which was six or eight feet above the level of the ground the works of the company had. occupied. The greater part of this beautiful flat was soon subjected to tillage; and, the seeds of some neighboring alder trees finding their way into a portion of it, a grove speedily made its appearance. The trees grew till they became tall and majestic, and agricultural labor went on till the flood of 1829 came down, when the mantle of alllvium was torn off, the corn land and the grove were swept away, and the memorials of manufacturing industry were again exposed to the light. Most of the rivers of the temperate zones are subject to these irregular floodings from the same cause, especially those which take their rise in high mountain regions, the St. Lawrence being the most remarkable exception, the level of which is not affected by either rains or drought. The vast lakes from which this river issues furnish its channel with an inexhaustible supply of water, and present a surface too extensive to be sensibly elevated by any extraordinary rains. A strong westerly wind, however, will affect the level of the St. Lawrence, and occasion a rise of six feet in the waters to the eastern 510. WONDERS OF THE EARTH extremity of Lake Erie. An easterly wind also upon the Orinoco will check its current, elevate the upper part of the stream, and force its waters into the channels of its tributaries, giving them a backward flow, and causing them to be flooded; and a northerly wind will drive the Baltic up the mouths of the Oder, and raise its level for a considerable distance. In a similar manner the Neva rises when a strong wind blows from the Gulf of Finland; and that occurrence, taking place coincidently with high water and the breaking up of the ice, would create an inundation sufficient to drown the whole population of St. Petersburg, and convert that brilliant capital, with all its sumptuous palaces, into a chaotic mass of ruins. We have the materials of this statement from M. Kohl. The Gulf of Finland runs to a point as it approaches the mouth of the Neva, where the most violent gales are always those from the west; so that the mass of waters on such occasions is always forcibly impelled towards the city. The islands forming the delta of the Neva, on which St. Petersburg stands, are extremely low and flat; and the highest point in the city is probably not more than twelve or fourteen feet above the average level of the sea. A rise of fifteen feet is therefore enough to place all St. Petersburg under watbr; and a rise of thirty feet is enough to drown almost every human being in the place. Hence the inhabitants of the capital are in constant danger of destruction at the period referred to, and can never be certain that the five hundred thousand of them may not, within the next twenty-four hours, be driven out of their houses to find, in multitudes of instances, a watery grave. This is not a chimerical danger; for, during its short continuance, the city of the czar has experienced some formidable inundations. The only hope of this apparently doomed city is, that the three circumstances may never be coincident, namely - high water, the breaking up of the ice, and a gale of wind from the west. It is nevertheless true, that the wind is very often westerly during spring, and the ice floating in the Neva and the Gulf of Finland is of a bulk AND THE HEAVENS. 511 amply sufficient to oppose a formidable obstacle to the egress of the water; so that it will not be surprising if St. Petersburg, after suddenly rising like a meteor from the swamps of Finland, should still more suddenly be extinguished in them. The periodical rise of rivers is either diurnal, semiannual, or annual, and proceeds from a variety of causes. Where streams descend immediately from mountains covered with snow, the heat of the sun melting the snow produces high water every day, the increase being the greatest in the hottest days. In Peru and Chile there are small rivers which flow only during the day, because they are fed entirely by the melting of the snow upon the summit of the Andes, which takes place only when the solar influence is in action. In Hindustan and some parts of Africa rivers exist which, though they flow night and day, are, from the accession of snow water, the greatest by day. Those rivers also which fall into the sea have their level daily varied by the tidal wave for some distance from their miouths, the extent through which the influence of the tides is felt being modified by the breadth and shape of their channels and the force of their current. The wider and more direct the bed of a stream communicating with the ocean, and the slower its motion, the farther the tide will penetrate; whereas a narrow and sinuous course and a great velocity offer obstructions to its progress. The tide of the Atlantic is perceived four hundred miles along the course of the Amazon, and that of the German Ocean extends about seventy miles up the Thames. Important facilities are afforded to the navigation of many rivers by this circumstance, for they are only accessible to'vessels of large burden at high water. The Rapid of Richelieu, on the St. Lawrence, where the river contracts, and has its course obstructed by rocks, impedes the navigation between Montreal and Quebec, except at high tide, when the water rises fifteen or eighteen feet, and the rapid entirely disappears. A semiannual or an annual rise alone distinguishes the rivers of intertropical regions and of countries bordering on the torrid zone. The semiannual rise is a 512 WONDERS OF THE EARTH feature of those rivers which drain high mountain ranges, and proceeds from the two independent causes - of the melting of the snows in spring or summer, and the great seasonal raind to which such districts are subject. The rivers which have only one annual rise are influenced by the latter cause alone, or by the two acting coincidently, and producing a grand periodical flood. The Tigris rises twice in the year- first, and most remarkably, in April, in consequence of the melting of the snows in the Mountains of Armenia; and secondly, in November, through an accession from the periodical rains. The Mississippi likewise is subject to two rises in the year — one about January, occasioned by the periodical rains that fall towards the lower part of its course; but the grand flood commences in March, and continues till June, proceeding from the melting of the ice in the upper part of the continent, where the Missouri and other tributary streams have their origin. A very striking spectacle is exhibited by this river in the season of inundation. It rises from forty to fiftyfeet in some parts of its course, and is from thirty to a hundred miles wide, all overshaded with forest except the interior stripe consisting of its bed. The water stands among the trees from ten to fifteen feet in height, and the appearance is exactly that of a forest rising from a lake, with its waters in rapid motion. For the protection of the cultivated lands, and to prevent their conversion into permanent swamps, an embankment, called the Levee, has been raised, which extends two hundred miles on the eastern shore of the river, and three hundred on the western. In Asia, the Ganges, Indus, and Euphrates exhibit inundations upon a similarly great scale. The Euphrates slightly increases in January, but the grand flood begins soon after the middle of March. It attains its height about the 20th of May, after which it falls rapidly till June. The decrease then proceeds gradually until the middle of November, when the stream is at its lowest. The rise of the water at Anah, above the site of ancient Babylon, occasionally amounts to AND THE HEAVENS. 513 eighteen feet, sometimes entering that town, running with a velocity exceeding five miles an hour.'The moment that the waters of the river recede, the rice and grain crops are sown il the marshes, and villages of slightly-made reed cottages are reared in their neighborhood. These last, in consequence of being suffered to remain too long, are often surprised by the returning inundation; and it is no uncommon spectacle for their occupants to be seen following the floating villages in canoes, for the purpose of recovering their property. But of all inundations that of the Nile, if not the most extensive, is the most regular, and has become the most celebrated, from the knowledge of it going back to the earliest periods to which history recurs. The rise of the river commences about the time of the summer solstice, attains its maximum height at the autumnal equinox, remains stationary for some days, and then gradually diminishes till the time of the winter solstice. The ancients, unacquainted with the climate of. the interior country from which it descends, and not caring in general to inquire for physical causes, possessing also a very limited knowledge of terrestrial phenomena, deemed the annual overflow of the Nile a unique event, and attributed it to the special interference of a supernatural power. It is now well known to proceed from the heavy periodical rains within the tropics. They fall in copious torrents upon the great plateau of Abyssinia, which rises like a fortress six thousand feet above the burning plains with which it is surrounded on every side, attracting the clouds, cold fogs, and tremendous showers, enveloping An Rober, the capital, while, whenever the curtain of mist is withdrawn, the strange contrast is presented of the sulphureous plains visible below, where the heat is ninety degrees, hnd the drought excessive. A peculiar character has been given to this district by the violence of the periodical rains. Bruce speaks of the mountains of this table land, not remarkable for their height, but for their number and uncommon forms. "Some of them are flat, thin, and square, in shape of a hearthstone or slab that scarce would seem to 65 514 WONDERS OF THE EARTH have base sufficient to resist the winds. Some are like pyramids; others like obelisks or prisms; and some, the most extraordinary of all, pyramids pitched upon their points, with their base uppermost." Mr. Salt confirms this delineation in the main. The peculiar shapes referred to have been formed by the action of the torrents discharged from the clouds, which have for ages been skeletonizing the country, dismantling the granite with its kindred masses of the softer deposits, gradually wearing away also these harder rocks, and carrying alone the soil of Ethiopia, strewing it upon the valley of the Nile to the shores of the Mediterranean. When Bruce was ascending Taranta, a sudden noise was heard on the heights louder than the loudest thunder; and almost directly afterwards a river, the channel of which had been dry, came down in a stream several feet in depth, and as broad as the whole bed. Hence the steeple and obelisk form of the rocks, with their naked aspect, which has, not unaptly, been compared to bones stripped of their flesh. In the tropical countries of South America the seasonal rains are perhaps more intensely copious than in any other part of the torrid zone, and the floods of its rivers are of corresponding magnitude. At the mission of San Antonio de Javita, on the Orinoco, during the wet season, the sun and stars are seldom visible; and Humboldt was told by the padre that it sometimes rained for four or five months without intermission. The traveller collected there, in five hours, twentyone lines of water in height on the 1st of May, and fourteen lines on the 3d, in three hours; whereas at Paris there fall only twenty-eight or thirty lines in as many weeks. Humboldt traces the transition from the one great season of drought to that of rain, which divides the year, in an interesting manner, with the atmospheric phenomena which accompany the change. About the middle of February, in the valleys of Araqua, he observed clouds forming in the evening, and in the beginning of March the accumulation of vesicular vapors became visible. " Nothing," he remarks in -beautifully graphic AND THE HEAVENS.'515 style, "can equal the purity of the atmosphere from December to February. The sky is then constantly without clouds, and should one appear it is a phenomenon that occupies all the attention of the inhabitants. The breeze from the east and north-east blows with violence. As it always carries with it air of the same temperature, the vapors cannot become visible by refrigeration. Towards the end of February and the beginning of March the blue of the sky is less intense; the hygrometer gradually indicates greater humidity; the stars are sometimes veiled by a thin stratum of vapors; their light ceases to be tranquil and planetary; and they are seen to sparkle from time to time at the height of twenty degrees above the horizon. At this period the breeze diminishes in strength, and becomes less regular, being more frequently interrupted by dead calms. Clouds accumulate towards the south-east, appearing like distant mountains, with distinct outlines. From time to time they are seen to separate from the horizon, and traverse the celestial vault with a rapidity which has no correspondence with the feebleness of the wind that prevails in the lower strata of the air. At the end of March the southern region of the atmosphere is illuminated by small electric explosions, like phosphorescent gleams, confined to a single group of vapors. From this period the breeze shifts at intervals and for several hours to the west and south-west, affording a sure indication of the approach of the rainy season, which on the Orinoco commences about the end of April. The sky begins to be overcast, its azure color disappears, and a gray tint is uniformly diffused over it. At the same time the heat of the atmosphere gradually increases, and, instead of scattered clouds, the whole vault of the heavens is overspread with condensed vapors. The howling monkeys begin to utter their plaintive cries long before sunrise. The atmospheric electricity, which, during the period of the greatest drought, - from December to March, - had been almost constantly in the daytime from one and seven tenths to two lines of Volta's electrometer, becomes extremely variable after 516 WONDERS OF ThE EARTH March. During whole days it appears null; and again for some hours the pith balls of the electrometer diverge from three to four lines. The atmosphere, which in the torrid as in the temperate zone is generally in a state of positive electricity, passes alternately, in the course of eight or ten minutes, to a negative state. The rainy season is that of thunder storms. The storm rises in the plains two hours after the sun passes through the meridian, and therefore shortly after the period of the maximum of the diurnal heat in the tropics. In the inland districts it is exceedingly rare to hear thunder at night or in the morning, nocturnal thunder storms being peculiar to certain valleys of rivers which have a particular climate." The substance of the explanation of the preceding phenomena, by the philosophic writer of the statement, may be briefly given: The season of rains and thunder in the northern equinoctial zone coincides with the passage of the sun through the zenith of the place, the cessation of the breezes, or north-east winds, and the frequency of calms, and furious currents of the atmosphere from the south-east and southwest, accompanied with a cloudy sky. While the breeze from the north-east blows, it prevents the atmosphere from being saturated with moisture. The hot and loaded air of the torrid zone rises, and flows off again towards the poles, while inferior currents from these last, bringing drier and colder strata, take the place of the ascending columns. In this manner the humidity, being prevented from accumulating, passes off towards the temperate and colder regions, so that the sky is always clear. When the sun, entering the northern signs, rises towards the zenith, the breeze from the north-east softens, and at length ceases; this being the season at which the difference of temperature between the tropics and the contiguous zone is least. The column of air resting on the equinoctial zone becomes replete with vapors, because it is no longer renewed by the current from the pole; clouds form in this atmosphere, saturated and cooled by the effects of radia AND THE HEAVENS. 517 tion and the dilatation of the ascending air*which increases its capacity for heat in proportion as it is rarefied. Electricity accumulates in the higher regions, in consequence of the formation of the vesicular vapors, the precipitation of which is constant during the day, but generally ceases at night. The showers are more violent, and accompanied with electrical explosions, shortly after the maximum of the diurnal heat. These phenomena continue until the sun enters the southern signs, when the polar current is reestablished, because the difference between the heat of the equinoctial and temperate regions is daily increasing. The air of the tropics being thus renewed, the rains cease, the vapors are dissolved, and the sky resumes its azure tint. The Orinoco, when in flood, inundates a vast extent of country, six hundred miles in length and from sixty to ninety in width. Its waters cover the savannas along its banks to the depth of twelve or fourteen feet, giving to them a lake-like appearance, in the midst of which farm houses and villages are seen rising on islands but little elevated above the surface. The wild cattle perish in great numbers, and fall an easy prey to the carrion vultures and alligators. In one part of the river Humboldt found marks of recent inundation at fortyfive feet above the ordinary level; but above the greatest height to which its waters are now elevated he traced its ancient action at one hundred and six or even one hundred and thirty-eight feet. "Is this river, then," inquires he, " the Orinoco, which appears to us so imposing and majestic, merely the feeble remnant of those immense currents of fresh water which, swelled by Alpine snows or by more abundant rains, every where shaded by dense forests, and destitute of those beaches that favor evaporation, formerly traversed the regions to the east of the Andes, like arms of inland seas ~ What must then have been the state of those low countries of Guiana, which now experience the effects of annual inundations! What a prodigious number of crocodiles, lamartines, and boas must have inhabited these vast regions, alternately 518 WONDERS OF THE EARTH converted into lpols of stagnant water and arid plains! The more peaceful world in which we live has succeeded to a tumultuous world. Bones of mastodons and real American elephants are found dispersed over the platforms of the Andes. The megatherium inhabited the plains of Uruguay. By digging the earth more deeply in high valleys, which at the present day are unable to nourish palms or tree ferns, we discover strata of coal, containing gigantic remains of monocotyledonous plants. There was, therefore, a remote period when the tribes of vegetables were differently distributed, when the animals were larger, the rivers wider and deeper. There stop the monuments of nature which we can consult." In advancing towards their termination, and at their embouchure, the great rivers present several striking peculiarities. It has already been remarked that a junction of two large streams often occurs without any expansion of the surface of their waters being the consequence, but a greater velocity of current and depth of channel. In some cases, instead of a wider course being created by increased volume of water, there is actually a narrower bed. Thus the Mississippi is a mile and a half wide, and the Missouri half a mile wide, at their confluence; yet from that point to the mouth of the Ohio, the medium width of the united rivers is but three quarters of a mile, and through the lower parts of its course the main stream has, if any thing, a less surface breadth, though vast accessions are made to it by the Arkansas, Red River, and others of great depth and body of water. Most of the tributaries of the Mississippi also are wider a thousand miles apart from it than at the point of junction; and the same feature is characteristic of other great streams, that as they increase their volume of water, and approach their termination, they flow in narrower though deeper channels. The Nile is not so broad at Cairo as at Siout, nor so broad at Siout as at Thebes. At Assouan, high up the stream, it is thirty-nine hundred feet wide; at Oudi, thirty-six miles above Cairo, it is twenty-nine hundred; and at Rosetta, near its AND THE HEAVENS. 519 mouth, but eighteen hundred. This is one of the many examples of benign adjustment with which the realms of nature teem; for hereby a rich legacy of fertile soil, usually found at the mouths of rivers, is saved from submergence, and becomes the inheritance of man. In their junction with the sea, rivers display the diversity of sometimes pouring forth their waters through a single mouth, and distributing them into a variety of channels - circumstances mainly dependent upon the country through which they flow being easily susceptible of excavation or not, and upon the power of the stream. The Volga is celebrated for its seventy mouths; and the Rhine, the Nile, Mississippi, and Orinoco pour out their currents through several branches. The space enclosed within these various channels is called a delta, from its triangular form and general resemblance to the shape of the Greek letter a. So powerfully do many of the great rivers rush into the ocean, that their waters are distinct from those of the briny deep, when out of sight of the land. A British fleet lying opposite to the mouth of the Rhone occasionally took up fresh water at a considerable distance from the shore; and Columbus found his vessel in the fresh water of the Orinoco before he discovered the continent of South America. The collision of a great river current and the opposing tide of the sea is sometimes so violent as to occasion an elevated ridge of waters, heaving and tossing in a tremendous manner, shattering to pieces the ill-fated vessel that comes into contact with it. The passage of the Garonne into the Bay of Biscay, and of the Ganges into the Bay of Bengal, exhibit this phenomenon. Upon the rivers meeting the advancing tides a conflict ensues for the mastery, and the force of the sea, triumphing in the struggle, often sends a mountain wave up the streams, overturning boats, inundating the banks, anrd causing extensive destruction. The most remarkable example of this struggle for empire, between the waters of the land and of the deep, occurs off the mouth of the Amazon, and is the Indian pororoca. When the 520 WONDERS OF THE EARTH tide flows out of the river, it pours forth its unshackled current with greater fury, and meeting at right angles with the ocean current that runs from Cape St. Roque along the north-east coast of Brazil, the shock of these two bodies raises their waters into an embankment, upwards of a hundred feet in height. The roar of the clashing waves is heard for miles around, and the fishermen and mariners fly in terror from the scene till the strife is over, speedily to be renewed. In treating of the magnitude of rivers, some writers refer to the elevation of the range of mountains from wnich they descend; and it is obviously true, that the greater the height of the mountains, the more extensive are their snows and glaciers, and the larger the supply of water furnished by springs and torrents. But the magnitude of a stream is more especially regulated by the extent of country which forms the declivities of its basin, though there is no invariable proportion here, for a small basin in a humid region will yield a greater quantity of water than one much more considerable in a different situation. High mountains, a humid climate, and a wide superficial drainage, are the three physical circumstances which lead to the accumulation of vast bodies of water, the magnitude of which will be proportionate to the degree in which these causes are in combined operation. Upon the surface of the new world, we have these causes acting with greater intensity than upon that of the old, which explains the superior character of the streams of the western continent. The first place among the rivers of the globe is due to the Amazon, if not for the length of its course, yet for the volume of its waters. It traverses the equatorial regions of South America, chiefly in a direction from west to east, and has its embouchure nearly under the equator. Its mouth was discovered in the year 1500, by Pinzon, one of the captains who sailed with Columbus on his first voyage; and thirty-nine years afterwards the stream was traced downward from Peru by Francisco Orellana, whose name was given to the river by AND THE HEAVENS. 521 his countrymen to preserve the memory of his bold enterprise. But the Spaniard's report of having met with armed women on its banks deprived him of the honor, for it originated the common title of the River of the Amazons. Its principal affluents rival the largest rivers of the eastern continent, as appears from the following statement of their supposed lengths: Miles. Miles. Ucayali,.. 1350 Topayos,.... 1000 Yutai,... 750 Xingu,. 1080 Jaura,... 750 Napo,..... 800 Madeira,... 1800 Rio Negro,... 1400 The width of the Amazon averages from one to two miles in the upper parts of its course; but towards its termination its opposite banks are seen with difficulty, and it widens to upwards of a hundred miles, which is about its breadth upon joining the Atlantic. For two thousand miles in a direct line from the ocean the river is navigable by vessels of any burden; for at the confluence of the Tunguragua and Ucayali, where the Amazon, properly so called, commences, no bottom was found, in March, 1836, with a line of thirty-five fathoms, or two hundred and ten feet. The tide rushes up its channel with immense violence at the period of the full moon, in two, three, and sometimes four successive waves, each presenting a perpendicular front of from ten to fifteen feet. When the tide ebbs in the rainy season the liberated waters of the river rush out of their channel with tremendous force, and create a current in the ocean which is perceptible five hundred miles from its mouth. It is difficult to sound the river, owing to the rapidity of its current, which runs commonly at the rate of from three to four miles an hour - a momentum not arising from the inclination of its bed, the fall of which is very gradual, but from the immense quantity of water which descends in it. The climate of its basin is perhaps the most humid to which any country is subject. The quantity of rain which annually descends upon this region 66 522 WONDERS OF THE EARTH has not been ascertained with precision; but taking that at the town of Maranhao as a sample, which is not less than two hundred inches, the amount of rain poured upon the district of the Amazon every year must be prodigious. The heat, also, is excessive through the whole year, the thermometer in the shade frequently rising to one hundred and six degrees when the sun is near the line, a degree of heat not much inferior to that experienced in the Sahara; and as moisture and heat are the most efficient agents in promoting vegetation, hence the luxuriance and energy of vegetable life in the fertile soil on the banks of the river, where the noblest woodland scenery in the world is to be found. Notwithstanding the rapid! current of the Amazon, its navigation is easy to vessels both descending and ascending its course - the ascent being facilitated by the far-penetrating tide of the Atlantic, assisted by the wind, which is always blowing from the east, a direction contrary to that of the stream. But the effect of the presence and absence of civilization is nowhere more strikingly exhibited than on the waters of the South American river, and those of its rivals, the Mississippi, and the Yang-tse-Kiang of the. Chinese empire. The vessels that annually appear upon the surface of the Amazon are probably not more than those which monthly navigate the Mississippi, or daily pass along the course of the Yang-tse-Kiang. At the head of rivers classed according to their length the Mississippi is to be placed, taking the Missouri branch, which ought to be the name of the united stream, not only on account of its longer course, but because it brings down a greater body of water, and imparts its turbid character to its rival. The most beautiful tributary of the Mississippi is the Ohio, — 4he belle rivibre of the early French settlers,- the only large river it receives from the east. No stream rolls for the same distance so uniformly and peacefully; its banks are adorned with the largest sycamores, its waters clear, and studded with islands covered with the finest trees. All the AND THE HEAVENS. 523 other great tributaries flow from the wek — its confluence with the Missouri, which enters it like a conqueror, and carries its white waves to the opposite shore, presenting one of the most extraordinary views in the world. The country around these vast watercourses is of the most varied description, alternately exhibiting wild rice lakes and swamps, limestone bluffs and craggy hills, deep pine forests and beautiful prairies —the prairies showing an almost perfect level, in summer covered with a luxuriant growth of grass and flowers, without a tree or a bush. The bluffs of the Mississippi are for the most part perpendicular masses of limestone, often shooting up into towers and pinnacles, presenting at a distance the aspect of the battlements and turrets of an ancient city. In the season of inundation below the mouth of the Ohio the river presents a very striking spectacle. It sweeps along in curves or sections of circles from six to twelve miles in extent, measured from point to point, and not far from the medial width of a mile. On a calm spring morning, and under a bright sun, this sheet of water shines like a mass of burnished silver, its edges being distinctly marked by a magnificent outline of cotton wood trees, at this time of the year of the brightest verdure, among which those brilliant birds of the country, the black and red bird and the blue jay, flit to and fro, or wheel their flight over them, forming a scene which has all of grandeur or beauty that nature can furnish to soothe or enrapture the beholder. The curvilinear course of the Mississippi is one of its most striking peculiarities. It meanders in uniform bends, which in many instances are described with a precision equal to that obtained by the point of a compass. The river sweeps round the half of a circle, and is then precipitated in a diagonal direction across its own channel to another curve of the same regularity upon the opposite shore. Instead of calculating distances by miles or leagues, the boatmen and Indians estimate their progress by the number of bends which they have passed. This conformation, which distinguishes most of the streams of the Mississippi valley, 524 WONDERS OF THE EARTH must have transpired under the operation of some law; but hitherto no solution of the problem has been given which is quite satisfactory. Geological appearances indicate that this stream, like the Orinoco, had in former -ages a much broader volume, though a shorter course; that, in fact, it once found its estuary not far below the present mouth of the Ohio, the alluvial country now stretching from thence to the south, near a thousand miles, being then an arm of the sea. " No thinking mind," says Flint, " can contemplate this mighty and resistless wave, sweeping its proud course from point to point, curving round its bends through the dark forests, without a feeling of sublimity. The hundred shores, laved by its waters; the long course of its tributaries, some of which are already the abodes of cultivation, and others pursuing an immense course without a solitary dwelling of civilized man on their banks; the numerous tribes of savages that now roam on its borders; the affecting and imperishable traces of generations that are gone, leaving no other memorial of their existence or materials for their history than their tombs that rise at frequent intervals along its banks; the dim, but glorious anticipations of the future, - these are subjects of contemplation that cannot but associate themselves with the view of this river." Though far inferior to these streams of the western world in point of length and volume, the Nile of the ancient continent may be placed at the head of remarkable rivers. One of its chief peculiarities is the solitary grandeur of.its flow, for not a single affluent enters it from the junction of the Tacazze to the sea, a distance of fifteen hundred miles - a circumstance without a parallel in the physical condition of rivers. Another of its striking features is its long course through a desert, dry, barren, and hideous, depositing by its annual inundation the richest soil on those portions of it which lie contiguous to its banks; and hence has originated the apt comparison of its career to the path of a good man amidst ars evil generation. Egypt would be completely sterile AND THE HEAVENS. 525 were it not for the periodical overflow of its only stream, which both covers a large part of its surface with a layer of alluvion, and imparts to it the requisite moisture. " Rich king of floods! o'erflows the swelling Nile - -. glad to quit The joyless desert, down the Nubian rocks From thundering steep to steep he pours his urn, And Egypt joys beneath the spreading wave." It requires the river to attain a medium rise in order to benefit the country —too little involving scarcity and famine, too much compromising the safety of the people and their dwellings. Wilkinson calls a rise of nineteen cubits tolerable; twenty, good; twenty-one, sufficient; while a rise of twentytwo cubits is abundant enough to fill every canal; and a rise of twenty-four cubits would overwhelm and ruin the villages. A cubit is rather more than twenty-one inches; so that in order fully to meet the wants of the country, a perpendicular rise of thirty-eight feet is necessary. The Nile is also distinguished among rivers for the pleasant taste and salubrity of its waters, when not in flood - properties highly extolled by the ancients, and acknowledged to belong to it by modern travellers. It is a common saying with the Egyptians, that if Mahomet had tasted of its stream he would have sought a terrestrial immortality in order to enjoy it forever. The physical circumstances of the river easily account for the possession of this attribute. The air above is pure and serene. But little rain falls upon the country through which the greater part of its course is prosecuted, and no snow or hail. Hence there is little drainage into it from the surrounding land; and its waters are kept free from any noxious taint derived from earths and minerals, except from those in its immediate channel. The same property of being remarkably pure and salutary is ascribed by Herodotus to one of the Susianic rivers, of which alone, according to tradition, none but the kings of Persia drank. "There Susa, by Choaspes' amber stream, The drink of none but kings." 526 WONDERS OF THE EARTH The Susianic streams, along with the Nile, may not improperly be styled the oldest rivers of the globe, because of their place in its most ancient traditions and histories; and however subordinate to the gigantic currents of the western hemisphere, those of the eastern in general present higher points of interest, in their long-known identification with the destinies of mankind. If not the actual birthplace of man, the great plains -on the banks of the Tigris and the Euphrates were the abode of the founders of the diluvian race. There the two greatest cities of the ancient world, Nineveh and Babylon, rose into magnificence. There a supernatural finger traced the doom of the latter upon the palace wall of its trembling monarch; while an exiled Jew, in the majesty of inspiration, gave him the interpretation of the mystic writing. There, too, the splendid empire of the Medes and Persians fell a prey to the Macedonian on the field of Arbela; while in later ages the same neighborhood witnessed the catastrophe of Cunaxa, and the bold bearing of the indomitable ten thousand - the defeat and death of Crassus -- the retreat of Mark Antony - the fall of the apostate Julian - and the short-lived glory of Bagdad. How different the associations connected with the Arkansas and the Osage to those. of the Euphrates and Tigris! AND THE HEAVENS. 527 CHAPTER XVI. LAKES. - LAKE CELANO DRAINED [BY AN ARTIFICIAL TUNNEL THREE MILES IN LENGTH THROUGH THE BASE OF A MOUNTAIN. - LAKES RECEIVING LARGE STREAMS, BUT HAVING NO OUTLETS. — THE DEAD SEA. - LAKES CONTAINING FLOATING ISLANDS. - FLOATING ISLAND TEN MILES LONG IN THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER. LARGE or small collections of water, fresh or saline, and surrounded by land, are termed lakes, and have an aspect upon the face of the continents similar to that of islands in the ocean. The largest lake in the world, the Caspian, is geographically situated both in Europe and Asia, but is commonly classed with the physical features of the latter country, and styled a sea from its size and saltness. Measured according to its curvilinear shape, in the middle of its breadth it exceeds nine hundred miles in length, with an average width of two hundred, and has an area of nearly one hundred and sixty thousand square miles. The next in extent, that of Aral, has, with the Caspian, received the denomination of an inland sea, and is nearly a fourth part of its size. The Lake Baikal, in Siberia, has a computed area of twenty thousand square miles, and both in Central and Western Asia there are large expanses of nearly equal extent. In Africa lagoons occur along the coasts; small briny pools, also, are common in the deserts; but the interior is a great mass of solid land, seldom broken by either rivers or lakes. The chief of the latter, and the best known, is that of Dembia, in Abyssinia, measuring, in Bruce's map, sixty-five miles in its greatest length. The Tchad is larger still, but we are only very imperfectly acquainted with it. It lies in the Negro land of the Arabs, in fifteen degrees 528 WONDERS OF THE EARTH east longitude, and thirteen degrees thirty minutes north latitude, and is supposed to be about two hundred miles long and one hundred and fifty broad. The northern part of the western world is preeminently the country of lakes, presenting the largest masses of fresh water to be found upon the surface of the globe. The following statement shows the area of the principal: - Sq. Miles. Sq. Miles. Lake Superior,. 40,000 Winnipeg,... 9,000 Huron,... 25,000 Athabasca,. 3,000 Michigan,.. 25,000 Great Slave Lake, 12,000 Erie,.. 11,000 Great Bear Lake, 8,000 Ontario,... 10,000 Champlain,.. 500 In South America, the Lake of Titicaca, in Upper Peru, covers a surface of about four thousand square miles; and immense swampy plains and lagoons are common along the course of the rivers. Lakes are sometimes considered under the two divisions of fresh and salt water; but there are many occupying intermediate stations with reference to these extremes. We shall follow another arrangement of them, in four classes, which will more fully embrace their physical conditions, and then notice some remarkable phenomena by which several are distinguished. 1. There is a class which have no apparent affluents or outlets. They are fed chiefly by subaqueous springs, and occur frequently in hollows, which have the appearance of extinct volcanic craters. They are generally small, but of more stable character than the larger sheets of water formed by rivers. Not receiving any great superficial current, they are not subject to those changes of their depth and outline which take place in the lakes with affluents through deposition of the mud and sand brought into them by turbid torrents. Collections of water of a similar kind abound in the great steppes of Northern and Western Asia. They are called lakes, but are perhaps more properly pools, being formed of -~.. __._......~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ —-— ~ —-......... -Z~~~~~~~~~~~: a9ZI``~..... - =-... _.,e —-;'/~-==r~-~ —=; =~~ g~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~; ~~~~-=. —----— =~ ~~~ ~ Ii__ _L —~AYE.S. S_ A reiarkbl asin or akein te Isand f St I/r'i r c - r n f e r e n c e a t t h e t o p i s 2 j m i l e s, a n d a t t h e w a t e r' s e d g e, 1 34 m i l e s. I t s d e p t h i s 8 8 0 f e e t, a n d t h e d e p t h o f t h e w a t e r =;.,its1)fe.Abu i et rmtelke n erth arwcane hc onet twthteoen is a hot sprintg, in which fish caught here have been expeditiously cooked.~~~~~~~~~~~~C AND THE HEAVENS. 529 accumulated rains and melted snow, which are largely, and in some cases entirely evaporated by the summer heat, though several have a circumference of from ten to twelve miles, and a depth of six or seven feet. Their waters are commonly saline, and, what is most remarkable, and hitherto unexplained, sheets of fresh water are found in their immediate vicinity. The most considerable example of this class is the Lake of Tuzla, which lies northward of the great range of Taurus, on the high central plateau of the Lesser Asia. Though narrow, it extends fifty miles in length, and is so extremely salt that no fish or aquatic animal can live in it; even the wild fowls are afraid to venture upon its waters, for by so doing their wings become stiff with a thick coating of salt; and any substance thrown into them speedily receives a saline incrustation. Strabo, the geographer of antiquity, a native of the peninsula, was personally acquainted with this lake, and mentions these circumstances, the accuracy of which modern travel has confirmed. The Sultan Murad IV. made a causeway across it upon the occasion of marching his army to the attack of Bagdad; for, owing to excessive evaporation during the summer and autumn heats, the lake is extremely shallow. The remains of this causeway are now almost concealed by a saline encasement, and a thick crust of solid salt covers the bed of the lake. 2. Another class have outlets, but no apparent affluents. These lakes usually occupy a high elevation above the level of the sea, and derive their supplies from subterranean springs. One on Monte Rotondo, in the Island of Corsica, is at the height of nine thousand feet. They are not inconsiderable in number, and are frequently the sources of important rivers. The course of the Volga may be traced up to a lake of this kind, but which is only slightly elevated above the sea level. 3. A third class receive affluents, but have no outlets. Lakes of this description are exceedingly rare, but they are the most peculiar of all. That of Celano, in Italy, the ancient Fucinus, exhibits a superficial extent of one hundred square 67 530 WONDERS OF THE EARTH miles, and has no natural outlet for its waters through the hills by which it is surrounded. Owing to its rise in former times, an immense tract of excellent land was lost, and the Roman senate was petitioned to drain it —a scheme which Julius Caesar is said to have contemplated. For effecting this purpose a tunnel three miles long, through one of its mountain boundaries, was formed by the Emperor Claudius; and the younger Pliny relates the barbarous ceremony of its opening. During the space of eleven years thirty thousand men were employed in digging the passage, and when every thing was ready for letting off the water, a naval spectacle was exhibited upon it. A great number of condemned criminals were ranged in separate fleets, obliged to engage in earnest, and to destroy one another for the entertainment of the court, and the multitude of spectators who covered the hills. A line of well-armed vessels and rafts, loaded with soldiers, surrounded the scene of action, in order to prevent any of the victims from escaping. Pliny states, however, that when this savage diversion was ended, and the operations for opening the tunnel commenced, the emperor was very near being swept away and drowned, by the sudden rush of the waters towards the vent: The tunnel was speedily choked up, and the Celano Lake rose so much as to cover ten thousand acres of fertile soil, when it was again reopened, and other hydraulic means adopted to keep the waters to a low level. Lakes of this description, without any outward current, though continually receiving large streams, are principally found in Asia, and are for the most part salt. Such is the great Lake of Urameah, on the Persian frontier, which, according to Colonel Kinneir, is three hundred miles in circumference, and is land-locked amid the picturesque mountains and valleys of Azerbijan. Though constantly fed by numerous currents, it has no outlet; yet there is no increase of its waters, but a gradual diminution, the waste through evaporation being greater than the supply. The lake is intensely salt, as appears from the depositions left upon the beach. For some distance from the brink, a perfect AND THE HEAVENS. 531 pavement of the solid mineral may be seen under the shallows. A village is pointed out as having once overhung its waters, which is now separated from them by a strand covered with salt a quarter of a mile broad. Beyond a chain of hills to the north-west lies another example, the Lake Van of Armenia, so celebrated for its beauty by the eastern writers, both in prose and verse. It occupies the bottom of a volcanic amphitheatre, is upwards of two hundred and forty miles in circumference, and receives the waters of eight rivers without sending off any stream. By far the most remarkable instances of this class of lakes are the Caspian, the Sea of Aral, and the Dead Sea. The majestic volume of the Volga pours into the former, with the Ural, the Kur, and the Aras; yet, notwithstanding these great constant accessions, the Caspian dispenses no surplus waters through any outlet into the adjacent districts. It was once deemed a perplexing problem how the contributions of its. rivers were disposed of; but the evaporation from so vast an expanse during the heat of summer must be enormous, fully adequate not only to prevent any permanent rise of its level, but gradually to diminish it. The Sea of Aral, likewise, to the eastward, exhibits the same peculiarity. It received the Jaxartes and Oxus of the ancient geographers, now the Sihoun and Amou, but no stream issues from its banks. Both these bodies of water are salt, and abound with marine productions. All the varieties of sea animals are common to them that are found in the Black Sea, except those transient visitors which arrive in the latter for the purpose of spawning; and hence it has been conceived probable that both were once connected, forming a branch of the main ocean — an extension of the Euxine. The separation of the three, if ever they were united, may have arisen from the deposition of the alluvium conveyed in the course of ages by the Volga and the Don, together with the subterranean action of elastic fluids which belong to this volcanic territory. The Dead Sea, in the south of Palestine, called also by the Latin geographers Lacus 532 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Asphaltites, and by the Arabs Bahr Lout, or Lot's Sea, though very insignificant in size, when compared with the former, has greater historical and physical interest. It receives that venerated stream, the Jordan, and flows over the presumed site of judgment-stricken cities. "The inference from the Bible," says Lieutenant Lynch, who surveyed this sea in 1848, "that this entire chasm was a plain sunk and' overwhelmed' by the wrath of God, seems to be sustained by the extraordinary character of our soundings. The bottom of this sea consists of two submerged plains, an elevated and a depressed one; the last averaging thirteen, the former about thirteen hundred feet below the surface. But it is for the learned to comment on the facts we have laboriously collected. Upon ourselves the result is a decided one. WTe entered upon this sea with conflicting opinions. One of the party was sceptical, and another, I think, a professed unbeliever of the Mosaic account. After twenty-two days' close investigation, if I am not mistaken, we are unanimous in the conviction of the truth of the scriptural account of the destruction of the cities of the plain." The general breadth of the lake, which is very uniform, is estimated by a recent and careful survey at about nine geographical miles, and the length at thirty-nine; but the length appears to vary two or three miles in different years, or seasons of the year, according as the water extends more or less upon the flats at its southern extremity. During the rainy season, the influx derived from the Jordan and other streams is sufficiently copious to raise the level ten or fifteen feet, which is gradually lowered by evaporation under the burning heat of an unclouded sun in summer and autumn. Irby and Mangles speak of observing the effect of the evaporation arising from it, in broad, transparent columns of vapor, not unlike waterspouts in appearance, but very much larger. Lieutenant Lynch thus describes this phenomenon, which he witnessed during a calm: "The great evaporation enveloped it in a thin, transparent vapor, its purple tinge strangely con AND THE HEAVENS. 533 trasting with the extraordinary color of the sea beneath, and where they blended in the distance, giving it the appearance of smoke from burning sulphur. It seemed a vast caldron of metal, fused, but motionless." The lake lies in a deep caldron, surrounded by lofty cliffs of naked limestone rock, the western range running up to the height of fifteen hundred feet above the water, and the eastern to twenty-five hundred. Sterility and deathlike solitude prevail upon its shores, nor is it surprising, considering its dreary aspect, the tremendous catastrophe of the cities once associated with it, and the nature of its waters, that such wild stories should have been so long current respecting this pool. Josephus, after speaking of the conflagration of the plain, remarks, that " there are still to be seen ashes reproduced in the fruits; which, indeed, resemble edible fruits in color, but on being plucked with the hands are dissolved into smoke and ashes." These are the far-famed apples "which grew Near that bituminous lake where Sodom stood," but which, stripped of the marvellous, are the 8isher of the Arabs. This fruit externally resembles an apple or orange, but is filled chiefly with air, and bursts upon pressure. So far, however, from being peculiar to this region, it is found in great abundance in the Arabian peninsula, and along the valley of the Nile. In July, 1835, the Dead Sea was surveyed for the first time, in a boat, by Mr. Costigan, an Irishman, with a Maltese sailor as his servant, but who died soon after completing its tour. Mr. Stephens was informed by the servant, whom he found at Beyrout, that they had moved in a zigzag direction, crossing the lake several times; that every day they sounded frequently with a line of one hundred and seventyfive brachia, each about six feet; that they found the bottom rocky, and of very unequal depth, sometimes ranging twenty, thirty, forty, and eighty brachia, all within a few boats' length; that sometimes the lead brought up sand, like that 534 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of the neighboring mountains; that they failed but once to find the bottom, and in that place there were large bubbles all around for thirty paces, rising probably from a spring; that in four different places they found ruins, and could clearly distinguish large hewn stones, which seemed to have been used for buildings; that at the south end of the lake a long tongue of high land projects into the water, and is composed of solid salt, which has, at a distance, the appearance of an island, the extremity being higher than the isthmus. The lake was again surveyed in a boat, in March, 1837, by AMessrs. Moore and Beke, who found its depth in some places eighteen hundred feet. The aspect of the Mare Mortuum the deep mountain ravine in which it rolls - the wilderness around - the silence, solitude, and infertility of the district - together with the remembrance of ancient disaster, make a deep impression upon the mind of the visitor, and explain the tales of the ignorant and enthusiastic pilgrims of a former age, who transformed the howling of the wind upon its surface into the cry of guilty spirits haunting its recesses. " The view of this evening," says Dr. Robinson, "from our lofty encampment was most romantic. The whole Dead Sea lay before us. The full moon rose in splendor over the eastern mountains, and poured a flood of silvery light into the deep, dark chasm below, illuminating the calm surface of the sluggish waters. All was still as the silence of the grave. Our Arabs were sleeping round us on the ground; only the tall, pensive figure of the sheikh was seen sitting before the door of our tent, his eyes fixed intently upon us as we wrote." The waters of the Dead Sea are intolerably salt, bitter, and nauseous to the taste, so pungent that the eyes smart severely after bathing in them, and extremely buoyant. "Two of us," says the traveller just quoted, "bathed in the sea; and although I could never swim before, either in fresh or salt water, yet here I could sit, lie, or swim in the water, without difficulty." There appears to be no animal or vegetable life in this AND THE HEAVENS. 535 supersalt sea, and the water fowl are not attracted to its surface, owing to the absence of their customary food. "I dismounted," says Seitzen, " and followed for a time the shore of the sea, to look for conchylia and sea plants, but found none of either. And as fish live upon these, it might naturally be expected that no tenants of the waters would exist here; and this is confirmed by the experience of all whom I have inquired of, and who could know about it. Snails and muscles I have not found in the lake; some that I picked up on the shore were land snails." It is not improbable, however, that the Jordan, when swollen by the rains, may carry down fish into the lake, or they may voluntarily forsake the river current; but, as the naturalist Schubert remarks, " they soon pay for this love of wandering with their lives;" and hence small dead fishes are often picked up, which the waves have thrown upon the strand. The most remarkable of all the characteristics of the Mare Mortuum is the depression of its level below that of the Mediterranean. There is no doubt respecting this fact, though estimates vary as to the depth of the depression. From several observations on the temperature of boiling water, and by the barometer, Messrs. Moore and Beke inferred its surface to be five hundred feet below the level of the ocean. Professor Schubert concluded it to be six hundred feet; but MM. Russegger and Bertou, in 1838, made the depression extend to the enormous amount of fourteen hundred feet. The preceding measurements were barometrical; but Lieutenant Symonds, of the royal engineers, has since surveyed the country intervening between the two seas, and trigonometrically ascertained the level of the Dead Sea to be thirteen hundred and thirty-seven feet below that of the Mediterranean. He proceeded from level to level by two different routes, and the results of each differ by merely an insignificant fraction, so,that the question may now be said to be decided with exactness. A similar extraordinary circumstance characterizes the Caspian and the Sea of Aral, and extends far into the interior 536 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of the continent, stretching northward to Orenberg, on the Ural River, which is five hundred versts, or about three hundred and thirty-five miles, in a direct line firom the shores of the Caspian. The surface of the latter has been found, by levelling across the isthmus, to be about eighty-one feet below that of the Black Sea. Humboldt considers the depression of this part of the continent to have an intimate connection with the upheaving of the Caucasian Mountains, of the elevated plain of Persia, and, perhaps, more to the eastward, with the elevation of the great mass of land which is designated by the vague and incorrect name of the Central Plain of Asia. These are the more recondite speculations of geology, in favor of which a strong probability pleads. In the desert east of the Gulf of Tajura, at the mouth of the Red Sea, a lake has recently become known to European geographers, the Bahr Assal, which is marked by the feature we are noticing. It is about six or seven miles long, and partially fills a deep hollow in a country of volcanic formation, being five hundred and seventy feet below the level of the neighboring sea, from which it is divided by a belt about six miles across. The waters are extremely salt, and are constantly receding by evaporation under the action of the intense heat; for when the British mission to Shoa had a day's bivouac in this place, the mercury in the thermometer stood at one hundred and twenty-six degrees. The depression of the level of this lake is thus conjecturally, but in a natural and simple manner, accounted for, by M. Rochet d'Hericourt. The depth of the innermost basin of the Gulf of Tajura is not less than six hundred feet, or one hundred and twenty feet below the surface of the salt lake. He supposes the lake to have been anciently a part of the gulf, and to have been diked off from it by volcanic action. Receiving no fresh water, except after rains, it has been gradually diminished by evaporation, and five hundred cubic feet of depth may be supposed to have been lost since the upheaving took place. According to this conjecture, the bed of the lake and of the adjacent sea are on AND THE HEAVENS. 537 the same level; but the surface of the lake has been reduced below that of the sea, in the lapse of years, by the evaporation of a torrid climate, acting without sufficient compensation. 4. The last class of lakes have both affluents and outlets. These are the most numerous. They are sometimes formed by a number of streams flowing into a central basin, from whence the superabundant waters escape by one principal outlet, or they occur in the channel of a great river, and are the receptacles of its waters, which reissue at a point opposite to where they entered. Such are the principal lakes of Switzerland and the Scandinavian peninsula, of Ladoga and Onega, in Russia, and the Lake Baikal, in Southern Siberia. The latter is the Holy Sea of the Russians, the largest body of fresh water on the eastern continent, and the largest of all mountain lakes. It lies imbosomed in the ranges which form part of the northern rampart of the high central table land of Asia, and is supposed to be not less than twelve hundred miles in circumference. Its principal tributary, among upwards of one hundred and sixty, is the Selinga, from the south, which has a course of seven hundred miles, and drains a country not inferior in extent to the whole of Great Britain; and through a narrow and deep crevice in the mountains on the north-west it discharges its surplus waters by the Lower Angura, which joins the Yenesei, and is conducted to the Arctic Ocean. Naturalists have been unable to account for the existence of the salmon, the seal, and a kind of sponge, in the fresh water of the Baikal, otherwise than by supposing that in some remote age it was connected with the Northern Sea. To the same class the large inland seas of North America belong, which form a chain of magnificent fresh water expanses, upon the smallest of which frigates of the first magnitude have sailed, war been waged, and whose surface is tempest-tost like the ocean. The River St. Louis enters Lake Superior, the first of the chain in point of size, or reckoning from the west, besides an immense number of nameless streams from the surrounding 68 538 WONDERS OF THE EARTH country, where dense woods and long-continued frosts prevent evaporation from carrying off any large quantity of the superficial waters. The surplus tide of Lake Superior, which has a circumference of seventeen hundred and fifty miles, passes by river channels into the Huron, Erie, and Ontario Lakes, which, together with Lake Michigan, form one of the most important inland water communications of the globe. Scarcely inferior to these in size are the lakes to the north, which occupy the fur countries of America, and occur in chains. The corn munication is direct from fifty-five degrees north latitude, in a north-westerly course, through Deer, Wollaston, and Athabasca Lakes, to the Great Slave and Bear Lakes, a distance of nearly two thousand miles, only interrupted by falls and rapids in the connecting rivers. From the eastern extremity of the Great Slave Lake another chain extends in a north-easterly direction, which Captain Back traversed to the Polar Sea in his celebrated expedition in search of Captain Ross. Through great part of the year these lakes are icebound, adventurous travellers and the fur traders commonly passing over their frozen surface in dog sledges. This is the case with the North European and Asiatic lakes, across which an active commerce is carried on in the winter season. But some defy the rigor of the climate to bind up their waters. owing to their depth, or peculiar agitations to which they are subject. Loch Ness, in Scotland, never freezes; and, though ice is found in the bogs and morasses around Lake Baikal, even during the heat of summer, it does not cover up the lake itself before the middle or close of December. Passing from this arrangement of lakes into systems, we proceed to glance at a few of the more striking peculiarities which characterize them indifferently. Floating islands, in several instances of considerable size, are found in some of the lakes of Scotland, Ireland, Sweden, Germany, and Italy. We have an account of one in the latter country in the following letter addressed by Pliny to Gallus. It is only necessary to remark, that the Lake Vadimon, the scene of the phenomenon, is now the Laao di Bassanello. AND THE HEAVENS. 539 "Those works of art or of nature, which are usually the motives of our travels, are often overlooked and neglected, if they happen to lie within our reach; whether it be that we are naturally less inquisitive concerning those things which are near us, while our curiosity is excited by remote objects; or because the easiness of gratifying a desire is always sure to damp it; or, perhaps, that we defer, from time to time, viewing what we know we have an opportunity of seeing whenever we please. Be the reason what it may, it is certain there are several rarities in and near Rome, which we not only have -never seen, but have never so much as heard of; and yet, if they had been the production of Greece, or Egypt, or Asia, or any other country which we admire as fruitful in wonders, they would long since have been the subjects of our reading, conversation, and inspection. For myself, at least, I confess I have lately been entertained with a sight of one of these our indigenous singularities, to which I was an entire stranger before. My wife's grandfather desired I would look upon his estate near Ameria. As I was walking over his grounds, I was shown a lake that lies below them, called Vadimon, which I was informed had several very extraordinary qualities attending it. This raised my curiosity to take a nearer view. Its form is exactly circular; there is not the least obliquity or winding, but all is regular and even, as if it had been hollowed and cut out by the hand of art. The water is of a clear sky-blue, though with somewhat of a greenish cast; it seems, by its taste and smell, impregnated with sulphur, and is deemed of great efficacy in all fractures of the limbs, which it is supposed to consolidate. Notwithstanding it is but of a moderate extent, yet the winds have a great effect upon it, frequently throwing it into violent commotions. No vessels are suffered to sail here, as its waters are held sacred; but several floating islands swim about in it, covered with reeds and rushes, together with other plants, which the neighboring marsh and the borders of the lake produce. These islands differ in their size and shape; but the edges of all of them are worn away 540 WONDERS OF THE EARTH by their frequent collision against the shore and each other. They have all of them the same height and motion, and their respective roots, which are formed like the keel of a boat, may be seen hanging down in the water, on whichever side you stand. Sometimes they move in a cluster, and seem to form one entire little continent; sometimes they are dispersed into different quarters by the winds; at other times, when it is calm, they float up and down separately. You may frequently see one of the larger islands sailing along with a lesser joined to it, like a ship with its long boat; or, perhaps, seeming to strive which shall outswim the other; then again theyall assemble in one station, and afterwards joining themselves to the shore, sometimes on one side and sometimes on the other, cause the lake to appear considerably less, till, at last, uniting in the centre, they restore it to its usual size. The sheep which graze upon the borders of this lake frequently go upon these islands to feed, without perceiving that they have left the shore, till they are alarmed by finding themselves surrounded with water; and in the same manner, when the wind drives them back again, they return, without being sensible that they are landed. This lake empties itself into a river, which, after running a little way, sinks under ground, and if any thing is thrown in, brings it up again where the stream emerges. I have given you this account because I imagined it would not be less new nor less agreeable to you than it was to me, as I know you take the same pleasure as myself in contemplating the works of nature." There are various examples of these floating islands. Those of the Lake Gerdau, in Prussia, are said to afford sufficient pasturage for a hundred head of cattle, which have actually been found grazing on them; and noble elms grow upon one in the Lake Kolk, in Osnabriick. These islands have been formed by the gradual agglomeration of vegetable matter, reeds from the marshes, and roots of trees, upon which the waters have deposited fine sand and gravel, held in suspension, and have obviously required ages for their growth. The AND THE HEAVENS. 541 great raft near the mouth of the Mississippi is a production of an analogous kind. This is composed of the wood annually drifted down that river and its tributaries, consisting of the magnificent trees growing upon their banks, which fall into the waters, owing to the floods undermining their foundations and loosening their roots. Arrested by some obstruction in the river, a mass of timber has thus accumulated, and become consolidated by the interlacing of weeds and the deposition of alluvium, so as to form what is called "the raft," the dimensions of which in 1816 amounted to a length of ten miles, a width of two hundred and twenty yards, and a depth of eight feet. This is an island afloat in the bosom of the waters, having externally the appearance of solid land, for green bushes and a variety of beautiful flowers bloom upon its surface. The age of the raft, at the time when the preceding dimensions were given, is supposed to have been not more than thirtyeight years, from which some idea may be formed of the immense quantity of drift wood borne down by the waves of the Mississippi. The Swiss lakes exhibit some peculiar and interesting features. That of Zurich presents annually what is called the flowering of its waters. This is the appearance upon the surface of a very minute vegetation. But the Lake of Geneva, or Lac Leman, furnishes the most remarkable phenomenon. This is generally considered the finest inland sheet of water in Southern Europe. It fills a great cavity in the rocky strata of Switzerland, extending about forty-seven miles in its greatest length, and nine miles in its greatest breadth. High and rugged mountains form its boundary to the east, with more gentle slopes to the west, enriched with cornfields, villas, and vineyards. The turbid and discolored waters of the Rhone are filtered in it, and issue forth beautifully clear and pellucid. Owing to this deposition from the river, the lake has been much contracted at the point where the stream enters, so that the Roman town Portus Valesiae, which was close to the water's edge, is now separated from it by a tract of land more 542 WONDERS OF THE EARTH than a mile and a half in breadth. Among the peculiarities of the Lake of Geneva is that called seiches, by the people of the neighborhood. It consists in a sudden rising of the water, in the form of a tidal wave, sometimes to the height of five or six feet in the course of a few hours. A few of the Italian lakes, and some others of the Swiss, are subject to the same great undulatory movement, the cause of which is by no means certain, but conceived to lie in some local and transient variation of the pressure of the atmosphere. There is another phenomenon of which this lake is the scene, called the vaudaise. This is the ebullition of its waters, arising, perhaps, from the escape of subaqueous currents of air or gases. The agitation produced is at times so violent as to render the navigation of the lake dangerous. The appearance of tumult upon the surface of lakes without any sensible cause for it, is far from being uncommon, however strange it must seem to see their waters tossing to and fro, in the calmest weather, when not a twig is stirring in the woods upon their banks. On the 1st of November, 1755, without the least apparent cause, agitation seized the before peaceful waters of Loch Lomond, and they suddenly rose against their shores to a perpendicular height of two feet, and then subsided below their ordinary level. This was soon afterwards explained by the coincident occurrence of the earthquake at Lisbon. But Loch Lomond, along with Lake Wetter, in Sweden, often exhibit great disturbance, the cause of which must lie in themselves, and is probably due to the escape of currents of air from below their bed, though obscurity rests upon the manner of the formation of this subaqueous and subterranean prison house of the winds, or upon the opening of its doors. In the winter season, a lake near Boleslaw, in Bohemia, which has never been sounded, also exhibits upon its surface the effects of the action of some internal force; large masses of ice being whirled from it into the air. But of all phenomena of this kind, those which mark the Baikal are the most singular and unaccountable. They give it somewhat of a prophetic AND THE HEAVENS. 543 character, and would justify incredulity were they not well attested. It is rarely the case that its waters are smooth and calm; but when they are so, vessels upon their surface are often so violently shaken as to make it difficult to stand in them. There is commonly an undulation, which the sailors call kolychen or zyb, which increases previous to a wind arising. This undulation proceeds from the quarter of the wind, and its increase precedes it by about an hour; but while a moderate wind will be attended with great disturbance on the lake, a storm will produce much less effect. These circumstances have some connection with the physical condition of the district, - a focus of earthquakes, - but the links between the two are unknown to us; another evidence, that, in the physics of the earth, there is much yet beyond the reach of our philosophy. A small expanse of water near Beja, in Portugal, is said to announce a storm by its commotions; but, in general, the movements of lakes are confined to those produced by their own river currents, and the action of the external atmosphere. Winds produce an effect upon their surface, regulated by the extent exposed to their influence, and the character of the surrounding shores. The heavy autumnal gales that sweep over the ample volume of Lake Superior rouse it into tempest, and raise its waters several feet upon the opposite beach; and small mountain lakes are often violently agitated by the winds, which rush with greater power through the openings in their boundary, from the interruption which its walls present to their course. Lakes differ greatly in their color, clearness, and depth. It is difficult to account in every case for the tints of water. They are referable to a variety of causes. The geological character of the beds of lakes, of the surrounding objects from which shadows are cast, and of the soil drained by them, — their depth, with the nature and quantity of the subaqueous vegetation, - have influence in determining the color of their waters. Those of the Great Bear Lake are a beautiful light blue, especially in the vicinity of the primitive mountains of 544 WONDERS OF THE EARTH McTavish Bay, where they are very transparent. A piece of white rag, when sunk here, did not disappear till it had descended to the depth of ninety feet. - This remarkable transparency belongs to the waters of Lake Superior, which are so pellucid that the fish and rocks are distinctly visible at most extraordinary depths. Those of Lake Huron also are brilliantly crystalline; and to a voyager on some of the Scandinavian lakes the density of the medium on which he is floating appears little greater than that of the atmosphere. So completely are the senses here sometimes deceived, that the stranger has recoiled in involuntary alarm from his situation, impressed with the idea of being about to be precipitated among the rocks and chasms disclosed below him. " Nothing," says Elliot, in his letters from the north of Europe, " appears more singular to a foreigner than the transparency of the waters of the Norwegian lakes. At the depth of one hundred or one hundred and twenty feet the surface of the ground beneath is perfectly visible; sometimes it may be seen wholly covered with shells, sometimes only sprinkled with them, now a submarine forest presents itself to view, and now a subaqueous mountain." A farthing has been seen at the depth of one hundred and twenty feet in Lake Wetter, in Sweden. Some lakes are periodical, their waters retiring into subterranean reservoirs through crevices in their beds, from whence they successively reissue. This is the case with Lake Cirknitz, in Illyria, which displays frequent intermission, dependent, in the period of its occurrence, upon the season. It has been full for three or four years together, and dry twice or thrice in the year. We may here infer a connection with a body of water at a lower level, whose increase and diminution, through rain and drought, cause the alternate appearance and failure of the lake. By a subterraneous channel, the Lake of Joannina communicates with the River Kalamat, the Thyamis of the ancient Greeks, by which its dimensions are much reduced in summer, and maize is grown upon the deserted ground. The waters of the Caspian Sea are said to be subject to a AND THE HEAVENS. 545 change of level of a very anomalous kind, increasing and decreasing through periods of about thirty years- a statement which, if true, is perfectly inexplicable. But notwithstanding any temporary alterations of their level, it is a well-attested fact, that the majority of lakes have undergone a sensible depression since the historic period commenced, and are in process of a gradual permanent reduction. This wasting is due to evaporation, to the deposition of the soil conveyed by streams and torrents, and to the accumulation of drift wood lodged by rivers in their bed. The latter operation is rapidly proceeding in some of the more northern lakes of America. Dr. Richardson noticed a shoal of many miles in extent, formed on the south side of Athabasca Lake, by the drift timber and vegetable debris brought down by the Elk River; and the Great Slave Lake itself, he remarks, must, in process of time, be filled up by the matter daily conveyed into it by the Slave River. Vast quantities of drift timber are buried under the sand at the mouth of the river; and enormous piles of it are accumulated on the shores of every part of the lake. There are lines of shingle, consisting of rolled stones and shells, around the Canadian lakes, at an elevation of forty or fifty feet above the utmost height to which their waters at present are lashed by the winds. These bear witness to their ampler volume in ancient times, and to the enormous reduction to which they have been subject; and appearances indicate that long before the time estimated for the Niagara to gnaw its way back from the falls to Lake Erie, the lake itself will have been converted into dry land by its own sediment. There are hills forty miles inland from Lake Aral, composed of indurated marl, full of marine shells, which seem to have been its ancient shores. "I mentioned to our Kirghisians," says Baron Meyendorff, "the traces of water on Sari-boulak, (one of the hills in question,) and they assured me that their fathers had seen the waters of the Aral Lake extend to the foot of this hill, although it is at present sixty versts distant from it. So great a number of the Kirghisians have told me 69 546 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the same thing, that I consider it as an undoubted fact, and it proves how very considerable, and at the same time how rapid, the diminution of the waters of the Aral Lake has been. It continues to diminish, and one of our guides pointed out a place in our route, far inland, which he himself remembered to have seen the waters reach." It has been stated, by Colonel Monteith, that during his residence in that part of Asia, from 1811 to 1828, the Caspian Sea, as well as every other lake in Persia, had decreased most sensibly in depth. It requires ages, however, for such physical changes to transpire to any great extent; nor need the present geheration be alarmed at the thought of being deprived of the waters on the shores of which their lot may be cast, however certain, in many instances, their conversion into marshes, and ultimate disappearance, may be. AND THE HEAVENS. 547 CHAPTER XVII. THE OCEAN.- ITS DEPTH. - SALTNESS.- THE RED SEA COLORED BY RED ANIMALCULES. REMARKABLE TRANSPARENCY OF CERTAIN PARTS OF THE OCEAN, REVEALING TO THE MARINER SUBTERRANEAN LANDSCAPES OF GREAT BEAUTY AND SUBLIMITY.- LUMINOUS WATERS. - CALMS. - STORMS.- TEMPERATURE. - ICEFIELDS AND ICEBERGS. - ORIGIN OF BOULDERS.- ADVENTURES OF NAVIGATORS AMONG ICEBERGS. - SEAWEED EIGHT HUNDRED FEET IN LENGTH. HOWEVER occasionally disastrous by its tempests to human life and property, the ocean is essential to the existence of man and of all vegetation, purifying the atmosphere he breathes by its constant motions, and sending off from its immense reservoir a perpetual supply of vapors, which condense into clouds, and are the sources of moisture and fertility to the soil. Nor is the facility afforded by the great deep for the intercourse of distant nations an unimportant circumstance, while numerous marine productions, in the hands of civilization, minister to the comfort and improvement of society. Owing to the enterprise of scientific individuals, to commercial adventure, and to costly expeditions fitted out by different governments, the surface of the ocean has been largely traversed, and the sinuosities of its coasts explored, thou'gh the line of its circumference has not yet been fully traced, and various parts of it which have been visited have not been accurately surveyed. But enough is known of the great world of waters, of its extent, utility, and varying phenomena, - " Calm or convulsed, in breeze, or gale, or storm, Icing the pole, or in the torrid clime Dark heaving," — to invite the eye of admiring contemplation, and enrich the 548 WONDERS OF THE EARTH mind with conceptions of grandeur, beauty, and beneficence. Unstable as it appears, so as to have become a common emblem of inconstancy with the nautical races, it has far more permanent stability than the solid earth; nor is the language of the modern poet - "Time writes no wrinkle on thy azure brow; Such as creation's dawn beheld, thou rollest now "any violation of philosophical truth, for the level of the ocean, however temporarily fluctuating, appears to experience no enduring change. Similar inequalities to those which mark the surface of the dry land - abrupt eminences, gentle slopes, and deep depressions - seem to characterize the bed of the ocean. Hence the depth of its waters is very various, from the thin stratum which scarcely conceals the sand bank from the eye of the navigator, to the enormous mass which no plummet has ever sounded. In the North Sea, Lord Mulgrave let down a heavy sounding lead to the depth of four thousand seven hundred feet without reaching the bottom; and Captain Scoresby, off the coast of Greenland, sounded to the depth of seven thousand two hundred feet, with the same result. But this of course does not prove the ocean to be a bottomless abyss; it only overreaches the limited extent of our sounding lines. Nor, perhaps, do such experiments show the approximate depth in those places, for an under current may have carried the lead far away from a. perpendicular direction. Along a low, level, and sandy shore, the sea is generally shallow, but the reverse in the neighborhood of a bold and towering coast. The recession of the tide off the flats of Holland converts large tracts into dry land, while the Mediterranean, where Mount Athos rises abruptly from it to the height of six thousand feet, has a depth of from five hundred to six hundred feet close in shore. Around low islands, except those of coral formation, shoals and shallows are common, often at a considerable distance from the beach; but around those which project from the AND THE HEAVENS. 549 bosom of the ocean to a great elevation, as St. Helena, the depth frequently cannot be sounded. On approaching Aurora Island, one of the Panmato group of South Sea Islands, the officers of the American expedition sounded at one hundred and fifty feet from its perpendicular cliff, and found no bottom at a hundred and fifty fathoms. Analogy thus leads us to infer a general correspondence between the height of the land and the depth of the sea. If this be so, then the greatest depth of the ocean will be nearly thirty thousand feet, equal to the elevation of the loftiest peaks of the Himalaya Mountains. Sir James Ross, in the South Atlantic, June 3, 1843, latitude fifteen degrees three ninutes south, longitude twenty-three degrees fourteen minutes wdst, when the weather was nearly calm, and the water quite smooth, found no bottom with a line of twenty-seven thousand six hundred feet, the greatest depth that has yet been satisfactorily ascertained. The spot was eleven hundred and eighty miles distant from Cape Frio, the nearest point of South America, and four hundred and eighty-six tmiles from the nearest land, the small Island of Trinidad. The level of the ocean, however, is not the same in all places, nor at all times in the same place; for astronomical and atmospherical causes, producing tides and winds, operate to effect a change. Apart also from these disturbing causes, it is found that the level of the water in some gulfs and inland seas has in general a greater elevation than that of the main deep. Thus the waters of the Red Sea, separated by the Isthmus of Suez from the Mediterranean, were found by the French engineers thirtytwo and a half feet higher than those of the latter. The level of the waters in the Gulf of Mexico is estimated to be upwards of two hundred feet above that of the ocean, near the Cape de Verde Islands, and in the Gulf of Guinea. This effect appears to be occasioned by the tropical current of the ocean from east to west, caused by the earth's rotation upon its axis. from west to east, which accumulates the water in those gulfs opening eastward. 550 WONDERS OF THE EARTH The saltness of the ocean is one of its prime characteristics; but, as yet, we have nothing but hypothesis, with reference to its cause and design. In addition to pure water, it has been ascertained, by the experiments of different chemists, to hold in solution muriate of soda, or common salt, muriatic and sulphuric acid, fixed mineral alkali, magnesia, and sulphate of lime, besides the animal and vegetable matter, in a state of decomposition, with which it is impregnated. The great specific gravity of the sea, resulting from these ingredients, explains its buoyancy. The proportional specific gravity of different kinds of water is stated to be as follows: Sea water. 1'028 Pure spring water. 1001 to 1'065 River water 1010 Distilled water... 1'000 The quantity of salts in the water of the ocean varies in different places. Lord Mulgrave found the proportion at the back of Yarmouth sands to be 34125 per cent. of the weight of the water; and Captain Scoresby, in north latitude seventyseven degrees forty minutes, and east longitude two degrees thirty minutes, found the proportion to be 3'56 per cent. in a quantity of water taken from the surface. The sea was formerly supposed by physical inquirers to be the saltest under the equator; but Humboldt has deduced from good experiments conclusions as follows: Proportion of salt between 0~ and 14~ lat. = 0.0374 cc" 15 " 25 -- 0 0394 30 " 44 " 0.0386 50 " 60 - 0-0372 From this table it appears that the saltness of the ocean is greater towards the tropics than at the equator, and least towards the poles; for which a reason may be found in the immense amount of the equatorial rains, and the neighborhood of the polar snows, which diminish its intensity. In the AND THE HEAVENS. 551 water of the Firth of Forth, an analysis of Dr. Thomson gives one thirtieth of saline contents, and in the neighborhood of Great Britain one thirty-eighth of the whole weight is salt. The origin and object of this peculiar constitution of sea water is one of the mysteries of physics. Why so great a difference between the waters of the ocean and of the land Why are the former hateful alike to man and beast, covering such a mighty expanse as they do, and feeding by evaporation, and in some cases by filtration, the pure springs and streams which keep both man and beast alive. The saline quality of the ocean water alone does not preserve it from corruption. The water of the Nile never becomes putrid, although kept for any length of time in small vessels in a house, or in large cisterns out of doors. But that of the ocean soon becomes offensive in the hold of a ship, and the state of the equatorial seas, after a long calm, answers, to some extent, to the strong phrase of Coleridge, " the very deep doth rot!" With reference to the cause of its saline quality, we only know the fact, that different salts are constituents of the terraqueous system; that beds of rock salt of enormous thickness, as in Cheshire and Poland, form part of the crust of the globe; and analogy leads to the conclusion, that immense banks of the mineral exist in the bed of the deep. Local causes operate in various parts of the ocean to lessen its saltness; as at the mouths of rivers, where large volumes of fresh water are constantly mingling with its waves. The singular circumstance has also been observed of fresh water springs rising up in the midst of the sea. Humboldt was informed by Don Francisco le Maur, that in the Bay of Xagua, to the south-east of the Island of Cuba, springs of this kind gush up from the bottom with such force as to prove dangerous to small canoes; and that vessels sometimes take in supplies from them, while the lamartine, or fresh water cetacea, abound in the vicinity. There are similar fountains in the Persian Gulf, which furnish the inhabitants of Aradus with their ordinary drink; and in several places in the volcanic regions of 552 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the Mediterranean the sea is fresher at great depths than at the surface, owing to the presence of these springs — a phenomenon which is not uncommon near the islands of the Pacific. The waters of inland seas are commonly less saline than those of the main ocean, especially where they communicate with it by very narrow channels, and receive numerous and extensive rivers. This is strikingly the case with the Baltic. Analysis shows that three pounds of its water will yield about three hundred and ninety grains of salt, while the same quantity taken from the German Ocean, with which it is connected, contains seven hundred and forty-seven grains. This small degree of saltuess is to be attributed to the narrowness of its outlet, and to the numerous rivers that flow in it, which drain more than one fifth of the surface of Europe, and are fed by a larger amount of snow than falls into any other inhabited country of the world. The average weight of the Baltic water, taken from the centre, is to that of fresh water as 1'038 or 1'041 to 1'000, while that of the Atlantic is as 1'288. There are some variations in the quality of the waters of this inland sea, which seem to depend upon their locale with reference to the ocean and the rivers. Thus those of the Gulf of Bothnia contain less salt than other portions of the Baltic; and here the in-flowing streams are the most numerous, and the out-lying ocean at the greatest distance. The quality of the water also changes according to the seasons; for, while at midwinter fifty tons of water taken from the Gulf of Bothnia will yield a ton of salt, it will require three hundred tons at midsummer to produce the same quantity. It is the larger amount of fresh water poured into the gulf through the melting of the snows at the commencement of the summer that contributes to this result. The direction of the wind likewise largely influences the character of the Baltic water. Its specific gravity, as ascertained by the experiments of Wilcke under the circumstances stated, is as follows: - AND THE HEAVENS.- 553 Specific Gravity. Specific Gravity. 1.0030, wind at E. 1.0118, storm at W. 1.0047, wind at WV. 1.0098, wind at N. W. It appears from this table that the proportion of salt in the waters of the Baltic is least when the wind is east, greater when it is west, and greatest duringhe prevalence of a westerly storm. This is readily explained. An east wind cooperates with the natural current of the Baltic to keep out the waters of the open sea, while a west wind checks the current, changes its direction, and causes an influx from the ocean. Sometimes, during a strong easterly gale, the Baltic water is sufficiently fresh to be fit for domestic use. It is owing to its inferior saltness and scanty depth that its shores are ice-bound, and large portions of its surface are frozen over during a severe season. In the year 1333 the sea presented a surface of solid ice from the Danish islands to the coast of Prussia, over which for some time communication was uninterruptedly maintained, and public houses were erected along the road. The Swedish monarch Charles X. marched his army in 1559 over both Belts to the conquest of Zealand; and in 1809 the Russian soldiers travelled across the ice from Finland to Sweden. The water of the Mediterraneani exhibits a striking difference from that of the Baltic, containing a somewhat larger proportion of salt than the ocean. The specific gravity of the Atlantic west of the Straits of Gibraltar has been found to be 1'0294, while that of the Mediterranean to the east of the straits is 1'0338. This is perhaps the combined effect of a variety of causes, and may be due to the mineral character of its bed, to the strong current which sets into it from the Atlantic, and to the extensive evaporation to which the water of this close sea is subject, produced by a temperature which is five or six degrees higher than that of the ocean under the same latitude. Sea water taken from the surface has a bitter as well as a saline taste, which does not belong to it when taken from a considerable depth. This is supposed to arise from animal 70 554 WONDERS OF THE EARTH and vegetable matter in a state of decomposition impregnating the surface fluid. To the same cause the extraordinary presence of sulphuretted hydrogen in various parts of the ocean is attributed. The evolution of this gas has been observed in water brought by Captain Hall from the Yellow Sea, in the Chinese Ocean; in a sppimen brought by Mr. Schmidtmeyer from ten degrees fifty minutes north latitude, and twenty-four degrees twenty-six minutes west longitude, which had an hepatic smell, and blackened the bottle in which it was contained; and it exists in large quantities in the waters along the northwest coast of Africa. Vessels going to the latter region were observed to have their copper sheathing speedily injured - a fact which attracted attention to the composition of the water, of which eight bottles, taken up in different places, were submitted to Professor Daniell for analysis. He found the saline contents in the proportions usually appertaining to sea water; but analysis disclosed a strong impregnation with sulphuretted hydrogen, which in the case of a portion taken from Lopez Bay amounted to almost as much per gallon as in the Harrowgate waters. It was shown by subsequent investigations that this gas impregnated the seas and rivers along shore in enormous quantities through an extent of more than sixteen degrees of latitude. Speculating upon its cause, the distinguished chemist remarks, "It appears to me that there are only two sources to which it can with any probability be referred; namely, submarine volcanic action, in which case its evolution might be considered direct or primary, and the reaction of vegetable upon the saline contents of the water, in which case it would be secondary. The probability of a volcanic origin is, I think, small, from the absence, I believe, of any other indications of volcanic action, and from the great extent of the coast along which it has been traced. What is known of the action of vegetable matter upon the sulphates, and the immense quantities of vegetable matter which must be brought by the rivers within the influence of the saline matter of the sea, renders, on the contrary, the second origin AND THE HEAVENS. 555 extremely probable. Decaying vegetable matter abstracts the oxygen from the sulphate of soda, and a sulphuret of sodium is formed. This again, acting upon water, decomposes it, and sulphuretted hydrogen is one of the products of the decomposition." There can be no doubt but that extensive banks of vegetable detritus have been formed at the mouths of the rivers of the west coast of Africa. They flow from an interior country rich with the luxuriance of a tropical vegetation, and roll along in immense floods in the rainy season, bringing down masses of decaying foliage into the ocean; and what renders the preceding explanation the more certain is, that those inlets along the coast'bf Iindia where the bottom contains carbonaceous matter display the evolution of the same gas. With this circumstance the unhealthiness of the West African stations, which has obtained for Sierra Leone the title of " the white man's grave," is intimately connected; for it has been experimentally found that so small a mixture as a fifteen hundredth part of sulphuretted hydrogen in the atmosphere acts as a direct poison upon small animals. The mangrove swamps in all parts of the world are notoriously unhealthy, arising from the tree requiring salt water for its growth, the sulphates of which are decomposed by the decaying vegetable matter which is annually furnished. We are familiar with the phrases, the blue sea and the green sea, with reference to the color of its waters. Its usual color is a bluish green, of a darker tint at a distance from land, and clearer towards the coasts, but subject to remarkable changes, which are not well understood. According to Scoresby the hue of the Greenland Sea varies from ultramarine blue to olive green, and from the purest transparency to the greatest opacity. The prevailing blue color may be ascribed to the ocean absorbing all the prismatic colors except ultramarine, which is reflected in every direction. Humboldt observes of the cyanometer, an instrument for measuring the intensity of color, that when, instead of directing the apparatus to a large extent of open sea, the observer fixes his eyes 556 WONDERS OF THE EARTH on a small part of its surface, viewed through a narrow aperture, the water appears of a rich ultramarine color. Towards evening again, when the edges of the waves, as the sun shines upon them, are of an emerald green, the surface of the shaded side reflects a purple hue. Nothing, he states, is more striking than the rapid changes which the ocean undergoes beneath a serene sky, where no variations whatever are to be perceived in the atmosphere. In the midst of the tropical deep the water passes from an indigo blue to the deepest green, and from this to a slate gray, without any apparent influence from the azure of the sky or the color of the clouds. In general the sea between the tropics is of a more intense and purer azure than in high latitudes. The ocean often remains blue when, in fine weather, the greater part of the sky is covered with light and floating fleecy clouds. Humboldt concludes his observations upon the tints of the ocean, and its changes from blue to green, with some general remarks, the substance of which is imbodied in the succeeding paragraphs. Whatever relates to the color of water is extremely problematic. The green tint of the snow waters that flow from the Alpine glaciers, which contain very little air in solution, might induce the belief that this color is appropriate to water in its greatest purity. Chemistry is addressed in vain to explain this phenomenon, or that of the beautiful greenish-blue color of ice in a mass, or that of the blue of the' Rhone near Geneva. There is hitherto no proof that waters exist which contain a greater or less degree of hydrogen; and the refrigeration of the seas in tempests is much too weak to permit us to attribute the reflection of different colored rays to the mere change of density. It is improbable that the green color of the water is owing to the mixture of yellow rays from the bottom, and blue rays reflected by the water; for the open sea is often green where it is more than four thousand feet deep. Perhaps, at certain hours of the day, the red or yellow light of the sun contributes to the coloring it green. The waves, like movable and inclined mirrors, pro AND THE HEAVENS. 557 gressively reflect the shades and tints of the atmosphere from the zenith to the horizon. The motiofn of the surface of the water modifies the quantity of light that penetrates towards the inferior strata; and it may be conceived that these rapid changes of transmission, which act as it were like changes of opaqueness, may, when they are united to other causes unknown to us, change the tint of the ocean. The color of the general body of the sea - a blue inclining to green -is far from being universal. In various parts of its basin other shades appear, the causes of which are local, and are due to the existence of vast numbers of minute animalcules, to a marine vegetation at or near the surface, to the nature of the soil at the bottom, or to the infusion of earthy substances in the water. The Mediterranean, towards its eastern extremity, has occasionally a purple hue. In the Gulf of Guinea the sea is white; about the Maldive Islands, black; and near the shores of California it has a reddish appearance. The reddish tinge marks the waters near the mouth of the La Plata, and prevails also in the Red Seawhence its name. The color in this latter locality has been definitely investigated by Ehrenberg, who refers it to the prevalence of a species of oscillatoria - a production half animal and half vegetable. In the spring of the year 1825 it was observed that the waters of the Lake of Morat, in Switzerland, had almost the hue of blood, which De Candolle demonstrated to proceed from an animal, figured and described by the botanist under the name of oscillatoria rubescens, which confirms the conclusion of Ehrenberg respecting the peculiar tinge of the Red Sea waters. On the return of Captain Ross from his first expedition to the Polar Seas, much surprise was excited by his account of the red snow, as it was termed, observed upon some of the snow mountains near the shores of Baffin's Bay. But a similar phenomenon is of annual occurrence in the Alps, though not much noticed, because of its occurrence at a season when few travellers visit the country. Minute red grains appear scattered upon the snow in March, 558 WONDERS OF THE EARTH which usually are entirely gone by the close of May. Saussure has given an account of this appearance as occurring on the Great St. Bernard; but it is most abundant on Mount Breven, situated on the sunny side of the valley of Chamouni. The grains penetrate two or three inches into the snow, and are of a lively red color, occurring chiefly where the snow lies in a cavity deepest near the centre and very faint upon the borders. Saussure came to the conclusion that it was the pollen of an Alpine plant; but no plant has ever been discovered in Switzerland to yield such a product. A similar opinion was entertained with reference to the red snow brought home by Ross, when the residue was examined, after the water had been evaporated. In all probability the red tinge observed on the Arctic and Alpine snows proceeds fipm a vegetable cause, while that which colored the waters of the Lake of Morat and originates the tinge of the ocean at the mouth of the La Plata, in the Red Sea, and along the coast of California, is owing to microscopical animalcules. The waters of the ocean vary in their clearness from a crystalline transparency to a dulness bordering on opacity. Those of the North Sea, along the west coast of the Scandinavian peninsula, have been remarked by all observers for being of an extraordinary transparency, which has perhaps no parallel in any other region. Here are those inlets of the sea, wild and romantic in their aspect, called the fiords of Norway, a name analogous to the Scottish firth, both having the same Norse derivation. "Nothing can be more surprising," says Sir A. de Capell Brooke, " and beautiful than the singular clearness of the northern seas. As we passed slowly over the surface, the bottom, which here was in general a white sand, was clearly visible, with its minutest objects, where the depth was from twenty to twenty-five fathoms. During the whole course of the tour I made, nothing appeared to me so extraordinary as the inmost recesses of the deep thus unveiled to the eye. The surface of the ocean was unruffled by the slightest breeze, and the gentle splashing of the oars scarcely disturbed AND THE HEAVENS. 559 it. Hanging over the gunwale of the boat, with wonder and delight I gazed on the slowly-moving scene below. Where the bottom was sandy the different kinds of asteriae, echini, and even the smallest shells appeared at that great depth conspicuous to the eye; and the water seemed in some measure to have the effect of a magnifier, by enlarging the object like a telescope, and bringing them seemingly nearer. Now, creeping along, we saw far beneath the rugged sides of a mountain rising towards our boat, the base of which perhaps was hidden some miles in the great deep below. Though moving on a level surface, it seemed almost as if we were ascending the height under us; and when we passed over its summit, which rose in appearance to within a few feet of our boat, and came again to the descent, which on this side was suddenly perpendicular and overlooking a watery gulf, as we pushed gently over the last point of it, it seemed almost as if we had thrown ourselves down this precipice, the illusion, from the crystal clearness of the deep, actually producing a sudden start. Now we came again to a plain, and passed slowly over the submarine forests and meadows which appeared in the expanse below, inhabited doubtless by thousands of animals, to which they afford both food and shelter — animals unknown to man; and I could sometimes observe large fishes of singular shape gliding softly through' the watery thickets, unconscious of what was moving above them. As we proceeded, the bottom became no longer visible; its fairy scenes gradually faded to the view, and were lost in the dark-green depths of the ocean." Dr. Kane, in his Narrative of the United States Grinnell Expedition, says, "As we rowed along the narrow channels, before we emerged from this rocky group, [the Whale Fish Islands,] I observed for the first time that extreme transparency of the water which has so often been alluded to by authors as characteristic of the Polar Seas. At the depth of ten fathoms every feature of the bottom was distinctly visible. Even for one who has seen the crimson dulses and coral groves of the equatorial zones, this Arctic growth 560 WONDERS OF THE EARTH nad its rival beauties. Enormous bottle-green fronds were waving their ungainly lengths above a labyrinthine jungle of snake-like stems; and far down where the claws of the fucus had grappled the round gneisses, great glaring lime patches shone like upset whitewash upon a home grassplot." Mr. Barrow, while remarking the extraordinary clearness of the northern waters, in language equally as strong as that of the preceding statement, speaks of the reflection of the mountains being often as well defined upon their surface as the rocks themselves, so that, when viewed at a short distance, it is no easy matter to decide where the line is that separates the water from the shore. This uncertainty, when crossing one of the fiords in a boat, has a most singular effect. Every thing appears upside down; houses upset, trees growing the wrong way, men walking on their heads, cattle on their backs; the whole appearance having an air of reality which for the moment beguiles the senses. Great transparency, in various places, belongs also to the tropical deep. This is its feature around the Bahamas - that solitary and singular cluster of several hundred rocks in the Atlantic, aptly compared to one of the beautiful nebulae in the heavens, which to ordinary sight seems an indivisible patch of cloud, but when viewed through a telescope is found to be a collection of stars. "The number," says Moore, " of beautiful islets, the singular clearness of the water, and the animated play of the graceful little boats, gliding forever between the islands, and seeming to sail from one cedar grove to another, form altogether the sweetest miniature of nature that can be imagined. The water," he adds in another place, " is so beautifully clear around these islands, that the rocks are seen to a very great depth; and as we entered the harbor they appeared to us so near the surface, that it seemed impossible we should not strike on them." In verse, addressed to the Dowager Marchioness of Donegal, as well as in prose, this writer has celebrated the waters of the Bahama coves and coasts: AND THE HEAVENS. 561 UBelieve me, lady, when the zephyrs bland Floated our bark to this enchanted land, These leafy isles, upon the ocean thrown, Like studs of emerald o'er a silver zone, Never did weary bark more sweetly glide, Or rest its anchor in a lovelier tide." It is in the tropical seas, towards the heart of the torrid zone, that several remarkable phenomena are witnessed in perfection: the phosphorescence of the ocean —the flying fish chased by the dolphin- successive regions of steady breezes, and calms interrupted by sharp and sudden squalls - and enormous deluges of rain, which generally descend in equatorial districts in a perfectly still state of the atmosphere. No spectacle is more imposing and magnificent than the luminous appearance of the sea at night in these latitudes. The path of a vessel seems like a long line of fire, and the water thrown up in her progress, or dashed by the waves upon deck, flashes like vivid and lambent flame. Sometimes myriads of luminous stars and spots float and dance upon the surface, assuming the most varied and fantastic aspects. This phosphorescent or shining appearance of the ocean, by no means uncommon, is most frequent in the equatorial seas, and is usually ascribed to animalcules, which exist there in inconceivable numbers, and to the semi-putrescent matter of plants and fishes, developing electricity. As Humboldt entered the torrid zone, the phosphorescence of the ocean seemed to augment greatly the mass of light diffused through the air, so that he was able to read, for the first time, the minute divisions of a small snuff box sextant, without the assistance of a taper. A most remarkable display of this phosphoric light is thus related by Mrs. Somerville: "Captain Bonnycastle, coming up the Gulf of St. Lawrence, on the 7th of September, 1826, was roused by the mate of the vessel, in great alarm, from an unusual appearance. It was a starlight night, when suddenly the sky became overcast, in the direction of the high land of Cornwallis county, and an instantaneous and intensely vivid 71 5692 WONDERS OF THE EARTH light, resembling the Aurora, shot out of the hitherto gloomy and dark sea, on the lee bow; which was so brilliant, that it lighted every thing distinctly, even to the mast head. The light spread over the whole sea between the two shores; and the waves, which before had been tranquil, now began to be agitated. Captain Bonnycastle describes the scene as that of a blazing sheet of awful and most brilliant light. A long and vivid line of light, superior in brightness to the parts of the sea not immediately near the vessel, showed the base of the high, frowning, and dark land, abreast. The sky became lowering, and more intensely obscure. Long, tortuous lines of light showed immense numbers of very large fish, darting about as if in consternation. The spritsail yard and mizzen boom were lighted by the reflection, as if gas lights had been burning directly below them; and until just before daybreak, at four o'clock, the most minute objects were distinctly visible. Day broke very slowly, and the sun rose of a fiery and threatening aspect. Rain followed. Captain Bonnycastle caused a bucket of this fiery water to be drawn up; it was one mass of light, when stirred by the hand, and not in sparks, as usual, but in actual coruscations. A portion of the water preserved its luminosity for seven nights. On the third night, the scintillations of the sea reappeared: this evening the sun went down very singularly, exhibiting in its descent a double sun; and, when only a few degrees high, its spherical figure changed into that of a long cylinder, which reached the horizon. In the night the sea became nearly as luminous as before; but on the fifth night, the appearance entirely ceased. Captain Bonnycastle does not think it proceeded from animalcules, but imagines it might be some compound of phosphorus, suddenly evolved, and dispersed over the surface of the sea; perhaps from the exuvike or secretions of fish connected with the oceanic salts-muriate of soda and sulphate of magnesia." In the region of the tropical calms, lying between that of the north and south steady breezes, day after day is often passed without a whisper of the wind upon the deep, or the AND THE HEAVENS. 563 flap of a sail, and the ocean has no movement but that of a long, huge swell, like the heaving chest of a giant in his sleep. But for the occasional occurrence of short squalls, the passage of this region would be almost impossible to sailing vessels, and parts of Byron's striking picture might soon be realized: - "The rivers, lakes, and ocean, all stood still, And nothing stirred within their silent depths; Ships, sailorless, lay rotting on the sea, And their masts fell down piecemeal: as they dropped, They slept on the abyss without a surge. The waves were dead; the tides were in their grave; The moon, their mistress, had expired before; The winds were withered in the stagnant air, And the clouds perished. " The squalls offer a brief but grateful interruption to the calms, and occur under singular circumstances. Amid the scorching heat of noon a cloud appears, generally in the east, black and well-defined, when suddenly the wind springs up, blows violently for a few minutes, suddenly subsides, and the calm returns. It is by the aid of these fitful gusts that the passage of the tropical region of calms is effected. The ocean, in other parts of the torrid zone, as quickly changes its aspect from that of a smooth, shining mirror to a surface shattered and tortuous, reflecting the hue of the black lowering clouds; and the storm sometimes rages with violence for days together. Captain Hall describes one of the tropical storms, when off the west coast of Mexico: " On the evening of the 24th of February the sun set with astonishing splendor, but with' a wild, lurid appearance, which, in any other country, would have put us more upon our guard. The sun itself, when still considerably above the horizon, became of a blood-red color, and the surrounding clouds assumed various bright tinges of a fiery character, fading into purple at the zenith: the whole sky looked more angry and threatening than any thing I ever saw before. The sea was quite smooth, but dyed with a strange and unnatural kind of redness by the 564 WONDERS OF THE EARTH reflection from the sky. In spite of the notions we held of the fineness of the climate, I was made a little uneasy by such threatening appearances, and upon consulting the barometer, which in these low latitudes is seldom of much use, was startled by finding it had fallen considerably. This determined me immediately to shorten sail; but before it could be fully accomplished, there came on a furious gale, which split many of our sails, broke our ropes like cobwebs, and, had it not been for great exertions, we might have been dismasted. At length we got things put in proper trim to withstand the storm, which lasted with unabated violence for two days. During the greater part of the gale the wind was fair, but blowing so hard, and with so mountainous a sea, that we could make no use of it, nor show even the smallest stitch of sail, without its being instantly blown to rags." The temperature of the ocean has occupied the attention of many physical inquirers. Throughout the whole of the deep ocean, there is, at a certain depth, varying with the latitude, a stratum which maintains invariably the temperature of about thirty-nine degrees five seconds, marking the limit of the sun's influence. The temperature at the surface is of most importance, in relation to physical climate, because the superior stratum of the ocean is the only one that has an immediate influence upon the state of the atmosphere. As water is a slow conductor of heat, the temperature of the sea is more uniform than that of the air, and is not subject to those great and rapid changes that mark the latter. A considerable number of experiments have yielded the following results, upon which general dependence may be placed: - 1. In the torrid zone the temperature of the ocean is found to diminish with its depth; in the polar seas it increases with the depth; and about fifty-six degrees of latitude it is nearly the same at all depths. 2. At noon the open sea is colder than the atmosphere noticed in the shade, and at midnight warmer - an assertion AND THE HEAVENS. 565 first made by M. Peron, and confirmed by a large number of observations. 3. Morning and evening, the temperature of the sea and of the atmosphere usually correspond. 4. Observations taken at six in the morning, at midday, at six in the evening, and at midnight, of the temperature of the ocean at the surface, and of the atmosphere, show the mean to be higher with reference to the sea in every latitude. The ocean is thus in general warmer than the atmosphere with which it is immediately in contact. 5. Banks diminish the temperature of the sea, so that it is always colder over them than where it is deeper; and the difference is greater the greater the shallows. A very sensible effect in diminishing the temperature of the ocean is produced by the ice annually borne by the polar currents from the arctic and antarctic zones into lower latitudes. It has been met with in the South Atlantic, off the Cape of Good Hope, but this is a very rare occurrence; and did that of the North Atlantic drift to a corresponding latitude, that of Cape St. Vincent, it might be swept through the funnel of the Gibraltar Straits, appear in the Mediterranean, reduce the temperature of that warm sea, and cloud with cold fogs the beautiful landscapes of Italy. The lowest limit to which the northern ice descends appears to be forty and three fourths degrees north latitude. Here it is occasionally encountered in a state of rapid thaw, cooling the warm water of the Gulf Stream to a distance of forty or fifty miles around it, the thermometer gradually sinking sometimes from sixty degrees to forty-three degrees in its neighborhood. The ice is not found, however, in every part of the Atlantic under the latitude stated, but is confined to the district between forty-two degrees and fifty-six degrees west longitude, which it visits in the height of summer. There is only one instance on record of the ice being met with at any considerable distance on the European side of this tract. This took place in the year 1817, and is sufficiently remarkable to be noticed here. For nearly 566 WONDERS OF THE EARTH four centuries a large quantity of ice, having an area of many thousand square miles, had occupied the sea to the north of Iceland, chiefly along the eastern coast of Greenland. This icy continent, in the before-mentioned year, was suddenly broken up, separated into fragments, and scattered over the waters of the North Atlantic. Large masses were then found as far east as thirty-two degrees of longitude, or about eight hundred miles from the most westerly part of Ireland. It was conceived probable that the breaking up of the great body of ice referred to had opened the navigation of the sea all the way to the pole, which gave rise to the first of the expeditions of the present century to effect the north-west passage of America — that under Captain Ross. This dispersion of the polar ice had been ascribed to a diminished rigor of the climate; but upon the expedition arriving at one of the Danish factories in Baffin's Bay, the resident informed the commander that, during the eleven winters he had passed there, not one had been so severe or protracted as the last. The experience of the navigators themselves speedily showed the fallacy of those sanguine anticipations which some had been ready to indulge, respecting the winter of the whole northern hemisphere speedily mitigating its cold, the climate of England approximating to that of Italy, and vineyards flourishing where apple trees now can with difficulty be reared. The great ice formations of the poles are due to the spherical form of the earth, and the obliquity of its axis, by which the presence of the sun is entirely withdrawn from arctic and antarctic regions for a considerable portion of the year, when intense frost reigns through the long and dreary night that prevails. In high northern latitudes, as early as the month of August, snow begins to fall, and a formation of ice rapidly ensues. The hoar-frost covers with fantastic clusters every prominence on land; and the frost smoke appears upon the sea, giving it the aspect of a vast steaming limekiln, the vapor being produced by the temperature of the water being rela. tively higher than that of the incumbent atmosphere. The AND THE HEAVENS. 567 fresh water poured from rivulets, or drained from the former collections of snow, becomes quickly congealed along the shores and bays, and the surface of the ocean is converted into one solid mass of ice, to some distance from the coasts. Parry found the Bay of the Hecla and Griper, in which he passed the winter, in north latitude seventy-four degrees forty-four minutes twenty seconds, and west longitude one hundred and ten degrees, so completely covered with new ice by the middle of September, that his men were obliged to open a canal with saws to admit the passage of the ships - an operation which occupied the greatest part of three days, during which they cut through more than two miles of new ice, the average thickness of which was seven inches. The sun left them on the 11th of November, in a scene marked with deathlike stillness, dreary desolation, and the total absence of animated existence. The silence was only interrupted occasionally by the sound of their own voices, which could easily be heard at the distance of a mile, owing to the peculiar state of the atmosphere, and the absence of all obstruction in a scene of universal calm. At the shortest day, or rather what in that latitude is the middle of the long night, there was a little light afforded at noon, so that print could be read, but only by turning it directly towards the south. On February 3d the upper limb of the sun was seen from the Hecla's main top, after an absence of eighty-four days; and on the 7th of the month his full orb was above the horizon. It was not, however, till the 30th of April that the thermometer rose to the freezing, or rather thawing point, having been below it for nearly eight months. The first ptarmigan made its appearance on the 12th of May; the first shower of rain in the evening of the 24th; and on the 1st of June the indications of approaching summer were unequivocal. Upon the return of the sun, and as the power of his beams increases, the bonds which connect the masses of ice with the land are dissolved; and the ice itself, broken up into a thousand fragments of various size and thickness, is set afloa- upon the sea under the direction of the winds and 568 WONDERS OF THE EARTH currents. The general course of the north polar current is at first south-south-west, passing through the narrow sea which separates Iceland from Greenland, and after a deviation into Davis's Strait, descending upon the shores of Labrador and Newfoundland. It then proceeds to the south-east, reaches the centre of the Atlantic, and is lost in the Gulf Stream. It is by this current that the ice of the northern regions is borne to the south, far away from the place of its birth, where it is rapidly dissolved by the warmer temperature of the water and of the atmosphere. A slight attention to the direction of this current will at once explain the non-appearance of the polar ice off the northern shores of Europe, though at a much higher latitude than that which it visits in the heart of the ocean. If its course at first was south, or south-east, large masses would be impelled to the coasts of Norway and Scotland, and make their appearance in the German Ocean; but as it sets in to the south-west, these districts are kept free from their presence, and they are conducted along the other side of the Atlantic. The masses of ice by which the ocean is thus traversed assume a vast variety of shapes, but may be comprehended in two general classes. The first consists of sheets of ice, analogous to those which annually cover the lakes and rivers of northern lands. They present a surface which is generally level, but here and there diversified by projections, called hummocks, which arise from the ice having been thrown up by some pressure or force to which it has been subject. Sheets of ice, which are so large that their whole extent of surface cannot be seen from the mast head of a vessel, are calledfields. They have sometimes an area of more than a hundred square miles, and rise above the level of the sea from two to eight feet. When a piece of ice, though of a considerable size, can be distinguished in its extent, it is termed afloe. A number of sheets, large or small, joining each other, and stretching out in any particular direction, constitute a stream. Captain Cook found a stream extending across Behring's Straits, con AND THE HEAVENS. 569 necting Eastern Asia with the western extremity of North America. Owing to the vast extent of some fields of ice, they would undoubtedly be conducted to a lower latitude in the Atlantic before their dissolution, under the influence of the warmer climate, but for the intervention of other causes. It frequently happens that two masses are propelled against each other, and are both shivered into fragments by the violence of the concussion. The ordinary swell of the ocean also acts with tremendous power upon a large tract, especially when it has been so thawed as to have become thin, and breaks it up into a thousand smaller pieces in a very short period. The danger of being entrapped between two ice fields coming into contact with each other is one of the perils which the navigator has frequently to encounter in the northern seas'; and fatal to his vessel and his life has the occurrence often been, while in a vast number of instances escape has seemed almost miraculous. "At half past six," says Captain Ross, relating his first voyage of discovery, in the Isabella, to the arctic regions, with Parry, in the Alexander, "the ice began to move, and, the wind increasing to a gale, the only chance left for us was to endeavor to force the ship through it to the north, where it partially opened; but the channel was so much obstructed by heavy fragments, that our utmost efforts were ineffectual; the ice closed in upon us, and at noon we felt its pressure most severely. A large floe, which lay on one side of the Isabella, appeared to be fixed; while on the other side another of considerable bulk was passing along with a rapid motion, assuming a somewhat circular direction, in consequence of one side having struck on the fixed field. The pressure continuing to increase, it became doubtful whether the ship would be able to sustain it; every support threatened to give way; the beams in the hold began to bend, and the iron tanks settled together. At this critical moment, when it seemed impossible for us to bear the accumulating pressure much longer, the hull rose several feet; while the ice, which was more than six feet thick, 72 570 WONDERS OF THE EARTH broke against the sides, curling back on itself. The great stress now fell upon our bow; and, after being again lifted up, we were carried with great violence towards the Alexander, which had hitherto been, in a great measure, defended by the Isabella. Every effort to avoid their getting foul of each other failed; the ice anchors and cables broke one after another; and the sterns of the two ships came so violently into contact, as to crush to pieces a boat that could not be removed in time. The collision was tremendous, the anchors and chain plates being broken, and nothing less than the loss of the masts expected; but at this eventful instant, by the interposition of Providence, the force of the ice seemed exhausted; the two fields suddenly receded, and we passed the Alexander with comparatively little damage. A clear channel soon after opened, and we ran into a pool, thus escaping the immediate danger; but the fall of snow being very heavy, our situation still remained doubtful, nor could we conjecture whether we were even yet in a place of safety. Neither the masters, the mates, nor those men who had been all their lives in the Greenland service, had ever experienced such imminent peril; and they declared that a common whaler must have been crushed to atoms." Captain Scoresby relates a siimilar narrow escape from destruction owing to the same cause. " In the year 1804," he observes, " I had an opportunity of witnessing the effects produced by the lesser masses in motion. Passing between two fields of ice newly formed, about a foot in thickness, they were observed rapidly to approach each other, and before our ship could pass the strait, they met with a velocity of three or four miles per hour. The one overlaid the other, and presently covered many acres of surface. The ship proving an obstacle to the course of the ice, it squeezed up on both sides, shaking her in a dreadful manner, and producing a loud, grinding, or lengthened, acute, tremulous noise, according as the degree of pressure was diminished or increased, until it had risen as high as the deck. After about two hours the motion ceased, and AND THE HEAVENS. 571 soon afterwards the two sheets of ice receded from each other nearly as rapidly as they had before advanced. The ship in this case did not receive any injury; but, had the ice been only half a foot thicker, she might have been wrecked.", Other navigators have not been so fortunate; and the annual loss of whaling vessels in the Polar Seas is considerable, the Dutch having had as many as seventy-three sail of ships wrecked in one season. Between the years 1669 and 1778, both inclusive, or a period of one hundred and seven years, they sent to the Greenland fishery fourteen thousand one hundred and sixtyseven ships, of which five hundred and sixty-one, or about four in the hundred, were lost. Every one will remember the intense and mournful interest occasioned by the loss of the steamer President, which left New York in the year 1841 to cross the Atlantic to Liverpool, but perished in the passage, without leaving a survivor to tell the story of her fate. It has been deemed highly probable that this vessel got entangled in the ice, and was destroyed by collision with its masses; for, during that year, in the month of April, the steamer Great Western encountered a field extending upwards of a hundred miles in one direction, surrounded with an immense number of floes and bergs, and had great difficulty in effecting its passage by this floating continent in safety. Another form under which the ice appears in the ocean is that of bergs, which differ from the ice fields in shape and origin. They are masses projecting to a great height above the surface of the water, and have the appearance of chalk or marble cliffs and mountains upon the deep. They have been seen with an elevation of two hundred feet- a circumference of two miles; and it has been shown by experiments on the buoyancy of ice floating in sea water, that the proportion above the surface is only about one seventh of the thickness of the whole mass. During the first expedition of Ross, he found an iceberg in Baffin's Bay, at the distance of seven leagues from the land, which was measured by a party under Lieutenant Parry. Considerable difficulty was experienced in 572 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the attempt to land, as, in rowing round the berg, they found it perpendicular in every place but one. When they had ascended to the top, which was perfectly flat, they discovered a white bear in quiet possession of the mass, who plunged into the sea without hesitation, and effected his escape. The party found the iceberg to be four thousand one hundred and sixtynine yards long, three thousand eight hundred and sixty-nine yards broad, and fifty-one feet high, being aground in sixtyone fathoms. The weight of this mass was calculated to amount to 1,292,397,673 tons. An iceberg examined by Captain Graah, on the east coast of Greenland, rose one hundred and twenty feet out of the water, had a circumference of four thousand feet at the base, and its solid contents were estimated to be upwards of nine hundred millions of cubic feet. When viewed at a distance, nothing can be more interesting than the appearance of a considerable number of these formations, exhibiting an infinite variety of shape, and requiring no stretch of imagination to convert them into a series of floating towers, castles, churches, obelisks, and pyramids, or a snowy range of Alpine heights. No pencil, an observer has remarked, has ever given any thing like the true effect of an iceberg. In a picture, they are huge, uncouth masses, stuck in the sea; while their chief beauty and grandeur- their slow, stately motion, the whirling of the snow about their summits, and the fearful groaning and crackling of their parts the picture cannot give. The ice of the bergs is compact and solid, of a fine green tint, verging to blue; and large pieces may be frequently obtained, equal to the most beautiful crystal in purity and transparency. It is stated by Scoresby, that with a portion of this ice, of by no means regular convexity, used as a burning lens, he has frequently burned wood, fired gunpowder, melted lead, and lighted the sailors' pipes, to their no small astonishment, the ice itself remaining in the mean while perfectly firm and pellucid. The great distinction of icebergs from sheet ice, besides that of shape, is, that they are fresh water formations, have their AND THE HEAVENS. 573 origin upon the land, and are identical with the glaciers of the Alps and Himalaya. They are formed by the congelation of the fresh water that pours annually from mountains of snow under the action of the solar rays, and have their principal birthplace on the eastern shores of Greenland, and along the coasts of Spitzbergen. In treating of glaciers, the undoubted fact of their motion was referred to, with the circumstances which give rise to it. The annual movement of the glaciers of the Alps has been estimated at nearly five hundred feet; and by a similar slow yet sure progress, those of the northern regions, formed along the coasts, advance to the sea, where enormous blocks are broken off by the action of the waves, and set afloat as icebergs. The shores of Spitzbergen, literally the Peaked Mountains, consist of conical elevations, rising abruptly from the sea to a height of between fifteen hundred and thirty-seven hundred feet, which are separated from each other by narrow valleys opening towards the ocean, all of which are occupied by glaciers. This is the physical condition also of the east coast of Greenland, and of various parts of its western shores, which together are supposed to present a breastwork of ice to. the play of the waves upwards of six hundred miles in length. The separation of masses from the main body, by the undermining and wrenching power of the sea, has often been witnessed by the Danish residents in that region; and the calving of the glacier is a phrase commonly applied by the natives to the operation. "I am enabled," says Dr. Kane of the Grinnell expedition, "to give a perfectly reliable account of this rarely witnessed sight, the creation of an iceberg by debacle or avalanche. Up Omenak's Fiord, at an island known in the Esquimaux tongue as Ekarasak, there lived a deputy assistant of the Royal Greenland Company, a worthy man, by the name of Grundeitz. It seems that the deep water of this fiord is resorted to for halibut fishing -an operation which is carried on at the base of the cliffs, with very long lines of whalebone, While Mr. 574 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Grundeitz, in a jolly boat belonging to the company, was fishing up the fiord, his attention was called to a large number of bearded seals, who were sporting about beneath one of the glaciers that protruded into the bay. While approaching for the purpose of a shot, he heard a strange sound repeated at intervals, like the ticking of a clock, and apparently proceeding from the body of the ice. At the same time, the seals, which the moment before had been perfectly unconcerned, disappeared entirely, and his Esquimaux attendants, probably admonished by previous experience, insisted upon removing the boat to a greater distance. It was well they did so; for while gazing at the white face of the glacier, at a distance of about a mile, a loud explosive detonation, like the crack of a whip vastly exaggerated, reached their ears, and at the same instant, with reverberations like near thunder, a great mass fell into the sea, obscuring every thing in a cloud of foam and mist. The undulations which radiated from this great centre of displacement were fearful. Fortunatelv for Mr. Grundeitz, floating bodies do not change their position very readily under the action of propagated waves, and the boat, in consequence, remained outside the grinding fragments; but the commotion was intense, and the rapid succession of huge swells such as to make the preservation of the little party almost miraculous. The detached mass slowly adjusted itself after some minutes, but it was nearly an hour before it attained its equilibrium. It then floated on the sea, an iceberg. The mass, thus detached, appeared, from the description of my informant, to be a nearly complete parallelopipedon. It measured, by rude estimate, three hundred yards, on its exposed face, by about one hundred and fifty in breadth." Henderson gives an interesting description of the arrival of these immense fragments at Iceland, drifted from a more northern latitude. They are sometimes seen moving towards the coast, not unfrequently piled one above another, more resembling islands, with mountains, castles, and spires, than AND THE HEAVENS. 575 bodies of ice. They have been known to run aground in five hundred feet of water. Their motion, when accelerated by the wind and current jointly, is often so great that no sixoared boat is able to keep up with them. During the agitation of a storm, the icebergs are dashed against each other in the most tremendous manner; the noise arising from the crash is heard at a great distance; and it has occurred that drift timber, jammed in between the masses, has taken fire from the friction, presenting a scene the most incongruous that can possibly be imagined. The arrival of the drift ice produces a great effect upon the climate, the thermometer sinking several degrees; and the Greenland bear is often a passenger with it, to the terror of the natives; for, having been long at sea, the natural ferocity of the animal is strengthened by the keenness of hunger. The constitution of icebergs, and the immense distances to which they are transported from the scene of their birth by the oceanic currents, are thought to offer a solution to a common geological phenomenon. This is the occurrence of erratic blocks, or boulders, isolated fragments of rock, which have no identity with those of their immediate site, nor with any to be found within hundreds of miles of the place of their deposition. Blocks of granite of extraordinary magnitude lie upon the limestone slopes of the Jura range of the Alps; and some parts of England, and the great level to the south of the Baltic, are strewed with pieces of primitive rock, of a nature kindred to that of the mountains of the Scandinavian peninsula. Different explanations have been given of the means by which these erratic blocks have been conveyed from their native beds to their present sites; and, with great probability, they have been referred to the agency of icebergs, or drifting glaciers. Almost every ice formation of this kind in the Alps is found thickly covered with rocks and debris, which have been disintegrated by the action of frost and thaw, heat and cold. They are carried along with the glaciers in their downward course, and quietly deposited upon the levels and slopes 576 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of the lower valleys on the melting of their icy vehicles. The glaciers of the polar regions present precisely the same features. They are precipitated into the ocean laden with strata of earth and stones, or with rocky masses of great size, which are transported by them into lower latitudes, and are finally strewed upon the floor of the great deep, upon the dissolution of the icebergs. Captain Scoresby mentions having seen some far from land in the Polar Seas, which supported fragments of rock and soil, conjectured to be above fifty thousand tons in weight. Let but the bed of the sea where these fragments are deposited be elevated, so as to become dry land, -a change which we know has taken place with reference to large tracts of the present surface of Europe, - and erratic blocks would be exposed to the eye of the spectator similar to those which now cover the sandy plains of Pomerania. It is easy to conceive of the incessant vigilance and practical skill which the navigation of the Polar Seas requires, in order to be conducted without a fatal catastrophe. Beset with ice fields, bergs, and floes, often in fogs by day, and subject to the long nights of those high latitudes, not all the experience and resources of the commander can avert situations of imminent peril and apparently inextricable difficulty. Scoresby relates a remarkable instance of this kind.. Having moored his vessel to a floe, during a gale, attended by a heavy fall of snow, he states -" About 6 P. M., the snow became so thick that we could scarcely see a hundred yards distinctly, and the wind was, if possible, more furious. Two small icebergs now appeared setting towards the ship; but as they were not of a magnitude sufficient to endanger us without auxiliary pressure, we quietly awaited their approach. The first, which was about thirty-six feet above the level of the sea, struck the ship on the starboard quarter, and turned her broadside to the wind; it then slipped clear, without occasioning' us any damage whatever. The second iceberg approached us with more alarming rapidity; but as we had not the power of getting clear of it, we were obliged to AND THE HEAVENS. 577 receive the shock upon whatever part of the ship it might chance to fall. It came in contact with the rudder, and slightly bruised one of its timbers; then grazing the ship's quarter and broadside, it passed forward to the bows, and being fortunately kept from close contact aloft by a tongue projecting from its base, it cleared all our boats. At this juncture, when the ship was so much involved with icebergs as to render casting off impracticable, had the state of the weather permitted it, two floes came in sight from different quarters. One of them appeared to be rapidly closing upon us from the west, and the other from the south, which with the floe that we were moored to, occupying the eastern quarter, almost completely locked us in. To secure ourselves as far as possible against the crush which now appeared certain, we fastened, by a hawser, a large, heavy piece of ice ahead of the ship where the floes threatened the first contact, with the view of subjecting the interposed mass to the pressure, and with the hope of being then defended from partaking of it. The first shock of the floes was sustained by this mass with full effect, and for some time afterwards all things seemed quiet and safe. Suddenly, however, the pressure was renewed, in consequence, it was supposed, of some new stoppage to the drift of the floes, with tenfold violence. Our barrier was squeezed deeply into the floe, and prodigious blocks of ice were broken off and raised up by the pressure. While we contemplated their mighty effects with much anxiety, the berg which shortly before had passed the ship began a revolving and a retrograde motion, so quick as to overtake us before we could get the ropes off to slack astern, and suddenly nipped the ship on the larboard beam and bow against the floe by which we rode. The force was irresistible: it thrust the ship completely upon a broad tongue (or shelf under water) of the floe, until she was fairly grounded, and continued to squeeze her rapidly up the inclined plane formed by the tongue, until the ice came in contact beneath the keel. This was the work of a few moments, and in ten minutes 73 578 WONDERS OF THE EARTH all was again at rest. When the pressure ceased, we found that the ship had risen six or eight feet forward, and about two feet abaft. " The floe on the starboard side was about a mile in diameter and forty feet in thickness, having a regular wall side of solid ice five feet in height above the sea; on the tongue of this the ship was grounded. The iceberg on the larboard side was about twenty feet high, and was in contact with the railing. of the bows, and with the gunwale and channel bends amidship. This berg was connected with a body of floes to the westward, several leagues in breadth. The only clear space was directly astern, where a small interstice and vein of water was produced by the intervention -of the bergs. Any human exertion for our extrication from such a situation was now in vain, the ship being firmly cradled upon the tongue of ice, which sustained her weight. Every instant we were apprehensive of total destruction; but the extraordinary position of the ice beneath her was the means of her preservation. The force exerted upon the ship to place her in such a situation must evidently have been very violent. Two or three sharp cracks were heard at the time the ship was lifted, and a piece of plank, which proved to be part of the false keel, was torn off, and floated up by the bower, but no other serious injury was yet discovered. Our situation, however, was at this time as dangerous and painful as possible. Every moment threatened us with shipwreck, while the raging of the storm, the heavy, bewildering fall of sleet and snow, and the circumstance of every man on board being wet to the skin, reridered the prospect of our having to take refuge on the ice most distressing. We remained in this state of anxiety and apprehension about two hours. On the one hand we feared the calamity of shipwreck; on the other, in case of her preservation, we looked forward to immense difficulties before the ship, so firmly grounded, could be got afloat. While I walked the deck under a variety of conflicting feelings, produced by the anticipation of probable events, I was suddenly AND THE HEAVENS. 579 aroused by another squeeze of the ice, indicated by the cracking of the ship and the motion of the berg, which seemed to mark the moment of destruction. But this renewed pressure, by a singular and striking Providence, was the means of our preservation. The nip took the ship about the bows, where it was received on a part rendered prodigiously strong by its arched form and the thickness of the interior fortifications. It acted like the propulsion of a round body squeezed between the fingers, driving the ship astern, and projecting her clear of all the ice fairly afloat with a velocity equal to that of her first launching." The year,1830 was one of the most disastrous ever known in the navigation of the northern seas, happily not for the loss' of life, but of the ships employed in the whale fishery. A group of vessels, consisting of the St. Andrew, of Aberdeen, the Baffin and the Rattler, of Leith, the Eliza Swan, of Montrose, the Achilles, of Dundee, and the Ville de Dieppe, from that port, while entangled with icebergs and floes, encountered a violent gale, which drove in upon them the stupendous masses. On the evening of the 24th of June, the ships were ranged in a line, stem to stern, pressed on each side by the ice, when the tempest arose that sealed their fate. In little more than a quarter of an hour, the Baffin, Achilles, Ville de Dieppe, and Rattler were crushed into fragments by the huge floes which the storm dashed against them, the noise of the ice rending asunder and splintering their timbers, the falling of the masts, and the cries of the sailors compelled to betake themselves to the frozen surfaces as their only refuge, forming a scene easier to imagine than describe. Another frightful tempest on the 2d of July, accompanied with showers of hail and snow, accomplished in a similar manner the destruction of several of their companions. " The dark and fearful aspect of the sky gave warning of approaching danger. At seven in the morning a signal of distress was hoisted by the William, of Hull, and in a short time she appeared almost buried under masses of ice. About ten the 580 WONDERS OF THE EARTH North Briton was reduced to a complete wreck, and at eleven the Gilder was in a similar predicament. During six hours the storm slightly abated; but, returning after that interval with augmented fury, pressed the ice with additional force upon the Alexander, of Aberdeen, and the Three Brothers, of Dundee — two fine vessels, so strongly built that an observer might have supposed them capable of withstanding any shock whatever. They made accordingly a very stout resistance. The conflict was dreadful, and was beheld with awful interest by the sailors as they gazed around. At length their timbers gave way at every point - the sides bursting open, the masts crashing and falling with an astounding noise: the hull of the Three Brothers was so much twisted that the two ends of the ship could scarcely be distinguished; finally, only some broken masts and booms appeared above the ice. The crews, spectators of this awful scene, gave three cheers in honor of the gallant resistance made by their vessels to the overpowering element by which they had been vanquished." This was a verification of one of Parry's remarks, that a ship, even the strongest that can be built, becomes like an egg shell when exposed to the full force of the agency in question. Nearly a thousand seamen, during this season of peril, were obliged by the wreck of their vessels to commit themselves to the ice, saving what food and clothing the time admitted of being preserved, and were ultimately brought off in safety by other vessels. The " deep sea fryseth not." This was a notion of the ancient mariners, once held, too, by some of the learned, on the ground of its saltness, but sufficiently refuted by modern observation. In the severe winter of the year 1348 the ocean was completely frozen over around Iceland, so as to admit of the inhabitants riding on horseback from one promontory to another at some distance from the shore. It is found that sea water containing the ordinary quantity of saline ingredients freezes at the temperature of about twenty-seven degrees Fahrenheit, five degrees below the freezing point of fresh water; AND THE HEAVENS. 581 but as the Arctic winters vary in their severity like those of the temperate zones, some seasons being oomparatively mild, the amount of ice formed varies correspondingly. Hence some navigators have found the sea open at one period, where to others it has presented an impassable icy barrier at the same season in a different year; and the latter have found it impossible to penetrate to the high latitudes reached by the former. Several of the early adventurers to the Polar Seas succeeded in advancing to extreme northerly points. Davis, in 1587, attained to the latitude of seventy-two degrees twelve minutes; Baffin, in 1616, to seventy-eight degrees; Hudson, in 1607, to eightyone degrees; and Captain McCullam, in 1751, to eighty-three and a half degrees, where he found the sea still open to the north. This was remarkably the case in the year 1754, when Captain Wilson passed through floating ice between the latitudes of seventy-four and eighty-one degrees, where he found a completely clear sea, and advanced as high as eighty-three degrees. During the same year a southerly wind, which blew for several days, carried Mr. Stephens from the coast of Spitzbergen; and he actually reached the latitude of eighty-four and a half degrees, meeting with very little ice in his passage, and experiencing no excessive cold. The elder Scoresby, in 1806, attained the latitude of eighty-one degrees fifty minutes; but in the year succeeding he was unable to pass beyond seventy-eight and a half degrees. The North-west Passage was at last discovered, in 1853, by Captain McClure, of her majesty's ship Investigator. A telegraphic despatch of October, 1853, from Captain Inglefield, of the ship Phcenix, is as follows: "And now, cui bono? Of what benefit and to whom is all this? The North-west Passage has been found, and been found to be impassable. South of seventy-six degrees latitude, the polar region, with the exception of the space we have mentioned, has been quite thoroughly explored, and found to be filled with impenetrable ice and uninhabitable islands. It can never be opened as the pathway of civilization, and from it commerce can reap no 582 WONDERS OF THE EARTH gains. It has been found to be, alas! the destruction of noble ships —the grave of heroic men. Henceforth let it rest in its gloomy solitude. " True, there are other results - scientific, geographical - and these are valuable. The pole of maximum cold has been found to be farther south than was generally supposed. The human frame has been discovered to be capable of enduring in safety the rigors of a temperature sometimes as low as seventy degrees. The existence of an open sea around the pole is supposed to be proved by the migrations of animal life thitherward, by the direction of oceanic currents in that region, by the course of the polar drift ice, and by the observations of Barentz, Wrangell, and others. Animal life has been found in great abundance during the warm season. Mineralogy has had several hundred specimens added to its list. Much additional information has been gained respecting the.northern part of our continent. But Cathay has not yet been reached; and it is a serious question to consider, whether the expense of the long undertaking in treasure, and, more than all, in human life, has not largely overbalanced the value of the returns." Of the two principal basins in which the waters of the ocean chiefly roll —the Atlantic and the Pacific — the coast line of the former is the most extensive, though its superficial area is far less than that of the latter. The greater geographical extent of the outline of the Atlantic is due to its numerous projections into the land, especially in its northern regions, where it forms many mediterranean or close seas, of immense size. This feature of its basin confers important advantages upon the nations that occupy its coasts, facilitates intercommunication, and has contributed in no slight degree to their superior civilization. It is now the great highway of. the world's commerce, has constantly property amounting to many millions in value upon its surface, and day and night the lives of thousands are at the mercy of its winds and waves. According to Humboldt, the form of the Atlantic basin is that of a longitudinal valley, whose projecting and retiring AND THE HEAVENS. 583 angles correspond to one another. Theorizing with reference to its origin, he refers it to a very violent rush of the waters from the south, which, upon being obstructed in their course by the Brazilian Mountains, took an easterly direction, and scooped out that remarkable indentation of Africa now forming the Gulf of Guinea. He supposes that, being stopped by the high coast of Upper Guinea, the stream ran again to the west, and gave origin to a similar indentation of the American shore, now occupied by the waters of the Gulf of Mexico; and issuing thence, it proceeded between the mountains of Western Europe and those of North America, gradually diminishing in its velocity and force until it at length subsided. The configuration of the east and west sides of the Atlantic is very striking, appearing as though its continental shores had once been united, and been riven asunder by some great catastrophe. The Mediterranean arm of the Atlantic is its most important branch, extending through forty-eight degrees of longitude. No second example occurs of the ocean penetrating inland to such an'extent, or one at all comparable with it. This was the Great Sea of the ancients —a title which proclaims their limited knowledge of physical geography. It is, however, an ocean en petit, daily becoming of greater commer cial and political importance since the overland route through Egypt to the east has been established. In no other part of the globe is there such a variety of coast line within a few days' sail — the rich landscapes of Spain, the hot stony pavement of Libya, the sandy plains of the Nile, the volcanic shores of Italy and Sicily, the bold southern heights of Asia Minor, the rugged promontories of the Greek Peninsula, and the white marble cliffs of its archipelago of islands. Nothing can exceed in beauty the scenery of the Grecian seas, whether by the Ananes rocks rising perpendicularly from the deep like the coral reefs of the Pacific, or in the Gulfs of Corinth, Nauplia, and JEgina, or passing between Samos and the main land of Asia, or breasting the current of the Dardanelles and 584 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the Bosphorus. A remarkable feature of the Archipelago is the great depth of its water -a line of twelve hundred feet generally finding no bottom at the distance of less than a mile from the shore, and one of twenty-four hundred feet failing to reach it in some parts of the Gulf of Nauplia. The Mediterranean shows also an immense depth in other places; that of from three to six thousand feet between Spain and Italy, while the deepest part of Dover Straits is only one hundred and fifty-six feet; of the Baltic, six hundred; of the North Sea, south of the Shetlands, eight hundred and forty; and in very few points between Europe and America does the Atlantic exceed eight hundred feet. Another peculiarity of the Mediterranean is the depression of its level below that of the Atlantic and the Black Seas, arising from a prodigious evaporation, which is supposed to carry off three times the amount of water brought into it by the rivers. Hence there is a constant current setting into it from the Atlantic through the Straits of Gibraltar, and from the Black Sea through the Dardanelles. Every thing, as Humboldt observes, that relates to the formation of this sea, which has had so powerful an influence upon the first civilization of mankind, is highly interesting. Ascending from its shores in his journey through Spain into the kingdom of Valencia, towards the lofty plains of La Mancha and the Castiles, he hailed far inland, in the lengthened declivities, indications of the ancient coast of the peninsula. The physical aspect of the region recalled the traditions of the Samothracians, and other historical testimonies, according to which the bursting of the waters of the Euxine through the Dardanelles augmented the basin of the Mediterranean, then a lake, and overflowed the southern part of Europe. The central elevated plain of Spain was a barrier to the inundation on the one hand, till the Pillars of Hercules were rent asunder by the force of the flood, when the draining off of the waters through the intervening strait that was formed brought the Mediterranean progressively to its present level; while Lower Egypt emerged again from its surface on AND THE HEAVENS. 585 the one side, and the fertile valleys of Tarragon, Valencia, and Murcia on the other. This is not a modern geological revery, but the opinion of the ancient geographers, Strabo and Eratosthenes, founded upon the configuration of the land; and a traditional report of some great catastrophe in early ages, to the occurrence of which a different sentiment, which impressed the mind of antiquity, still points that the irruption was made by the waters of the Atlantic. The Phoenicians, the earliest known navigators of the Mediterranean, are said to have come, in thirty days' sail, with an easterly wind, to the " weedy sea." This is a modern denomination of the Atlantic - Mar de Sargasso - in the language of the Spanish and Portuguese sailors. The occurrence of floating sea weed -fucus natans -is one of its peculiarities. It is found in immense quantities in two separate regions of the Atlantic, covering the ocean like a mantle, a little to the west of the meridian of Fayal, one of the Azores, between twenty-five and thirty-six degrees of latitude, where it forms a vast marine meadow. The other region occupies a smaller space, between twenty-two and twenty-six degrees latitude, and about seventy and seventy-two degrees longitude, two hundred and seventy-six miles to the east of the Bahamas. Though there is a species of sea weed, observed by Lamouroux, with stems upwards of eight hundred feet long, yet, in the latitude stated, the weed is not fixed to the bottom, but floats in separate masses on the surface of the water. It owes its origin, doubtless, to submarine rocks, which continually replace at the surface what is carried off by the equinoctial currents, the growth of marine cryptogamia being extremely rapid. There is some obscurity resting upon the manner in which these weeds are uprooted at depths where it is generally thought the sea can only experience a very slight agitation. Lamouroux, however, observes, that if the fuci adhere to the rocks with the greatest firmness before the display of fructification, they separate with great facility after that period; and, added to this, the fish and the mollusca gnawing the stems may contribute to 74 586 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the separation in question. Humboldt observed a vine-leaved fucus vegetating at the bottom of the ocean at the depth of one hundred and ninety-two feet, notwithstanding which its leaves were as green as those of our grasses. He estimated that, at such a depth, the fucus could only have received light equal to half of that supplied by a candle at the distance of a foot. This fact, and others of a kindred nature, offer formidable difficulties to the common opinion that absence of light must always produce blanching, and clearly indicate that it is not under the influence of the solar rays alone that the carburet of iron is formed, the presence of which gives the green color to the parenchyma of plants.' Upon a scale equally grand and extensive, the ocean exhibits the boundless profusion of creative power in the animal as well as the vegetable life, of which it is the repository. There is a portion of the Greenland Sea occupied by microscopic Medusan races to an extent of not less than twenty thousand square miles; yet Scoresby estimates that two square miles must comprehend 23,888,000,000,000,000 of these creatures - a number which he illustrates by observing that to count it would require eighty thousand persons and a period equal to the interval between the present and the creation. AND THE HEAVENS. 587 CHAPTER XVIII. WAVES OF THE OCEAN. - PLYMOUTH BREAKWATER. EFFECT OF OIL UPON WAVES. - TIDES. - CURRENTS. -IMMENSE QUANTITIES OF PINE AND FIR TREES TRANSPORTED TO ICELAND BY CURRENTS.PLANTS, CANOES, WRECKS, ETC., BORNE BY CURRENTS FROM THE WESTERN TO THE EASTERN CONTINENT.- GULF OF MEXICO THREE HUNDRED AND TWENTY-FIVE FEET HIGHER THAN THE OCEAN AT THE CAPE DE VERDE ISLANDS.-THE SHOALS OF NANTUCKET, AND THE GREAT BANK OF NEWFOUNDLAND, FORMED BY THE GULF STREAM. SCYLLA AND CHARYBDIS. THERE are various movements to which the waters of the ocean are subject, which are of great importance to navigation, and of high interest to the physical inquirer. They are chiefly the effect of external causes of disturbance, either atmospheric or astronomical, which operate with mighty though changeful energy upon the yielding fluid. Waves, tides, and currents are three distinct forms under which its principal agitations appear. As water is susceptible of impression from the slightest force, the equilibrium at the surface is disturbed by the aerial currents in contact with it, and upon the particles of the fluid being displaced, the adjoining particles immediately rush in to restore the balance. The cause continuing to act, the effect follows, in accordance with its duration and potency. In this manner waves are formed, from the power of the atmosphere in a state of motion, displacing the surface waters, and their own tendency to preserve an equilibrium. As the force of the wind varies, its impression upon the ocean varies proportionately. A gentle breeze wrinkles the surface; a brisk gale produces undulations which rock to and fro the largest vessels upon their bosom; a storm creates waves of enormous volume and appalling violence. These agitations 588 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of the sea may be compared to the waving of a forest, or of a field of grain, where commotion is displayed apart from any continuous onward movement. They have far less resem blance to the motion of a river current. In a field of wheat tinder the action of the zephyr or a high wind, we see waves formed by the bending tops of the wheat, apparently chasing one another across the field, yet without any advancing motion of the parts that form them. In like manner, the motion of waves of water is not necessarily accompanied by a current in the same direction, and though a continuous high wind produces this effect, the progress of the water is at a very slow rate, and has no correspondence with the impression which its outward aspect makes upon the mind of the spectator. The proof of this may be easily obtained, by throwing any light substance into the sea, a little beyond the breakers, or into a piece of standing water, the surface of which is ruffled. Such a floating body will rise and fall with the motion of the waves, but make little perceptible advance towards the shore. Waves vary in their height, form, velocity, and extent. These diversities depend upon the depth of the sea, the size of its basin, and the force of the wind. A wave summit produced by a breeze from the land maintains constantly the same height while the impulse is the same; but the heights increase according to the distance from the shore. In open seas, where the wind blows upon the water in a parallel manner, through a considerable tract, the waves are generally in the shape of straight and long furrows; but in more confined situations they appear in short, straight lines, or in arcs of circles, according to the configuration of the coasts and their contiguity. When the wind blows fresh, the motion of the waves not being sufficiently quick, their thin and light tops are impelled forward and broken, falling upon their own slopes in a torrent of white foam, particles of which, in the form of spray, are carried to a vast distance by the gale. It is no uncommon circumstance, during a violent gale, for persons far inland to be sensible of a saline impregnation in the atmos ~'~'~~~~~~~~~~~~~~) ~.... 7\N~~~~~~~ )\ si,~~~~~~~~~~~%',,,. fb s IN~~~~~~~~~~~~~' Mill ~ il ~~ ~~~".klT' P;' _____ /~~n\' 2,~~~~ ~: / ji: jl~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~0`A~~~~~q IF,!"~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~~~\ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~l 4111~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~,~~ 411,-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~- 1,~~~~~~~~~~~~~? (i~~~~ i iii ~;y \Rl ~ ~' RKi 1v~~~~~~~~~~~~~''WORN~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~\ ii~~~~~~~~~~1 Z~~~~~~~~I~r AND THE HEAVENS. 589 phere - the spray of the waves which have been torn by the blast. In severe tempests enormous volumes of water are accumulated in ridges, which literally consist of wave on wave; for, owing to the permanence of the wind, its action will raise a second upon the first, and a third upon the second, in the same manner as it raised the first upon the flat surface of the water. From a number of experiments, and the experience of divers, it appears that the disturbance of the sea by the action of the winds extends but a comparatively small way below the surface. The observations of the committee appointed by the British Association, in 1836, show that, with a depth of water equal to twelve feet, waves nine inches high and four or five feet long did not sensibly affect the water at the bottom; and probably at the depth of two hundred feet the sea is undisturbed in the roughest weather. After the subsidence of the wind which has put the surface in motion, waves continue to roll for some hours, upon the principle of the pendulum swinging for some time after it has received an impulse. Hence, in a completely calm state of the atmosphere, the ocean exhibits a great undulatory movement, called the swell, which seldom entirely dies away before the action of the disturbing cause is renewed. The swell proceeds from the combined influence of winds and currents; and upon the mighty oscillation being checked in its career by sand banks, or a rocky coast, a roaring and violent surge is produced. Such is the surf at Madras, caused by the swell of the ocean across the Bay of Bengal, a sweep of nearly five hundred miles, coming into contact with the shore, where it exhibits the " wild waves' play," whose voice is heard far over the level plains of the Carnatic. It frequently occurs that, while the swell is advancing in one direction, the wind is blowing from an opposite quarter, or the wind suddenly chops about, or the surface of the ocean receives impulses in various directions from different breezes; and in any of these cases a series of compound waves is produced, and the aspect of the deep becomes complex in the extreme. 590 WONDERS OF THE EARTH The Sound at Plymouth, England, was formerly exposed to a heavy swell occasioned by the south-west gales, incommoding and endangering the shipping of that great naval arsenal; but this has been remedied by the construction of the breakwater, one of the most stupendous undertakings ever accomplished by the genius and power of man. "The billows sleep Within the shelter of a wondrous pile Of man's best workmanship- that new-made isle, That marble isle -brought piecemeal from the shore, To break the weltering waves and check their savage roar." The breakwater is a barrier or dike, nearly a mile in length, raised above the surface of the water, and stretching across the Sound so as to leave entrances at both ends. It was formed by an immense quantity of large stones, quarried from some limestone hills, which were shipped in vessels specially constructed for the purpose, and precipitated into the sea where it was proposed to keep the waves at bay. About fifty vessels were employed in this service, by which were deposited, in the year 1812, about sixteen thousand tons of stone; in 1813, seventy-one thousand; in 1814, two hundred and forty thousand; in 1815, two hundred and sixty-four thousand; in 1816, three hundred thousand; the whole quantity amounting to nearly forty million cubic feet. Baron Dupin inspected this extraordinary work while in progress, and enthusiastically records the impression made upon his mind by the "order, regularity, and activity which reign throughout all the operations; the embarking and disembarking of the materials; the working and placing of the enormous blocks which form the upper part of the breakwater; the difficulties conquered by the dexterity and ingenuity of the workmen; the transport of the blocks; and, above all, their extraction from the quarries. When we visit the workshops of the artificers and the operations of the quarry men," he continues, "it is admirable to observe man, so weak and so feeble, manage at his will the enormous masses he has detached from their beds, in order to AND THE HEAVENS. 591 precipitate them into the ocean, to form other hills. The roads formed in the air for the transport of the useless earth and broken fragments; the lines of cranes and their combined labor; the movements of the carriages; the arrival, the loading, and the departure of the vessels, - present to the eye of an admirer of great works and of the mechanical arts one of the most pleasing and imposing spectacles it is possible to contemplate." The artificial barrier has answered the purpose for which it was constructed as admirably as if a natural rampart of rock occupied its site; and Plymouth Sound is now a safe and convenient roadstead for the largest men-of-war. The effect attributed to " a soft answer," the moderation of wrath, has frequently been illustrated by a reference to the action of oil upon waves. From the time of Plutarch and Pliny, who relate that the mariners of their day were accustomed to still waves in a storm by pouring oil into the sea, it has passed current in popular speech, that this effect by such means may be produced, and though treated with discredit in modern times, experiment proves that there is some truth in the statement. Among the facts reported in favor of it, the following occurs in a letter to Count Bentinck from M. Tengragel, dated Batavia, January 5, 1770: "Near the Islands Paul and Amsterdam we met with a storm, which had nothing particular in it worthy of being communicated to you, except that the captain found himself obliged, for greater safety, in wearing the ship, to pour oil into the sea, to prevent the waves breaking over her, which had an excellent effect, and succeeded in preserving us. As he poured out but a little at a time, the East India Company owes, perhaps, its ship to only six demi-aumes of olive oil. I was present upon deck when this was done, and I should not have mentioned this circumstance to you, but that we have found people here so prejudiced against the experiment, as to make it necessary for the officers on board, and myself, to give a certificate of the truth on this head, of which we made no difficulty." It was the practice of the fishermen of Lisbon, when about 592 WONDERS OF THE EARTH to return into the river, if they saw before them too great a surf upon the bar, which they apprehended might fill their boats in passing, to empty a bottle of oil into the sea, to suppress the breakers. Previous to the time of Franklin, no man of science made experiments upon the subject; but his attention was called to it by a circumstance which he thus narrates: "In 1757, being at sea in a fleet of ninety-six sail bound for Louisbourg, I observed the wakes of two of the ships to be remarkably smooth, while all the others were ruffled by the wind, which blew fresh. Being puzzled with the differing appearance, I at last pointed it out to our captain, and asked him the meaning of it.' The cooks,' said he,'have, I suppose, been just emptying their greasy water through the scuppers, which has greased the sides of those ships a little;' and this answer he gave me with an air of some little contempt, as to a person ignorant of what every body else knew. In my own mind I at first slighted his solution, though I was not able to think of another." The issue of one of Franklin's experiments upon a pond on Clapham Common, England, is detailed in a volume of the Philosophical Transactions. " After dropping a little oil into the water," he states, " I saw it spread itself with surprising swiftness upon the surface, but the effect of smoothing the waves was not produced; for I had applied it first upon the leeward side of the pond, where the waves were largest, and the wind drove my oil back upon the shore. I then went to the windward side, where they began to form; and there the oil, though not more than a tea spoonful, produced an instant calm over a space several yards square, which spread amazingly, and extended itself gradually till it reached the lee side, making all that quarter of the pond, perhaps half an acre, as smooth as a looking glass." Franklin again experimented at the entrance of Portsmouth harbor, opposite to Haslar Hospital, in company with Sir Joseph Banks, Dr. Blagden, and Dr. Solander, where the waves, though not destroyed, were reduced to calm and gently swelling undulations. It seems evident, therefore, that AND THE HEAVENS. 593 the mollifying effect attributed to the action of oil upon disturbed waters is not without some foundation. Though the course of large waves is not arrested by it, for these have acquired a power of oscillation independent of the force of the wind, yet it will smooth their surface, and perhaps prevent their formation altogether under the influence of but a gentle breeze. "I imagine," says Franklin, accounting for the effect, " that the wind blowing over water covered with a film of oil cannot easily catch upon it, so as to raise the first wrinkles, but slides over it, and leaves it smooth as it finds it." The second great movement which the waters of the ocean exhibit is the tides. Here we have periodical fluctuations of its level, the causes of which are astronomical, and arise from the attractive influence of the sun and moon, the latter being the more potent agent of the two. The sea rises, or flows, as it is called, by degrees, about six hours; it remains stationary about a quarter of an hour; it then retires, or ebbs, during another six hours, to flow again after a brief repose. Thus every day, or the period elapsing between successive returns of the moon to the meridian of a place, which is twenty-four hours fifty and a half minutes, the sea ebbs and flows twice, much less, indeed, towards the poles than within the tropics, where the waters lie under the direct influence of the lunar attraction. The connection between the periodical flux and reflux of the sea, and the positions of the moon, is too obvious to have escaped the attention of mankind in early ages, whose geographical situation brought oceanic phenomena under their notice, for the highest tides occur at the period of new and full moon, and the lowest when her phase is a semicircle in the heavens. Accordingly, the philosophers of antiquity remark upon the tides varying with the moon; and the eldei Pliny, in a very striking passage in his Natural History, attributes them to lunar action, and proceeds to give a very accurate description of their leading circumstances. Kepler clearly indicated the principle of gravitation, and referred the tides to the attraction of the moon - an explanation which 75 594 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Galileo regretted, who ascribed them to the rotation of the earth combined with its revolution about the sun. To Newton the glory belongs of demonstrating the existence of a principle which had previously been a matter of philosophical speculation, of explaining its laws, and showing how the tides are produced by the influence of gravitation, the grand agent of the movements of the universe, and the conservator of its harmony. The theory of the tides is exceedingly simple in its principles, but the most complex of all physical problems in its details. The positions of the sun and moon vary with reference to each other and the equator, the moon being sometimes as much as twenty-eight and three quarter degrees on each side of the plane of the latter. The distribution and configuration of the land; the action of the winds also, and their varying force,,with currents in the ocean, affect the disturbance of its level by the solar and lunar influence. But the most energetic causes of complexity in the tides are the inequalities that mark the bed of the sea, and its geographical distribution in contact with immense masses of dry land in its basin. Shoals, peninsulas, and promontories offer obstructions to the flow of its waters, and vary their direction. In some narrow seas, channels, and gulfs, they are prodigiously accumulated, so that the tides rise to a far greater height than in the main ocean. Thus, on the coasts of the islands of the South Sea, the tides have only an elevation of one or two feet; and at St. Helena, a solitary islet in the heart of the South Atlantic, the rise very rarely exceeds three feet; but in the Irish Sea and English Channel the periodical flow attains a much greater height. At the mouth of the Wye the tidal rise amounts to about fifty feet; at the mouth of the Avon, to forty-two feet; at Milford Haven, to thirty-six feet; at London and Beachy Head, to eighteen feet; at the Needles, off the Tsle of Wight, to nine feet; and at Weymouth, to seven. The consequence of these extraordinary elevations is, that large tracts are alternately oceanic and parts of the mainland, where the shores are low. AND THE HEAVENS. 595 The diurnal rotation of the earth being from west to east, the apparent course of the moon is from east to west, and consequently in an ocean of considerable extent in that direction, a tidal wave is formed following the lunar course. The only great belt of water which answers to this condition is the Pacific Ocean, for the general direction of the Atlantic is from north to south, its breadth from east to west being comparatively small. It is the southern part of the Pacific, including the Indian Ocean, that exhibits the greatest extent of surface in the direction of the moon's path; and, accordingly, a very regular tide wave is there produced, the general course of which is from east to west, but running towards the tropics, the region of the direct line of the lunar attraction. From the mouth of the Red Sea to the Cape of Good Hope the whole east coast of Africa is reached about the same time by the summit of a single tide wave, causing the hours of high water at its different stations to be coincident. It is otherwise with the tides of the Atlantic, along the coasts of which the hours of high water are successively later as we travel northward, that being the general direction pursued by its tidal waves. It has been observed, that while in open seas, as around the islands of the Pacific, and St. Helena, in the South Atlantic, the tides have only an elevation of one or two feet; in many narrow channels, like the English and St. George's, they rise to a far greater height, owing to the confined space into which the water is crowded. The Bristol Channel opens widely to the south-west, where it receives the tide wave of the Atlantic; but it is very contracted at its upper end, and the water is heaped up, in consequence, much above the level to which it otherwise would rise, attaining to an elevation of forty or fifty feet. At St. Malo, on the north coast of France, the tide attains the height of fifty feet, and even sixty in the Bay of Fundy, where its rise is at the same time so rapid, that cattle feeding on the shores have been surrounded and swept off by it. On the contrary, in narrow seas, situated 596 WONDERS OF THE EARTH like the Mediterranean and the Baltic, there is scarcely any tide whatever; while in Hudson's and Baffin's Bays, and the Red Sea, the influence of the tidal current is strongly felt. A slight inspection of their geographical position will explain the reason of this. The mouths of the latter oceanic estuaries open in the direction of its advancing tide waves, while the entrances of the Mediterranean and the Baltic are at acute angles with reference to them, and being turned from the main direction of the Atlantic tide, but a small portion of its waters passes through them, not sufficient to produce any marked alteration in the level of those seas. In addition to this, their dimensions ase too limited to allow of the moon's action being unequally exerted upon them, were they in the direct line of her attraction, so that the equilibrium of the surface is not greatly disturbed. The highest tidal rise in the Mediterranean occurs to the eastward of Sicily, where a wave is raised which flows up the Adriatic, elevating the waters of that close sea nearly four feet at new and full moon, and half that height at neap tides, alternately covering and laying bare the bottom of the Venetian lagoons. At Antium, Mr. Trevelyan found, by a series of observations, regular tides in the summer of 1836, rising there to fourteen inches; and a tide was noticed by M. D'Angos, at Toulon, on the coast of France, where the sea rose a foot about three hours and a half after the moon passed the meridian. In the east of the Mediterranean also the tides are felt, and slightly so in the Grecian Archipelago, where a gentle rise of the waters in the port of _Egina and the Gulf of Corinth has been observed. But the general level of the Mediterranean fluctuates only a few inches. Hence the soldiers of Alexander were alarmed on beholding the high tide at the mouth of the Indus, and the troops of Caesar were filled with consternation on witnessing a similar spectacle upon the English coast —their previous knowledge of oceanic phenomena having been confined to the seas of Italy and Greece. Winds have a powerful influence upon the tidal currents, AND THE HEAVENS. 597 especially in narrow seas and river channels, keeping them back when blowing from an opposite quarter, and accelerating their flow when pursuing the same direction; so that the tide will rise above its usual level, or fall below it, according as a strong wind cooperates with it or not. An experiment made by Smeaton shows that in a canal four miles long the level of the water at one end was four inches higher than at the other, owing to the action of the wind upon it. Major Rennell states that a piece of water ten miles broad, and generally only three feet deep, has, by a strong wind, had its waters driven to one side, and so sustained as to become six feet deep, while the windward side was laid dry. The change produced in the aspect of rivers by the advance of the tide is of the most striking description, and confers important advantages upon the towns seated along their banks, rendering them essentially maritime, though at a considerable distance from the sea. The Avon, at Bristol, supplies a remarkable example of the alteration, and of the commercial benefits resulting from it. Its natural character at St. Vincent's Rocks is that of a shallow, brawling stream, scarcely navigable by the smallest craft; but upon the flow of the tide it receives an accession of nearly forty feet to its depth of water, which enables the largest West Indiamen and steamers to communicate directly with the city. The change brings no only a supply of water adequate for navigation, but an alternate current every twelve hours, which is just as useful as having a fair wind up and down the river, the regular occurrence of which, being certain, may immediately be turned to account by previous preparation. The same phenomenon is exhibited on the Solway Firth, the sands of which are so dry at low water that travellers on horseback can cross them, while the tide returns so rapidly as to render this a somewhat hazardous experiment. Besides the advantage to navigation, to a great metropolis like London, the tidal flux and reflux of the Thames is of immense consequence to physical health. The river may be said to be thoroughly washed out twice a 598 WONDERS OF THE EARTH day, by whicJh the drainage of a million and a half of people is carried off to the sea, and fresh water and air returned back —a process which has been aptly compared to a system of lungs, furnished to the city for the purpose of securing a healthy vital action. A third movement to which the ocean is subject is known by the name of currents, which involve not merely the surface stratum of the sea, but probably extend to the bottom, where they prevail, and constitute great oceanic highways. The effect of currents was perceived long before any thing was known of their direction and velocity; and Columbus was strengthened in his belief, that land might be reached across the Atlantic westward, by substances which had been drifted from that quarter. A pilot in the service of the King of Portugal, Martin Vicenti, assured him that, after sailing four hundred and fifty leagues to the west of Cape St. Vincent, he had taken a piece of carved wood from the sea, evidently not labored with an iron instrument, which must have floated from some unknown land in a westerly direction. Columbus was also informed by his brother-in-law, Pedro Correo, that he had seen a similar piece of wood off Porto Santo, a small island to the north-east of Madeira, which seemed to have come from the same region; and it was commonly reported that reeds of an immense size had floated to those islands from the west, which the great discoverer fancied were identical with those described by Ptolemy as growing in India. From the inhabitants of the Azores he learned that trunks of huge pine trees had been cast upon the shores, of a species different from any that grew upon the islands; while, towards the close of the fifteenth century, the bodies of two dead men had been drifted to the Island of Flores, whose features proclaimed them to belong to an unknown race. These circumstances contributed to confirm Columbus in his theory respecting the existence of a western continent, and strengthened his purpose to venture upon the untracked waste of waters in order to reach it. AND THE HEAVENS. 599 After the commencement of his great undertaking, when day after day nothing had been seen but a shoreless horizon, and hope had nearly expired in his own breast, while his crew were on the verge of open rebellion, the effect of the oceanic currents restored his confidence, and allayed their clamors. Herbage, fresh and green as if recently plucked, floated by. A branch of thorn, with berries on it, appeared; a reed was picked up, and a staff, artificially carved — significant intimations that an inhabited land lay before the adventurers, which was at length revealed to their gaze, and terminated forever the mystery which had rested upon the western flood. Upon his second voyage, Columbus found, near one of the islands, to which the Spaniards gave the name of Guadaloupe, the stern-post of a Eufropean vessel, the fragment of some wreck which had been borne in a contrary direction across the Atlantic. The preceding facts are doubtless referable to the action of the equatorial current and the Gulf Stream. Previously, the inhabitants of the Canaries had considered the vegetable productions thrown upon their shores as coming from the enchanted Isle of St. Borondon, which, according to the reveries of the pilots, and certain legends, was placed towards the west, in an unknown part of the ocean, enveloped with eternal fogs. It is little more than half a century since the oceanic currents began to be accurately investigated. Though tolerably well acquainted with their site, direction, and velocity, the causes in which they originate are not thoroughly understood. In all probability they are chiefly due to the influence of permanent winds, to a difference in temperature or saltness between two parts of the sea, to the annual melting of the polar ice, to the unequal evaporation which the surface of the ocean experiences in high and low latitudes, and to the greater velocity with which the equatorial regions are carried round in the daily rotation of the globe. The sea currents have been compared to the continental rivers, and both exhibit the phenomena of volumes of water moving in a certain direction, 600 WONDERS OF THE EARTH but in extent of surface and depth they are utterly disproportionate; and if the former were transferred to the land, they would constitute great inland seas, or arms of the ocean. There are two great currents flowing from the poles towards the equator, north and south, which preserve their direction through a considerable space. The drifting of the ice from the polar regions into the temperate seas, on each side of the line, evidences the existence of streams following that course. The north polar current appears to strike the shores of Asia; and, passing round the north cape of Europe, it crosses the upper part of the Atlantic, running to the south-west till it reaches the east coast of Greenland. It then traverses the narrow sea between that country and Iceland, turns round Cape Farewell, the southern extremity of Greenland, and proceeds northward into Davis's Strait. It follows the eastern side of the strait as far to the north as Holsteinborg, in latitude sixtyseven degrees, where, from causes of which we are ignorant, it abruptly turns to the west, and strikes the opposite shore at Cape Walsingham. From thence its course is. southward to Labrador, and south-east to the north bank of Newfoundland, where it mingles with the Gulf Stream, which will hereafter be noticed. The breadth of the Arctic current is in some places from two hundred and fifty to three hundred miles. Its velocity varies, in different parts of its course, from eight or nine to fifteen or sixteen miles per day. The icy masses it bears along are supposed to be about two months in making the before-mentioned circuit from Cape Farewell to the coast of Labrador. We are not so familiar with the Antarctic or south polar current, but have similar evidence of its action in the transportation of the ice from high to low latitudes, where its course is checked by a counter stream passing westward by the Cape of Good Hope and Cape Horn. Various circumstances operate to put these streams in motion. The greater intensity of the centrifugal force at the equator, which is the result of the earth's rotation, and the greater evaporation of AND THE HEAVENS. 601 the sea between the tropics, owing to the powerful heat of the torrid zone, must necessarily produce a movement of the waters from the poles towards the equator in order to restore the equilibrium which the preceding causes are perpetually destroying. It is, however, a singular fact, only recently ascertained, with reference to the Arctic current, and quite impossible to explain at present, that it appears to be annually suspended for about three months, from the middle of October to the middle of January; and no perceptible evidence whatever of its action at that period is found at Cape Farewell, as at other seasons, in the accumulation of ice around it. Upon the inhabitants of Iceland this great oceanic stream confers no unimportant benefit in the drift timber which it casts upon their shores, affording them an abundant supply of wood for fuel and for the construction of boats, their own forests having been improvidently exhausted. The immense quantity of it, amounting to whole forests of pines and firs, has attracted much attention; and it has been deemed difficult to explain from what country it can have been derived. Captain Parry found a large quantity thrown by the sea upon the coasts of Spitzbergen; and Crantz informs us that the masses of floating wood thrown upon the Island of Jan Mayen often equal the whole of the island in extent. The most probable solution of its origin is, that the rivers of Northern Asia carry the timber of the Siberian forests into the Arctic Ocean, from whence it is borne by the current to mitigate the cold of the Icelandic winter. It was the north polar current that presented the most formidable obstacle to Parry in his attempt to reach the pole by means of boat sledges and reindeer, and led to the failure of the daring enterprise. Having travelled over the frozen surface of the deep to nearly eighty-three degrees latitude, which seemed to be the utmost limit of animal life, the adventurers found that when, according to their reckoning, they had made ten or eleven miles of direct northing, they had actually gone four miles to the south, owing to the current carrying the snow fields in that direction. An invisible 76 602 WONDERS OF THE EARTH power was thus continually undoing what they were laboring to accomplish, which rendered the success of the expedition hopeless. The grandest movement of the ocean in the form of a stream current proceeds from east to west, on each side of the equator, and is therefore called the equatorial or tropical current. In the Pacific Ocean it sweeps westward from the coast of Peru in one immense volume, till, reaching New Holland and the islands of the Asian Archipelago, it is broken into smaller branches of different divergence; and hence the numerous and variable currents prevailing in the Indian Ocean, which render the navigation so dangerous. A great branch passes to the south of New Holland, preserving generally a uniform westerly direction till it is obstructed by the Island of Madagascar and the east coast of Africa, from which it glides off to the south round the Cape of Good Hope. In the Atlantic Ocean the equatorial current is very perceptible, the westward flow of the waters commencing in the Bay of Benin and at the Canaries, and prOceeding across its basin to the opposite shore of America, where, off Cape St. Roque, on the Brazilian coast, it is separated into two branches. One branch, called the Brazil current, proceeds southward along its coast line, crosses the mouth of the La Plata, passes through the Straits of Magellan and round Cape Horn, and mingles with the westward flow of the Pacific. The other, and principal branch, known by the name of the Guiana current, is properly a direct continuation of the equatorial. It runs from off Cape St. Roque, across the mouth of the Amazon; and after skirting the low coast of Guiana, and passing through the Caribbean Sea, it enters the Gulf of Mexico, where a course is commenced in a fresh direction. Mention has previously been made of the Gulf Stream. This originates in the' Mexican Gulf, and is the efflux of the waters accumulated there by the equatorial current. The stream is first clearly perceptible to the north-west of the Island of Cuba, where it flows weakly to the east; but AND THE HEAVENS. 603 upon being turned from that direction by the opposition of immense sand banks, it proceeds northward, and, owing to the narrowness of the channel, rushes with great velocity through the Strait of Florida. Obeying the impulse there given to its waters, the Gulf Stream runs along the coast of the United States; and, being there free from obstruction, it gradually expands in volume, and diminishes in rapidity. On striking the banks of Newfoundland it sets again to the east, and to the south-east upon joining the north polar current. It then traverses the basin of the Atlantic to the Azores, enters the equatorial current on the coast of Africa, and is conducted again to the west to reenter into itself in the Gulf of Mexico. The equatorial current and the Gulf Stream thus constitute a whirlpool of prodigious extent in the Atlantic Ocean, which cuts laterally the gorge between Africa and the Brazils, scours round the indentation of Central America, recrosses the bed of the Atlantic, following an opposite direction, and is perpetually circulating in the same route. Humboldt remarks, that supposing a particle of water returns to the same place from which it departed, our present knowledge of the swiftness of currents will enable us to estimate that this circuit of three thousand eight hundred leagues will require not less than two years and ten months for its accomplishment. "' A boat which may be supposed to receive no impression from the winds would require thirteen months from the Canary Islands to reach the coast of Caraccas, ten months to make the tour of the Gulf of Mexico and reach Tortoise Shoals, opposite the port of the Havana, while forty or fifty days might be sufficient to carry it from the Straits of Florida to the bank of Newfoundland. It would be difficult to fix the rapidity of the retrograde current from this bank to the coasts of Africa: but estimating the mean velocity of the waters at seven or eight miles in twenty-four hours, we find ten or eleven months for this last distance. A short time," he continues, "before my arrival at Teneriffe, the sea had left in the road of St. Croix a trunk of a cedrela odorata covered with the bark. This Amer. 604 WONDERS OF THE EARTH ican tree vegetates exclusively under the tropics or in the neighboring regions, and it had, no doubt, been torn up on the coast of the continent, or of that of Honduras. The nature of the wood and the lichens which covered its bark were evident proofs that this trunk did not belong to those submarine forests which ancient revolutions of the globe have deposited in lands transported from the polar regions. If the cedrela, instead of having been thrown on the strand of Teneriffe, had been carried farther south, it would probably have made the whole tour of the Atlantic, and returned to its native soil with the general current of the tropics." The conjecture in the last passage is supported by a fact recorded in the history of the Canaries by the Abbe Viera. In the year 1770 a small vessel laden with corn, and bound from the Island of Lanzarote to Vera Cruz, in Teneriffe, was driven to sea while none of the crew were on board, and was carried by the westward motion of the waters across the bed of the Atlantic, where it went ashore at La Guayra, near Caraccas. It was the equatorial current that conveyed the fragment of the vessel to Guadaloupe which Columbus found floating near the island; and the Gulf Stream brought those productions of the new world to the Canaries, upon which he seized as indications of the existence of western regions, before the discovery of them had been effected. A complete view of this great watercourse would require a notice of several subordinate currents; but it may be sufficient to observe that the western flow of the Pacific, mentioned as sweeping round the Cape of Good Hope, mingles with it as a perpetual feeder, while from its northern region a branch is sent off towards the coasts of Great Britain and Norway. This arm of the Gulf Stream leaves it in forty-five and fifty degrees latitude, near the bank of Bonnet-Flamand. It runs to the north-east, and becomes very strong when the winds have blown a long time from the west. By this current, plants, seeds, and the fruit of trees, which belong to the torrid zone of America, are annually borne through the North Atlantic, AND THE HEAVENS. 605 and deposited on the western coasts of Ireland, Scotland, and Norway. On the shores of the Hebrides the seeds are collected of several plants belonging to Jamaica, Cuba, and the neighboring continent; and the remains of cargoes of vessels wrecked in the West Indian seas have been drifted to the same quarter. The fragments of the English vessel the Tilbury, burned near Jamaica, reached the coast of Scotland; and tortoises inhabiting the waters of the Antilles have undergone a similar transportation. A most remarkable case is related by Wallace, that twice, in 1682 and 1684, American savages of the race of the Esquimaux, driven out to sea in their leathern canoes during a storm, and left to the guidance of the currents, reached the Orkneys - an example of involuntary migration, which shows how, when the art of navigation was yet in its infancy, the motion of the waters of the ocean may have contributed to disseminate the different races of men over the face of the globe. It is natural to inquire concerning the origin of this extraordinary and vast whirl of the waters of the ocean. The westerly movement in equatorial regions is in a direction contrary to that of the earth's rotation, and appears to be connected with this last phenomenon along with the trade winds, which follow the same course. Owing to the action of the current and the wind, the waters of the Atlantic are crowded into the great American bay which terminates with the Gulf of Mexico, entering it on the south, where, upon being repulsed by the shores of the continent, they accumulate, and flow off to the north-east, forming. the Gulf Stream. It has been calculated that the waters of the gulf four thousand miles distant from the Cape de Verde Islands are elevated three hundred and twenty-five feet above the level of the ocean in the latter locality. This arises from the pressure exerted by the particles of water upon each other under the influence of the wind and current, and the resistance offered to their farther westward progress by the shores of Central America. 606 WONDERS OF THE EARTH It has frequently been observed that a prolonged wind blowing up the English Channel causes a very perceptible elevation of the sea level in the Straits of Dover, occasioned by large volumes of water being driven from the Atlantic into the close confinement of a narrow passage. The configuration of that remarkable break in the eastern coast line of America, where the Gulf Stream originates, at once explains how a permanent wind and current, pursuing the direction indicated, must heap up the waters of the ocean in it, which necessarily run off, where a vent occurs, in order to find their level. The high temperature of the Gulf Stream, in all parts of its course, is one of its striking peculiarities. It is a current of warm water so greatly above the average heat of the ocean that the navigator may at once detect his entrance into it by the sudden rise of the thermometer. The difference often amounts to nine, twelve, and fifteen degrees of Fahrenheit, and sometimes to much more. Near Cape Hatteras, on the coast of North Carolina, under the meridian of sixty-three and a half degrees, the thermometer shows eighty-one degrees in summer, which is from ten and a half to eleven and a half degrees above the water of the ocean, in the same latitude, immediately contiguous to the stream. At Corvo, one-of the Azores, its temperature is from seventy-five and a half to seventy-seven and a half degrees, which is from eight to ten degrees above that of the ocean. It is in the Mexican Gulf, which may be properly called a caldron for heating water, that this high temperature is acquired, which is there in summer four degrees above that of the open ocean under the equator. Upon issuing from thence the water retains its warmth across the Atlantic, though subject to a gradual reduction as it travels eastward, till, after being cooled down to the general temperature of the circumjacent sea, it is transferred again by the westerly current to the coast of Caraccas, to undergo the same heating process as it slowly proceeds along its shores, and those of Mexico and Florida. There can be little doubt but that, as the high tempera AND THE HEAVENS. 607 ture of the Mediterranean Sea contributes to the mild climate of the countries on its shores, so the warm water distributed over the North Atlantic, and sent to the west coasts of Europe, causes the mean temperature of England to be sensibly higher than that of many other places situated within the same limits of latitude, but differently circumstanced with reference to the Gulf Stream. Two physical phenomena, also, off the Island of Newfoundland, are supposed to be produced by the action of this current - the formation of its bank and the fogs which mantle its shores. After rushing with great velocity through the Strait of Florida, the force of the stream gradually diminishes as it coasts along the United States, when the matter it has sustained while in rapid motion is deposited, which in process of time has formed the huge shoals of Nantucket and the great bank of Newfoundland. In the same locality the Gulf Stream encounters the Arctic current, and those extraordinary banks of fog with which it abounds are probably referable to the different temperature of their waters and of the incumbent atmosphere. The currents of the ocean materially affect its navigation. While an intimate knowledge of them is necessary in order to avoid the danger of mistaking the true position of a vessel, its progress to port may be facilitated by falling in with a local stream, or steering clear of it, according as its direction is favorable or adverse. The great highway across the Atlantic formed by the Gulf Stream is of course avoided as much as possible by ships proceeding from Europe to America, because the flow of the current is opposite to their path, and to attempt to stem it would increase by a fortnight the time of the passage.. On the contrary, a vessel proceeding from North America to Europe will save about five days' sailing by following its track; but it has been found, that, owing to its course lying through stormy latitudes, where heavy seas and continual gales are encountered, the damage suffered through wear and tear counterbalances the gain of a few days in the voyage. Accordingly, it is only entered at a few points, a 608 WONDERS OF THE EARTH general route to the south of it being pursued by ships going to Europe from the West Indies, and one to the north by those that sail from New York. As the velocity of the oceanic currents is not invariable, but is much accelerated or retarded by the prevalence of hard gales, the navigator sailing with or against them has to take this element into the account, in order to be sure of his place. In proceeding from the American coast to Bermuda, Captain Hall found that an unusual increase in the rate of the Gulf Stream had carried him so far beyond his mark, that when from his reckoning, the weather having prevented observations for the longitude, he supposed himself about forty miles on the western side of the island, and was therefore beating to the eastward, he was actually about the same distance on the eastern side, and had to sail westward to gain his port. By not making due allowance for the force of the current that sweeps round the Cape of Good Hope from the Pacific, navigators proceeding to India have often fancied themselves east of the cape when they have been still west, and have been driven ashore on the African coast, which, according to their reckoning, lay behind them. A similar cause has led to many a disastrous shipwreck on the Senegal coast, upon which a branch current from the Gulf Stream rushes and upon the savage shores of the Great Desert it has been the fate of many a gallant crew either to perish of hunger or to be sold into slavery. A more accurate acquaintance with oceanic regions, and the accomplished nautical education of commanders, have diminished such accidents in recent times. Still, besides the great sea streams, there are an immense number of offsets from them, some of which are only occasional currents, and others have not been noticed, which may deceive the most skilful commander, and hurry his vessel ashore, when his reckoning gives him a considerable distance from it. This misfortune happened to the fine frigate the Challenger, in the year 1835, which struck upon the south coast of Chile, owing to the AND THE HEAVENS. 609 action of an unusual and unexpected current, against which it was impossible to guard. At eight o'clock in the evening there was a careful examination of the ship's place upon the charts. At nine the weather was hazy, the wind moderate, the water smooth, the stars occasionally appearing overhead, and an expected moon at midnight promised a fine and quiet night to the crew. At a quarter to ten the breakers were seen; and immediately the ship dashed upon the rocks along the beach, became a complete wreck, the officers and men reaching the shore with difficulty. The existence of under currents, running in a direction opposite to the flow of the surface stratum, has been surmised in various places, but chiefly owing to circumstances which may be differently explained. It has been mentioned, that the Black Sea pours its surplus waters, through the Bosphorus and the Hellespont, into the Grecian Archipelago. The current here flows at the rate of from two to four miles an hour, and is occasionally so strong that ships experience great difficulty in making way against it. The exploit of Leander and Byron, who swam across the Hellespont, conquering the power of the stream, has acquired celebrity. This is one of the sites where it has been imagined that there is an under current flowing upwards from the archipelago to the Black Sea. The saltness of the water of the latter, which is only one seventh less than that of the Atlantic, and fully one tenth more than that of the Baltic, has suggested this idea. While receiving an immense influx of fresh water from numerous large rivers, and having a constant outflow, this degree of saltness is certainly a singular problem; and it has been thought difficult to account for it, otherwise than by supposing an under current communicating the saltness of the archipelago to the Euxine. But salt prevails extensively in the countries along its north and north-eastern shores, a considerable portion of which, finding its -way to the sea, may be the true cause of its waters being so largely impregnated by it. The physical condition of the Mediterranean has also been 77 610 WONDERS OF THE EARTH deemed inexplicable, except upon a similar supposition. While a perpetual stream flows into it from the Black Sea through the channels named, there is another from the Atlantic through the Straits of Gibraltar; and to account for the disposal of the quantity of water flowing inward, a submarine current, flowing outward at the straits, has been maintained by many philosophers. The following circumstance has been considered to be confirmative of this opinion. M. Du L'Aigle, the commander of a privateer called the Phoenix, of Marseilles, gave chase to a Dutch merchant ship, near Ceuta Point, and came up with her in the middle of the straits, between Tariffa and Tangier, and gave her a broadside which directly sunk the vessel. A few days after, the sunk ship, with its cargo of brandy and oil, arose on the shore near Tan gier, which is at least four leagues to the westward of the place where she sunk, and directly against the strength of the current from the Atlantic. Besides, however, this current, there are two lateral currents in the straits, one on the European and the other on the African side, which alternately flow outward and inward with the tide; and the drifting of the vessel to the rear of the spot in the main stream where she sank might be occasioned by one of these lateral currents, at that time flowing out of the straits. With reference to the immense body of water which is constantly pouring into the Mediterranean from the Atlantic, there is no necessity to have recourse to an under current conveying it back into the ocean to account for its disposal; for a considerable portion may be returned there by the lateral currents, while an enormous evaporation expends the rest. We have no evidence whatever of the existence of such a phenomenon as the superior and inferior stratum of the same volume of water flowing in opposite directions. Ray long ago remarked, "I do not understand how waters can run backward and forward in the same channel at the same time; for, there being but one declivity, this is as much as to affirm that a heavy body should ascend. It is a crossing of proverbs, vw r to zarcuv, making rivers AND THE HEAVENS. 611 ascend to their fountains, affirming that to be done which all the world hath hitherto looked upon as absurd and impossible." Currents pursuing an inverse course sometimes meet and conflict; and when this occurs in narrow channels, it renders their passage troublesome and dangerous to the mariner. When two currents, thus meeting together, are nearly of equal force, they often cause eddies or whirlpools, of which the Maelstrom, off the coast of Norway, is a remarkable example. Its influence is felt for more than nine miles, and its power is such, that vessels drawn into its grasp have been unable to extricate themselves, and have perished in its vortex. In a storm, the roar of the contending waters is heard through a wide area upon the surface of the deep. Charybdis, in the Straits of Messina, is another instance, so famed in antiquity, with its companion Scylla, for offering perils to the ancient navigators. Homer portrays Scylla as a rock so lofty that its summit is continually cloud-capped, and so steep, smooth, and slippery, that no mortal could scale its height, though the capabilities of his physical frame for the ascent were largely multiplied: - "High in the air the rock its summit shrouds In brooding tempests and in rolling clouds: Loud storms around, and mists eternal rise, Beat its bleak brow, and intercept the skies. When all the broad expansion, bright with day, Glows with th' autumnal or the summer ray, The summer and the autumn glow in vain; The sky forever lowers, forever clouds remain. Impervious to the step of man it stands, Though borne by twenty feet, though armed with twenty hands. Smooth as the polish of the mirror rise The slippery sides, and shoot into the skies." The Greek poet, and Virgil after him, personify this rock as a sea monster, lurking in the darkness of a vast cavern, surrounded by ravenous, barking mastiffs, together with wolves, increasing the horror of the scene: 612 WONDERS OF THE EARTH "Here Scylla bellows from her dire abodes, Tremendous pest! abhorred by man and gods! Hideous her voice, and with less terrors roar The whelps of lions in the midnight hour." Not less terrible is the description of Charybdis, represented by Homer as a companion monster, three times in a day drinking up the water, and three times vomiting it forth: — "Beneath Charybdis holds her boisterous reign'Midst roaring whirlpools, and absorbs the main; Thrice in her gulfs the boiling seas subside, Thrice in dire thunder she refunds the tide." This language of poetical fable and exaggeration rests upon a stratum of truth. In the Straits of Messina - the site of Scylla on the Calabrian shore, and of Charybdis by the opposite coast of Sicily - there are numerous and variable currents. The centre of the channel is occupied by a stream, which 1ihns alternately north and south, six hours each way, at the rate of from two to five miles an hour. On each side there is a counter or returning stream, running at a varying distance from the beach, and numerous eddies or whirlpools are formed by the contact of the lateral and central currents. In rough weather, when a high wind is blowing in the direction of the main stream, it becomes sufficiently powerful to stop the course of the lateral currents; but the collision gives rise to strong whirls in the water, which are sent off to each shore. It is easy to conceive that to the inexpert mariners of ancient times such a navigation would be alarming in dark, rainy, blustering nights, and would often involve the wreck of their feeble craft —disasters upon which the poets seized, and magnified the causes beyond the reality. At the same time it is not improbable that the physical paroxysms to which the adjacent districts have been subject may have so altered the bottom of the straits, either by elevation or depression, as to have really diminished the danger of the passage. During the great Calabrian earthquake the quay of Messina AND THE HEAVENS. 613 sank fourteen inches, vast masses of sea cliff on the coast of the straits fell down, and one such mass, detached from Mount Jaci, beside the rock of Scylla, rolled by night to the margin of the Mediterranean, which immediately rose with a wave twenty feet high. "I first," says the Abbe Spallanzani, " proceeded in a small boat to Scylla. This is a lofty rock, which rises almost perpendicularly from the sea, on the shore of Calabria, and beyond which is the small city of the same name. Though there was scarcely any wind, I began to hear, two miles before I came to the rock, a murmur and a noise, like a confused barking of dogs, and on a nearer approach readily discovered the cause. This rock, in its lower part, contains a number of caverns; one of the largest of which is called by the people there Dragara. Ihe waves, when in the least agitated, rushing into these caverns, break, dash, throw up frothy bubbles, and thus occasion these various and multiplied sounds. Such are the situation and appearance of Scylla: let us now consider the danger it occasions to mariners. Though the tide is almost imperceptible in the open parts of the Mediterranean, it is very strong in the Strait of Messina, in consequence of the narrowness of the channel; and it is regulated, as in other places, by the periodical elevations and depressions of the water. Where the flow or current is accompanied by a wind blowing the same way, vessels have nothing to fear; since they either do not enter the strait, both the wind and the stream opposing them, but cast anchor at the entrance, or, if both are favorable, they enter on full sail, and pass through with such rapidity that they seem to fly over the water. But when the current runs from south to north, and the north wind blows hard at the same time, the ship, which expected easily to pass the strait with the wind in its stern, on its entering the channel is resisted by the opposite current, and, impelled by two forces in contrary directions, is at length dashed on the rock of Scylla, or driven on the neighboring sands; unless the pilot shall apply for the succor necessary to his 614 WONDERS OF THE EARTH preservation. For to give assistance in case of such accidents, four and twenty of the strongest, boldest, and most experienced sailors, well acquainted with the place, are stationed night and day along the shore of Messina, who, at the report of guns fired as signals of distress from any vessel, hasten to its assistance, and tow it with one of their light boats." The site of Charybdis is defined by Strabo, "in the strait, a little before we reach the city" Messina. It is off the entrance of the harbor, distant about six thousand and forty-seven yards from Scylla, according to the measurement of Captain Smyth, and about seven hundred feet from the shore, upon a promontory of which a lighthouse warns the sailor by night of the spot. The classical name is no longer its local title, but Kalofaro, from zxaog and caqog, the "beautiful tower," alluding to the lighthouse. It is not a vortex of the ordinary kind, endangering vessels by suction, but rather a tumultuous movement of the water, which circulates in several quick eddies, varying with the force and direction of the winds and currents. When the wind and the current oppose each other, the Kalofaro becomes a scene of extensive and violent agitation, and will wheel round even ships of war upon its surface; but there is no appearance of an absorbing gulf answering to the ancient imagination, though smaller vessels are exposed to the peril of being driven ashore, or destroyed by the waves beating over them. In order to avoid the danger arising from Charybdis, the mariners of former times went as near as possible to the coast of Calabria, and sometimes went too near, provoking the dangers arising from Scylla; and hence the proverb still applied to those who, in attempting to escape one evil, encounter another:" Incidat in Scyllam, cupiens vitare Charybdim." " Who flies Charybdis upon Scylla strikes." Brydone, after referring to the accounts given of it by the classical writers, remarks, "It certainly is not now so formidable, and very probably the violent motion, continued for so AND THE HEAVENS. 615 many ages, has by degrees worn smooth the rugged rocks and jutting shelves that may have intercepted and confined the waters. The breadth of the straits, too, in this place, I make no doubt, is considerably enlarged. Indeed, from the nature of things, it must be so; the perpetual friction occasioned by the current must wear away the bank on each side, and enlarge the bed of the water." Of all the oceanic movements exhibited in the form of waves, tides, and currents, of which a summary notice has been given, the latter are the most influential in affecting the displacement of its waters. The tides alternately elevate and let down the surface, rather than produce an actual stream, except along shore, and in confined channels; for when we speak of the motion of a tide wave, and of its rate of advance, we do not mean a shifting of the water from place to place, but the progressive elevation of its surface stratum. The influence of the winds in creating waves is very circumscribed in forcing the sea to change its situation, except where they are strong and permanent; and it is the upper stratum that they chiefly affect. It may here be mentioned that during a recent circumnavigation of the globe by the French ship Venus, the highest wave that struck her on the voyage was seventy-five metres, or twenty-three feet; and the longest wave, met with to the south of New Holland, was three times the length of the frigate, one hundred and fifty metres, or four hundred and ninety-two feet. Currents, on the contrary, in volve extensive areas of the ocean; extend in many instances to the bottom of the sea, and transfer its waters from one hemisphere to another - from the Pacific to the Atlantic, and to the Pacific again, in perpetual revolution - from the congelation of polar regions to the heat of the equatorial. Owing to the joint influence of winds, tides, and currents, there is no part of the ocean, for any long interval, in a state of rest — an obviously benign arrangement of Providence; for if it became for any length of time a vast stagnant pool, its waters, charged with an immense amount of decomposing animal and 616 WONDERS OF THE EARTH vegetable matter, notwithstanding their saltness, mould soon become fetid, would give off noxious exhalations, infect the whole atmosphere, and reduce the world to an uninhabitable desert. It has been wisely ordained, therefore, that the physical condition of this enormous mass of water should answer to the apostrophe - "Roll on, thou deep and dark blue ocean, roll!" ~~~~~~~~~~- E i —. -= Gra tr i 22 hchs ilnlygttdth ca nth os fHolnta - twse wy1200sur ilso ad r erya uh si otie inth tae o asahuetsan onetiu. e pg 61 AND THE HEAVENS. 617 CHAPTER XIX. STRUGGLE BETWEEN SEA AND LAND FOR DOMINION. - TWELVE THOUSAND SQUARE MILES OF LAND IN HOLLAND USURPED BY THE SEA IN 1282. - OTHER EXTENSIVE PORTIONS OF LAND, ALSO CITIES AND LARGE TOWNS, WASHED AWAY BY THE OCEAN. —- ADDITIONS MANY MILES IN BREADTH MADE BY THE OCEAN TO THE LAND.- VILLAGES, CITIES, AND FERTILE LANDS BURIED BY DRIFTING SAND SUPPLIED BY THE OCEAN. A STRUGGLE for the mastery is perpetually going on between the sea and the dry land, in the course of which extensive changes are effected in the disposition of the coast, though mutual losses in the struggle are compensated by corresponding gains, so as to leave each of the contending agents in possession of about the same amount of territory. In some places the ocean obtains the superiority by very gradual advances, which only become sensible after long intervals of time; but occasionally, under the action of extraordinary storms, it bounds over the embankments of a low shore, sweeps them away entirely, overflows interior levels, and retains a permanent hold of its conquest. In other places its waters retire before the slow advance of the land, large tracts of which are formed by the constant accumulation of sand or the alluvium of rivers, and the coast invades the dominion of the deep, so that where its waves have gently played or wildly raged, a new theatre is created for human industry and the purposes of vegetation. The instances in which the sea encroaches in a sudden and violent manner are of rare occurrence; but taking a view of physical operations through several centuries, we find no inconsiderable number of examples of these hasty and terrible inroads. It has frequently happened in earthquakes, that the sea has rushed upon the shores 78 618 WONDERS OF THE EARTH in tremendous waves, dashed away whole masses of coast, and accomplished a lodgment for its floods where fields were verdant, and man had long enjoyed a quiet habitation. Violent tempests, without any submarine convulsions, have frequently brought large portions of the coast under the dominion of the ocean. The more important of these sudden and terrible actions of the sea, since the eighth century, are mentioned in chronological series in the following table, taken from the work of M. Hoff, with some additions from other sources - Years. 800. The sea carries off a large quantity of the soil of Heligoland, islands in the German Ocean, off the mouth of the Elbe, previously of considerable extent, but subsequently much reduced. 800-900. Tempests change the coasts of Brittany; valleys and villages are swallowed up. The Bretons have a tradition, which has descended from the fabulous ages, of the destruction of the south-western part of Brittany. 800-950. Violent storms agitate the lagoons of Venice. The Isles of Ammiano and Costanziaco disappear. 1044-1309. Terrible irruptions of the Baltic on the coasts of Pomerania, which commit great ravages, and give rise to the popular rumor of the disappearance of the fabulous city of Vineta. 1106. Old Malamocca, a considerable town near Venice, ingulfed by the sea. 1218. A great inundation formed, near the mouth of the Weser, the Gulf of Jadhe, so named from the small river which watered the fertile country destroyed by this catastrophe. 1219, 1220 Terrible storms form the Island of Wieringen. This lies to the south of the Texel, and was 0 X ~~~~F- 3W EL. ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~. Natural rg eI d b ss /,, tural:d;e, — _e-a Ira, mdy _ — =-~, o Natural rdges, nea Kilkee, Ireland, formed by the; dashing of the waves. AND THE HEAVENS. 619 Years. 1221, 1246, part of the main land of North Holland in 1251. the year 1205. It was detached from the continent by the high floods which occurred in the annexed years. 1277, 1278, Inundations ingulf the fertile country of Rei1280, 1287. derland, an alluvial plain at the mouth of the Ems, in the time of the Romans, stretching between Groningen and East Friesland. Two small streams, the Tiam and the Eche, which watered this district, disappeared. The town of Torum, a considerable place, was destroyed, along with upwards of fifty market towns, villages, and monasteries. A new gulf, called the Dollart, now occupies their site. 1282. Violent tempests break the isthmus which united Holland with Friesland, and form the Zuider Zee. 1240. An irruption considerably changes the western coast of Schleswig; many fertile territories are swallowed up, and the arm of the sea which separated the Island of Nordstrand from the continent is greatly enlarged. 1300, 1500, Three fourths of Heligoland are swept away. 1649. 1300. Ciparum, in Istria, destroyed. 1303. A great part of Rugen ingulfed, and many villages on the coast of Pomerania. 1337. An inundation carries off fourteen villages in the Isle of Cadsand, in Zealand. 1421. An inundation covers a district named Bergseweld, in Holland, destroys twenty-two villages, and forms the Bies-bosch, a large sheet of water extending from Gertruidenberg to the Isle of Dordrecht. 1475. Land near the mouth of the Humber swept away, and several villages destroyed. 620 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Years. 1500. The parish of Bourgneuf, in Brittany, and several others in that neighborhood, overflowed. 1510. The Baltic forms the mouth of the Frisch-haff. 1530-1532. The sea ingulfs the town of Kortgene, in the Island of North Beveland. In the latter year the eastern portion of South Beveland is carried away, with several villages, and the towns of Borselen and Remerswalde. 1570. A violent storm destroys half of the village of Scheveningen, north-west of the Hague. The church, once in the middle of the village, now stands on- the shore. 1625. The sea detaches part of the peninsula of Dars, in Swedish Pomerania, and forms of it the Island of Zingst. 1634. An irruption submerges the whole Island of Nordstrand, a large and populous district, which had originally been a part of the continent, and detached by a previous inroad of the waters. On the evening of the 11th of October, 1634, the sea broke over it, destroying thirteen hundred and fifty-eight houses, churches, and towns, fifty thousand head of cattle, and upwards of six thousand persons. There now remain of this once flourishing and fertile island the three islets named Pelworm, Nordstrand, and Liitze-moor. 1658. The Island Orisant annihilated. 1719. Land' torn away at Catwyck, which, though once far from the sea, is now upon the shore. 1726. A violent storm changes the salt marsh of Araya, in the province of Cumana, into a gulf several leagues wide. 1770-1785. Currents and tempests hollow out a channel between the high and the low parts of Heligoland, AND THE HEAVENS. 621 Years. and transform. into two islets this island, so extensive before the eighth century. 1784. A violent storm, according to M. Hoff, forms the Lake of Aboukir, in Lower Egypt. 1791 —1793. New irruptions destroy the dikes, and carry off other parts of the already reduced Island of Nordstrand. 1803. The sea sweeps away the last remains of the priory of Crail, in Fifeshire. The most remarkable alteration of the coast line mentioned in this record, as the effect of a sudden invasion of the ocean, is that which originated the present Zuider Zee, or the South Sea, so called to distinguish it from the North Sea, or German Ocean, a great gulf dividing Friesland, Drenthe, and Gelderland from Holland and Utrecht. This gulf covers an area of about twelve thousand square miles. It was not in existence in the time of the Romans, but a low, swampy marsh occupied its place, drained by the River Yssel. In this district there were several lakes, particularly the great Lake Flevus, mentioned by Tacitus and Pomponius Mela. The former relates the arrival at it of the Roman fleet under Germanicus, through the Canal of Drusus, an artificial branch connecting the Rhine and the Yssel. No material change appears to have occurred here before the commencement of the thirteenth century. Then the sea broke over the isthmus which connected Friesland with North Holland, ultimately cut it away, forming the present Straits of Staveren. The Lake Flevus was absorbed,, a considerable portion of the surrounding. country was submerged, and the Zuider Zee was constructed by the advance of the ocean in the form and depth which it still preserves. If, as the Persic verses affectingly state, describing the transitory nature of human greatness, - "The spider has wove his web in the imperial palace, And the owl hath sung her watch song on the towers of Afrasiab," 622 WONDERS OF THE EARTH it is no less true that the features of nature have alternated as strikingly, marine inhabitants sporting in sites where land animals have roamed in sylvan scenes; and we may fairly accept these changes, which are known to have transpired since the date of authentic history, as samples of the revolutions that occurred at a more remote period, of which no chronicle has been preserved. It has been supposed, that as the Straits of Staveren were closed prior to the thirteenth century, the sea then cutting its way through the isthmus, so were the Straits of Dover once occupied by an isthmus, connecting the coasts of England and France, which a violent irruption of the ocean partially destroyed, and then gradually scooped out the present channel. There is nothing contrary to the analogy of undoubted physical events in this supposition, and it is supported by some striking evidence. Desmarest argued in its favor from the identity of the cliffs in composition on each side of the channel, from the fact of a submarine chain running from Boulogne to Folkstone, only fourteen feet under low water, and from the circumstance that the same noxious animals are common to both countries, which could never have themselves effected the passage of the straits, and which man would not have introduced. The bolder coasts seem to present an impregnable front to the attack of storms and tempests, both by their height and the rocky materials of which they are composed; yet, however they resist the farther progress of the waves, when the sea, swollen by tides and agitated by the blast, rises and beats against them with inconceivable fury, the continual action of the water'slowly consumes their masses. The perpetual play of waves, tides, and currents gradually wastes away the base of towering cliffs; and when this process of undermining has reached a certain extent, the upper parts, deprived of support, fall down, and after their destruction, a fresh attack commences upon the coast line. This demolition proceeds at a varying rate, according to the hardness or yielding nature of the material that forms the shore. The granite rocks endure AND THE HEAVENS. 623 for centuries the wear and tear of the ocean with but little loss, while the limestone and chalk cliffs are more easily subdued. The chalk cliff at Dover has suffered large and repeated losses since Shakspeare wrote the notice of it in King Lear:"The crows and choughs that wing the midway air Show scarce so gross as beetles. Half-way down Hangs one that gathers samphire; dreadful trade! Methinks he seems no bigger than his head: The fishermen that walk upon the beach Appear like mice; and yon tall anchoring bark Diminished to her boat -her boat a buoy, Almost too small for sight. The murmuring surge, That on th' unnumbered idle pebbles chafes, Cannot be heard so high. I'll look no more, Lest my brain turn, and the deficient sight Topple down headlong." Immense fragments have frequently fallen from this cliff, owing to the undermining of its base, some of which have shaken the neighboring town as by an earthquake, and the height of the cliff has been considerably abridged by these detachments, the slope of the hill being towards the land. The slipping down of large masses of steep coast is a phenomenon due to the same cause-the loosening of the foundations by the incessant assaults of the ocean upon it, in connection with the action of springs, which filter through, displace the softer strata, and leave the more solid formations destitute of support. The Undercliff in the Isle of Wight, a series of terraces, some of which have been long settled, while others are more recent and ruinous, is an example of these landslips. They occur upon a grand scale along the coast of the Crimea, where extensive tracts of the shore are often dislodged, sinking down as they slide forwards, sometimes bearing with them the trees, and the houses of the.natives, uninjured. A slip of this kind took place at Folkstone, on the coast of Kent, about the year 1716, when a solid mass of chalk, resting on clay, moved gradually towards the sea, "just as a ship is launched on tallowed planks;" and 624 WONDERS OF THE EARTH part of the promontory of Beachy Head, three hundred feet in length, in a similar manner gave way in the year 1813. Hutchins records a memorable slide in his History of Dorsetshire, which happened on that shore in 1792: "Early in the morning the road was observed to crack. This continued increasing, and before two o'clock the ground had sunk several feet, and was in one continual motion, but attended with no other noise than what was occasioned by the separation of the roots and brambles, and now and then a falling rock. At night it seemed to stop a little, but soon moved again, and before morning the ground, from the top of the cliff to the water side, had sunk in some places fifty feet perpendicular. The extent of ground that moved was about a mile and a quarter from north to south, and six hundred yards friom east to west." Electricity - the action of ordinary atmospheric changes - the incessant percolation of springs —the violent, and more gentle yet constant dash of the waves - these are causes which operate to dislodge the masses from a rocky coast, which are found lying in chaotic confusion upon many a beach, doomed finally to decay from the still continued influence of some of the agencies that have effected their disruption, but undergoing great annual changes in their disposition when situated upon an exposed shore. In the Shetland Isles, upon which the Atlantic bears with unchecked power, enormous blocks are every winter shifted by the might of its waves, and sometimes transported to a considerable distance, even up the slope of an acclivity. "The Isle of Stenness," says Dr. Hibbert, "presents a scene of unequalled desolation. In stormy winters, huge blocks are overturned, or are removed from their native beds, and hurried up a steep acclivity to a distance almost incredible. In the winter of 1802, a tabular-shaped mass, eight feet two inches by seven feet, and five feet one inch thick, was dislodged from its bed, and removed to a distance of from eighty to ninety feet. I measured the recent bed fi-om which a block had been carried away the preceding AND THE HEAVENS. 625 winter, and found it to be seventeen feet and a half by seven feet, and the depth two feet eight inches. The removed mass had been borne to a distance of thirty feet, when it was shivered into thirteen or more lesser fragments, some of which were carried still farther -from thirty to one hundred and twenty feet. A block, nine feet two inches by six feet and a half, and four feet thick, was hurried up the acclivity to a distance of one hundred and fifty feet." Speaking of the Island of Roeness, Dr. Hibbert states, "A mass of rock, the average dimensions of which may perhaps be rated at twelve or thirteen feet square, and four and a half or five in thickness, was first moved from its bed, about fifty years ago, to a distance of thirty feet, and has since been twice turned over. But the most sublime scene is where a mural pile of porphyry, escaping the process of disintegration that is devastating the coast, appears to have been left as a sort of rampart against the inroads of the ocean; the Atlantic, when provoked by wintry gales, batters against it with all the force of real artillery, the waves having, in their repeated assaults, forced themselves an entrance. This breach, named the Grind of the Navir, is widened every winter by the overwhelming surge that, finding a passage through it, separates large stones from its sides, and forces them to a distance of no less than one hundred and eighty feet. In two or three spots, the fragments which have been detached are brought together in immense heaps, that appear as an accumulation of cubical masses -the product of soime quarry." We have other examples of the resistless power of the element, in the hollowing out of caverns in the rocks exposed to boisterous waves, and in the fretted and columnar appearance of promontories. The Arched Rock of Lake Superior is a cavern formed by the action of the water in the sandstone rock, resting on a belt of conglomerate. The opening faces the lake to the north, and presents an arch of singular regu. larity and great beauty, with abutments, more or less perfect, on either side. The arch does not spring immediately from 79 626 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the water, but stands upon a wall slightly buttressed from a vertical line. The interior presents a magnificent saloon. It is a powerful cavern for reverberations of sound, both from without and within. The cave is large enough to hold and hide completely a brig, with all her sails set and top gallants flying. By measurement, the width at the water line is one hundred and forty-four feet, its depth two hundred and ten feet. Its height appears to be equal to its width. Some fine instances occur in the Flamborough chalk cliffs, the Filey Bridge rocks, and those of schistus, near Whitby, England, in the latter of which the cave called Hob Hole had some years ago a most romantic appearance, having a double' pillar in the middle of the entrance. But these aspects are destined to undergo further change, by the continuous agency of the cause which has produced them. The pillar in Hob Hole has been demolished by the waves, but the cavern is still seventy feet long by twenty wide at the mouth. There are groups of insulated rocks, which have evidently been one connected mass, separated into fragments of fantastic and needle-shaped form, while others have been parted from neighboring coasts, by the constant lashing of the ocean. The Arched Rock, in the Bay of Freshwater, off the Isle of Wight, and several insulated masses in its vicinity, plainly bespeak their original connection with the cliffs on shore, though now six hundred feet from them, the perforation of the former having been effected by the same devastating power to which the detachment of the rock itself from' the parent island is to be attributed. In the same district, there can be no doubt that the five rocks called the Needles once formed the western extremity of the island, and have been insulated from it and from each other, and reduced to their present shape and size, by the fury of the waves. Though now of considerable extent and altitude, their ultimate fate is not questionable, the original Needle or spiral rock which gave the name to the group, and which was one hundred and sixty feet high, having vanished ~,-~ ~~~ ~ --'~.,~,.j-. " -— __ w~._~:q-~,';..'~..,~: -.A View of Lake Superior thro,,gh Arch Rock, at Mackinaw. The crown of the arch is aqboat 40 feet abov-e the gZround, and 149 abo;-e the laker. AND THE HEAVENS. 627 below the surface of the water in 1764, in consequence of the undermining of its base. Since the year 1770, a current has cut a passage through the remaining portion of Heligoland, once a celebrated stronghold of the Saxons, but greatly reduced by the sea during the middle ages, and ships now sail between the two islands into which it has been formed. The formation of Start Island out of the north-east promontory of Sanda, one of the Orkneys, divided by the sea, is an operation of modern times; and appearances indicate that the Isle of St. Mary - one of the Scilly group - will, in no long course of time, be cut in two. The authentic details which have been collected respecting the gradual waste of several parts of the coast of England are of singular interest, and exhibit a large amount of land swept away by the encroachments of the ocean. The Castle of St. Andrews, on the coast of Fife, had, in Cardinal Beaton's time, a tract of land intervening between it and the sea; but this has entirely disappeared, with some of the ruins of the castle, the rest of its remains, standing on the edge of a cliff, serving as a landmark for seamen. Mr. Stevenson, an engineer, states, that from St. Andrews northward to Eden Water and the River Tay, the coast presents a sandy beach, and is so liable to shift, that it is difficult to trace the change it may have undergone. It is certain, however, that within a recent period the sea has made such an impression upon the sands of Barrey, on the northern side of the Tay, that the lighthouses at the entrance of the river, which were formerly erected at the southern extremity of Buttonness, have been from time to time removed about a mile and a quarter farther northward, on account of the wasting and shifting of these sandy shores, and that the spot on which the outer lighthouse stood in the seventeenth century is now two or three fathoms under water, and is at least three quarters of a mile within flood mark. At the ancient town of Burghhead, to the north of the Spey, an old fort or establishment of the Danes was built upon a sandstone cliff, which, according to 628 WONDERS OF THE EARTH tradition, had a very considerable tract of land beyond it; but it is now washed by the waves, and overhangs the sea. The old town of Findhorn has been destroyed by the ocean, and the site of it is now overflowed by every tide. At Fort George, some of the projecting bastions, formerly at a distance from the sea, are now in danger of being undermined by the water. Similar destroying effects have been gradually produced by oceanic action along the east coast of England. The Abbey of Whitby, at its first erection by Lady Hilda, in 658, is reported to have been a mile from the sea; but the distance from the verge of Whitby east cliff to the nearest part of the abbey, measured in the line of the transept, was found, in 1816, to be little more than two hundred yards. Along the coast line of Yorkshire, from Bridlington Quay to Spurn Point, the shore has no important inlet or projection, and consists of beds of clay, gravel, sand, and chalk rubble; and exposed to a strong current from the north, as well as to the uncontrolled action of the waves, the annual devastation committed there is very extensive. Of the villages of Auburn, Hartburn, and Hyde, in the Bay of Bridlington, only the remembrance remains. Several places on the shore preserve, in the termination of their names, a memorial of meres, or fresh water lakes, once having existed in their neighborhood; as Skipsea, Kilnsea, and Withernsea, the Scandinavian sjo signifying a lake; but the sea has broken into these meres, and absorbed them, though recesses on the shore seem to mark the spots they once occupied. The mere at Hornsea still survives; but this place, which was once several miles inland, has been brought within half a mile of the water edge, and the hamlet of Hornsea Beck been utterly destroyed. The waste of the coast amounts to about four yards a year; and farmers may be met with who have witnessed the grain wave where the sea now prevails. The depredations of the ocean towards Spurn Point, at the entrance of the Humber estuary, have been still more considerable; nor is it unlikely that the Point will ere long become an island. Ravenspur —with the latter part of AND THE HEAVENS. 629 which word the name Spurn seems to be connected, an important place in this locality —has long since been lost, with a number of other places in the vicinity, belonging to Birstal Priory; and the site of the priory itself has been totally swept away. Pennant remarks, " The site, and even the very names of several places, once towns of note upon the Humber, are now only recorded in history; and Ravenspur was at one time a rival to Hull, and a port so very considerable in 1332, that Edward Baliol and the confederated English barons sailed from hence to invade Scotland; and Henry IV., in 1399, made choice of this port to land at, to effect the deposal of Richard II.; yet the whole has long since been devoured by the merciless ocean: extensive sands, dry at low water, are to be seen in their stead." Mr. Lyell makes a remarkable statement respecting Sheringham, on the coast of Norfolk: "I ascertained, in 1829, some facts which throw light upon the rate at which the sea gains on the land. It was computed, when the present inn was built, in 1805, that it would require seventy years for the sea to reach the spot, the mean loss of land being calculated, from previous observations, to be somewhat less than one yard annually. The distance between the house and the sea was fifty yards; but no allowance was made for the slope of the ground being from the sea, in consequence of which the waste was naturally accelerated every year, as the cliff grew lower, there being at every succeeding period less matter to remove when portions of equal area fell down. Between the years 1824 and 1829 no less than seventeen yards were swept away, and only a small garden was then left between the building and the sea. There is now a depth of twenty feet - sufficient to float a frigate — at one point, in the harbor of that port, where, only forty-eight years ago, there stood a cliff fifty feet high, with houses upon it. If once in half a century an equal amount of change were produced at once by the momentary shock of an earthquake, history would be filled with records of such wonderful revolutions of the earth's surface; 630 WONDERS OF THE EARTH but, if the conversion of high land into deep sea be gradual, it excites only local attention. The flagstaff of the Preventive Service station, on the south side of this harbor, has, within the last fifteen years, been thrice removed inland, in consequence of the advance of the sea." Dunwich, on the coast of Suffolk, a small village containing about twenty houses and a hundred inhabitants, was once one of the most important places upon the eastern shore, and has been reduced to its present insignificance by the aggressions of the sea. While East Anglia subsisted as a separate kingdom, it was the seat of the first East Anglican bishopric, which may be considered as the predecessor of that now fixed at Norwich. Two tracts of land, which were taxed in the time of Edward the Confessor, had been devoured by the ocean when the Doomsday survey was made. Ray states, that ancient writings make mention of a wood a mile and a half to the east of the place, the site of which must at present be so far within the sea, as it subsequently invaded the town. At different periods a monastery has perished, seven churches, the old port, four hundred houses at once, the town hall and jail; and coffins and skeletons have been exposed to view in its cliffs, as the waves have reached its churchyards. A scene depicted in one of Bewick's cuts, described in the following terms by Mr. Lyell, might have been suggested by the fate of Dunwich: "On the verge of a cliff, which the sea has undermined, are represented the unshaken tower and western end of an abbey. The eastern aisle is gone, and the pillars of the cloister are soon to follow. The waves have almost isolated the promontory, and invaded the cemetery, where they have made sport with the mortal relics, and thrown up a skull upon the beach. In the foreground is seen a broken tombstone, erected, as its legend tells, to'perpetuate the memory' of one whose name is obliterated, as is that of the county for which he was'custos rotulorum.' A cormorant is perched on the monument, defiling it, as if to remind some moralizer like Hamlet of the' base uses' to which things AND THE HEAVENS. 631 sacred may be turned. Had this excellent artist desired to satirize certain popular theories of geology, he might have inscribed the stone to the memory of some philosopher who taught'the permanency of existing continents' -' the era of repose'-' the impotence of modern causes.' " The most eastern point of Essex - the Naze - was formerly extended much farther to the east, as the ruins of buildings have been found at considerable distances from land. The cliffs, composed of LonIon clay, capped with crag yielding fossils, have been graduilly worn away, probably from a shoal called West Rock,,which is now five miles from the shore. Upon the coast line ~f Kent large inroads have been made, and are proceeding with undiminished rapidity. About the North Foreland- the promontory Acantium,'.AYzVtVOV axQov of Ptolemy — the chalk wastes, upon an average, at the rate of two feet per annum; and at Reculver, to the west of the Isle of Thanet, the sea has made extensive depredations. The ancient church here, now dismantled, - a well-known seamark in the centre of a Roman station,- is on the verge of the cliff; but in the middle of the last century there was some considerable space intervening between the northern boundary of the churchyard and the shore. In the time of Henry VIII. the church was nearly a mile inland; and the Roman town of Regulbium is supposed to have occupied a site to the north of the station now undermined and washed away. Another century can scarcely elapse without witnessing the entire demolition of the place. These instances are sufficiently illustrative of the fact that the physical outline of the English coast has suffered largely by depredation from the sea, as the effect both of its occasional violent action in storms, and the milder but incessant play of its waters; and if we pass to other coasts -exposed to the influence of high tides and strong currents, precisely similar devastations occur. It his been found, by observations made between 1804 and 1820, that, in the intervening sixteen years, the average advance of the ocean on the north side of Dela 632 WONDERS OF THE EARTH ware Bay, amounted to above nine feet per annum, while in three years, towards the close of the last century, no less than a quarter of a mile of land was carried away from Sullivan's Island. But if at various points the influence of the sea diminishes the mass of land by encroachment upon its coast, there are other points where compensation is made by the growth of the land, through the silting up of the sand of the ocean, or the deposition of the sediment of rivers; and the case is common for the coast line to be changing by aggression and addition in the same neighborhood. Within the times of history new land has been formed in the estuary of the Humber, along the Lincolnshire shore, that of Norfolk, Kent, and Sussex, where, in the latter county, the rich level of Romney Marsh has been largely augmented. Dover is situated at the opening of a deep valley, formed by a depression in the chalk, which runs into the interior for several miles, and is the basin of a small stream. It would appear from the account of Caesar's first advance to the coast, that the sea then occupied the present site of the town, and advanced to some distance up the valley, from which it has.subsequently been expelled by the gradual accumulation of sand and shingle washed up by the tide. In digging for the foundation of houses corroborative evidence of this fact appears in the character of the soil, while at the present the sea threatens to block up the existing harbor by the amount of debris it heaps together at its mouth. A similar but more extensive change has taken place at Norwich, which, in the time of the Saxons, was situated on the banks of an arm of the sea, an estuary which has since become a region of cultivated fields. In the Gulf of Bothnia several maritime sites have become inland, islands have been joined to the continent, and sunk ships have been found below the soil of Pomerania. The chief examples of the advance of coasts are found where the sea throws up sand, and large rivers bring down alluvial matter; thus, in the language of Cuvier, creating provinces, and even entire kingdoms, which usually become the A~~~~~~~~V ~~ 1 R W~~~~~~~~~~~~'-T~~~~~:~~ S:~ I~~~andscape~~~~ intevle fteGne..'his'Valley is an example of the formation Land~cape, of land by th'e uMlitea action of a river and teoen AND THE HEAVENS. 633 richest and most fertile regions if their rulers permit human industry to exert itself in peace. These two causes have been in operation at the mouth of the Nile, and there accessions have been made to the coast of Lower Egypt, though not, perhaps, to such an extent as has been frequently stated, at least within the historical period. "Egypt," says Herodotus, " like the Red Sea, was once a long, narrow bay, and both gulfs were separated by a small neck of land. If the Nile," he adds, " should by any means have an issue into the Arabian Gulf, it might choke it up with earth in twenty thousand, or even, perhaps, in ten thousand years; and why may not the Nile have filled with mud a still greater gulf in the space of time which has passed before our age?" This observation proves that it was a well-ascertained fact in the time of the historian that the habitable surface of the country was receiving additions from the alluvium of the river; but the period when its delta may be supposed to have been a gulf of the sea is of a date long anterior to that of the earliest Pharaohs of whom any record remains, in whose time the whole of Lower Egypt seems to have been densely inhabited. Still there is evidence of great changes having occurred in the form of the delta, and of its protrusion to some extent, within the age of history. The modern Alexandria is built near the site of the ancient city, upon a narrow tongue of land, which has been formed by the sand thrown up by the sea, and the continual deposition of alluvial matter. Mareotis, a lake of six leagues in length, in the time of Strabo, about the commencement of the Christian era, has been reduced to nothing by the accumulation of debris. Thamiates, the old Damietta, was on the sea, and possessed a good harbor under the Byzantine emperors; but its scanty remains are now about two miles from the shore. Pharos, an island in the time of Homer, has long been a part of the continent. It is certain, therefore, that within the last two thousand years the coast of Lower Egypt has been advanced as well as considerably modified; but at present it seems ascertained that no extension of the shore is going on; 80 634 WONDERS OF THE EARTH for, having reached the general coast line of the Mediterranean, the current which sweeps along the north of Africa receives the alluvium of the Nile, and bears it away to a foreign region. The direction of this current is from the Straits of Gibraltar to the shores of Syria and Asia Minor, where large tracts of new land have been formed, to which the material brought down by the Nile from the high lands of Ethiopia, and drifted eastward by the current, may now be contributing. Since the first Greek colonists occupied the coasts of Asia Minor, important additions have been made to them, the combined effect of oceanic deposition and of the sediment conveyed from the interior country by numerous streams. Strabo remarks upon the gain of land on the southern shore, and Captain Beaufort has pointed out great changes by the accession of soil since the era of that geographer, by which havens have been filled up, islands joined to the continent, and the coast line advanced several miles into the ancient territory of the sea. In the same manner extension has taken place on the western coast, though there is no foundation for the speculation of Dr. Chandler, that Samos will join the main land, unless some great convulsion should elevate the bed of the sea, and check the force of the current. The Meander was anciently noted for the production of new land, so that the sophist affirmed, though with characteristic exaggeration, that the river had taken the sea from the navigator, and given it to the husbandman to be divided into fields; that furrows were seen in the place of waves, and kids sporting in the room of dolphins; and that, instead of hearing the hoarse mariner, you were delighted with the sweet echo of the pastoral pipe. The river was indictable for removing the soil when its margin fell in, aid the person who recovered damages was paid from the income of the ferries. At the site of Ephesus a similar alteration has transpired. The branch of the sea which formed the port is now a vast morass, overgrown with trees and brushwood. The mud of the Cayster has propagated new tracts of soil, and the ocean has been driven back by the augmented AND THE HEAVENS. 635 plain two or three miles from its former boundary, so that a visitor to the ruins of the city now, destitute of previous information, would never suppose it to have had at any time a free communication with the sea. The detritus, transported by the affluents of the Rhone from the Alps of Dauphiny and the mountains of Central France, has contributed to an augmentation of the land at the mouth of the river, so that its arms have become longer by three leagues since Gaul was a Roman province, and many places once situated by the sea are now removed several miles from it. Mr. Lyell cites from M. Hoff some striking proofs of the accession made to the delta of the Rhone during the period embraced by the annals of history. Mese, described under the appellation of Mesua Collis, by Pomponius Mela, and stated by him to be nearly an island, is now far inland. Notre Dame des Ports, also, was a harbor in 898, but is now a league from the shore. Psalmodi was an island in 815, and is now two leagues from the sea. Several old lines of towers and seamarks occur at different distances from the present coast, all indicating the successive retreat of the sea, for each line has in its turn become useless to mariners, the tower of Pignaux, erected on the shore no farther back than the year 1737, being already a French mile from it. At the mouth of the Tiber an increasing delta has, since the classical times, forced the waters three miles back from Ostia; and the watch tower of San Michele, built on the sea side in the middle of the sixteenth century, is already nearly a mile inland. The water which the Tiber receives from the volcanic district around Rome, particularly from the lake of the Solfatara, holds an abundance of carbonate of lime in solution, and precipitates immense quantities of travertine - a circumstance which may contribute to the rapid formation of new land at its mouth. Sir Humphry Davy placed a stick in this lake, and after an immersion of nearly a year he had some difficulty in breaking with a hammer the mass of travertine which adhered to it, and which was several inches in thickness. 636 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Along the banks of the Adriatic, for more than a hundred miles, from the south of Ravenna to the head of the Gulf of Trieste, the land, receiving during the last two thousand years constant accessions from the matter carried down by the rivers, as well as from that thrown up by the ocean, has encroached on the sea to a breadth nowhere less than two miles, and in some places amounting to twenty. The Isonzo, Tagliamento, Piave, Brenta, Adige, and Po drain one side of the Alps and of the Apennines, and carry away a vast quantity of their material, the deposition of which has wrought surprising changes in the outline of the coast. Ravenna, once a seaport, is now five miles from the water side. In the intervening space, traversed by vessels in ancient times, is the Pineta, or forest of pines, in which Dante, Boccaccio, Dryden, and Byron have wandered, and rendered famous. "Sweet hour of twilight! in the solitude Of the pine forest, and the silent shore, Which bounds Ravenna's immemorial wood, Rooted where once the Adrian wave flowed o'er, To where the last Cesarian fortress stood, Evergreen forest! which Boccaccio's lore And Dryden's lay made haunted ground to me, How have I loved the twilight hour and thee! The shrill cicalas, people of the pine, Making their summer lives one ceaseless song, Were the sole echoes, save my steed's and mine, Anld vesper bells that rose the boughs along." Cuvier has given an extract from the researches of M. de Prony, who was employed to remedy the disastrous inundations of the Po, on the hydraulic system of Italy,.which contains an account of the enlargement of that part of the coast occupied by its mouth. According to the statement, no exact detail can be given of the successive progress of the changes, and more especially of their precise-measures, during the ages which preceded the twelfth century of our era. One fact, however, is certain: that Adria, which gives its name to the Adriatic, a confederate city of the Romans, and a municipium, was a sea. AND THE HEAVENS. 637 port town, between the mouths of the Po and the Adige, and a station for the Roman fleet under the emperors. This city has a modern representative upon the old site, and by this we not only attain a known fixed point upon the primitive shore, but the means of measuring the extent of alteration that has occurred. The following results have been clearly established: that in the twelfth century the shore had been already removed to the distance of five or six miles from Adria; that by the sixteenth century, or in four hundred years, it had been extended farther to the medium distance of nearly eleven miles and a half, giving from the year 1200 an average yearly increase of the alluvial land of rather more than twenty-seven yards; that by the present century it had advanced to about twenty miles, whence the average annual progress is about seventy-six and a half yards during the last two hundred years, being greatly more rapid in proportion than in former times. The precise date cannot now be ascertained when the waves of the Adriatic washed the walls of Adria, but they certainly did in the time of Augustus, and the nearest part of the present coast, at the mouth of the Adige, is at the distance of fifteen miles and a half, while the extreme point of the alluvial promontory formed by the Po is upwards of twenty miles. In consequence of the melting of the snows in the Alps, the Po is periodically flooded in the summer months, and its inundations, now guarded against by immense embankments, have in past ages raised the level of the country subject to them, by the deposition of alluvium, especially towards the sea coast. The level of its own bottom has, at the same time, been so much raised, that the surface of its waters is now higher than the roofs of the houses in Ferrara, and both the Adige and the Po are higher than the whole tract of country between them, which would be invaded by their waters but for the artificial bulwarks constructed along their course. In the same manner the delta of the Nile has been altered by elevation as well as extension, the cultivated soil having increased vertically seven or eight feet since the time of the Ptolemies, at the 638 WONDERS OF THE EARTH rate of about four inches in a century, the bed of the river rising in proportion. Where the sea acts alone upon a low coast, without the aid of rivers, considerable alterations are effected in its line and aspect, but of a far less beneficial nature than those just noticed. If the bottom is sandy, the waves then drive the sand towards the shore, which, becoming partially dry at every reflux of the tide, a certain quantity is heaped up on the beach by the action of the wind. Around stones, bushes, and tufts of grass the sand accumulates, and becomes a continuous ridge where these arresting obstacles are contiguous; or where they are thinly scattered, a number of small hillocks are produced, which increase into mounds of considerable height. These formations are called downs, or dunes, which occupy an immense extent of coast, and frequently penetrate to a considerable distance inland. In situations where the habitual direction of the wind is from the sea, the particles at the surface of the sand hills or ridges are carried forward by it, giving a gradually increased breadth to the downs; but where the wind blows generally along the shore, the downs make no progress towards the interior, but are extended coastwise. From Calais to Dunkirk the coast trends in the direction of the wind, and there the sand cast up by the ocean is formed into chains or hills parallel to the shore; but in various parts of the globe, where the conditions are different, it is perpetually drifting inwards, and by this means the cultivable soil has been largely invaded, fertile plains have been covered with sterile particles, and rendered unfit for the habitation of mankind, and whole villages have been swallowed up by the sand floods. Indurated or hardened downs, which occur extensively upon the coast of New Holland, are formed of sand mixed with various marine substances, by which it becomes consolidated. Several points of the English coast exhibit these formations from the ocean, particularly the neighborhood of Southport, a town which lies between parallel ranges of sand hills. The loose AND THE HEAVENS. 639 particles subject to the action of a gale of wind are shifted, and sometimes in enormous quantities, so as to produce serious effects, covering the gardens to a considerable depth, and *ertopping the lower apartments of the houses. After a heavy shower of rain, the sand hills, which are almost impassable in a dry state, bind instantaneously, conceding free leave and license to the pedestrian to range over these mimic mountains, and affording ready means of visiting spots which just before were all but inaccessible. The intervals between the hills present recesses where nothing but the sky is seen, and which seem as wild and solitary as the heart of an eastern desert. Some progress has here been made by the industry of man to convert into cultivable tracts these waste places, by the application of " sea-slush " to the pure sand of the ocean - a kind of marl dug below high water mark, which has the double advantage of preventing drift and conquering sterility. To accomplish the former object, small parcels of arundo arenaria (sand reed) have been planted with success along several parts of the Scottish coast; by which means, also, the inhabitants of the Bouillonnais have almost wholly arrested the advance of their downs. If Holland is subject to the encroachment of the ocean, the latter supplies its coast at other points with huge masses of sandy downs, which effectually defend it from invasion there. These formations, the result of the natural process which is still going on, are in some places so high as to shut out the view of the sea even from the tops of the spires; but during the prevalence of sea winds, clouds of sand are raised from the beach into the air, and showered down upon the inland country, giving it an air of painful desolation. The materials of the following statement occur in Professor Jameson's edition of Cuvier's Theory, and give a striking example of the sand flood on the coast of Elgin, or Morayshire, in Scotland, as well as of the folly of the inhabitants of the district. West of the mouth of the Findhorn, a district of more than ten square miles in area, chiefly included in the barony of Coubine, was 640 WONDERS OF THE EARTH once termed the granary of Moray, on account of its extreme fertility. This has been rendered unproductive and depopulat4 by the shifting of the sand hills. The first irruption commenced about the year 1677,.and twenty years afterwards, in 1697, not a vestige remained of the manor place, orchards, and offices of Coubine, and two thirds of the barony were reduced to ruin. The irruption came from the shore at Mavieston, about seven miles west from the mouth of the Findhorn, where, from time immemorial, large heaps of sand had been accumulated. The sand hills there had been till then fixed, by being covered with vegetation, but were set at liberty by the inhabitants inconsiderately pulling up the bent and juniper for various uses, when a drifting immediately commenced to the north-east. A high wind has been known to carry the finer particles of the sand across the whole bay of the Findhorn. In the winter of 1816 a large portion of the only remaining farm, on the west side of the river, situated in the line of the progress of the sand, was overwhelmed, and a marked change has been produced upon the river itself. Many years ago, its mouth having become blocked up, the water cut out the present more direct channel. By this change the old town of Findhorn, which originally stood on the east side of the river, was left upon its western bank; and the inhabitants, in consequence, removed the materials of their houses across the new channel, and erected the present village on the eastern side. The site of the old town is now covered by the sea. When the tide retires, the river almost entiiely disappears, being absorbed by the sand; and, owing to the bar formed across its entrance, it is unable at spring tides to force its way into the sea, so that it flows back, and inundates a considerable extent of land at the head of the bay. Of late, however, the great accumulations of sand have disappeared from Coubine, and the ancient rich soil has in some places been left bare, so that it is not unlikely that the barony will resume its former fertility. Such a result would be rendered much more certain, if, by putting in proper kinds of plants, an attempt were-made to AND THE HEAVENS. 641 fix the Mavieston Hills, and thus prevent fresh inroads from that quarter; but, notwithstanding the destruction which has happened, the lessons of experience have been lost upon the inhabitants, who persist in gathering what little vegetation spontaneously appears. The coast of France presents the most remarkable examples of these formations of sandy downs, and of the mischiefs arising from their drifting inland, which are chiefly found along the shore from Brittany to the Pyrenees. In the former province a village near St. Pol de Leon has been entirely covered, so as to leave no part visible but the spire of the church. Southward from the Gironde the coast forms almost a straight line, broken by only one small inlet, and is bordered by the landes, which are vast undulating tracts of sand accumulations from the Atlantic. These have advanced easterly into the interior of the country, within the period embraced by historic notices, under the influence of the westerly gales. A great number of villages mentioned in the records of the middle age have been overwhelmed, and the town of Mimazan, which has long been struggling with the sands, is apparently destined to be ingulfed by them. Intercepting the flow-of the inland waters into the sea, the sand hills give rise to large stagnant pools, which, in 1802, covered five farming establishments at the village of St. Julien. The old Roman road leading from Bayonne to Bourdeaux has, in many parts, long been immersed, which, half a century back, might be seen when the waters were low. In former times the growth of the sands blocked up the mouth of the Adour at Bayonne, when the river forsook its channel, flowed northward on the inner side of the downs upon the coast, and found an outlet into the sea at Vieux Boucan, forming a haven which gave considerable importance to the place, Bayonne losing the reputation which caused the formation of its name from the Basque words baia, ona, a good bay or port. For nearly two centuries the Adour pursued its new course, until, in the year 1579, the old mouth was cleared of its sand by the citizens of Bayonne, and reopened, occasioning the 81 642 WONDERS OF THE EARTH downfall of Vieux Boucan, which has nom scarcely thirty inhabited houses. At various parts of this coast the land is now in process of invasion from the material constantly brought by the sea, which advances between the mouths of the Adour and the Gironde at the alarming rate of about sixty feet yearly, and even seventy-two feet in some places. The Gascon peasants endeavor to preserve their cabins from the enemy, when the wind blows towards the sea, by tossing the sand high into the air with shovels, by which the retreat of a small portion is secured; but obviously these feeble efforts offer no effectual resistance to its progress. It has been calculated that, at the present rate of advance, it will require two thousand years for the downs to reach Bourdeaux. He-~~~~~~~~~~~~~ —, ~ I~IZE~E ~ ~~ —~- B~-~-~, -~-~c~i - m <~~ ~ _ -; —--— ~ —-— ~ — =; - ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~7 Whirlwvind, or moving pillar of sand in the desert. See page 6 7 AND THE HEAVENS. 643 CHAPTER XX. THE ATMOSPHERE. - TRADE WINDS. - MONSOONS. - LAND AND SEA BREEZES. - ETESIAN WINDS. - THE SIMOOM, HARMATTAN, SIROCCO, &c. - HURRICANES, TORNADOES, AND TYPHOONS. - DESTRUCTIVE STORM IN ENGLAND IN 1703. -AN EXTENSIVE FOREST DESTROYED BY ELECTRICITY DURING A STORM IN 1831. -THEORY OF STORMS. -MOVING PILLARS OF SAND.- WATERSPOUTS. THE atmosphere is the scene of interesting phenomena, and performs important functions in the economy of nature, besides being essential to the life of man and the animal races, whose existence would terminate in a few minutes without the respiration of it. The exhalation of moisture from the surface of the earth is mainly owing to the common air we breathe, which receives and sustains the vapors formed into clouds, distributes them over different regions by its incessant motions, and tempers by its currents those extremes of heat and cold to which various localities are subject. The atmosphere is an integral portion of the earth, a body of air revolving with the solid mass upon its axis, the higher strata, of course, increasing in velocity with the distance from the axis of revolution. From hence a conclusion may be drawn respecting its height, for an absolute limit is put to its elevation by this feature of its physical condition. There is a point where the centrifugal force, or the tendency to fly off from the centre, will counterbalance the centripetal, or the gravitation towards the centre, and beyond that point the latter will be vanquished. It is obvious that no portion of the atmosphere can extend beyond the point where the two influences balance, or are in equilibrium, and the projectile force becomes greater than that of gravitation, or its projec 644 WONDERS OF THE EARTH tion into space would follow. At the distance of 6'6 radii from the centre of the earth, or at an elevation of twentytwo thousand two hundred miles, — about the eleventh part the distance of the moon, - this point is fixed, beyond which it is impossible for the atmosphere in the smallest quantity to extend. This consideration is only of importance to show that physical laws rigidly restrict it within finite bounds, for any portion of air at that distance must have a tenuity which is utterly inconceivable. The indications of the height of the atmosphere drawn from its weight, as shown by the barometer, reduce its elevation within a vastly circumscribed limit. A column of the whole circumambient air is nearly equal in weight to a similar column of mercury of thirty inches, or of water of thirty-four feet, which would give it an elevation of but twenty-seven thousand feet, or rather under five miles, if its density were uniform. But the elasticity of the air causes it to expand with the diminution of its own pressure, which becomes less at every step from the surface of the earth; and owing to this expansion we must place the limit to its height at a far greater distance than that suggested by the simple barometrical measurement of its weight. A common opinion prevails that its extreme boundary does not exceed forty or fifty miles, and we have sensible evidence on the high lands of the globe, that for all the purposes serviceable to vegetable and animal life the atmospheric zone is of very contracted elevation. It is a well-known property of the air that the temperature diminishes with its height, - a circumstance referable to the general physical law, that as the density of gases decreases they acquire an increased capacity for heat. The higher, therefore, a body ascends in the atmosphere, the greater is the quantity of heat abstracted from it, the surrounding fluid becoming more rare. Hence the perpetual snow, and the piles of glaciers that crown the summits of mountains, at whose base the orange and the citron bloom, and man pants in the fierce sultriness of a torrid climate. AND THE HEAVENS. 645 But while the atmosphere may be considered generally as an aerial zone of the earth, the companion of the massy spheroid in its annual revolution round the sun, and rotating with it upon its axis, it has independent movements which present very complex phenomena, however clear the causes which put them in operation. The particles of air are constantly suffering displacement, and it is easy to conceive of various circumstances disturbing the dilatable and elastic fluid in which we live. A body in movement will communicate its motion to the adjoining particles, which may be sensibly propagated by them to a considerable distance; but this cause operates so slightly in the production of atmospheric currents that it might be entirely overlooked. It will be sufficient to state that some of the vast oceanic streams are supposed to produce a corresponding flow in the air. The varying attractions of the sun, moon, and planets on the atmosphere will occasion tides in it analogous to those of the ocean, or an alteration in the heights of vertical columns of air, winds, and currents arising from the resulting inequalities of horizontal pressure; but La Place has proved the action of this cause to be scarcely appreciable. The atmospheric agitations of which we are sensible, both the more violent and gentle, appear to proceed either from a change in the temperature of a portion of the air, or from a change in the quantity of water which it holds in a state of vapor. In both these cases a temporary destruction of the equilibrium subsisting between different parts of the atmosphere is produced, and its particles are set in motion to restore the balance. The effect of heat upon a volume of air is to rarefy and expand, to increase its bulk and diminish its density. When any portion, therefore, of the earth's surface is more heated than the surrounding districts, the air there ascends and flows over the adjoining cooler and denser strata, causing an upper outward current, while the colder and denser fluid rushes towards the spot where the balance has been lost by expansion, and a lower inward current is produced. An 646 WONDERS OF THE EARTH easy experiment will illustrate this interchange. In a room warmed by a good fire, if a candle be held at the crevice between the door and the floor, an inward current will be observed from the exterior colder air; but near the ceiling, by the same means, an outward flow will be detected. In the other condition an addition of vapor to the atmosphere gives rise to a wind blowing on all sides away from the district of evaporation, while an abstraction of it by showers creates a partial vacuum, towards which the air rushes from all points of the compass. The diversity of the winds in power is principally owing to the different degrees of vigor with which these causes act. The currents of the atmosphere display an endless variety in their velocity and force, from the zephyr which scarcely stirs the leaves of the forest, to the gale under which its mightiest branches bend, and the hurricane which tears up its trees by the roots, and destroys the habitations of mankind. It has been observed that in the temperate zones the most violent winds occur, when neither the heat nor the cold common to such localities is at its maximum.- that they generally extend over a considerable tract of country, and are accompanied by sudden and great falls in the mercury of the barometer. The latter circumstance attends the storms of the tropics, but they are often confined within narrower limits than the extratropical hurricanes. It was noticed by the superstitious as a coincidence, not without meaning, that at the time of Cromwell's death the enchained winds were liberated, and went forth raving and howling through the land, uprooting the largest trees, and whirling them about like straws, and toppling down chimneys and turrets; but the same tempest, at the selfsame hour, dashed the vessels of the Baltic seamen upon the strand, and buried Venetian argosies in the Adriatic, shivered the pines of Norway, and swept before it the cypresses of the Bosphorus - a similar war of the elements attending the termination of the earthly career of Cardinal WVolsey, Bonaparte, and George IV. AND THE HEAVENS. 647 Sometimes the upper regions of the atmosphere have been remarkably agitated, while the lower stratum of the air has been quite calm. Lunardi, on one occasion, travelled at the rate of seventy miles an hour in his balloon, while at Edinburgh, where he ascended, the air was quite tranquil, and continued so throughout his expedition. To ascertain the velocity and force of winds, a variety of experiments have been conducted with instrumeqis constructed for the purpose. The following table contains sorve results obtained by Smeaton, inserted in a volume of the Philosophical Transactions:VELOCITY OF THE WIND. Miles Fe3t per Force on 1 Sq. Foot in perHour. Second. Avoirdupois Pounds Characteristics. and Parts. 1 1'47' 005 Hardly perceptible. 2 2'93 ~020 3 424 9 044 Just perceptible. 4I 5'87'079 4 7533 5123 Gentle, pleasant wind. 10 14'67 -492 Brisk wind. 15 22 1-107 20 29'34 1'968 20 23637 3'075 Very brisk wind. 30 44'01 4-429 35 51'34 6'027 High wind. 40 58'68 7-873 46~ 6fi 01 9s963 j Very high wind. 50 73'35 12'300 Storm. 60 88'02 17'715 Great storm. 80 117'36 31'490 Hurricane. 100 147'7 49'200 Hurricane carrying trees and buildings before it. The currents of the atmosphere far surpass in velocity those of the rivers and the ocean, a gentle pleasant wind blowing at a rate equal to that of the mighty Father of Waters when in flood; but a hurricane will outstrip the swiftest locomotive in its speed. In speaking of the direction of currents of air and water, the indicating terms are employed in an inverse sense, an easterly wind signifying a breeze coming from that quarter, an easterly stream a flow of water towards it. Winds may be divided into three classes or genera, the Permanent, the Periodical, and the Variable; of 648 WONDERS OF THE EARTH which, the first excepted, there are many different species. We shall prefer, however, to consider them under their local recognized titles. 1. Trade Winds. -These are permanent, following the same direction throughout the year. They are met with between the tropics, and a few degrees to the north and south of those limits. The well-known name applied to them is a phrase of doubtful origin, but probably derived from the facilities afforded to trade and commerce by their constant prevalence and generally uniform course, though Ilakluyt speaks of the "wind blowing trade,'" meaning a regular tread or track. The parallels of twenty-eight degrees north and south latitude mark the medium external limits of the trade winds, between which, with some variations, their direction is from the northeast, north of the equator, and from the south-east, on the other side of the line, hence called the north-east and southeast trades. They are separated from each other by the region of calms, in which a thick, foggy air prevails, with frequent sudden and transient rains, attended by thunder and lightning. This region, in the Atlantic, extends across the whole ocean from the coasts of Africa to those of America; but its position shifts, being sometimes entirely north of the equator, and but rarely reaching one or two degrees south; and hence it may be considered as belonging to the northern hemisphere. The region also varies in breadth from two and a half to ten degrees, but usually occupies a width of four or five. These variations are dependent upon the position of the sun, which has an influence likewise upon the strength, direction, and situation of the trade winds themselves. WYhen the sun has a northern declination, and approaches the tropic of Cancer, the boundary line of the north-east trade wind extends to thirty-two degrees north latitude, and the wind has a more easterly direction; but the parallel of twenty-five degrees is its northern boundary, and the wind inclines more north when the sun is south of the equator, and approaches the tropic of Capricorn. At that season the southern boundary of the AND THE HEAVENS. 649 south-east trade wind extends to thirty degrees south latitude, and the whole ocean is swept by it between that line and about one degree north latitude. The general width of the south-east trade is about nine degrees greater than that of the north-east, the region of calms, as before stated, being almost wholly in the northern hemisphere. In the basin of the Atlantic, the zone of the trade winds becomes broader, and their direction more easterly, as the coast of America is approached, the breezes blowing to the very shore. This is not the case on the African side of the Atlantic, where, through a tract of sea extending from fifty to eighty miles off shore, these winds are not found at all, but contrary westerly breezes prevail. The irregularity is easily explained. Owing to the rarefaction which the air undergoes over the great hot desert of the Sahara, the colder air from the contiguous sea rushes in to supply the partial vacuum created, and keep up the equilibrium of the atmosphere, producing winds blowing towards the shore. In the Pacific Ocean a similar zone is occupied by permanent north and south-easterly breezes, or trade winds, though subject to a variety of interruptions. An instance of irregularity occurs along the coasts of Peru and Chile, where the general direction of the wind is south, and a steady southeasterly wind is only experienced at the distance of five or six hundred miles from the shore. The theory respecting the origin of the trade winds, adopted by Dx. Dalton, Professor Daniell, and Sir John Herschel, was first proposed by George Hadley, the brother of the inventor of the quadrant, and imbodies features of the previous theories of Halley and Galileo, who both grappled with this great geographical phenomenon.; It is founded upon the rarefaction of the atmosphere of the torrid zone by the powerful heat to which that region is subject, in connection with the different velocities of the earth's surface, in different degrees of latitude, in the diurnal rotation. Heat rarefies and expands a volume of air in a ratio equivalent to an addition of about 82 650 WONDERS OF THE EARTH seventy feet to the ordinary height of the atmosphere for every degree of thermometrical measurement. As the sun is always vertical at some place within the tropics, the average temperature of the earth's surface in that region, bounded by the parallels of twenty-three and a half degrees on each side of the equator, is much higher than in latitudes to the north and south; and the incumbent air acquiring this higher temperature is thereby rarefied and expanded. The consequence is, that in obedience to hydrostatical laws, masses of air are continually buoyed up from the surface, or swelled round the torrid zone in the form of a protuberant belt, the upper strata flowing over, and running off in streams north and south towards the poles, where, having been cooled and condensed, they descend, and flow over the surface towards the equator, pouring in a perpetual current of air to supply the place of that buoyed up by the heat of the tropics. Thus there is a constant current in the higher regions of the atmosphere, proceeding from the equator northward and southward to the poles; and if the earth were at rest, there would be a constant wind in the lower regions of the atmosphere blowing directly from the poles to the equator, while in equatorial regions the two streamlets would meet and neutralize each other's influence. But the earth is not at rest. It is incessantly whirling upon its axis, the surface moving at a rate which varies according to the extent of the circumference. The velocity at the equator, where the circumference is the greatest, is about sixteen miles a minute; at thirty degrees of latitude, which is below the most southerly point of Europe, it is about fourteen miles in the same time; and at forty-five degrees, or about the centre of France, it is about eleven miles. As the distance from the equator increases, north and south, the rate of the rotation thus becomes less, because the circle of the earth's circumference diminishes in extent. Now, a current of air flowing from the north or south polar regions, and setting towards the equator, will encounter, as it proceeds, an increased rotatory motion eastward, the direction of the earth's AND THE HEAVENS. 651 axial revolution, and, not acquiring the new velocity at once, it will be left behind, and seem to deflect towards the west just in proportion as it does not keep up with the earth to the east. Hence, what would simply be a north or south wind but for the earth's rotatory motion, becomes a north-east and south-east wind as it approaches those regions where, the velocity of the globe being so much greater than where it originated, it lags behind it in its easterly course. This is the exact path of the trade winds -breezes, with few exceptions, uniform in their direction, perpetual in their motion, and steady in their force - which wafted Columbus across the Atlantic, impelled the Portuguese from their southerly course and bore them to the Brazils, and have since been important auxiliaries to the communication of the eastern with the western continent. The existence of a current in the upper regions of the atmosphere counter to that below, assumed by the preceding theory, is not mere hypothesis. Clouds, though of rare occurrence in the district of the trade winds, have been observed to take a direction contrary to that which the surface breezes would have given them. A circumstance remarkably in favor of the counter current inferred from theory occurred in the year 1812. There was then an eruption of the volcano of St. Vincent, one of the West India Islands, which covered the Island of Barbadoes with a quantity of the ashes and volcanic matter ejected. The trade wind here blows with great power, and it is certain that the volcanic ashes would have been conveyed in a direction from Barbadoes, instead of towards it, by its action. To account for their transportation thither, it is necessary to suppose that the volcano, ejected them to an elevation within reach of a superior stratum of air blowing contrary to the course of the inferior current. W'hen Humboldt was upon the Peak of Teneriffe the west wind blew with such violence that he could scarcely stand, though the island below was under the influence of the ordinary north-east trade wind; and the remark has often. been made, that in the elevated parts 652 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of the Canary Islands a contrary wind has been experienced to that which has been prevailing over the general surface. 2. Monsoons. — These are periodical winds, which sweep the northern part of the Indian Ocean, changing their direction after an interval of about six months, and hence the term monsoon, the Anglicized form of the Persic mousum, or the Malay moossin, signifying a season, referring to their periodicity. Avoiding all minute detail, we shall merely give the range, direction, and duration of these singular, yet highly useful currents, and that in a very general way. From three degrees south of the equator to the northern shores of the Indian Ocean, including the Arabian Sea, the Bay of Bengal, and the Chinese Sea, a south-west wind blows from April to October, and then a north-east wind sets in, and prevails through the next half year, from October to April. From three degrees to ten degrees south of the equator a south-east wind blows from April to October, and a north-west during the succeeding six months. Without attending to local variations, these are the general phenomena. There is a south-west wind prevailing north of the equator from April to October, and southward of this, through a certain space, at the same season, a south-east wind. There is a north-east wind north of the equator from October to April, and coincidently, a north-west wind between three degrees and ten degrees south of the line. The western boundary of the region of the monsoons is the African shore; its eastern limit is supposed to be about the meridian of one hundred and thirty-six degrees east longitude, which cuts the Island of New Guinea; its northern confine is near the parallel of twenty-seven degrees north latitude, which intersects the Loo Choo Islands; its southern extremity has been already stated. The monsoons are much stronger than the trade winds, and may be called gales; but they are by no means of uniform force, either as it respects themselves or each other, the same monsoon occasionally blowing with such violence that ships are obliged to reef their sails. It must not be imagined that these winds are confined to the ocean. They extend over the AND THE HEAVENS. 653 whole of Hindustan to the Himalaya, the north-east monsoon bringing copious rains to its eastern shores, and the south-west monsoon performing the same office for its western coast. The change of the monsoon,- the periodical shifting of the wind,- the most singular feature of the case, is a gradual process, usually occupying about a month, which reduces the reign of the two annual monsoons, north and south of the equator, to five months each, the remaining two months being spent in the transitions. In each interval of change, calms, light, variable breezes, alternate with storms of tremendous violence. Mr. Caunter thusdescribes the scene at Madras, in the interim between the cessation of one monsoon and the setting in of another: "On the 15th of October, the flagstaff was struck, as a signal for all vessels to leave the roads, lest they should be overtaken by the monsoon. On that very morning some premonitory symptoms of the approaching'war of elements' had appeared. As the house we occupied overlooked the beach, we could behold the setting in of the monsoon in all its grand and terrific sublimity. The wind, with a force which nothing could resist, bent the tufted heads of the tall, slim cocoa nut trees almost to the earth, flinging the light sand into the air in eddying vortices, until the rain had either so increased its gravity, or beaten it into a mass, as to prevent the wind from raising it. The pale lightning streamed from the clouds in broad sheets of flame, which appeared to encircle the heavens as if every element had been converted into fire, and the world was on the eve of a general conflagration, whilst the peal, which instantly followed, was like the explosion of a gunpowder magazine. The heavens seemed to be one vast reservoir of flame, which was propelled from its voluminous bed by some invisible but omnipotent agency, and threatened to fling its fiery ruin upon every thing around. In some parts, however, of the pitchy vapor by which the skies were by this time completely overspread, the lightnihg was seen only occasionally to glimmer in faint streaks of light, as if struggling, but unable, to escape from its prison, igniting, but too weak to burst, the impervious bosom 654 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of those capacious magazines in which it was at once engendered and pent up. So heavy and continuous was the rain, that scarcely any thing, save those vivid bursts of light which nothing could arrest or resist, was perceptible through it. The thunder was so painfully loud, that it frequently caused the ear to throb; it seemed as if mines were momentarily springing in the heavens, and I could almost fancy that one of the sublimest fictions of heathen fable was realized at this moment before me, and that I was hearing an assault of the Titans. The surf was raised by the wind and scattered in thin billows of foam over the esplanade, which was completely powdered with the white, feathery spray. It extended several hundred yards from the beach; fish, upwards of three inches long, were found upon the flat roofs of houses in the town during the prevalence of the monsoon, either blown from the sea by the violence of the gales, or taken up in the waterspouts, which are very prevalent in this tempestuous season. When these burst, whatever they contain is frequently borne by the sweeping blast to a considerable distance over land, and deposited in the most uncongenial situations; so that now, during the violence of these tropical storms, fish are found alive on the tops of houses; nor is this any longer a matter of surprise to the established resident in India, who sees every year a repetition of this singular phenomenon. During the extreme violence of the storm, the heat was occasionally almost beyond endurance, particularly after the first day or two, when the wind would at intervals entirely subside, so that not a breath of air could be felt, and the punka afforded but a partial relief to that distressing sensation which is caused by the oppressive stillness of the air so well known in India." It is an extraordinary but well-ascertained fact, that as soon as one monsoon ceases, though a month may elapse before the succeeding one appears, the clouds take the direction of the approaching monsoon, and thus from the regions of the atmosphere herald its advent to the dwellers below. We naturally inquire concerning the origin of these pecu AND THE HEAVENS. 655 liar movements, but must be content with a very scanty measure of information upon the subject. The laws which nature obeys in these periodical changes are undoubtedly identical with those which give rise to atmospheric currents in general, but their mode of operation is in this case obscure. The northeast and south-east monsoons, the former on the north and the latter on the south side of the equator, may be considered as trade winds, explicable upon the same principles, but counteracted for a certain time by causes which produce winds from a different quarter, the south-west and north-west monsoons. It has been observed that the south-west monsoon, which prevails to the north of the equator, is coincident with the sun being vertical to that region, when Hindustan, Siam, and the adjacent countries receive their maximum of heat. Consequently, the incumbent air, being rarefied, ascends, and a rush of colder air to supply its place is produced from the southward, which is then receiving the oblique rays of the sun, and which, presenting a surface of water, is immensely less heated than the lands to which the luminary is perpendicular. In like manner, the north-west monsoon, which prevails south of the equator, is coincident with the sun being south of it likewise, and vertical to the region, when the sandy plains of New Holland become powerfully heated, and the air over them rarefied, creating a wind by the rush of the colder northern air towards the point of rarefaction. These are the explanations commonly given; and though in several respects they do not account for all the phenomena, yet the probability is, that they present the correct theory- anomalous circumstances arising from the influence of causes which are local and as yet unknown. The monsoons are more valuable as auxiliaries to commerce than the trade winds, owing to the change in their direction; for a ship may proceed to a distant port with one monsoon and be aided on its return by its successor. 3. Land and Sea Breezes. - Between and near the tropics the land acquires during the day a temperature higher than that of the ocean, and the air over it is therefore rarefied, and 656 WONDERS OF THE EARTH ascends, and the cooler air from the sea glides in to fill the partial vacuum produced. At night the land rapidly cools with the atmosphere over it; but the sea and the air in connection with it retain a nearly equal temperature, in consequence of which the colder and heavier land air displaces the less dense or lighter air over the water, and a wind from the shore is created. The smoke of Vesuvius beautifully exemplifies this diurnal change in the direction of the atmospheric currents along the shore, its long tail stretching landwards for a few hours, and then veering round to seaward. In the Mediterranean and the West Indies, the land breeze usually begins at six or seven o'clock in the evening, and blows until eight in the morning, when the sea breeze begins, increasing till midday, and gradually dying away in the afternoon, a period of stillness occurring between the changes, as between the ebbing and flowing of the tide. The sea breeze of the Mediterranean in summer is said to be perceptible sometimes as far north as Norway. These draughts of the cool air of the ocean are important benefactions to various countries, where the heat would otherwise be insupportable. Along the coast of Malabar the alternate breezes are powerfully felt, the land wind extending in summer a considerable distance out to sea, redolent with the roses and spices of the shore. Though the land and sea breezes are most sensible in tropical countries, yet in far remote latitudes, and especially around lakes, the same diurnal shifting in the direction of the wind is experienced. The change of temperature in the air over a spacious lake, caused by the succession of day and night, has been computed to be about thirty times less than that which takes place in the atmosphere of the surrounding land, the air over the land being much more heated during the day, and much less heated during the night, than that over the lake - an inequality of temperature which necessarily occasions a breeze from the lake by day, and towards it by night. The old and faithful voyager, Captain Dampier, in a quaint but pleasing style, has given the most exact description of these AND THE HEAVENS. 657 remarkable winds, as they occur in tropical latitudes. "These sea breezes do commonly rise in the morning about nine o'clock, sometimes sooner, sometimes later; they first approach the shore so gently, as if they were afraid to come near it, and ofttimes they make some faint breathings, and, as if not willing to offend, they make a halt, and seem ready to retire. I have waited many a time, both ashore to receive the pleasure, and at sea to take the benefit of it. It comes in a fine small black curl upon the water; whereas all the sea between it and the shore, not yet reached by it, is as smooth and even as glass, in comparison. In half an hour's time after it has reached the shore it fans pretty briskly, and so increaseth, gradually, till twelve o'clock; then it is commonly strongest, and lasts so till two or three, a very brisk gale; about twelve at noon it also veers off to sea two or three points, or more in very fair weather. After three o'clock it begins to die away again, and gradually withdraws its force till all is spent; and about five o'clock, sooner or later, according as the weather is, it is lulled asleep, and comes no more till the next morning. "T Land breezes are as remarkable as any winds that I have yet treated of; they are quite contrary to the sea breezes; for those blow right from the shore, but the sea breeze right in upon the shore; and as the sea breezes do blow in the day and rest in the night, so, on the contrary, these do blow in the night and rest in the day; and so they do alternately succeed each other. For when the sea breezes have performed their offices of the day, by breathing on their respective coasts, they, in the evening, do either withdraw from the coast or lie down to rest. Then the land winds, whose office it is to breathe in the night, moved by the same order of divine impulse, do rouse out of their private recesses, and gently fan the air till the next morning, and then their task ends, and they leave the stage. There can be no proper time set when they do begin in the evening, or when they retire in the morning; for they do not keep to an hour, but they commonly spring up between six and twelve in the evening, and last till 83 658 WONDERS OF THE EARTH six, eight, or ten in the morning. They both come and go away again earlier or later, according to the weather, the season of the year, or some accidental cause from the land. For, on some coasts, they do rise earlier, blow fresher, and remain later than on other coasts, as I shall show hereafter. "These winds blow off to sea a greater or less distance, according as the coast lies more or less exposed to the sea winds; for in some places we find them brisk three or four leagues off shore, in other places not so many miles, and in some places they scarcely peep without the rocks; or if they do sometimes, in very fair weather, make a sally out a mile or two, they are not lasting, but suddenly vanish away, though yet there are every night as fresh land winds ashore, at these places, as in any other part of the world. Indeed, these winds are an extraordinary blessing to those that use the sea in any part of the world within the tropics; for as the constant trade winds do blow, there could be no sailing in these seas; but by the help of the sea and land breezes, ships will sail two or three hundred leagues, as particularly from Jamaica to the Lagoon of Trist, in the Bay of Campeachy, and then back again, all against the trade wind. The seamen that sail in sloops or other small vessels in the West Indies do know very well when they shall meet a brisk land wind, by the fogs that hang over the land before night; for it is a certain sign of a good land wind to see a thick fog lie still and quiet, like smoke over the land, not stirring any way; and we look out for such signs when we are plying to windward. For if we see no fog over the land, the land wind will be but faint and short that night. These signs are to be observed chiefly in fair weather; for in the wet season fogs do hang over the land all the day, and it may be neither land wind nor sea breeze stirring. If in the afternoon, also, in fair weather, we see a tornado over the land, it commonly sends us forth a fresh land wind. These land winds are very cold, and though the sea breezes are always much stronger, yet these are colder by far. The sea breezes, indeed, are very comfortable and refreshing; for the hottest AND THE HEAVENS. 659 time in all the day is about nine, ten, or eleven o'clock in the morning, in the interval between both breezes; for then it is commonly calm, and then people pant for breath, especially if it is late before the sea breeze comes; but afterwards the breeze allays the heat. However, in the evening again, after the sea breeze is spent, it is very hot till the land wind springs up, which is sometimes not till twelve o'clock or after." 4. Etesian Winds. — The ancients give this designation, from rrjatiaL, annual, to periodical winds which blow from the north-east in the summer months, for about six weeks, throughout the Mediterranean and adjacent countries, but mostly in the eastern branch, including the Adriatic and the Archipelago. The term meltem is now applied to them by the fishermen -a corruption, probably, of mal temps, referring to the fury with which they blow, and to the danger to which their small craft become exposed. On land they are more favorably regarded. These winds are noticed by Pliny, Seneca, and Cicero, the latter of whom says, that in Italy they are equally comfortable and salutary to men, beasts, and birds, and likewise beneficial to vegetation, by moderating the violent heat of the weather during the inclement season of the dog days. In the Levant they commence towards the middle of July, about nine in the morning, continuing only in the daytime. The sun at that season is powerfully heating the earth under the tropic of Cancer, and rarefying the atmosphere south of the Mediterranean, thus giving birth to the north-east etesian gales. 5. Khamsin, Samiel, Simoom, Harmattan, Sirocco. — These are local titles of winds differirlg greatly in geographical position and direction, and also in some of their properties, but prevalent in desert regions, or in countries adjacent to them, and having one universal character of being hot blasts. The khamsin is a hot south wind, which soon after the vernal equinox begins to blow in Egypt, continuing at intervals during a period of about fifty days, to which the name refers. The two next are entirely identical, the samiel being 660 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the name given by the Turks to the wind which the Arabs called the simoom. It is common in Syria, Arabia, and Nubia, deleterious in its mildest forms, occasionally destructive, many a pilgrim to the shrine of the prophet at Mecca, and mer. chant to the marts of Bagdad, having perished by its noxious, suffocating influence. Bruce suffered from it when ascending the Nile, he and his company becoming so enervated as to be incapable of pitching their tents. "The poisonous simoom," he remarks, when at Chendi, "blew as if it came from an oven; our eyes were dim, our lips cracked, our knees tottering, our throats perfectly dry; and no relief was found from drinking an immoderate quantity of water." The most complete account of the sinloom and its effects has been given by Volney, whose accuracy here has been repeatedly confirmed. "Travellers," he states, " have mentioned these winds under the name of poisonous winds; or, more correctly, hot winds of the desert. Such in fact is their quality; and their heat is sometimes so excessive that it is difficult to form an idea of their violence without having experienced it; but it may be compared to the heat of a large oven at the moment of drawing out the bread. When these winds begin to blow, the atmosphere assumes an alarming aspect. The sky, at other times so clear in this climate, becomes dark and heavy; the sun loses its splendor, and appears of a violet color. The air is not cloudy, but gray and thick, and is in fact filled with an extremely subtile dust, that penetrates every where. This wind, always light and rapid, is not at first remarkably hot; but it increases in heat in proportion as it continues. All animated bodies soon discover it by the change it produces in them. The lungs, which a too rarefied air no longer expands, are contracted and become painful. Respiration is short and difficult, the skin parched and dry, and the body consumed by an internal heat. In vain is recourse had to large draughts of water; nothing can restore perspiration. In vain is coolness sought for; all bodies in which it is usual to find it deceive the hand that touches them. Marble, iron, AND THE HEAVENS. 661 water, notwithstanding the sun no longer appears, are hot. The streets are deserted, and the dead silence of night reigns every where. The inhabitants of towns and villages shut themselves up in their houses, and those of the desert in their tents, or in pits they dig in the earth, where they wait the termination of this destructive heat. It usually lasts three days, but if it exceeds that time it becomes insupportable. Woe to the traveller whom this wind surprises remote from shelter! He must suffer all its dreadful consequences, which sometimes are fatal. The danger is most imminent when it blows in squalls, for then the rapidity of the wind increases the heat to such a degree as to cause sudden death. This death is a real suffocation; the lungs, being empty, are convulsed, the circulation disordered, and the whole mass of blood driven by the heat towards the head and breast; whence that hemorrhage at the nose and mouth which happens after death. This wind is especially fatal to persons of a plethoric habit, and those in whom fatigue has destroyed the tone of the muscles and vessels. The corpse remains a long time warm, swells, turns blue, and is easily separated; all of which are signs of that putrid fermentation which takes place when the humors become stagnant. These accidents are to be avoided by stopping the nose and mouth with handkerchiefs; an efficacious method is also that practised by the camels, who bury their noses in the sand, and keep them there till the squall is over. Another quality of this wind is its extreme aridity, which is such, that water sprinkled upon the floor evaporates in a few minutes. By this extreme dryness it withers and strips all the plants, and by exhaling too suddenly the emanations from animal bodies, crisps the skin, closes the pores, and causes that feverish heat which is the invariable efflect of suppressed perspiration." The current of the simoom is seldom of any considerable breadth; but different examples of it have been traversing a tract of country of but scanty area at the same time, and several cases of disaster from it upon an extensive scale are 662 WONDERS OF THE EARTH upon record. The opinion is now commonly held, that the destruction of the Assyrian army, when " The angel of death spread his wings on the blast, And breathed in the face of the foe as he passed, And the eyes of the sleepers waxed deadly and chill, And their hearts but once heaved, and forever grew still," was accomplished by the agency of the simoom, directed by the almighty will over the host of Sennacherib —an interpretation which the terms of the prophetic announcement of the avenging stroke remarkably support: "Behold, I will send a blast upon him." The harmattan, a periodical hot wind from the desert, differs remarkably from the simoom. It blows from the interior of the Great Sahara, from the north-east, over Senegambia and Guinea, to that part of the coast of Africa lying between Cape Verde, in fifteen degrees north latitude, to Cape Lopez, in one degree south latitude- a coast line of upwards of two thousand miles. It occurs during December, January, and February, generally three or four times in that season. The harmattan is the local name of the wind among the Fantees, a nation on the Gold Coast. It comes on indiscriminately at any hour of the day, at any time of the tide, or at any period of the moon, continuing sometimes only a day or two, at other times five or six days, and it has been known to last upwards of a fortnight. A fog or haze is one of the peculiarities which always accompany this wind, occasioning a gloom which frequently renders even near objects obscure, through which the sun appears for a short time about noon, having a wild, red aspect. Though the wind blows out to sea for ten or twelve leagues, the fog is confined to the land, and leaves a deposition of fine whitish particles upon the grass and trees. Extreme dryness is another property of the harmattan. No dew falls during its continuance, nor is there the least appearance of moisture in the atmosphere. Vegetables of AND THE HEAVENS. 663 every kind suffer; all tender plants and most of the productions of the garden are destroyed; the grass withers, and becomes dry like hay; vigorous evergreens feel the pernicious influence; the branches of the lemon, orange, and lime trees droop, the leaves become flaccid, and so parched as to be easily rubbed to dust between the fingers, should the harmattan blow for several successive days. Among other extraordinary effects of the extreme dryness, it is stated that the covers of books, though closely shut up in a trunk, are bent as if they had been exposed to a fire. Household furniture cracks, the panels of doors split, and any veneered work flies to pieces. Another, and the most striking feature of the harmattan, is its salubrity. Though prejudicial to vegetable life, and occasioning disagreeable parching effects on the human species, yet it is highly conducive to health. Those laboring previously under fevers generally recover during its prevalence, the feeble gain strength, and malignant diseases disappear. It seems that as this wind immediately follows the rainy season on the African coast, during which diseases are induced by an excess of moisture, the harmattan, invested with extraordinary dryness, removes humidity from the atmosphere, and counteracts its effects. The sirocco is analogous to the khamsin, but milder. It is a hot south-east wind, prevailing in the Mediterranean, in Italy and Sicily, but felt most violently in the country around Naples, and at Palermo. It sometimes commences faintly about the summer solstice, but blows occasionally with great force in the month of July. Mr. Brydone, writing from Palermo, and referring to July 8, observes, "On Sunday we had the long-expected sirocco wind, which, although our expectations had been raised pretty high, yet I own greatly exceeded them. Friday and Saturday were uncommonly cool, the mercury never being higher than seventy-two and a half degrees; and although the sirocco is said to have set in early on Sunday morning, the air in our apartments, which are very large, with high ceilings, was not in the least affected by 664 WONDERS OF THE EARTH it at eight o'clock, when I rose. I opened the door without having any suspicion of such a change, and indeed I never was more astonished in my life. The first blast of it on my face felt like the burning steam from the mouth of an oven. I drew back my head and shut the door, calling out to Fullarton that the whole atmosphere was in a flame. However, we ventured to open another door, that leads to a cool platform, where we usually walk; this was not exposed to the wind; and here I found the heat much more supportable than I could have expected from the first specimen I had of it at the other door. It felt somewhat like the subterraneous sweating stoves at Naples, but still much hotter. In a few minutes we found every fibre greatly relaxed, and the pores opened to such a degree, that we expected soon to be thrown into a profuse perspiration. I went to examine the thermometer, and found the air in the room as yet so little affected that it stood only at seventy-three. The preceding night it was at seventy-two and a half. I took it out to the open air, when it immediately rose to one hundred and ten, and soon after to one hundred and twelve; and I am confident that in our old lodgings, or any where within the city, it must have risen several degrees higher. The air was thick and heavy, but the barometer was little affected - it had fallen only about a line. The sun did not once appear the whole day; otherwise I am persuaded the heat must have been insupportable: on that side of our platform which -is exposed to the wind, it was with difficulty we could bear it for a few minutes. Here I exposed a little pomatum, which was melted down as if I had laid it before the fire. I attempted to take a walk in the street, to see if any creature was stirring; but I found it too much for me, and was glad to get up stairs again. This extraordinary heat continued till three o'clock in the afternoon, when the wind changed at once almost to the opposite point of the compass." All nature languishes under the influence of this wind; vegetation droops and withers; the Italians suffering from it AND THE HEAVENS. 665 not less than strangers. When any feeble literary production appears, the strongest phrase of disapprobation they can bestow is, " Era scritto in tempo del sirocco," (It was written in the time of the sirocco.) There can be little doubt but that this hot south-east wind sweeps across the Mediterranean from the shores of Africa. It is some compensation that the season of this oppressive blast is also that of the north-east Etesian winds, and not unfrequently, after a few hours' experience of the enfeebling influence of the sirocco, the tramontane, o0 north wind, follows with its invigorating breath. Hot winds resembling the sirocco of Sicily and Italy pre vail in New South Wales, and are supposed to derive their heat from tracts of unknown deserts in the intertropical regions of that island continent. " One might almost fancy," says Mrs. Meredith, "the Ancient Mariner to have experienced one during his ghostly voyage, he so accurately describes their aspect:-'All in a hot and copper sky, The bloody sun at noon Right up above the mast did stand, No bigger than the moon.' The sirocco of that country always blows from the northwest. At Sydney its oven-like temperature is moderated by the midday sea breeze; but in the interior it is severely felt, arid is often fatal to the vegetation. Every green thing droops and dies, dried up like half-burned paper. Large tracts of cultivated land, covered with luxuriant green crops of wheat or barley, just going into ear, are scorched, shrivelled, and absolutely blackened by the heat, and become fit for nothing but to be cut as litter; and of course the delicate plants and flowers of the gardens are not spared by the " burning breath of the fervid Air King." 6. Mistral. Autun. Bise. —These are local atmospheric currents, prevalent in the south-east of France. Pliny mentions the first, under the name of circius, as remarkable for its violence. The mistral blows from the north-west, descend84 666 WONDERS OF THE EARTH ing from the mountains of Central France, and sweeping over the ancient provinces of Provence and Languedoc, where it is supposed to contribute greatly to the salubrity of the air, by dispelling the exhalations from the marshes and stagnant waters common in that region of extensive levels. In the Gulf of Lyons it frequently occasions great damage to the shipping, and to the inhabitants upon the coast, owing to the opposition offered to the course of the wind by the Alps and the Pyrenees, causing it to rush through the opening between them with an increased momentum. Hence the name of the gulf, not derived, as commonly imagined, from the city of Lyons, but from the lion-like violence of its tempests. MalteBrun quotes from WTilliam of Nangis, a monk of the middle ages, a remark to this effect: "It is called the lion's sea, because it is ever rough, tempestuous, and destructive." - The autun blows in an opposite direction, from the east and southeast, hot and unwholesome, producing morbid effects upon the human system, like the sirocco. It is experienced through the country extending from the coast about Narbonne to the neighborhood of Toulouse, and frequently blows with great force in the more westerly parts of its track in the vicinity of Castelnaudary. -The vent de bise, or black wind, is a cold, piercing current from the Alps and the mountains of Auvergne, which chiefly follows the course of the Rhone, in the valley through which it runs, from north to south, rendering the climate in winter very severe. The currents we are now noticing, confined within a comparatively narrow range, are uniform in their direction; and innumerable examples might be cited of localities where the same uniformity is found, caused by the irregularities of the surface, the position of mountains and valleys. In many cases local winds are merely branches of a great atmospheric current, diverted from the main stream into an inverse course by the superficial inequalities. Thus, at Liverpool, the prevalent south-west wind of England is scarcely ever felt, owing to the situation of the town, while the pre AND THE HEAVENS. 667 dominating wind is the south-east, which is rarely experienced in the kingdom at large. The movements of the atmosphere over the Red Sea are plainly determined by its channel, for the wind never blows in any other direction than to one of its extremities. Captain Parry always found the wind either east or west in Lancaster Sound; and during the whole year, excepting about two months, it blows constantly up the valleys of the Mississippi and the Ohio. Saussure mentions a valley at the foot of the Pyrenees, wholly environed with mountains, except towards the north-west, and a few other very narrow openings, where a cold north-west wind blows regularly during the nights of summer, so that the inhabitants of the village of Bland can winnow their corn at no other time. 7. Hurricanes. - Sudden and tremendous bursts of storm are common in mountainous districts, and in the plains which lie at the base of those vast piles of nature's building. Their peaks, exposed by elevation to intense cold, and covered with perpetual snow, cool and condense the warm air rising up from the plains, which descends with an impetus proportioned to its own gravity and the lighter condition of the air over the regions below, and a tempest ensues upon considerable condensation and rarefaction in adjoining regions of the atmosphere. This is the origin of the pamperos, or south-west winds, which rush from the snows of the Andes, and sweeping over the level pampas with unchecked violence, become hurricanes before their arrival at Buenos Ayres, and carry to the city clouds of dust collected from the plains, occasioning almost total darkness in the streets. So sudden is the operation of the pampero, that persons bathing in the River Plata have been drowned by the agitation of its waters through the tempest before they could possibly reach the shore. Captain Fitzroy relates, when in his ship upon the river, that a small boat had been hauled ashore above high water mark, and fastened with a strong rope to a large stone; but the pampero set in, and afterwards the boat was found far from the beach, shattered to pieces, but still fast to the stone, which it had dragged 668 WONDERS OF THE EARTH along. But this violent movement of the atmosphere is remarkably beneficial in its general effect to the inhabitants of the pampas of Buenos Ayres and on the banks of the Plata. The prevailing winds through a great part of the year are northerly, and these, passing over extensive marshy tracts, bring with them a degree of humidity which renders the land rife with fever and pestilence, till the pampero rushes down from the Andes and clears the atmosphere. A somewhat similar wind, hitherto unexplained, occurs in England, to the violence of which the tourist to the Cumberland lakes may occasionally be exposed in spring and autumn. This is the helm wind. Hutchinson, in the history of the county, and the Rev. J. Watson, in a report to the British Association, have given an account of its singular features. When not a breath of air is stirring, or a cloud is to be seen, a line of clouds will be suddenly formed over the summits -of the lofty ridge of mountains at Hartside, extending several miles on the western side. To this collection of vapors the term helm is applied from its shape. It exhibits an awful and solemn appearance, spreading a gloom over the regions below, like the shadows of night. Parallel to this, another line of clouds, called the bar, begins to form. The two lines unite together at their extremities, and embrace between them an elliptical cloudless space, from half a mile to four or five miles in breadth, and from eight to thirty miles in length, the breadth being from east to west, and the length from north to south. Soon after the complete formation of the helm-bar, a violent wind issues from the space between the clouds, generally blowing directly from the east, and with such power that trees have been dismantled of their foliage, stacks of grain dispersed, and heavy vehicles overturned. The helm wind has continued for as much as nine days together, with a noise resembling that of a violent sea storm; but it is seldom accompanied with any rain. It has been suggested that the air from the coast of Northumberland, being cooled as it rises to the summit of the mountains, and there condensed, descends AND THE HEAVENS. 669 from thence with great force, by its gravity, into the district to the west of Hartside, the scene of the phenomenon; but obviously a variety of other causes must enter into its production. In several parts of the globe, an extensive vacuum being suddenly created by the rapid condensation of vapor, the surrounding air rushes in with immense impetuosity from all points of the compass, blowing in gusts of resistless power, destroying all the productions of the earth, levelling forests and the firmest buildings, and inundating whole tracts of country by the deluge of rain with which they are accompanied. These storms seldom occur far out in the open ocean, or beyond the tropics, or nearer the equator than nine or ten degrees. Their principal localities are the West India Islands, those of Madagascar, Mauritius, and Bourbon, the north-west coast of Africa, the Bay of Bengal, and the Chinese Sea, where they are variously called hurricanes, tornadoes, and typhoons. A heavy swell upon the sea, a dusky redness of the sky, a close, oppressive air, and a wild irregularity in the appearance of things, are the usual precursors of a tropical tempest. Though generally confined to the districts mentioned, where they are of frequent occurrence, the extratropical latitudes, at more distant intervals, experience the force of the hurricane. "When were the winds Let slip with such a warrant to destroy P When did the waves so haughtily o'erleap Their ancient barriers, deluging the dry P " This is the language of Cowper, in the Task, respecting the year 1783, when, amid the other events of that portentous season, a succession of storms, accompanied with violent rains, visited the whole of Great Britain, and caused considerable damage. But what is known as the " great storm" occurred on the night of the 26th and the morning of the 27th of November, 1703, and has been referred to by almost all the writers of that period. Derham, in the Philosophical Transactions for the year following, states, " Of the preceding parts 670 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of the year, (1703,) the months of April, May, June, and July were wet in the southern parts of England, particularly in May, when more rain fell than in any month of any year since 1690; June also was very wet; and though July had considerable intermissions, yet on the 28th and 29th there fell violent showers of rain, and the newspapers gave accounts of great rains that month from divers places of Europe. On Thursday, November 25, the day before the tempest, in the mo ning there was a little rain, the winds high in the afternoon. In the evening there was lightning, and between nine and ten o'clock at night a violent but short storm of wind, and much rain. Next morning, November 26, the wind was south-south-west, and high all day, and so continued till I was in bed and asleep. About twelve that night the storm awakened me, which gradually increased till near three that morning, and from thence till near seven it continued with the greatest violence; then it began to abate slowly and the mercury to rise swiftly." This tempest filled the whole kingdom with terror, and produced immense commercial loss and many melancholy a ccidents. The country between the Loire, in France, and the Trent, in England, was the chief scene of its ravages. The historians of those times give an affecting account of the dismal appearance of the district. Houses unroofed - steeples blown down - stacks of corn scattered abroad - vessels dismasted or wrecked - and upwards of eight thousand persons drowned. "The wind," says Oldmixon, "blew west-southwest, and grumbled like thunder, accompanied with flashes of lightning. It threw down several battlements and stacks of chimneys at St. James's Palace, tore to pieces tall trees in the Park, and killed a servant in the house. The Guard House at Whitehall was much damaged, as was the Banqueting House. A great deal of lead was blown off Westminster Abbey; and most of the lead on churches and houses either rolled up in sheets or loosened. The pious and learned prelate Dr. Richard Kidder, Bishop of Bath and Wells, and his lady, AND THE HEAVENS. 671 were killed by the fall of part of the old episcopal palace at Wells. The Bishop of London's sister, Lady Penelope Nicholas, was killed in like manner at Horsely, in Sussex, and Sir John Nicholas, her husband, grievously hurt." Upwards of eight hundred houses, four hundred windmills, and two hundred and fifty thousand timber trees were thrown down; one hundred churches unroofed; three hundred sail lost upon the coast; nine hundred wherries and barges destroyed on the Thames; the Eddystone lighthouse, built by Wiritanley, was overthrown; fifteen thousand sheep, besides other cattle, were drowned by the overflowing of the Severn; and Rear Admiral Beaumont, with the crews of several ships, perished on the Goodwin Sands. The West Indies and the vicinity of the Mauritius seem to be two principal foci of hurricanes, from their frequency and tremendous violence in those localities. Of thirteen hurricanes, described by Colonel Reid, in his interesting attempt to develop the law of storms, eleven took place in the neighborhood of the Mauritius and Madagascar, which sanctions an opinion prevalent among seamen, that gales are commonly avoided by ships steering in a course so as to keep well to the eastward of the Mauritius. To give some idea of a tropical hurricane, the particulars gathered by Colonel Reid from various sources, respecting that which desolated several of the West India Islands in the year 1831, are here introduced. It passed over Barbadoes, St. Lucia, St. Domingo, and Cuba, swept the northern shores of the Gulf of Mexico, raged simultaneously at Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans, entered the adjoining states, and seems to have been disorganized by the opposition offered to its progress by the mountain region of the Alleghanies. The hurricane accomplished the distance of two thousand miles in one hundred and fifty hours, at an average velocity of thirteen and a half miles an hour; but the rate of its progressive motion was insignificant in comparison with that of its rotatory movement, a feature hereafter to be adverted to. Before its arrival at St. Vincent, a cloud was 672 WONDERS OF THE EARTH observed to the north by a resident, so threatening in its aspect and peculiar in its color-that of olive green —that, impressed with a sense of impending danger, he hastened home, and by nailing up his doors and windows saved his house from the general calamity. The most remarkable effect of the storm in the Island of St. Vincent was the destruction of an extensive forest at its northern extremity, the trees of which were killed without being blown down. In 1832, these trees were frequently examined by Colonel Reid, and appeared not to have been killed by the wind, but by the immense quantity of electric matter rendered active during the storm. When at its height, two negroes at Barbadoes were greatly terrified by sparks of electricity passing off from one of them, as they were struggling in the darkness, in the garden of Coddrington College, to reach the main building, after the destruction of their hut. Such was the quantity of spray carried inland from the sea by the wind, that it rained salt water over the whole island, which killed the fresh water fish in the ponds, and several ponds continued salt for some days after the storm. The afternoon that ushered in the hurricane -that of the 11th of August —was one of dismal gloom; but about four o'clock there was an obscure circle of imperfect light towards the zenith subtending an angle of thirty-five or forty degrees. Variable squalls of wind and rain, with intervening calms, prevailed till midnight, when the lightning flashed fearfully, and a gale blew fiercely from the north and north-east. At one A. M. the wind increased, but suddenly shifted its quarter, blowing from north-west and intermediate points. Towards three o'clock, after a little intermission, the hurricane again burst from the western points, hurling before it thousands of missiles —the fragments of every unsheltered work of human art. The strongest houses vibrated to their foundations, and the surface of the earth trembled as the destroyer passed over it. There was no thunder at any time distinctly heard, but the horrible roar and yelling of the wind, the noise AND THE HEAVENS. 673 of the ocean, whose waves threatened the destruction of every thing in Barbadoes that the other elements might spare, the clattering of tiles, the falling of roofs and walls, and the combination of a thousand other sounds, formed a hideous and appalling din. As soon as the dawn rendered outward objects visible, and the storm, abating, permitted the inhabitants of Bridgetown to venture out, a grand but distressing picture of ruin presented itself. From the summit of the cathedral tower the whole face of the country appeared the wreck of its former condition. No sign of vegetation could be observed, except here and there a few patches of sickly green. The surface of the ground exhibited the scorching and blackening effect of the lightning. A few remaining trees, stripped of their boughs and foliage, wore a cold and wintry aspect; and the numerous villas in tlie neighborhood, formerly concealed amid thick groves, were exposed and in ruins. In the year 1837 three hurricanes occurred in the West Indies, and adjacent parts of the Atlantic, the narratives of which, as collected by Colonel Reid from different observers, present some singular features. The first passed over Barbadoes on the 2Gth of July. The sky assumed a blue-blackl appearance, with a red glare at the verge of the horizon. The flashes of lightning were accompanied with a whizzing noise, like that of a red-hot iron plunged in water. The barometer and sympiesometer fell rapidly, and sunk to 28'45 inches. The Antigua hurricane, the second of that year, commenced in the Atlantic, on the night of the 31st of July, and was encountered by Captain Seymour, in the brigantine Judith and Esther, of Cork. He observed near the zenith a white appearance, of a round form, and while looking steadfastly at it, a sudden gust of wind carried away the topmast and lower scudding sails. During the hurricane the eyes of the crew were remarkably affected, their sight became dim, and every one of their finger nails turned quite black, and remained so nearly five weeks afterwards. The captain inferred from the universality of the effect, that it could not have been produced by 85 674 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the firmness of the grasp with which they were -holding by the rigging, but that the whole was caused by an electric body in the elements. On the 2d of August, in another situation, the Water Witch was caught by the skirts of the same storm, the wind blowing in squalls from the west and north-northwest till the evening, when " a calm succeeded," states Captain Newby, "for about ten minutes; and then, in the most tremendous, unearthly screech I ever heard, it recommenced from the south and south-west." The third hurricane of the year was met with by the Rawlins, about midnight of the 18th of August, when, after blowing violently for twelve hours from the north, in an instant a perfect calm ensued for an hour, and then, quick as thought, the wind sprang up with tremendous force from the southwest, no swell whatever preceding She convulsion. During this hurricane an extraordinary phenomenon presented itself, resembling a solid, black, perpendicular wall, about fifteen or twenty degrees above the horizon, which disappeared and became visible again several times, described by one of the observers as "the most appalling sight he had ever seen during his life at sea." A similar spectacle is described by an officer on board the ship Tartarus, during a hurricane on the American coast, in the year 1814: " No horizon appeared, but only a something resembling an immense wall, within ten yards of the ship." The power of the wind was remarkably exemplified during the great hurricane of 1780, which, at Barbadoes, forced its way into every part of the government house, and tore off most of the roof, though the walls were three feet thick, and the doors and windows had been well barricaded. Obliged to retreat from thence, the governor and his family fled to the ruins of the foundation of the flagstaff; and, compelled to relinquish that station, they with difficulty reached the cannon of the fortifications, under the carriages of which they took shelter. But here they were not secure, for the cannons were moved by the fury of the wind, and they dreaded every moment that AND THE HEAVENS. 675 the guns would be dismounted, and crush them by their fall. From the preceding accounts it appears that the agency of electricity is frequently extensively developed in hurricanes - that they have a progressive motion-that calms of short duration occur during their continuance; after which the wind bursts forth from a quarter different to that from which it has been blowing; — peculiarities which have led to a theory respecting storms which may be considered as established in its leading principles. Down to a very recent date a hurricane was generally deemed to be simply a gale of wind pursuing with immense velocity a rectilinear direction. Colonel Capper departed from this idea after investigating the storms of the Indian Ocean, and published the conclusion, in the year 1801, that the hur ricanes he had examined in that region were real whirlwinds of varying diameter, having a progressive as well as a rotatory motion. The evidence collected from the records of a very large number of storms in the Atlantic by Mr. Redfield, of New York, and in the Indian Ocean by Colonel Reid, seems to place beyond all dispute the fact that they occur in the form of a ring, having an outer circle, where the air revolves with intense velocity, and an interior space, the diameter of which is sometimes equal to several hundred miles, the vortex of the whirlwind, which is the scene of gusts and lulls, a comparatively slow progressive motion on the surface of land and sea distinguishing the whole. A hurricane which occurred at New Brunswick in the year 1835 strikingly exhibited the character of a revolving storm; for, while about the centre bodies of great weight were carried spirally upwards, at the extremities the trees were thrown in opposite directions. The same circumstance was observed at Barbadoes in 1831, near the northern coast: the trees which the hurricane uprooted lay from north-north-west to south-south-east, having been thrown down by a northerly wind, while in some other parts of the island they lay from south to north, having been prostrated by a 676 WONDERS OF THE EARTIH southerly wind. It is evident, therefore, that the direction of the wind at a particular point affords no indication of the course in which the whole revolving mass of the atmosphere is advancing. Another singular conclusion respecting storms, which the American and English philosophers, along with Professor Dove, of Berlin, have arrived at by independent investigations, is, that, the hurricanes in the southern hemisphere revolve in a counter direction to those in the northern; and while the axis of a storm in the North Atlantic has a progressive motion from the equator obliquely towards the north pole, that of one ill the Indian Ocean proceeds obliquely from the equator towards the south pole. In the Pacific Ocean, a region of hurricanes, their revolving motion appears to be sanctioned by the evidence which has been obtained respecting them.'Mr. Williams, the missionary, describes a hurricane at Raratonga, one of the Hervey Islands, during which the rain descended in deluging torrents, the lightning darted in fiery streams among the dense black clouds, the thunder rolled deep and loud through the heavens, and the island trembled to its very centre as the war of the elements raged over it. Scarcely a banana or plantain tree was left, either on the plains, or in the valleys, or upon the mountains; hundreds of thousands of which, on the preceding day, covered and adorned the land with their foliage and fruit; and immense chestnuts, which had withstood the storms of ages, were laid prostrate on the ground, while those that remained erect had scarcely a branch, and were all leafless. It was observed that when the gale ended the wind was in the west, whereas in the early part of its action the east end of the chapel had been blown in, which shows the wind then to have been in the east. The hurricanes of New South Wales have been observed to develop the same peculiarity. Mr. Meredith traced the path of one in the centre, and found at the termination a circle plainly shown, in which the trees lay all ways. The cause of this rotatory motion of storms remains in obscurity; but it is probably due in part to the same law under AND THE HEAVENS. 677 which eddies or whirlpools are formed in water, by two currents being obliquely impelled against each other. Hurricanes may thus be considered identical with the local whirlwinds which are common with us in the summer season, sometimes carrying upwards and along only the dust and loose grass in spiral columns, and at other times demolishing every thing in their course. In Cook county, Illinois, on the afternoon of the 3d of May, 1855, a whirlwind, accompanied by a revolving funnel-shaped cloud, passed swiftly along near the ground, twisting off large trees and whisking them out of sight instantly. It whirled high into the air a heavy frame house with all its contents, including nine persons, whom it threw down in different places, killing four of them instantly, and sadly mutilating the others. The timbers of the house and other buildings demolished were hurled down to the ground with such violence as to bury them almost out of sight. In other parts of its course the wind carried persons up a hundred feet into the air, and then hurled them down with great violence. In the region of the sandy deserts these atmospheric whirls transpire upon a great scale, raising up immense quantities of the loose particles in columns to a considerable height, which sweep along with prodigious violence, and have occasionally swallowed up whole caravans in their tremendous vortexm "Man mounts on man, on camels camels rush, Hosts march on hosts, and nations nations crush, Wheeling in air the winged islands fall, And one great earthy ocean covers all." "One of the largest of these pillars of sand," says a modern traveller, Caillie, " crossed our camp, overset all the seats, and whirling us about like straws, threw one of us on the other in the utmost confusion. We knew not where we were, and could not distinguish any thing at the distance of a foot. The sand wrapped us in darkness like a fog, and the sky and the earth seemed confounded and blended in one. Whilst this frightful tempest lasted we remained stretched on the ground 678 WONDERS OF THE EARTH motionless, dying of thirst - burned by the heat of the sand, and buffeted by the wind. We suffered nothing, however, from the sun, whose disk, almost concealed by the clouds of sand, appeared dim and deprived of its rays." Bruce has sketched with spirit several of these desert whirlwinds of which he was an eye witness. "At one o'clock," he states, "we alighted among some acacia trees at Waadi el Halboub, having gone twenty-one miles. We were here at once surprised and terrified by a sight, surely one of the most magnificent in the world. In that vast expanse of desert, from west to northwest of us, we saw a number of prodigious pillars of sand at different distances, at times moving with great celerity, at others stalking on with a majestic slowness: at intervals we thought they were coming in a very few minutes to overwhelm us; and small quantities of sand did actually more than once reach us. Again they would retreat so as to be almost out of sight, their tops reaching to the very clouds. There the tops often separated from the bodies, and these, once disjoined, dispersed in the air, and did not appear more. Sometimes they were broken in the middle, as if struck with large cannon shot. About noon they began to advance with considerable swiftness upon us, the wind being very strong at north. Eleven of them ranged alongside of us about the distance of three miles. The greatest diameter of the largest appeared to me at that distance as if it would measure ten feet. They retired from us with a wind at south-east, leaving an impression upon my mind to which I can give no name, though surely one ingredient in it was fear, with a considerable deal of wonder and astonishment. It was in vain to think of flying; the swiftest horse or fastest sailing ship could be of no use to carry us out of this danger; and the full persuasion of this rivetted me as if to the spot where I stood. The same appearance of moving pillars of sand presented themselves to us this day in form and disposition like those we had seen at Waadi Halboub, only they seemed to be more in number and less in size. They came several times in a direction close upon us, that is, I believe, AND THE HEAVENS. 679 within less than two miles. They began immediately after sunrise like a thick wood, and almost darkened the sun. His rays, shining through them for nearly an hour, gave them an appearance of pillars of fire. Our people now became desperate; the Greeks shrieked out, and said it was the day of judgment; Ismael pronounced it to be hell; and the Turcorories, that the world was on fire." The procession of tall columns of dust, the upper end seeming to vanish off, or puff away like light smoke, and the lower apparently touching the earth, is not unusual on the large plains of New South Wales, in dry weather. They move in a perpendicular position, quietly and majestically gliding along one after another, but really so fast that the fleetest horse is unable to keep pace with them. According to Mrs. Meredith, when they are crossing a brook, the lower portion of the dust is lost sight of, and a considerable agitation disturbs the water; but immediately on landing the same appearance is resumed. "As some vanish," she remarks, " others imperceptibly arise and join the giant waltz; and when I first observed this most singular display, I amused myself by fancying them a new species of genii, relaxing from their more laborious avocations, and having a sedate and stately dance all to themselves. When the dance ends, these dusty performers always appear to sit down among the neighboring hills." To the same class with these rotating and progressing pillars of sand, that singular phenomenon called the waterspout clearly belongs -a whirlwind raising into a columnar mass the waters of the sea, and causing the aqueous vapors in the atmosphere to assume the same form, the two frequently uniting; the whole presenting a magnificent spectacle. The Greeks applied the term Prester to the waterspout, which signifies a fiery fluid, from its appearance being generally accompanied with flashes of lightning, and a sulphureous smell, showing the activity of the electrical principle in the air. Lucretius refers to it in the following terms: 680 WONDERS OF THE EARTH "Hence, with much ease, the meteor may we trace, Termed, from its essence, Prester by the Greeks, That oft from heaven wide hovers o'er the deep. Like a vast column, gradual from the skies, Prone o'er the waves, descends it; the vexed tide Boiling amain beneath its mighty whirl, And with destruction sure the stoutest ship Threatening that dares the boisterous scene approach." Waterspouts exhibit various aspects, but a frequent appearance has been thus described, as it has been observed at sea. Under a dense cloud, a circular area of the ocean, in diameter from one hundred to one hundred and twenty yards, shows great disturbance, the water rushing towards the centre of the agitated mass, from whence it rises in a spiral manner -towards the clouds, assuming a trumpet shape, with the broad end downwards. At the same time the cloud assumes a similar form, but the position of the cone is inverted, and its lower extremity, or apex, gradually unites with the upper extremity of the ascending column of water. At the point of junction the diameter is not more than two or three feet. There is thus a column of water and vapor formed, extending from the sea to the cloud, thin in the middle and broad at the two extremities; the sides of which are dark, which gives it the appearance of a hollow tube. It moves with the wind, and even in calm weather, when no wind is perceptible, the position shifts. Sometimes the spout preserves the perpendicular in its motion, but frequently, from the wind not acting with equal force upon its upper and lower extremities, or the one being more susceptible of impulsion than the other, it assumes an inclined position, and the column is speedily ruptured by the unequal velocity of its parts. A few minutes suffice in general for the duration of the phenomenon, but several have been known to continue for nearly an hour. Instances of repeated disruption and formation have been witnessed, and in the Mediterranean as many as sixteen waterspouts have been observed at the same time. The mariners of former days were AND THE HEAVENS. 681 accustomed to discharge artillery at these moving columns, to accelerate their fall, fearful of their ships being crossed by them and sunk or damaged - a practice alluded to by Falconer in the opening of the second canto of the Shipwreck; but the principal danger arises from the wind blowing in sudden gusts in their vicinity, from all points of the compass, sufficient to capsize small vessels carrying much sail. Waterspouts on land are not uncommon, and in this case there is no ascending column of water, but only a descending inverted cone of vapor. Vivid flashes of lightning frequently issue from them, and deluges of rain attend their disruption. A remarkable spout appeared and burst on Emott Moor, near Coln, in Lancashire, England, in the year 1718, about a mile distant from some laborers digging peat, whose attention was directed to it by hearing an unusual noise in the air. Upon leaving the spot in alarm, they found a small rippling stream converted into a roaring flood, though no rain had fallen on the moor; and at the immediate scene of action, the earth had been swept away to the depth of seven feet, the naked rock appeared, and an excavation had been made in the ground by the force of the water discharged from the spout, upwards of half a mile in length. It is a time of fear and peril to man and beast when the hurricane develops its giant strength; yet, contemplated apart from the probability of some fatal catastrophe, there is no scene more intensely sublime in the varied panorama of nature than that exhibited to the senses of sight and hearing by the dense black masses of clouds that roll in wild confusion through the air - the tumultuous aspect of the ocean - the agitation of the woods, and the voice of the tempest, varying from the melancholy wail to the piercingly shrill cry and deafening roar, and occasionally combining every kind of intonation in its sound. However destructive these extraordinary agitations of the atmosphere, - however terrible such a situation as that of iEneas on the stormy sea, helpless and hopeless, stretching his folded hands to the stars, and lamenting that he had not fallen with 86 682 WONDERS OF THE EARTH fierce Hector on the Ilian plains, — it is unquestionable that neither " breeze, or gale, or storm" could be dispensed with in the economy of nature; for the various forms of life which the common air sustains are preserved in vigor by that conflict of the elements which works occasional disaster. A variety of natural causes in operation upon the surface of the globe and in its interior concur to derange that constitution of the atmosphere which is alone salubrious, to vitiate the fluid, convert the medium of life and health into a cause of fever, pestilence, and death, thus changing every scene where the machinery of human existence is in movement into a Grotto del Cane, completely arresting all its wheels - an effect which would undoubtedly transpire without an antagonistic influence in constant action. In the process of supporting mankind and animals, the atmosphere is deprived of its oxygen, and exhaled in a morbid condition unfit for combustion and the sustenance of life; and the respiration of plants contributes also to its derangement. The exhalations from the low, swampy regions of the earth are a further cause of deterioration; and hence the malarious mass to which the Pontine Marshes and similar districts give birth. The provision against the reduction of the atmosphere to a universally disorganized and vitiated condition is the currents that prevail in it, which disperse and separate the poisonous ingredients, render them innocuous by bringing them into new combinations, and thus keep up that due proportion between the component parts of the aerial envelope, upon which its life-conserving property hinges, yet which the functions of life are perpetually destroying. The ordinary play of the winds, whispering in gentle breezes and rushing in powerful gales, has been ordained by the Author of life to subserve this purpose, and the dread tornado is also an efficient agent in the regeneration. In its alembic, it has been remarked, " the isolated poisons will be redistilled; by the electric fires which it generates, their deleterious sublimations will be deflagrated; and thus will the great Alchemist neutralize the azotic elements AND THE HEAVENS. 683 which he has let loose, and shake the medicinal draught into salubrity." The baneful effects of a stagnant condition of the atmosphere are exemplified in the feeble physical frame and short term of years of those who in the " city full " are cooped up in sites where there is not sufficient ventilation, and the inhabitants of many deep enclosed valleys exhibit physical and mental deterioration, as a consequence of the same cause. The numerous examples of cretinism, or idiocy, with goitres, found about the villages and hamlets of the Lower Valais, and the Val d'Aosta, in Switzerland, -valleys which have low, marshy spots at the bottom, surrounded by high rnountains, where the fresh air does not circulate freely, and where the reflected rays of the sun are very powerful in summer, - Saussure attributed to the stagnation of the atmosphere; and though such instances of physical deformity and intellectual incapacity may be the combined effect of various causes, it is in harmony with the known effect of the one referred to, to suppose it materially to contribute to the result. 684 WONDERS OF THE EARTH CHAPTER XXI. EVAPORATION. - CLOUDS. — HEIGHT OF CLOUDS. - CLASSIFICATION OF CLOUDS. - QUANTITY OF RAIN IN VARIOUS COUNTRIES. - RAINY AND DRY SEASONS. — DROUGHT IN BUENOS AYRES IN 1827-30, CAUSING THE DEATH OF ONE MILLION CATTLE. - SNOW. - BEAUTY AND REGULARITY OF ITS CRYSTALS.- SNOW STORM OF THIRTEEN DAYS' CONTINUANCE. - HAIL. - REMARKABLE HAIL STORMS. - DEW.HOAR FROST. IN addition to common air, a combination chiefly of the oxygen and nitrogen gases, united in different proportions, the atmosphere contains a mass of invisible vapor insinuated between the particles of the gases, and filtering through them, in a manner which may be compared to that of the diffusion of water through a sponge, or visible in the form of fogs and clouds. This vaporous atmosphere is the result of the everactive agency of heat and electricity, which, by a process of great subtilty and energy, evaporates the waters from the surface of the earth, and transfers them for a time to an aerial home. The process is entirely untraceable by the eye of man, but its product appears in the clouds that are reared aloft in fantastic shapes, in the mists that occasionally shroud the landscape, the rain and the snow that come down from heaven, the dew glistening in the morning light, and the hoar frost which adorns the forest with a bbauty that throws the results of human artistic skill into insignificance. The words of the sacred writer are philosophically true: "He calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth; " but the supply of humidity furnished to different countries varies greatly in its amount, and hence other differences as the consequence - barrenness here and fertility there -a comparative solitude abandoned to the occupancy of the Crystals of snlow, magnified. AND THE HEAVENS. 685 inferior orders of the animal creation, and a land studded with the homes of peasantry, the palaces of nobles, the halls of science, and the marts of commerce. Though we have spoken of the process of evaporation as untraceable by the human eye, yet that refers to the exhaling agency, for sensible evidence is frequently afforded that the ever-operating machinery is actually at work before us, in the visible exhalations we behold at early dawn, and in the calm evening of a summer's day. It is generally-the case, however, that the formation of visible vapors takes place in the higher regions of the atmosphere, though at the earth's level the metamorphosis of its waters into an invisibly vaporous state is constant, and is proceeding as powerfully when no outward sign of the process appears, and the air is perfectly transparent, as when a misty mantle, of feathery shape and texture, rests upon the lakes and rivers, and lies upon the surface of the valleys. It is not merely from the great collections of water in oceans, lakes, and rivers that evaporation takes place, but from the pasture grounds and forests; and Leslie makes the remark that even ploughed land will supply as much moisture to the exhaling fluid as an equal sheet of water. But the atmosphere is only capable of receiving a certain quantity of vapor in an invisible state, its capacity'depending upon temperature, and being invariable in its extent at the same temperature. When all the interstices of the gaseous fluid are full, it is then said to be at its point of saturation, and any further supply of vapor becomes visible in the form of steam or mist. The lower the temperature, the greater the condensation of the air and the tightness of its particles, so that only a certain amount of moisture can enter; but the higher the temperature, the greater the expansion, and the consequent capacity of a volume of the atmosphere to entertain the aqueous vapor. It has been computed, that. a cubic mass of air measuring forty inches each way, at a temperature of sixty-eight degrees Fahrenheit, can contain two hundred and fifty-two grains of water; or, taking a cubic mass measur 686 WONDERS OF THE EARTH ing twenty yards each way, at the same temperature, it will require two hundred and fifty-two pounds troy of water to bring it to the point of saturation. Various causes contribute to accelerate or check the process of evaporation; but other things being equal, it will proceed most vigorously the higher the temperature of the air above that of the surface upon which it acts, and be least active when the two temperatures are the same. The process is materially affected by the state of the air as to dryness and moisture, for water is rapidly evaporated by a stratum of dry air even when the temperature is low, whereas it is conducted tardily if the atmosphere should contain much vapor, although the temperature may be high. The process also is powerfully promoted by the play of the winds, which bring the atmosphere into immediate and stronger contact with the moist earth and surface waters; and hence every one is familiar with the more rapid drying of the ground after rain, when the air is disturbed, than when it is still. By the hygrometer (an instrument employed to ascertain the humidity of the atmosphere, as the name signifies - the measure of moisture) Professor Daniell calculated the average annual amount of evaporation in the vicinity of London to be 23'974 inches. In that locality evaporation is most active, and the largest amount of water is elevated into the atmosphere in June, the reverse taking place in January. The annual evaporation from the whole surface of Great Britain is supposed to be equal to thirty-two inches of water. Now, water extended over the surface of the island to the depth of one inch, would amount to 309,696,038,000,000 cubic inches, which is equal to 1,116,931,402,691 imperial gallons, or 4,432,267,441 tons. If we multiply this quantity by 32, we have the prodigious sum of 141,832,558,752 tons of water, ascending in vapor every year from the face of the country. The power of the agency employed in this operation of nature must be tremendous; but equally for its utility does it command attention, as for its wondrous potentiality. For sup AND THE HEAVENS. 687 posing this spontaneous evaporation to cease, the world being deprived of the elements that cause it, the heavens would drop no fatness; the springs would dry up, and the rivers be exhausted; the earth would soon be without any vegetation to adorn its surface, or any living creature to inhabit its wilds; the whole water of the globe accumulated in the ocean would. overflow the land, and submerge its now fertile plains. In the temperate zone in general, with a mean temperature of fifty-two and a quarter degrees, the annual evaporation is estimated at between thirty-six and thirty-seven inches; but in the torrid zone, where the temperature is much higher, the annual evaporation is greater. At Guadaloupe, one of the West India Islands, it has been found to amount to ninety-seven inches, and at Cumana, on the north coast of South America, to one hundred inches. The formation of visible vapors, and their aggregation in masses, take place generally in high regions of the atmosphere under the action of currents, in consequence of a decrease of temperature and a due supply of aqueous elastic vapor being present in those parts where clouds arise. It is easy to perceive that these two conditions, necessary to the production of cloud-land, may be fulfilled in one stratum of the atmosphere and not in another; and hence the frequent diversity in the appearance of the sky, the clear blue fields and patches of ether alternating with visible vaporous structures. The clouds are supposed to consist of vesicular vapors, or minute globules of water filled with air; but there is great difficulty, even with the aid of this view of their structure,- most probably correct, —in explaining their suspension aloft, for the globules must be specifically heavier than the air by which they are upborne. The theory of ascending currents of heated air has been proposed by M. Gay Lussac to account for their position; and the retention of solar heat in the clouds themselves, buoying them up, and causing them to float, by M. Fresnel; but this is a point respecting which we are left without the guidance of any positive data. 688 WONDERS OF THE EARTH The clouds float at different elevations, but the higher we ascend the drier the atmosphere is found, and the less loaded with vapors. "We shall not err much," says Mr. Leslie,'"if we estimate the position of extreme humidity at the height of two miles at the pole, and four miles and a half under the equator, or a mile and a half beyond the limit of congelation." Dr. Dalton asserts that small, fleecy patches of cloud are frequently from three to five miles in height, and such have been observed sailing above the most elevated peaks of the Andes, which rise twenty-five thousand feet above the level of the sea; but other authorities claim for some visible clouds a still greater elevation. The height varies at different seasons of the year, and there is little doubt that it is much more frequently below than above a mile. Dalton gives a table from observations made by Mr. Crosthwaite, of Keswick, who fixed marks on the side of Skiddaw, a mountain one thousand and fifty yards high, by which he was able to ascertain by inspection the height of the clouds when they did not exceed that of the mountain. During five years he conducted observations, three times each day, excepting a few intermissions, which amounted only to less than a week per year. From the table it appears that, for twelve times that the clouds were from two to three hundred yards high, in the month of January, during the five years, there were thirty-six times in which they were from one thousand to one thousand and fifty yards high; and for twice that they were at the former elevation in the month of June, there were thirty-four times in which they were at the latter. The forms assumed by the clouds are so infinitely diversified as to render it apparently hopeless to attempt their arrangement in a few general modifications; but a classifica tion has been made with some success, which reduces these varied aerial objects into seven genera, each of which is susceptible of such perspicuous description as to be readily recognized, and referred to its appropriate class and name. Mr. Luke Howard's ingenious scheme is now universally AND THE HEAVENS. 689 adopted, which will be briefly given, placing Mr. Foster's English names beside the Latin nomenclature of the former writer. Fig. 1. Cirrus - Curlcloud. - This form of cloud exhibits light, flexuous, or diverging fibres, sometimes shooting out from a nucleus in all directions, resembling a lock of hair, or a crest of feathers. The name refers to this feature of its external character. It occurs, however, in parallel bars, or thread-like lines, spanning a vast extent of the atmosphere, the whole breadth of the sky being insufficient to show the extremities. Other lines also are occasionally presented, crossing these at right or oblique angles, as in a piece of network. In the former condition we have linear cirrus, and in the latter reticular cirrus. These are the cobwebs of the sky. They frequently appear stretching their white and delicate fibres between the dark and dense masses, as if spun to connect them, though really distinct and far separated. The cirri appear in the higher regions of the atmosphere, and are the most elevated of the clouds. Viewed from the summits of high mountains, while the traveller looks down upon other forms of cloud, he beholds these still above him, and apparently at as great a distance as when seen from the plains. The appearance of true cirrus, or curlcloud, is supposed to indicate variable weather; when most conspicuous and abundant, to presage high winds and rain; and when the streaming fibres have pointed in a particular direction for any length of time, the gale may be expected to blow from that quarter. 5. Cumulus- Stackencloud. - This modification of cloud occurs in the lower regions of the atmosphere, and is easily recognized. It is commonly under the control of the surface winds, and frequently exhibits a very magnificent appearance. It consists of a vast hemispherical or conical heap of vapor rising gradually from an irregular horizontal base, and increasing upwards. Hence the names cumulus, a pile or heap, and stackencloud, a number of detached clouds stacked into one large and elevated fabric. Cumuli are the 87 690 WONDERS OF THE EARTH accompaniments and prognostics of fine weather. They begin to form soon after sunrise, from irregular and scattered specks of cloud, which then appear at a moderate elevation, and are the nuclei of the ultimate formations. As the morning advances the nucleus enlarges, or several coalesce, and early in the afternoon, when the temperature of the day is at its maximum, the cumulus attains its greatest magnitude. The cloud decreases as the sun declines, and is usually broken up towards sunset, rapidly separating into fragments, after the manner of its construction. The cumulus may be called the cloud of day, from the interval between morning and evening generally measuring the term of its existence. Its appearance considerably varies in the detail, and often exhibits a brilliant silvery light, and a copper tinge, when in opposition to the sun, indicating a highly electrical condition of the atmosphere. 7. Stratus — Fallcloud. - The former name, meaning a bed or covering, alludes to the position occupied by this cloud, immediately contiguous to the surface of the earth; and the latter to its origin, by the subsidence of vapor in the atmosphere. Unlike the cumulus, it eminently belongs to the night, appearing at eventide,' reaching its maximum density soon after midnight, and commonly vanishing with the opening morn. This class of clouds comprehends all those fogs and creeping mists, which, in the calm evenings of hot summer and autumnal days, appear spread like a mantle over the surface of the valleys, plains, lakes, and rivers. The Roman poet held the nocturnal visits of the stratus to the lower levels to be an indication of continued fair weather:" Then mists the hills forsake, and shroud the plain"a meteorological axiom founded upon the popular experience, as true now as in the days of Virgil. The dissipation of the stratus does not always take place with the opening morn, any more than the wreck of the cumulus with the return of night, though in both cases this is the general rule. It sometimes survives throughout the entire day, or maintains a successful L-__ -::-. —..-::=- _.:: _-..........- _ _ —........ =-~~~~~_.T _;I. — = -:~_ 7= -- 1-~ = — _- _ _ —— =-~-........... ~: -- -. --— * --....: —- I_' —~ — -—;... ~~~~~'-::- ---:...~ —__:...-_ —--- _ __~T1 ~7-2-:- ~-~-_;:. — -: _~~~~~~~~~- _ — __- _ -. I. -—.'.-_. —_:-~-'' L=-._~~_ ——: ~__~ __ ~,~ ~ ~ ~ -~i I:, — ~~~~=:.h,_- — I,~:~~ T_ Clud. —~~-~-, 1.Cru.2 Crotrths.3 irsrats.Ct~~otts 5.n: (;mu'u..:~mbLs.7.Nraus AND THE HEAVENS. 691 conflict with the solar beams to an advanced period of the morning, accumulating first in heaps, then separating from the earth, and losing its continuity, before retiring from the field. The effect is striking when, from an eminence which commands a view of an extensive plain or valley, we see this gossamer curtain of the night resting upon the surface, gradually rent and torn by the action of the sun's rays, reflecting as it disappears their golden hue. Many of the most felicitous images of poetry are derived from this source, as in Ossian: " The soul of Nathos was sad, like the sun in a day of mist, when his face looks watery and dim;" and again, when two contending factions are silenced by Cathmor: " They sunk from the king on either side, like two columns of morning mist, when the sun rises between them on the glittering rocks." The stratus is occasionally seen under peculiar and striking circumstances, extending over the surface of a sheet of water, without passing the boundary of its banks. Thus a lake or river will exhibit a white cloud of visible vapor resting upon it, from which the adjacent land is perfectly free. Sir Humphry Davy thus explains this curious phenomenon: "All persons who have been accustomed to the observation of nature must have frequently witnessed the formation of mists over the beds of rivers and lakes in calm and clear weather after sunset; and whoever has considered these phenomena in relation to the radiation and communication of heat and the nature of vapor, since the publications of MM. Rumford, Leslie, Dalton, and Wells, can hardly have failed to discover the true cause of them. As, however, I am not aware that any work has yet been published in which this cause is fully discussed, and as it involves rather complicated principles, I shall make no apology for offering a few remarks on the subject to the Royal Society. As soon as the sun has disappeared from any part of the globe, the surface begins to lose heat by radiation, and in greater proportions as the sky is clearer; but the land and water are cooled by this operation 692 WONDERS OF THE EARTH in a very different manner: the impression of cooling on the land is limited to the surface, and very slowly transmitted to the interior; whereas in water above forty degrees Fahrenheit, as soon as the upper stratum is cooled, whether by radiation or evaporation, it sinks in the mass of fluid, and its place is supplied by water from below; and till the temperature of the whole mass is reduced to nearly forty degrees Fahrenheit, the surface cannot be the coolest part. It follows, therefore, that wherever water exists in considerable mass, and has a temperature nearly equal to that of the land, or only a few degrees below it, and above forty degrees Fahrenheit at sunset, its surface during the night, in calm and clear weather, will be warmer than that of the contiguous land; and the air above the land will necessarily be colder than that above the water; and when they both contain their due proportion of aqueous vapor, and the situation of the ground is such as to permit the cold air from the land to mix with the warmer air above the water, mist or fog will be the result." 2. Cirrocumulus -Sondercloud. - This is a form of cloud of an intermediate nature between the cirrus and cumulus, and hence its Latin compound name. The cirrus, after having exhibited itself for a time, frequently passes into this modification, descending at the same time to a lower station in the atmosphere. Its parallel bars are broken into a number of small cumuli, of irregular shape, but generally orbicular, arranged in extensive beds, the component parts being quite distinct, or asunder, which explains the Saxon derivative title — the sondercloud. The previous appearance of the cirrus is not, however, necessary to the production of cirrocumulus, which often starts into existence independent of any other modification. The prevalence of this cloud in summer augurs an increase of temperature, and in winter the termination of frost. Sometimes its different members are of very regular round form, dense structure, in close contact with each other, and arranged on a curved base, in which state the cirrocumulus is commonly the natural harbinger of thunder storms. In AND THE HEAVENS. 693 another variety the small masses of cloud exhibit no uniformity of shape, and appear of a very light, fleecy texture. Bloomfield's description of this cloud - " The beauteous semblance of a flock at rest "aptly pictures its aspect at night in the presence of the moon. 3. Cirrostratus — Wanecloud. - These names point to the frequent origin and form of the cloud they indicate. It results from fibres of the cirrus waning or subsiding in the atmosphere, drawing closer to each other, and becoming arranged in horizontal strata. The cirrostratus exhibits several varieties —a series of thin, inclined, and wavy streaks; a row of short, thick patches of cloud; and a long, horizontal sheet, very narrow in proportion to its extent, and attenuated at the edges. The appearance and prevalence of this cloud indicate wind, rain, or snow; and the second arrangement of it generally precedes storms, or occurs in the intervals of them. It is sometimes seen cutting the sun and the moon's disk with a dark line, or hanging over them like a thin, hazy veil —one of the surest prognostics we have of a fall of rain or snow. Virgil, in his Georgics, gives it this interpretation:"Or should his rising orb distorted shine Through spots, or fast behind a cloud's dark line Retire eclipsed, then let the swain prepare For rainy torrents; a tempestuous air Swift from the southern deep comes fraught with ill, The corn and fruits to waste, the flocks to chill." 4. Cumulostratus- Twaincloud. — This is the most magnificent form of cloud, as cirrocumulus is one of the most beautiful. It is formed either by two or more cumuli uniting together, or a single cumulus increasing laterally, so as to exhibit several vast hemispherical heaps overhanging the base. These mountainous masses form a multiple or twaincloud, and resting upon a common stratum, are called cumulostratus. 694 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Nothing can be more imposing than the spectacle occasionally presented by these compound clouds, which the eye is disposed to contemplate as the architecture and home of giant spirits. The formation of cumulostratus takes place under different temperatures, and may precede a tempest of snow, and a thunder storm. It is the common herald of the latter, and may be seen rapidly forming during the calm which precedes a discharge of electricity, swelling to a stupendous magnitude, its protuberances, like the domes of an aerial city, shining with a strong silvery or golden light, finely contrasting with the darkness and density of its central regions. Borne by the currents of air, the cirrostratus is often conducted towards the summit of cumulostratus, and appears cutting through its whole extent. 6. Nimbus - Raincloud. - Any of the preceding modifications of cloud may so increase as to veil the sky completely, and put on an appearance of density, from which an inexperienced observer will augur rain. But they frequently dissolve without any shower, and no rain falls till another modification has been experienced, which commonly occurs in the case of cumulostratus. After exhibiting a great increase of density, and assuming a lowering aspect, the blackness of darkness is followed by a lighter shade, evidencing a fresh disposition of the aqueous particles in the cloud, or the formation of nimbus, from which rain falls. This change may frequently be very distinctly observed when the cloud is over a distant spot; and the transition from considerable blackness to a gray obscurity is sure evidence that the shower has commenced, and may be expected to reach the locality of the spectator, should the wind be blowing in his direction, and the nimbus not be previously extinguished. Hence Virgil's reference to the husbandmen anxious to gather in the harvest:" So, while far off at sea the storm cloud lowers, And on the darkened wave its fury pours,'Mid crops unreaped the hapless peasants stand, And shuddering view its rapid course to land." ANE THE HEAVENS. 695 The nimbus - the least interesting modification of the clouds to the eye - is first in point of attraction when the rainbow appears upon its front. The precipitation of the aqueous vapors to the earth in the form of rain is caused by contending aerial currents commingling saturated strata of different temperatures, promoting a condensation of the particles beyond what the air is capable of supporting, when the resulting mass gives out a portion of its moisture, which descends by its own gravity in rain, snow, or hail, according to the temperature of those regions of the atmosphere which it has to traverse. This is the last stage of an extensive pilgrimage which the evaporating forces in action constrain the waters of the globe to undertake through localities apart from its surface - a pilgrimage in which there is no halt, and which some portions of the element are perpetually completing, commencing, and pursuing. How different and far apart the sites which are the starting and terminating points of the journey! Exhaled from the surface of a ruffled ocean or tranquil lake, the aqueous particles ascend invisibly into the upper air, where they are called into sensible existence by a change of temperature, and are built up into the variously-formed, beautiful, and majestic clouds. These are wafted by the atmospheric currents far apart from the scene of the ascension, change their shape and direction at the will of the winds, pass into a state of invisibility, and again emerge from it as warmer or cooler strata are encountered in their aerial flight, till, perhaps, a thousand leagues away from the spot where the liquid element assumed its vaporous form, that combination of circumstances occurs which reduces it to its original condition, and deposition ensues upon some thirsty prairie or parching field. The copiousness and energy of rain depend upon the amount of vapor in the atmosphere, and the gradual or rapid manner in which its particles are brought into mutual contact. We have a slow drizzle in the one case, and a violent shower in the other. The drops of rain vary in size, according to Leslie, from the twenty-fifth to the fourth of an inch in diam 696 WONDERS OF THE EARTH eter. He remarks, that in parting from the clouds, their descent accelerates, till the resistance opposed by the air becomes equal to their weight, when they continue to fall with a uniform velocity. The velocity bears a certain ratio-to the diamter of the drops; those of a thunder shower, which are large, pouring down faster than those of an ordinary rain. The celerity of a small drop, one twenty-fifth of an inch in diameter, he estimates at eleven and a half feet per second, upon acquiring its uniform velocity; that of a larger one, one fourth of an inch, at thirty-three and one fourth feet. A great number of experiments have verified the remarkable circumstance that a greater quantity of rain falls upon a low site than upon one a little elevated above it. Thus a rain gauge placed at the bottom of a hill will collect a larger amount of water in a given time than another placed upon the summit. Dr. Heberden found that the annual depth of rain at the top of Westminster Abbey was 12099 inches; at a lower altitude, on the top of a neighboring house, it was 18'139 inches; and on the ground, in the garden of the house, it was 22'608 inches. M. Arago gives a similar result, from observations made during ten years, at Paris. On the terrace of the Observatory the annual depth was 50.471 centimetres, or 19.88 inches; while thirty yards below, in the court of the building, it was 56'371 centimefres, or 22'21 inches. Comparing, however, an extensive tract of mountainous country with a low, level district, the annual fall of rain in the former greatly exceeds that in the latter, though contrary to the natural presumption suggested by the fact that the lower regions of the atmosphere are much more saturated with vapor than the upper. At Keswick, in Cumberland, -a mountainous district,- the average annual depth of rain is 67'5 inches, while on the sea coast it is not half that amount. On the Great St. Bernard it is 63'13 inches, and at Paris only 21'26. The description of Judea by the sacred writer, contrasting it with the flat lands of Egypt, though not intended to be philosophic, is in harmony with the teaching of science respect AND THE HEAVENS. 697 ing the important part performed by mountains in the general economy of the earth: " For the land whither thou goest in to possess it is not as the land of Egypt, from whence ye came out; but the land whither ye go to possess it is a land of hills and valleys, and drinketh water of the rain of heaven." By arresting the course of the clouds, and producing a condensation of aqueous vapor when a warm current of air lights upon their cold summits, the elevations contribute to precipitate the moisture of the atmosphere, often amid a terrible display of electric phenomena - a blaze of fiery honors, and the echo of heart-thrilling sounds. The annual amount of rain is the greatest between the tropics, and diminishes in general with the distance from the equator; but the number of rainy days is greater in high latitudes than in the torrid zone, owing to the showers in the latter region being more violent and prolonged. From north latitude twelve to forty-three degrees the mean number of rainy days is seventy-eight; from forty-three to forty-six degrees the mean is one hundred and three; from forty-six to fifty degrees it is one hundred and thirty-four; and from fifty to sixty degrees it is one hundred and thirty-one. By a comparison of observations made during twenty years at Salem and Cambridge, in Massachusetts, with observations in twenty cities of Europe, it appears that th'e number of rainy days is considerably more in the latter case, though the latitudes do not greatly differ. Rainy. Fair. Cloudy. Salem,.... 95 173 90 Cambridge,.. 88 69 European Cities,. 122 64 113 Cincinnati,... — 176 105 Generally the quantity of rain is greater in summer than in winter; but in the temperate zones the showers are more frequent in winter, though less abundant than at the opposite season. Thus at St. Petersburg the number of rainy or snowy 88 698 WONDERS OF THE EARTH days during the winter is eighty-four, and the quantity of rain that falls about five inches; but during the summer, with the same number of rainy days, the quantity that descends amounts to eleven inches. The discrepancy is immense between the tropics in the amount of rain in different months. At Bombay the mean depth has been found by the pluviometer, or rain gauge, to be twenty-four inches in June, and 1'26 inch in October. In extratropical climates the discrepancy is far less; but the last six months of the year appear to yield a larger supply of rain than the first. Forty years' observations made at London give From January to July, inclusive,.. 8'539 inches. From July to December, inclusive,. 12'147 " The average quantity of rain in the subjoined latitudes, with the mean temperature, is stated by Humboldt as follows: - Under the equator. 81.5 mean temp.,. 96 inches. North latitude 19~ 79"25 ". 80 c cc 450 68 ".. 27 " cc 600 38-.. 17 " The occurrence of rain in tropical countries is a seasonal event, the year being divided into two periods of excessive drought and abundant showers, the sky remaining almost perfectly unclouded during the former season, and then becoming completely overcast at intervals during the latter. Districts situated north of the equator have their wet season from April to October, when the sun is in the northern half of the ecliptic, the reverse occurring on the south of the line. This is a remarkable instance of beneficial arrangement; for the rays of a vertical sun would be insupportable but for the screen of cloud which is coincidently expanded. In some parts of the American continent, and in the West Indies, two wet seasons mark the year; but one is of much AND THE HEAVENS. 699 shorter duration, and has lighter showers than the other. Two periods of rain are also mentioned in relation to Judea - the " first," or autumnal rains, which fall in seed time, towards the close of October; and the " latter," or spring rains, which fall in April, after the cold season. " I will give you the rain of your land in his due season, the first rain and the latter rain, that thou mayest gather in thy corn, and thy wine, and thy oil." These two seasonal events were of vast importance to the Jews, though it is a mistake to suppose that rain seldom falls in Palestine except at those eras. It falls copiously then, and also occasionally through the winter months, its entire cessation being in the interval between May and October. Prominence is given to the two rains referred to, on account of their abundance, and especially the time of their occurrence, the success of the agriculturist depending in a great measure upon those plentiful showers. The periodical tropical rains do not fall for any considerable time without an intermission. After a fine morning, the clouds in general gather towards noon; the shower descends with great violence for four or five hours; and towards sunset the sky clears, and remains cloudless through the night. There is a considerable diversity in the amount of rain during the wet seasons in tropical countries, at different places and in different years. In the ten years from 1817 to 1826 inclusive, at Bombay, the average annual quantity was seventy-eight and one tenth inches; but in the course of 1822 there fell one hundred and thirteen inches, while in 1824 the supply did not rise above thirty-four inches; and hence came famine and pestilence. At Bombay, also, the gauge has received as much as sixteen inches of the seventy-eight in the course of twenty-four hours; and while, there, the average annual quantity is as stated above, at Tellicherry, twelve degrees north latitude, it is one hundred and sixteen inches, and in the delta of the Indus not more than twenty inches. There is great discrepancy between the amount at Calcutta and Benares - seventy-two inches at the former place, and only forty-six at the latter. The greatest 700 WONDERS OF THE EARTH fall in those districts appears to take place on the eastern boundaries of the Bay of Bengal, where, in 1825, at Arracan, nearly sixty inches were registered in the month of July, and about forty-three in August; from which, by a rough estimate, the annual amount is inferred to be not less than two hundred inches. A more extraordinary quantity appears to fall in certain sites on the western continent, as in the forests of Guiana, where incessant rains of four or five months are no uncommon occurrence. The most remarkable instance of excessive rain is mentioned by Humboldt, upon the authority of Captain Roussin, who states that more than one hundred and sixty inches have fallen at Cayenne in the single month of February. Erxleben mentions drops of rain at the equator occasionally an inch in diameter. All countries, however, situated within and near the tropics are not thus favored, as many parts of Africa, Arabia, and the coast of Peru are entirely rainless; and at Cumana, the annual quantity of rain does not amount to more than eight inches. The rainless regions seem to occur in two belts, one on each side of the equator, which would be consecutive but for the interruption of high lands, the nursery of the showers. The north belt commences in the old world on the west side of Africa. It includes the Sahara, between sixteen and twentyeight degrees of latitude, but narrows as it proceeds easterly, extending from nineteen to twenty-seven degrees on the banks of the Nile. In Arabia it embraces the low coast, and part of the interior country, but its limits are not accurately known. From hence it passes through Beloochistan to the base of the Himalaya Mountains, and beyond that range there is the rainless table land of Thibet. The southern belt occurs north of the Gareep or Orange River, in South Africa, and includes extensive tracts in Australia. On the continent of America, rainless districts are found north and south of the equator; but the narrowness of the tropical parts of the continent, and the range of mountains that traverse it longitudinally, prevent the appearance of a AND THE HEAVENS.: 701 showerless zone, as in the northern part of the eastern world. In both continents, likewise, the districts which have their periodical rains are subject to an occasional intermission, and become rainless for considerable intervals, the drought inflicting terrible suffering upon man and beast. Mr. Darwin speaks of the South American droughts being somewhat periodical; for, upon comparing the dates of several, he found regular intervals of fifteen years between them. The period included between the years 1827 and 1830 bears the name of the gran seco, or the great drought, in Buenos Ayres; and on account of the light it throws on the cases where vast numbers of animals of all kinds have been found embedded together, Mr. Darwin's record of it has great interest. "During this time," he remarks, "'so little rain fell that the vegetation, even to the thistles, failed; the brooks were dried up, and the whole country assumed the appearance of a dusty high road. This was especially the case in the northern part of the province of Buenos Ayres and the southern part of Santa Fe. Very great numbers of birds, wild animals, cattle, and horses perished from the want of food and water. A man told me that the deer used to come into his court yard to the well, which he had been obliged to dig to supply his own family with water, and that the partridges had hardly strength to fly away when pursued." Captain Owen, in the account of his surveying voyage, relates a similar effect of drought on the elephants, at Benguela, on the west coast of Africa. They invaded the town in a body, to get possession of the wells, not being able to procure any water in the country. A desperate battle ensued between the inhabitants, amounting to nearly three thousand, and the animals. It terminated in the defeat of the latter, but not until they had killed one man, and maimed a great number. Dr. Malcolmson also states, that during a drought in India, the wild animals entered the tents of the troops at Ellore, and that a hare drank out of a vessel held by the adjutant of the regiment. " The lowest estimation of the loss of cattle in the province 702 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of Buenos Ayres alone was taken at one million head. A proprietor at San Pedro had previously to these years twenty thousand cattle; at the end not one remained. San Pedro is situated in the middle of the finest country, and even now abounds again with animals; yet during the latter part of the gran seco, live cattle were brought in vessels for the consumption of the inhabitants. The animals roused from their estancias, and wandering far southward, were mingled together in such multitudes, that a government commission was sent from Buenos Ayres to settle the disputes of the owners. Sir Woodbine Parish informed me of another and very curious source of dispute; the ground being so long dry, such quantities of dust were blown about, that in this open country the landmarks became obliterated, and people could not tell the limits of their estates. I was informed by an eye witness that the cattle in herds of thousands rushed into the Parana, and being exhausted by hunger, they were unable to crawl up the muddy banks, and thus were drowned. The arm of the river which runs by San Pedro was so full of putrid carcasses, that the master of a vessel told me that the smell rendered it quite impassable. Without doubt several hundred thousand animals thus perished in the river; their bodies, when putrid, were seen floating down the stream; and many, in all probability, were deposited in the estuary of the Plata. All the small rivers became highly saline, and this caused the death of vast numbers in particular spots; for when an animal drinks of such water it does not recover. Azara describes the fury of the wild horses on a similar occasion, rushing into the marshes, those which arrived first being overwhelmed and crushed by those which followed. He adds, that more than once he has seen the carcasses of upwards of a thousand wild horses thus destroyed. I noticed that the smaller streams in the pampas were paved with a breccia of bones; but this, probably, is the effect of a gradual increase, rather than of the destruction at any one period. Subsequently to the drought of 1827 to 1832, a very rainy season followed, which caused great floods. AND THE HEAVENS. 703 Hence it is almost certain that some thousands of the skeletons were buried by the deposits of the very next year. What would be the opinion of a geologist, viewing such an enormous collection of bones, of all kinds of animals and of all ages, thus embedded in one thick earthy mass. Would he not attribute it to a flood having swept over the surface of the land, rather than to the common order of things? " A considerable portion of aqueous vapor in the atmosphere is frozen in the cold season in extratropical latitudes, and the particles of ice, uniting together in their descent, become converted into flakes of snow, and cover the surface of the earth with a mantle of the purest white, stretching over bush and brake, lawn and mountain. Snow, examined with the aid of a microscope, exhibits structures of exquisite beauty, regularity, and endless variety, though it sometimes presents no peculiarity of form, but falls in very minute globular particles. Commonly a snow flake consists of a series of crystals formed independently in the upper regions of the air. These are united in groups while descending through the atmosphere, by its agitations striking them against each other. The flickering and gradual descent of the flakes is owing to their great extent of surface in comparison with their volume. A number of brilliant icy spicule, #r points diverging from a common centre, resembling stars having so many rays, apparently wrought with the nicest art, is the usual form of the crystals, which are for the most part hexagonal, presenting a nucleus with six divergences. Dr. E. D. Clarke, speaking of the breaking up of the winter season at St. Petersburg, remarks, "Snow, in the most regular and beautiful crystals, fell gently on our clothes, and on the sledge, as we were driving through the streets; all of them possessed exactly the same figure, and the same dimensions. Every particle consisted of a wheel or star, with six equal rays, bounded by circumferences of equal diameters; they had all of them the same number of rays branching from a common centre. The size of each of these little stars was 704 WONDERS OF THE EARTH equal to the circle presented by dividing a pea into two equal parts. This appearance continued during three hours, in which time no other snow fell, and there was sufficient leisure to examine them with the strictest attention." Upon examining some snow which fell at Yverdun, in Switzerland, in 1829 and 1830, M. Huber Burnaud found its crystals to consist of stellar plates with six rays, along each of which filaments were disposed after the form of feathers, and these also had finer filaments similarly arranged. He observed that in the former year almost every day the crystals presented a new variety of shape, sometimes resembling parallel fillets, leaves and spines, with a rosette termination. It is in the polar regions that snow assumes its most beautiful and varied forms. The varieties probably amount to several hundred. Scoresby has figured ninety-six forms, thirty of which are represented in the engraving opposite page 684. It is rarely that snow is seen in the northern hemisphere below latitude thirty degrees in America, and thirty-six degrees in the eastern world, the latitude of Algiers; and for some distance above those limits its appearance is very infrequent and brief, except in the upland regions. During the severe winter of 1830, when there was an average depth of six feet of snow in Denmark, and it accumulated on the low grounds of Wiltshire in some places to the depth of fifteen or sixteen feet, the crest of Vesuvius, in latitude forty-one degrees, was covered with it for the space of ten days - a most unusual occurrence. It has also visited low levels within the limits of the torrid zone, as at Canton, in latitude twenty-three degrees, in February, 1836. The following letter, which appeared in one of the public journals, contains an interesting account of this event, which may not be repeated for many generations: "I write you under the inspiration of a most unprecedented meteorological event — the phenomenon of a very heavy fall of snow in Canton. I woke an hour and a half ago, and could not believe my eyesight. Huge and thick flakes of real snow, and not white paper, summoned me from my warm bed; and AND THE HEAVENS. 705 on looking out, sure enough, the whole scene was' winter in its roughest mood'- the snow on every house top two, three, and four inches deep, and in the corners and ridges of course much more. The thermometer in our southern veranda was then standing at thirty-seven degrees. There was a light air fiom the north, in which direction the wind has been without intermission for three days past, sometimes blowing hard. Five or six days ago the wind was from the south-east, a most unusual occurrence in this monsoon; and the weather was so mild then, that we breakfasted with open windows; and a water excursion in the evening was by no means unpleasant, even to the idle steersmen in the wherry. But though the change was rapid, and the cold all yesterday very intense, no one predicted the length it would go. The thermometer was yesterday forty-seven degrees in the morning, and rose to fifty-one and fifty-two degrees during the day. " The astonishment and mirth among the Chinese, not one of whom about us has ever beheld snow before, is unbounded; and the elders of our European society are at this moment, in the ecstasy of revived associations, pelting each other with snow balls from the house tops with all their might. On one of these terraces, which may be no more than twenty-five or thirty feet square, they have rolled a snow ball which stands three feet high, so that you may judge how considerable the fall has been. I think it must have been snowing before midnight to have accumulated as it has done. The circumstance is certainly unprecedented here within the memory of man: whether any record of its occurrence in former time exists remains to be seen. I can as yet learn or perceive nothing at all out of the natural course of our season in other respects, save the few days of south-east wind a week ago, as above mentioned. - Half past eight, A. M. The snow ceased falling about half an hour ago; and the sun has now burst forth on the scene, and perfected its magnificence. The river is a very curious feature in the landscape. The huge mat sails of the junks fold up so massily, that they retain large volumes 89 706 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of snow upon them. The Chinese have now taken to pelting one another in the streets. A poor Bengalee servant found his way to our house top, to collect some snow to show his Parsee master, who did not dare to leave his bed; and the man's exotic appearance in such an employment, and particularly the incongruity of our Bengalee conversation in the midst of it, was very strange. Since writing the above, a few hours ago, the thaw has commenced, and the last trace of snow, which will, perhaps, never again be beheld here, has disappeared. Mingqua, a very venerable old Chinaman, has just called, and says he never heard of such an occurrence before as snow in Canton. Being himself of this province, this is the first time he has ever seen it in his life." In the higher regions of the Alps prodigious falls of snow are the ordinary phenomena of the winter season. They occur in sudden storms, and being drifted upon the ground by the winds, the path of the traveller is speedily blocked up by the accumulations, while " On every nerve The deadly winter seizes; shuts up sense, And o'er his inmost vitals creeping cold, Lays him along the snows, a stiffened corpse, Stretched out, and bleaching in the northern blast." Around the hospice of St. Bernard, the highest fixed habitation in Europe, close upon the line of perpetual congelation, and rarely four months in the year clear of snow, its average depth is seven or eight feet in the midst of winter. Sometimes the drifts accumulate against the building to the height of forty feet, for which reason the entrance is attained by a flight of steps. But in the most rigorous seasons, the smuggler, the pedler, and courier brave the perils of the pass, in defiance of the snows and avalanches, not unfrequently perishing in the attempt to gain the Swiss or the Italian side of the Alps, and often indebted to the monks and dogs of the hospice for the preservation of life. The duty of the monks calls them to set forth in the hour of tempest, to render help AND THE HEAVENS. 707 to the exhausted or overwhelmed passenger, whose voice and footstep their great nicety of ear, attained by practice, enables them to discriminate at a surprising distance. "The night was calm and beautiful," says a summer guest at the hospice, "and so warm for this elevation that we enjoyed looking out at the window upon the still and deeply solemn scene which surrounded us. One of the brethren said,' There is company ascending the mountain on the Swiss side;' but silent as the grave was every thing around us; our ears were not susceptible of such nice distinctions of sound. He said that they were very distant. He was right; the party arrived long enough after to astonish us at the perception which he must have had of their approach." The spaniels of the St. Bernard have become celebrated through the civilized world for the fine intelligence they display in discovering and aiding the perishing traveller, scenting his person lying many feet below the snow, scratching away the drift, rousing the victim from his stupefying sleep, and informing their human allies of the discovery by commencing their peculiar bark. One of these dogs, during his career, saved the lives of forty persons, and is known to fame by finding a child in a frozen state, succeeding in restoring animation, and then bearing him upon his back to the hospice. In North Britain, in severe winters, the fall of snow in storms, with its long continuance on the ground, has often led to melancholy disasters to man and beast. In Scotch annals the " thirteen drifty days," in the year 1620, designate a dismal snow storm, the memory of which long survived in the traditionary stories of the shepherds, and was oft recurred to at their hearths. The snow fell during thirteen days and nights, with very little intermission, accompanied with great cold, and a keen, biting wind. About the fifth and sixth days the young sheep fell into a torpid state and died; and about the ninth and tenth days the shepherds began to build up large semicircular walls of their dead, in order to afford some shelter for the living; but the protection was of little service. 708 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Impelled by hunger, the sheep were frequently seen tearing at one another's wool with their teeth. On the fourteenth day from the commencement of the storm, when it began to abate, there was on many a high-lying farm not a survivor of extensive flocks to be found. Large, misshapen walls of dead, surrounding a small, prostrate group, likewise dead, and stiffly frozen in their lairs, met the eye of the forlorn shepherd and his master. Of upwards of twenty thousand sheep maintained in the extensive pastoral district of Eskdale Moor, only about forty-five were left alive. The years 1709, 1740, and 1772 were also remarkable for their snows and consequent calamities. In the latter year the soil was not once exposed from the middle of December to the middle of April, but retained.its covering throughout of hard, frozen snow. The south of Scotland, between Crawford Muir and the border, was the scene of a violent storm in the year 1795, when whole flocks were overwhelmed in a few hours by the drifting snows, and seventeen shepherds perished. After the thaw, and the subsidence of the flood it occasioned, there were found, in a place called the beds of Esk, where the tide of the Solway throws up what has been brought into it by the rivers, the carcasses of eighteen hundred and forty sheep, nine black cattle, three horses, two men, one woman, forty-five dogs, and a hundred and eighty hares, besides a number of smaller animals. But these are evils incidentally connected with a natural production of great utility. Onwing to the snow being an imperfect conductor of heat, the earth beneath it is kept at a higher temperature than that of the exterior air, and the bulbs and roots of plants are sheltered from the ungenial cold. Hence, also, it offers a bed to the polar traveller warmer than the atmosphere, and furnishes a ready-made material to the Esquimaux for the construction of an abode, whose walls will screen him from the cold blast without, and not minister to the abstraction of the heat from within. There are several remarkable instances on record, of unquestionable authority, of persons having been kept alive. for a considerable period when AND THE HEAVENS. 709 completely buried in snow -a result to which its imperfect conduction of heat has contributed. Hearne mentions the case of a woman near Yeovil, in England, who remained thus intombed for seven days, and was taken out alive, and recovered. A similar imprisonment in the snow for eight days was endured by another in Cambridgeshire, in the year 1799, who heard the bells go two Sundays for church while in the drift, was at last rescued, but died through well-intended but injudicious treatment. The fertility of the soil is also largely promoted by the nitrogen which the snow takes up from the atmosphere. Hail is another form under which the aqueous vapors abstracted from the earth are occasionally returned to it. The theory of Volta refers the formation of hail to the play of electricity rapidly abstracting heat from the molecules of vapor in the atmosphere. The common hypothesis is, that of the congelation of globules of rain in their fall, by passing through a stratum of dry and cold air. To account for the production of such an intense degree of cold, very partial in its range, is the grand difficulty, for hail generally falls in hot, sultry weather. It has been remarked that hail very rarely falls at night, and is scarcely known at all in latitudes higher than sixty degrees. The course of a hail storm is commonly very narrow in proportion to its length. In July, 1788, a storm, memorable for the havoc it made, passed over France in two parallel lines from south-west to north-east. The one line extended about five hundred miles in length, and the other about six hundred miles, each having a mean breadth of only nine miles, an interval of fifteen miles occurring between them, in which the rain fell in torrents. Halley describes, in the Philosophical Transactions, a hail storm of very scanty breadth, in the year 1697, which passed from Snowdon in Wales, through Flintshire, cutting the north-west corner of Cheshire, and extending through Lancashire in a right line from Ormskirk to Blackburn, on the borders of Yorkshire. The hailstones of this storm were of very considerable dimensions, ploughing up 710 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the earth and burying themselves in the ground, killing poultry and sheep, and completely ruining the rising corn. Leslie estimates that hailstones an inch in diameter fall with a velocity of seventy feet per second, or at the rate of about fifty miles in the hour. " Striking the ground," he states, "with such impetuous force, it is easy to conceive the extensive injury which a hail shower may occasion in the hotter climates. The destructive power of these missiles in stripping and tearing the fruits and foliage increases, besides, in a faster ratio than the momentum, and may be estimated by the square of their velocity multiplied into their mass. This fatal energy is hence as the fourth power of the diameter of the hailstone." In the narrative of the Jewish wars mention is made of a shower of hail acting with destructive effect upon the routed Canaanites; and in the mountainous districts of Palestine terrible storms of the kind occur. The cattle have been destroyed in the fields, in the elevated regions of Persia, by the falling stones. Sir Robert Wilson gives the following account of a hail storm encountered by the British fleet while at anchor, in 1801, in Marmorice Bay, in Asiatic Turkey: " On the 8th of February commenced the most violent thunder and hail storm ever remembered, and which continued two days and nights int&rmittingly. The hail, or rather the ice, stones were as big as large walnuts. The camps were deluged with a torrent of them two feet deep, which, pouring down from the mountains, swept every thing before it. The scene of confusion on shore, by the horses breaking loose, and the men being unable to face the storm, or remain still in the freezing deluge, surpasses description." Hailstones exhibit various forms - the spherical, the oval, the pointed, fiat, and ragged; and their size occasionally surpasses that of those which have been already mentioned. At Lisle, in the Netherlands, in May, 1686, the stones that fell during a storm were from a quarter of a pound to a pound in weight. In Hertfordshire, England, in May, 1767, they were from one to fourteen inches in circumference. In the Pyrenees several of twenty-three ounces avoirdupois fell AND THE HEAVENS. 711 in 1784; and a paper, by the Abbe Maury, read before the Royal Society in 1798, mentions the fall of hailstones, or masses of ice, in Germany, from half an inch in diameter to the weight of eight pounds. The preceding statements receive confirmation from the experience of Mr. Darwin, in South America, as recorded in the intensely interesting journal of that eminent naturalist. Referring to a posta at the foot of the Sierra Tapalguen, in Buenos Ayres, he observes, " We were here told a fact which I would not have credited, if I had not partly ocular proof of it; namely, that during the previous night hail as large as small apples, and extremely hard, had fallen with such violence as to kill the greater number of the wild animals. One of the men had already found thirteen deer (cervus campestris) lying dead, and I saw their fresh hides; another of the party, a few minutes after my arrival, brought in seven more. Now I well know that one man without dogs could hardly have killed seven deer in a week. The men believed they had seen about fifteen dead ostriches, part of one of which we had for dinner; and they said that several were running about evidently blind in one eye. Numbers of smaller birds, as ducks, hawks, and partridges, were killed. I saw one of the latter with a black mark on its back, as if it had been struck with a paving stone. A fence of thistle stalks round the hovel was nearly broken down, and my informer, putting his head out to see what was the matter, received a severe cut, and now wore a bandage. The storm was said to have been of limited extent; we certainly saw from our last night's bivouac a dense cloud and lightning in this direction. It is marvellous how such strong animals as deer could thus have been killed; but I have no doubt, from the evidence I have given, that the story is not in the least exaggerated. I am glad, however, to have its credibility supported by the Jesuit Dobrizhoffer, who, speaking of a country much to the northward, says, hail fell of an enormous size, and killed vast numbers of cattle; the Indians hence called the place Lalegraicavalca, meaning the' little 712 WONDERS OF THE EARTH white things.' Dr. Malcolmson also informs me that he witnessed in 1831, in India, a hail storm which killed numbers of large birds, and much injured the cattle. These hailstones were flat, and one was ten inches in circumference, and another weighed two ounces. They ploughed up a gravel walk like musket balls, and passed through glass windows, making round holes, but not cracking them." The aqueous vapor in the atmosphere assumes another form, that of dew,.under circumstances favorable to its production. These occur when the sun is absent, the sky clear and nearly serene, and when the air, replete with moisture, is chilled by contact with some surface or substance colder than itself. It was once supposed that the dew, fringing the blades of grass and the leaves of the trees with silvery beads, sparkling in the morning sunlight, dropped "Like the gentle rain from heaven." Hence our phrase, the " drops " of dew, alludes to its presumed descent from the upper strata of the atmosphere. It is sur-.prising that this should have been the popular belief down to a very recent period; for dew may be seen upon an under surface, which nothing falling can touch, and upon a side surface, which nothing, by either rising or falling, can reach. The dew drop is familiar to every one from earliest infancy. Resting in luminous beads upon the down of leaves, or pendent from the finest blades of grass, or threaded upon the floating lines of the gossamer, its orient pearl varies in size from the diameter of a small pea to the most minute atom that can be imagined to exist. Each of these, like the rain drops, have the properties of reflecting and refracting light; and hence, as from so many minute prisms, the unfolded rays of the sun are sent up to the eye in similar brilliant colors to those of the rainbow. When the sunbeams traverse horizontally a very thickly bedewed grass plot, these colors arrange themselves so as to form an iris or dew bow; and if we select any one of the drops for observation, and steadily regard it while we change our position, AND THE HEAVENS. 713 we shall find the prismatic colors follow each other in their regular order. The poets of nature, in all ages and countries, have seized upon the clear, tremulous, pendent, and sparkling drops of dew as images of purity, gentleness, and beauty; and on account of their service to mankind in the economy of the vegetable kingdom, and the interesting mode of their formation, they claim the attention of the scientific inquirer. In England, Mr. Howard found by the rain gauge a deposition of dew equal to one tenth of an inch, on the morning of September 1, 1818, the production of the preceding night. Dr. Dalton estimates the annual deposit in that country to be five inches, or about 22,161,237,355 tuns, reckoning the tun to be equal to two hundred and fifty-two imperial gallons. The deposition of dew was first satisfactorily explained by Dr. WVells, in the year 1814, in an essay which has been pronounced by a high authority - Dr. Thompson -" one of the most beautiful examples of inductive reasoning in the English language." When the sun is below the horizon, and for a short period before his setting, bodies upon the surface of the earth, exposed to the aspect of a clear sky, cool by the radiation of the particles of heat absorbed, and at a more rapid rate than the atmosphere. The air in immediate contact with these bodies, replete with humidity in the form of transparent aqueous vapor, is chilled by their cold embrace; and owing to the increase of its density, it becomes incapable of holding in suspension the moisture with which it is charged in the same quantity as before. The surplus is therefore disengaged, and appears upon the surface of the refrigerating object in globules of dew. It is essential to this process that the night should not be a cloudy one; because when the sky is overcast, the radiant caloric proceeding from the surface of the earth, and which otherwise would go off into free space, is intercepted by the clouds, and returned by them in sufficient quantity to prevent the decrease of temperature necessary to compel the atmosphere to surrender a portion of its hoard of aqueous particles. On nights that are perfectly cloudless, therefore, the 90 714 WONDERS OF THE EARTH deposition of dew is greater than: when the sky is partially screened; on those that are both cloudy and windy there is none whatever formed; but a gentle motion in the air on a clear night is favorable to its production in the greatest copiousness, by bringing fresh portions of the atmosphere, laden with moisture, into contact with the colder bodies at the surface. The theory of the dewing process at once explains the rationale of the practice adopted by gardeners to protect tender plaIlts and fruit trees in blossom, on clear nights, from cold, by spreading over them a mat or awning. The covering performs the same office as the clouds. It returns the heat radiated from the plants to them, and thus a temperature is preserved which prevents refrigeration. It is often observable that substances exposed at night to the action of the same circumstances differ greatly in the amount of dew deposited on them, some being thickly coated with its pearls while others are without a single globule. This arises from the varying capacity of bodies for the radiation of heat. Light, downy substances part with it more freely than the solids; so that the former cool down to the dew point, or that degree of the thermometer at which its disengagement from the atmosphere commences, while the latter, remaining above it, receive no deposition. As the temperature of substances must be reduced below that of the atmosphere in order to the formation of dew, it is never observed in temperate climates upon the naked parts of a living and healthy human body. In opposition to the moisture of dew, that of mists is deposited upon all substances exposed to it alike; and another distinction is, that the moisture of mists exists previous to deposition in a visible state, and is produced quite independent of the bodies that receive it. A preceding statement, that in temperate climates dew is never observed upon the naked parts of a living and healthy human body, is not true of tropical countries, where, after the high temperature of the day, under a perfectly clear sky, the AND THE 1hEAVENS. 715 earth radiates its heat with great rapidity. This is the probable solution of some cases of physical injury sustained by persons sleeping in the open air with the face exposed, commonly supposed to be the effect of the moonlight. Messrs. Bennet and Tyerman, in their Travels, state, " Lunar influence seems to occasion phenomena of a very curious nature. It is confidently affirmed that it is not unusual for men on board a ship, while lying in the moonlight, with their faces exposed to the beams, to have their muscles spasmodically distorted and their mouths drawn awry - affections from which some have never recovered. Others have been so injured in their sight as to lose it for several months. Fish, when taken from the sea water and hung up in the light of the moon during a night, have acquired such deleterious qualities, that, when eaten the next day, the infected food has produced violent sickness and excruciating pains. We have conversed with people who have been themselves disordered after having partaken of such fish. It is hazardous to touch on this subject; we repeat what we heard from those who ought to be believed, and who would not affirm that of which they were not themselves persuaded." Now, the circumstances under which these effects transpired — a clear tropical moonlight night - are precisely those favorable to the production of dew, which promotes the putrefaction of animal matter and renders it deleterious; and the injury sustained by the parties sleeping exposed to the moonbeams — not a solitary example of such an occurrence — was far more probably caused by the cold and moisture produced by the immense radiation of heat, consequent upon a cloudless night sky after a hot day, than by the lunar light, which all scientific examination shows to be innocuous and uninfluential. The abundance of this deposition from the atmosphere in Palestine, in certain specified localities, chiefly the hilly districts, is frequently alluded to in the sacred writings. "We were sufficiently instructed," says Maundrell, " by experience, what the Psalmist means by the' dew of Hermon,' our tents being as wet with it as if it had rained all night." Its value is fully 716 WONDERS OF THE EARTH appreciated there and throughout Western Asia, where it seldom rains from April to September, - the season of the greatest heat, - the vegetation consequently then mainly depending upon its copious supply. "God give thee of the dew of heaven"- a patriarchal blessing at the close of life - illustrates its importance in the estimation of a pastoral chieftain; nor could the imagination conceive of a direr calamity than that expressed in the Hebrew elegiac: "Ye mountains of Gilboa, let there be no dew, neither let there be rain upon you!" Hoar frost, the ice of dew and mist, is formed by the temperature of the atmosphere falling below thirty-two degrees, the freezing point; or by the powerful radiation of heat from the substances receiving moisture, depressing their temperature to the point of refrigeration; in which case the particles freeze, even while a thermometer may be several degrees above thirty-two. Nature never appears more beautiful than on the mornings of a strong hoar frost, when the fogs have vanished, and the bright cerulean of the sky is expanded over the productions of the earth, which, from a state of nakedness, have put on vestal garments of the most exquisite purity and delicate finish, the suddenness of the change giving it the aspect of a work of enchantment. Every part of the vegetable kingdom, from the humble blade of grass to the gnarled and majestic oak of the forest, has acquired a character of mysterious loveliness, which surpasses any idea of the scenes of fairy land, and affects the mind by the silence, rapidity, and extent of the creation, as well as by the consciousness of its speedy departure. In the woods, the dark boles of the trees render more impressive their silvery crests, from which the rime descends in snowy showers as the birds twitter among their branches. The forms assumed by the ice of dew are classed by Mr. Howard into the spicular and granular. The former are very minute icicles which appear upon fibrous surfaces; the latter are globules frozen as they hang pendent from the substances upon which moisture has been deposited. But AND THE HEAVENS. 717 in whatever solid form the vapors of the atmosphere are returned to their native terrestrial home, their reduction to a liquid state speedily follows, except towards the poles and on high mountain elevations. The snow of the fields, the hoar frost, and the ice of the rivers, dissolve under a change of temperature, yet in obedience to a very peculiar law which insures their gradual retirement. The moment the change arrives at a particular and invariable degree of heat, thaw commences; but any further addition of heat is absorbed or rendered latent, and the temperature of the thawing mass remains stationary till the dissolving operation is complete. But for this circumstance, which has been called a violation of law, the operation would be instantaneous, and productive of the most disastrous effects. Under the first touch of the warmth necessary to insure a thaw, the magical spectacle of hoar frost would be gone in a moment. The snow would rush from the fields in a resistless inundation to the rivers, and the frost-bound streams would be relieved of their ice before the skater could reach their banks. 718 WONDERS OF THE EARTH CHAPTER XXII. SHEET AND CHAIN LIGHTNING. - STARTLING EFFECTS OF ELECTRICITY WITNESSED BY TRAVELLERS IN ASCENDING HIGH RMOUNTAINS. FIRE BALLS. - ST. ELMO'S FIRE. - THIUNDER STORMS. - AURORA BOREALIS. AT the close of a hot, sultry day, over a level country, lightning often exhibits itself, in rapidly succeeding, broad, noiseless, and imposing sheets of flame, lighting up the whole range of the horizon, revealing for the moment the contour of the distant landscape upon which the shadows of the night have gathered, and discovering the outline of the clouds in the dusky sky. These displays, however startling to " the poor Indian, whose untutored mind" is alarmed at the slightest deviation from the ordinary aspect of things, are always harmless, and invite by their innocuousness and fascination the cultivated races to watch the bounding coruscations of the elastic element, besides contributing to render the fields of corn ripe unto the harvest. But it is otherwise when heat has overcharged the atmosphere with vapors, becoming piled into clouds of gigantic dimensions and massive architecture, which are often propelled by antagonist currents, and in different electrical conditions. After an unusual calm of nature, oppressive to the animal system, during which not a movement of the air is perceptible, and the leaves hang motionless upon the trees, while the brute creation indicate some intelligence of an impending change by their restlessness, an explosion commences. The flash is seen, the thunder heard, and the clouds open their watery storehouse, a few distant and heavy drops increasing into a cataract of rain. Flash rapidly follows flash, and the interval between each appearance, and the accompa Electricity igniting 10~) tons of powder deposited in the vaults of tl~( ur c r Churc of S. Nazire. ee pae 728 AND THE HEAVENS. 719 nying thunder peal becomes less. The pale hue of the lightning is exchanged for a vivid glare, in which a deep yellow, red, or blue is the predominant color, a variety of aberrations marking its course, the zigzag form showing that the fearful agent is near terrestrial objects. In this manner "' the destruction that wasteth at noonday" is frequently exhibited, now striking man and beast to the earth, or rending asunder the mighty oak of the forest, or firing the vessel of the hapless seaman, or shivering "the cloud-capt towers and gorgeous palaces," the fanes of religion and the fortresses of war. Man has then a solemn sense of his helplessness and danger; and almost every creature sympathizes with him. The eel is restless in his muddy bed; the horse trembles beneath his rider; the cattle gather lowing to a covert; the eagle nestles in the cleft of the rock with folded wings; the hart looks wild and anxious; only the poor seal seems to experience agreeable sensations, for he will come out of his hiding-place in the deep at the call of the thunder, and repose upon some overhanging ledge, as if calmly enjoying the convulsion of the elements. Since the month of June, 1752, when Franklin performed the celebrated kite experiment by which he became the modern Prometheus, bringing down the celestial fire to the earth, the identity of lightning and electricity has been universally known. The theory of the electric fluid, as it is called, is to be sought for in philosophical treatises, our province being to notice its distribution, phenomena, and effects. That subtile principle which the Greeks denominated electricity, from ilExrqov, amber, because the property was first noticed in that substance, appears to be a universally diffused agent, its presence having been detected in connection with the clouds, with hail, rain, and snow — with vegetation, animals, and the interior strata of the earth. But undue accumulation transpires, the electrical equilibrium is disturbed, and the resulting phenomena of equalization are lightning and thunder. Thus two clouds, or a cloud and the earth, unequally electrified, tend to return to a condition of equality through a conducting medi 720 WONDERS OF. THE EARTH um, a metallic or moist body having the preference as a conductor, the discharge of electricity appearing in the form of a spark or flash, accompanied by a loud detonation according to its violence, the peal rebounding in echoes from cloud to cloud, and from hill to hill. Some regions of the globe are peculiarly subject to accumulations of electricity. Mr. Hamilton, in his work on Asia Minor, observes, "One of the most remarkable phenomena which I observed in Angora was the great degree of electricity which seemed to pervade every thing. I observed it particularly in silk handkerchiefs, linen and woollen stuffs. At times, when I went to bed in the dark, the sparks which were emitted from the blanket gave it the appearance of a sheet of fire; when I took up a silk handkerchief, the crackling noise would resemble that of breaking a handful of dried leaves or grass; and on one or two occasions I clearly felt my hands and fingers tingle from the electric fluid. I could only attribute it to the extreme dryness of the atmosphere and momentary friction. I did not observe that it was at all influenced by wind; the phenomena were the same, whether by night or by day, in wind or calm. Not a cloud was visible during the whole of my stay." Similar striking indications of the prevalence of electric action have frequently been observed by travellers when near the summits of high mountains, as by Sir W. J. Hooker on Ben Nevis, Saussure on Mont Blanc, and Tupper on Mount Etna. The latter, descending a field of snow, - a good conductor, - felt a slight shock upon entering a cloud, which seemed electric, with a sensation of pain in the back. His hair stood erect, and upon moving the hand near the head, a humming sound proceeded from it, which arose from a succession of sparks. Though a situation of great danger, yet we have several instances of such clouds having been traversed with impunity, when in the act of electrical explosion. The Abbe Richard, in August, 1778, passed through a thunder cloud on the small mountain called Boyer, between Chalons and Tour AND THE HEAVENS. 721 nus. Before he entered the cloud, the thunder sounded as it is wont to do, with a prolonged reverberation; but when enveloped in it, only single peals were heard, with intervals of silence without any roll; and after he had passed above the cloud, it reverberated as before, and the lightning flashed. The sister of M. Arago was a party to a similar occurrence between Estagel and Limoux, and some officers of engineers likewise, during a trigonometrical survey on the Pyrenees. Lieutenant Forbes gives a striking instance of encountering a highly electrical condition of the atmosphere when at a considerable elevation in the Alps. "We were still above nine thousand feet above the sea when I noticed a curious sound, which seemed to proceed from the Alpine pole with which I was walking. I asked the guide next me whether he had heard it, and what he thought it was. The members of that fraternity are very hard pushed when they have not an answer ready for any emergency. He therefore replied with great coolness that the rustling of the stick proceeded from a worm eating the wood in the interior. This answer did not appear to me satisfactory, and I therefore applied the experimentum crucis of reversing the stick so that the point was now uppermost. The worm was already at the upper end. I next held my hand above my head, and my fingers yielded a fizzing sound. There could be but one explanation -we were so near a thunder cloud as to be highly electrified by induction. I soon perceived that all the angular stones were hissing round us like points near a powerful electrical machine. I told my companions of our situation, and begged Damatter to lower his umbrella, which he had hoisted against a hail shower, and whose gay brass point was likely to become the paratonnerre of the party. The words were scarcely out of my mouth when a clap of thunder, unaccompanied by lightning, justified my precaution." The energy of atmospheric electricity appears to decrease as we recede from the equator to the poles, thus sympathizing with light and heat; for it is in tropical countries that the 91 722 WONDERS OF THE EARTH most terrific flashes of lightning and the loudest bursts of heaven's artillery occur. Awful as these manifestations are occasionally in our temperate climate, they are but as a skirmishing of outposts to the general engagement of armies, when compared with intertropical displays. In Hindustan, in the Indian Ocean, along the African coast off Cape St. Verde, and in Central America, there is often a scene exhibited, which seems a rehearsal of the day " when the heavens, being on fire, shall pass away with a great noise." Humboldt, during his residence at Cumana, witnessed a coincident development of electrical action, peculiar atmospheric phenomena, and terrestrial disturbance during what is called the winter of that region. From the 10th of October to the 3d of November a reddish vapor rose in the evening, and in a few minutes covered the sky. Thle hygrometer gave no indication of humidity; the diurnal heat was from 82'4 to 89'6 degrees. The vapor disappeared occasionally in the middle of the night, when brilliantly white clouds formed in the zenith, extending towards the horizon. They were sometimes so transparent that they did not conceal stars even of the fourth magnitude, and the lunar spots were clearly distinguishable through the veil. The clouds were arranged in masses at equal distances, and seemed to be at a prodigious elevation. From the 28th of October to the 3d of November, the fog was thicker than it had been before; and the heat at night was stifling, though the thermometer indicated only 78'8 degrees. There was no evening breeze. The sky appeared as if on fire, and the ground was every where cracked and dusty. About two o'clock in the afternoon of November 4, large clouds of extraordinary blackness enveloped the mountains of the Brigantine and Tataraqual, extending gradually to the zenith. About four, thunder was heard overhead, but at an immense height, and with a dull and often interrupted sound. At the moment of the strongest electric explosion, two shocks of an earthquake, separated by an interval of fifteen seconds, were felt. The people in the streets filled the air with their cries. Bonpland, who was AND THE HEAVENS. 723 examining plants, was nearly thrown upon the floor, and Humboldt, who was lying in his hammock, felt the concussion strongly. A few minutes before the first, there was a violent gust of wind, followed by large drops of rain. The sky remained cloudy, and the blast was succeeded by a dead calm, which continued all night. The sunset was a scene of great magnificence. The dark atmospheric shroud was rent asunder close to the horizon, and the sun appeared at twelve degrees of altitude on an indigo ground, his disk enormously enlarged and distorted. The clouds were gilded on the edges, and bundles of rays, reflecting the most brilliant prismatic colors, extended over the heavens. About nine in the evening, there was a third shock, which, though much slighter, was evidently attended with a subterranean noise. In the night between the 3d and 4th of November, the red vapor before mentioned had been so thick that the place of the moon could only be distinguished by a beautiful halo twenty degrees in diameter. The vapor ceased to appear on the 7th; the atmosphere then assuimed its former purity, and the night of the 11th was cool and extremely lovely. This account, with similar details from other observers, seems to indicate a more intimate relation than is generally admitted between the interior of the earth and its external atmosphere. Among the regions peculiarly subject to electric phenomena is the country around the estuary of the Rio Plata. In the year 1793, one of the most destructive thunder storms perhaps on record happened at Buenos Ayres, when thirty-seven places in the city were struck by the lightning, and nineteen of the inhabitants killed. It is an observation of Mr. Darwin, founded on statements in books of travels, that thunder storms are very common near the mouths of great rivers; and he conjectures that this may arise from the mixture of large bodies of fresh and salt water disturbing the electrical equilibrium. "Even," he remarks, "during our occasional visit to this part of South America, we heard of a ship, two churches, and a house, having been struck.' Both the church and the house I 724 WONDERS OF THE EARTH saw shortly afterwards. Some of the effects were curious: the paper for nearly a foot on each side of the line where the bell wires had run, was blackened. The metal had been fused, and although'the room was about fifteen feet high, the globules, dropping on the chairs and furniture, had drilled in them a chain of minute holes. A part of the wall was shattered as if by gunpowder, and the fragments had been blown off with force sufficient to indent the wall on the opposite side of the room. The frame of a looking glass was blackened; the gilding must have been volatilized, for a smelling bottle, which stood on the chimney-piece, was coated with bright metallic particles, which adhered as firmly as if they had been enamelled." Near the shores of the Rio Plata, in a broad band of sand hillocks, he found those singular specimens of electric architecture - a group of vitrified silicious tubes, formed by the lightning striking into loose sand. These tubes had a glossy surface, and were about two inches in circumference, the thickness of the wall of each tube varying from the twentieth to the thirtieth part of an inch. Four sets were noticed, probably not produced by successive distinct discharges, but by the lightning dividing itself into separate branches before entering the ground. Similar cylindrical formations have been noticed in other places. Dr. Priestley has described, in the Philosophical Transactions, some silicious tubes which were found in digging into the ground, under a tree where a man had been killed by lightning; and at Drigg, in England, three were observed within an area of fifteen yards, one of which was traced to a depth of not less than thirty feet. In the temperate climates, electrical phenomena are most common and usually most energetic in the summer season, and the displays are grander and more formidable in mountainous than in level countries. As we approach the poles they become less striking; thunder is rarely heard in high northern latitudes, and only as a feeble detonation; and though lightning is more common, it is seldom destructive. In Iceland, in the winter it often plays in the impressive but harmless manner AND THE HEAVENS. 725 which the natives call laptelltur. This is a fluctuating appearance of the whole sky, as if on fire, accompanied by a strong wind and drifting snow, but inflicting no further damage than that arising from the terrified cattle falling over the rocks in their efforts to escape from the phenomenon. The rapidity of lightning, as measured by means of the camera lucida, M. Helvig estimates at probably eight or ten miles in a second, or about forty times greater velocity than that of sound; and according to M. Gay Lussac, a flash sometimes darts more than three miles at once in a straight direction. M. Arago distinguishes three classes of lightning: First, luminous discharges characterized by a long streak of light, very thin, and well defined at the edges, of a white, violet, or purple hue, moving in a straight line, or deviating into a zigzag track, frequently dividing into two or more streams in striking terrestrial objects, but invariably proceeding from a single point. Secondly, he notices expanded flashes spreading over a vast surface without having any apparent depth, of a red, blue, or violet color, not so active as the former class, and generally confined to the edges of the clouds from which they appear to proceed. Thirdly, he mentions concentrated masses of light, which he terms globular lightning, which seem to occupy time, to endure for several seconds, and to have a progressive motion. Mr. Hearder, of Plymouth, England, describes a discharge of lightning of this kind, on the Dartmouth Hills, very near to him. Several vivid flashes had occurred before the mass of clouds approached the hill on which he was standing; and before he had time to retreat from his dangerous position, a tremendous crash and explosion burst close to him. The spark had the appearance of a nucleus of intensely ignited matter, followed by a flood of light. It struck the path near him, and dashed with fearful brilliancy down its whole length to a rivulet at the foot of the hill, where it terminated. Analogous to the discharges described as globular lightning, are the fire-balls, so often noticed, about which there has been 726 WONDERS OF THE EARTH no little scepticism; but the evidence cannot reasonably be doubted, that displays of electrical light have repeatedly occurred, conveying the impression of balls of fire to the observer. An instance is given by Mr. Chalmers while on board the Montague, of seventy-four guns, bearing the flag of Admiral Chambers. In the account read to the Royal Society, he states, that " on November 4, 1749, while taking an observation on the quarter deck, one of the quarter masters requested him to look to windward, upon which he observed a large ball of blue fire rolling along on the surface of the water, as large as a millstone, at about three miles' distance. Before they could raise the main tack, the ball had reached within forty yards of the main chains, when it rose perpendicularly with a fearful explosion, and shattered the maintopmast to pieces." In an account of the fatal effects of lightning in June, 1826, on the Malvern Hills, when two ladies were struck dead, it is stated, that the electric discharge appeared as a mass of fire rolling along the hill towards the building in which the party had taken shelter. Mr. Snow Harris remarks upon the difficulty of explaining these appearances on the principles applicable to the ordinary electric spark. The amazing rapidity of the latter, and the momentary duration of the light, render it impossible that they should be identical with it; but he conjectures that there may be a-" glow discharge" preceding the main shock, some of the atmospheric particles yielding up their electricity by a gradual process before a discharge of the whole system takes place. In this view, the distinct balls of fire of sensible duration, which have been perceived, are produced in a given point or points of a charged system previously to the more general and rapid union of the electrical forces. The remarkable appearance called the mariners' lights, or St. Elmo's fire, has frequently been observed during storms at sea. Pliny mentions lights noticed by the Roman mariners during tempests, flickering about their vessels, to which Seneca likewise makes allusion. By the superstition of modern AND THE HEAVENS. 727 times they have been converted into indications of the guardian presence of St. Elmo, the patron saint of the sailor, hence called cuerpo sante by the Spanish mariners. During the second voyage of Columbus among the W~est India Islands, a sudden gust of heavy wind came on in the night, and his crew considered themselves in great peril, until they beheld several of these lambent flames playing about the tops of the masts, and gliding along the rigging, which they hailed as an assurance of their supernatural protector being near. Fernando Columbus records the circumstance in a manner strongly characteristic of the age in which he lived. "On the same Saturday, in the night, was seen St. Elmo, with seven lighted tapers, at the topmast. There was much rain and great thunder. I mean to say that those lights were seen which mariners affirm to be the body of St. Elmo, on beholding which they chanted many litanies and orisons, holding it for certain, that in the tempest in which he appears no one is in danger." A similar mention is made of this nautical superstition in the voyage of Magellan. During several great storms, the presence of the saint was welcomed, appearing at the topmast with a lighted candle, and sometimes with two, upon which the people shed tears of joy, received great consolation, and saluted him according to the custom of the Catholic seamen; but he ungraciously vanished, disappearing with a great flash of lightning, which nearly blinded the crew. It is a striking instance of the triumph of mind, that by the introduction of lightning conductors into different civilized states, the power of this most energetic agent of nature is controlled, and comparative security provided for life and property, otherwise in imminent jeopardy, when a severe thunder storm occurs. Experience has taught the prime importance of furnishing exposed or elevated structures with a conducting apparatus, and has sufficiently shown that the immunity from danger enjoyed by many an unprotected building has been merely accidental; for when the teeming 728 WONDERS OF THE EARTH thunder cloud has been wafted within reach of the edifice hitherto unscathed, the delusion has vanished, that man may carelessly and with impunity thrust up his handiwork into the region of storms, as if daring the fury of the tempest, and inviting down its vengeance. The fine tower of St. Marks, at Venice, rising to the height of three hundred and sixty feet, terminates in a pyramid which was severely injured in 1388. In 1417 the pyramid was again struck, and set on fire, having been constructed of wood. The same event happened in 1489, when it was entirely consumed. After being rebuilt of stone, the lightning renewed its destructive stroke in 1548, 1565, 1653, and 1745; and on the last occasion the whole tower was rent in thirty-seven places, and almost destroyed. It was again ravaged in 1761 and 1762; but in 1766 a lightning rod was put up, which has since protected it from damage. At Glogau, in Silesia, an interesting example of the value of conductors occurred in the year 1782. On the 8th of May, about eight o'clock in the evening, a thunder storm from the west approached the powder magazine established in the Galgnuburg. An intensely vivid flash of lightning took place, accompanied instantly with such a tremendous peal of thunder, that the sentinel on duty was stupefied, and remained for a while senseless, but no disaster occurred. Some laborers at a short distance from the magazine saw the lightning issue from the cloud, and strike the point of the conductor, which conveyed it in safety by the combustible material. A different result took place with reference to a large quantity of unprotected ammunition, belonging to the republic of Venice, deposited in the vaults of the church of St. Nazaire, at Brescia. The church was struck with lightning in the month of August, 1767, and the electric fluid, descending to the vaults, exploded upwards of two hundred and seven thousand six hundred pounds of powder, reducing nearly one sixth of the fine city to ruins, and destroying about three thousand of the inhabitants. For ages the inhabitants of the globe have seen the light AND THE HEAVENS. 729 ning flash and heard the thunder rattle; and some writers upon the occult sciences of the ancients, as Salverte, have supposed that, tutored by experience, without any understanding of the theory of the subject, they possessed the secret of warding off from their buildings the thunderbolt, by a conducting apparatus. It is certain that extraordinary intimations to this effect may be culled from their writings. Pliny states that Tullus Hostilius, practising Numa's art of bringing down fire from heaven, and performing it incorrectly, was struck with lightning- a fate which Professor Richman, of St. Petersburg, experienced, while performing incautiously the sublime experiment of Franklin, measuring the strength of the electricity brought down by a metallic rod in a thunder storm, being instantly killed. Pliny likewise mentions the laurel as the only earthly production which lightning does not strike; hence, as a protection, these trees were planted around the temple of Apollo. Columella, however, mentions white vines surrounding the house of Tarchon, the Etruscan, for the same purpose. These expedients may provoke a smile without deserving one; for there can be no doubt that trees sufficiently high around a temple, or succulent plants covering a dwelling, will exercise to some extent a protective power, and act as a regular system of conductors. Salverte mentions several medals which appear to have reference to this subject, particularly one which represents the temple of Juno, the goddess of the air, the roof of which is armed with pointed rods. He quotes also Michaelis, upon the temple of Jerusalem, to show that the Jews were not unacquainted with the art of protecting their public buildings -a position grounded upon the following facts: " 1. That there is nothing to indicate that the lightning ever struck the temple of Jerusalem during the lapse of a thousand years." This, of course, does not make the fact certain; but when, as M. Arago justly remarks, we consider how carefully the ancient authors recorded the cases in which their public buildings were injured by lightning, we may accept the silence 92 730 WONDERS OF THE EARTH observed respecting the temple of Jerusalem as proof that it was never struck. For three centuries the cathedral of Geneva, the most elevated in the city, has enjoyed a similar immunity, although inferior buildings have been repeatedly damaged. Saussure discovered the reason of this, in the tower being entirely covered with tinned iron plates, connected with different masses of metal on the roof, and again communicating with the ground by means of metallic pipes. " 2. That according to the account of Josephus, a forest of spikes, with golden or gilt points, and very sharp, covered the roof of this temple —a remarkable feature of resemblance with the temple of Juno, represented on the Roman medals. 3. That this roof communicated with the caverns in the hill of the temple, by means of metallic tubes, placed in connection with the thick gilding that covered the whole exterior of the building; the points of the spikes there necessarily producing the effect of lightning rods. How are we to suppose that it was only by chance they discharged so important a function; that the advantage received from it had not been calculated; that the spikes were erected in such great numbers only to prevent the birds from lodging upon and defiling the roof of the temple? Yet this is the sole utility which the historian Josephus attributes to them." Upon a sober review of these facts, it is difficult to resist the conclusion that the ancient world had some proficiency in the art of guiding the electric fluid from the bosom of the clouds, conducting it in a prescribed course, and thus disarming it of its terrors. Of all optical phenomena, the Aurora Borealis, or the northern daybreak, is one of the most striking, especially in the regions where its full glory is revealed. The following lines respecting this beautiful meteor are from Lomonosov, a native Russian: - " Where are thy secret laws, O Nature, where? Thy torch lights dazzle in the wintry zone; How dost thou light from ice thy torches there? There has thy sun some sacred, secret throne? AND THE HEAVENS. 731 See in your frozen sea what glories have their birth; Thence night leads forth the day t' illuminate the earth. "Come, then, philosopher, whose privileged eye Reads Nature's hidden pages and decrees, Come now, and tell us whence, and where, and why, Earth's icy regions glow with lights like these, That fill our souls with awe; profound inquirer, say, For thou dost count the stars, and trace the planets' way. " What fills with dazzling beams the illumined air? What wakes the flames that light the firmament? The lightnings flash: there is no thunder there, And earth andleaven with fiery sheets are blent; The winter's night now gleams with brighter, lovelier ray, Than ever yet adorned the golden summer's day. " Is there some vast, some hidden magazine, Where the gross darkness flames of fire supplies P? Some phosphorous fabric, which the mountains screen? Whose clouds of light above those mountains rise? WVhere the winds rattle loud around the foaming sea, And lift the waves to heaven in thundering revelry?" The appearances exhibited by the aurora are so various as to render it impossible to comprehend every particular in a description that must be necessarily brief and general. A cloud, or haze, is commonly seen in the northern region of the heavens, but often bearing towards the east or west, assuming the form of an arc, seldom attaining a greater altitude than forty degrees, but varying in extent from five to one hundred degrees. The upper edge of the cloud is luminous, sometimes brilliant, and irregular. The lower part is frequently dark and thick, with the clear sky appearing between it and the horizon. Streams of light shoot up in columnar forms from the upper part of the cloud, now extending but a few degrees, then as far as the zenith, and even beyond it. Instances occur in which the whole hemisphere is covered with these coruscations; but the brilliancy is the greatest, and the light the strongest, in the north, near the main body of the meteor. The streamers have in general a tremulous motion, and when 732 WONDERS OF THE EARTH close together present the appearance of waves, or sheets of light, following each other in rapid succession. But no rule obtains with reference to these streaks, which have acquired the name of "the merry dancers," from their volatility, becoming more quick in their motions in stormy weather, as if sympathizing with the wildness of the blast. Such is the extraordinary aspect they present, that it is not surprising the rude Indians should gaze upon them as the spirits of their fathers roaming through the land of souls. They are variously white, pale red, or of a deep blood color, and sometimes the appearance of the whole rainbow.s to hue is presented. When several streamers emerging from different points unite at the zenith, a small and dense meteor is formed, which seems to burn with greater violence than the separate parts, and glows with a green, blue, or purple light. The display is over sometimes in a few minutes, or continues for hours, or through the whole night, and appears for several nights in succession. Captain Beechey remarked a sudden illumination to occur at one extremity of the auroral arch, the light passing along the belt with a tremulous, hesitating movement towards the opposite end, exhibiting the colors of the rainbow; and as an illustration of this appearance, he refers to that presented by the rays of some molluscous animals in motion. Captain Parry notices the same effect as a common one with the aurora, and compares it, as far as its motion is concerned, to a person holding a long ribbon by one end, and giving it an undulatory movement through its whole length, though its general position remains the same. Captain Sabine likewise speaks of the arch being bent into convolutions, resembling those of a snake in motion. Both Parry, Franklin, and Beechey agree in the observation that no streamers were ever noticed shooting downwards from the arch. The preceding statement refers to aurora in high northern latitudes, where the full magnificence of the phenomenon is displayed. It forms a fine compensation for the long and dreary night to which these regions are subject, the gay and AND THE HEAVENS. 733 varying aspect of the heavens contrasting refreshingly with the repelling and monotonous appearance of the earth. We have already stated that the direction in which the aurora generally makes its first appearance, or the quarter in which the arch formed by this meteor is usually seen, is to the northward. But this does not hold good of very high latitudes, for by the expeditions which have wintered in the ice, it was almost always seen to the southward; while, by Captain Beechey, in the Blossom, in Kotzerne Sound, two hundred and fifty miles to the southward of the ice, it was always observed in a northern direction. It would appear, therefore, from this fact, that the margin of the region of packed ice is most favorable to the production of the meteor. The reports of the Greenland ships confirm this idea; for, according to their concurrent testimony, the meteoric display has a more brilliant aspect to vessels passing near the situation of the compact ice, than to others entered far within it. Instances, however, are not wanting of the aurora appearing to the south of the zenith in comparatively low latitudes. Lieutenant Chappell, in his voyage to Hudson's Bay, speaks of its forming in the zenith, in a shape resembling that of an umbrella, pouring down streams of light from all parts of its periphery, which fell vertically over the hemisphere in every direction. As we retire from the pole, the phenomenon becomes a rarer occurrence, and is less perfectly and distinctly developed. In September, 1828, it was observed in England as a vast arch of silvery light, extending over nearly the whole of the heavens, transient gleams of light separating from the main body of the luminosity; but in September, 1827, its hues were red and brilliant. Dr. Dalton has furnished the following account of an aurora, as observed by him on the 15th of October, 1792: " Attention," he remarks, "was first excited by a remarkably red appearance of the clouds to the south, which afforded sufficient light to read by at eight o'clock in the evening, though there was no moon nor light in the north. From half past nine to ten there was a large, luminous, horizontal arch to the south 734 WONDERS OF THE EARTH ward, and several faint concentric arches northward. It was particularly noticed that all the arches seemed exactly bisected by the plain of the magnetic meridian; At half past ten o'clock streamers appeared, very low in the southeast, running to and fro from west to east. They increased in number, and began to approach the zenith, apparently with an accelerated velocity, when all on a sudden the whole hemisphere was covered with them, and exhibited such an appearance as surpasses all description. The intensity of the light, the prodigious number and volatility of the beams, the grand intermixture of all the prismatic colors in their utmost splendor, variegating the glowing canopy with the most luxuriant and enchanting scenery, afforded an awful, but at the same time the most pleasing and sublime spectacle in nature. Every one gazed with astonishment, but the uncommon grandeur of the scene only lasted one minute. The variety of colors disappeared, and the beams lost their lateral motion, and were converted into the flashing radiations. The sky of the southern hemisphere occasionally exhibits this strange and mysterious light, contrary to an old opinion upon the subject; and here it must be called Aurora Australis, the southern daybreak. Its appearance, however, is far from being so common as in the northern zone, and is much less imposing. Don Antonio Ulloa, off Cape Horn, in the year 1745, witnessed the first appearance of the kind upon record in this region. Upon the clearing off of a thick mist, a light was observed in the southern horizon, extending to an elevation of about thirty degrees, sometimes of a reddish color, and sometimes like the light which precedes the rise of the moon, but occasionally more brilliant. Captain Cook, in the same latitudes, had more distinct views of the luminous streamers adorning the night sky of the south. In the course of his second voyage he remarks, that on February 17, 1773, "a beautiful phenomenon was observed in the heavens. It consisted of long colors of a clear, white light, shooting up from the horizon to the eastward, almost to the zenith, and spread AND THE HEAVENS. 735 ing gradually over the whole southern part of the sky. These columns sometimes bent sidewise at their upper extremity, and though in most respects similar to the northern lights, yet differed from them in being always of a whitish color, whereas ours assume various tints, especially those of a purple and fiery hue. The stars were sometimes hid by, and sometimes faintly to be seen through, the substance of these southern lights, Aurora Australis. The sky was generally clear when they appeared, and the air sharp and cold, the thermometer standing at the freezing point, the ship being in latitude fiftyeight degrees south." The history of auroral phenomena goes back to the time of Aristotle, who undoubtedly refers to the exhibition in his work on meteors, describing it as occurring on calm nights, having a resemblance to flame mingled with smoke, or to a distant view of burning stubble, purple, bright red, and bloodcolor being the predominant hues. Notices of it are likewise found in many of the classical writers; and the accounts which occur in the chronicles of the middle ages, of surprising lights in the air, converted by the imagination of the vulgar into swords gleaming and armies fighting, are allusions to the play of the northern lights. There is strong reason to believe, though the fact is perfectly inscrutable, that the aurora has been much more common in the European region of the northern zone, during the last century and a half, than in former periods. A very brilliant appearance took place on the 6th of March, 1716, which forms the subject of a paper by Halley, who remarks, that nothing of the kind had occurred in England for more than eighty years, nor of the same magnitude since 1574 or about one hundred and forty years previous, in the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when Camden and Stow were eye witnesses of it. The latter states, in his Annals, that on November 14 " were seen in the air strange impressions of fire and smoke to proceed forth from a black cloud in the north towards the south; that the next night the heavens 736 WONDERS OF THE EARTH from all parts did seem to burn marvellous ragingly, and over our heads the flames from the horizon round about rising did meet, and there double and roll one in another, as if it had been in a clear furnace." The year following, 1575, it was twice repeated in Holland; and as a specimen of the tone of thought respecting the aurora, the description of Cornelius Gemma, a professor in the University of Louvaine, may be given. Referring to the second instance of the year, and speaking in the language of the times, he remarks, " The form of the Chasma of the 28th of September following, immediately after sunset, was indeed less dreadful, but still more confused and various; for in it were seen a great many bright arches, out of which gradually issued spears, cities with towers, and men in battle array; after that, there were excursions of rays every way, waves of clouds and battles mutually pursued and fled, and wheeling round in a surprising manner." This phenomenon was repeatedly observed in the last century in Sweden, as at present; but prior to the year 1716 the inhabitants of Upsal considered it as a great rarity. Nothing is more common now in Iceland than the northern lights, exhibited during the winter with imposing grandeur and brilliancy; but Torfoeus, the historian of Denmark, an Icelander, who wrote in 1706, records his remembrance of the time when the meteor was an object of terror in his native island. It deserves remark that its more frequent occurrence in the Atlantic regions has been accompanied by its diminution in the eastern parts of Asia, as Baron Von Wrangel was assured by the natives there, who added that formerly it was brighter than at present, and frequently colored like the rainbow. A. work by M. de Mairan, entitled Trait6 Physique et Historique de l'Aurore Boreale, published in 1754, records all the observations of aurora from the sixth century down to that date, as far as they appear upon the page of history. The gross number of distinct phenomena enumerated by M. Mairan amounts to 1441, distributed as follows: — ~:la —~ i~:'-_:~ ~? ~ ~ ~: \~::~:~,~=~~~~r —=- — ~~I~.-~-~ ~ __L-~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~ r —_~Aase 91- ~ _~ AurraBorals, ee atBoeko, n Lplnd AND THE HEAVENS. 737 Number observed. From A. D. 583 to A. D. 1354... 26 cc 1354 " 1560... 34 cc" 1560 " 1592... 69 c" 1592 " 1633... 70 cc" 1633 " 1684... 34 6" 1684 ".1721... 219 cc" 1721 " 1745... 961 cc" 1745 " 1751... 28 Of course, during the earlier periods, we must suppose that a great many instances occurred which found no record; but the high numbers which appear after the close of the seventeenth century may be considered as confirming the presumption of auroral exhibitions having become more common in European localities. Distributed according to the different months in which the aurora appeared, the numbers to be assigned to each are, - January,. 113 July,.... 22 February,. 141 August,... 84 March,.. 202 September,.. 172 April,.. 124 October,... 212 May,... 45 November,.. 153 June,... 22 December,.. 151 The instances in the winter half year amount to nine hundred and seventy-two, and those in the summer to four hundred and sixty-nine, being nearly in the proportion of two to one in favor of the former. It has been repeatedly affirmed, that auroral displays are attended with sound, variously described as a hissing, murmuring, and crackling noise. Blagden and Gmelin offer several testimonies of a rustling noise having been occasionally heard; Nairne, Cavallo, and others speak of a hissing sound; and Henderson remarks, that in Iceland, when the coruscations 93 738 WONDERS OF THE EARTH are particularly quick and vivid, a crackling noise is heard, resembling that which attends the escape of the sparks from an electric machine. Captain Lyon observes, that the sudden glare and rapid bursts of those wondrous showers of fire that appear in the sky make it difficult to fancy their movements wholly without sound; but nothing was ever heard by him, or by his companion Captain Parry. The latter states, that it was too cold to admit of the ears being long uncovered; but Lyon declares, that he stood for hours on the ice listening, and at a distance from every sounding body, without catching the faintest noise. But the counter testimonies are so numerous, that this point must be deemed at present an open question. Dr. Richardson was an attentive student of the aurora during the arctic land expedition of Captain Franklin; and though he never heard any sound that could be unequivocally considered as originating with the meteor, yet the united testimony of the natives, both Crees, Copper Indians, and Esquimaux, and of all the older residents at the European ports, induced him to believe that its motions are sometimes audible. It has also been debated what effect the auroral light produced upon the stars in its path, respecting which Parry states, "Of its dimming the stars there cannot be a doubt; we remarked it to be in this respect like drawing a gauze veil over the heavens in that part, the veil being the thickest when two of the luminous sheets met and overlapped." Various results of calculation have been given as to the elevation of auroral phenomena. They clearly occur within the limits of our atmosphere, from the fact of the earth's diurnal motion having no effect upon the apparent position of the meteor. M. de Mairan assigns to it a mean height of one hundred and seventy-five French leagues, equal to four hundred and sixty-four English miles; Dr. Dalton concludes the average elevation to be about one hundred English miles; but according to Parry, the auroral appearances seemed to be full as near as many of the clouds commonly seen. In one instance the aurora appeared to be connected with a very AND THE HEAVENS. 739 remarkable cloud of a light-brown color, resembling an immense volume of smoke, or a powder magazine in a state of explosion, (the comparison of the gunner;) for upon the breaking up of the cloud the phenomenon was seen in the same part of the heavens. The experience of Beechey is in favor of a comparatively low elevation. "WTe frequently observed," he states, "the aurora attended by a thin, fleecy, cloud-like substance, which, if not part of the meteor, furnishes a proof of the displays having taken place within the region of our atmosphere, as the light was decidedly seen between it and the earth. This was particularly noticed on the 28th of September, 1827. The aurora on that night began by forming two arches from west by north northward to east by north, and about eleven o'clock threw out brilliant coruscations. Shortly after the zenith was obscured by a lucid haze, which soon condensed into a canopy of light clouds. We could detect the aurora above this canopy by several bright arches being refracted, and by brilliant colors being apparent in the interstices. Shortly afterwards the meteor descended, and exhibited a splendid appearance, without any interruption from clouds, and then retired, leaving the fleecy stratum only visible as at first. This occurred several times, and left no doubt in my own mind of the aurora being at one time above, but at another below, the canopy formed about our zenith. "The supposition of the light being at no great elevation is strengthened by the different appearances exhibited by the aurora at the same times, to observers not more than from ten to thirty miles apart; and also by its being visible to persons on board the ship at Chamisso Island after it had vanished in Escholtz Bay, only ten miles distant, as well as by the aurora being seen by the barge detached from the Blossom several days before it was visible to persons on board the ship, about two hundred miles to the southward of her. Captain Franklin has mentioned a similar circumstance in his notices on the Aurora Borealis inr his first expedition, when Dr. Richardson and Mr. Kendall were watching for the appearance of the 740 WONDERS OF THE EARTH meteor by agreement, and when it was seen by the former actively sweeping across the heavens and exhibiting prismatic colors, without any appearance of the kind being witnessed by the latter, then only twenty miles distant from his companion. Captain Parry, also, in his third voyage, describes the aurora as being seen even between the hills and the ship anchored at Port Bowen." Still, it is unquestionable, that the aurora occasionally occurs in the highest regions of the atmosphere, as in the grand example of 1716, which was simultaneously observed in places very remote from each other, and ascertained to be visible from latitude fifty degrees north, all over Europe, between the confines of Russia on the east and Ireland on the west -a sufficient evidence of its very great altitude. The magnetic needle has frequently exhibited violent disturbance when the aurora has appeared. This has led to the conjecture that these brilliant lights are connected with the electric and magnetic properties of the earth, though in a manner which we cannot explain. It has been remarked, that during the appearance of the aurora the electric fluid may often be readily collected from the air. If a current of electricity also be passed through an exhausted receiver, a very correct imitation of the auroral light will be produced, displaying the same variety of color and intensity, and the same undulating motions. It is highly probable, therefore, that the beautifiul and fantastic meteoric display is connected with electricity; but great obscuritr rests upon this department of meteorology, AND THE HEAVENS. 741 CHAPTER XXIII. HALos. -MOCK SUNS AND MOCK MOONS. - SOLAR AND LUNAR RAINBOWS. - OPTICAL ILLUSIONS. - RIVERS AND LAKES APPARENTLY SEEN WHERE THERE IS ONLY AN EXPANSE OF DRY SAND. - CASTLES, PALACES, ARMIES, HERDS AND FLOCKS SEEN SUSPENDED IN THE AIR OVER THE STRAITS OF MESSINA.- A CROSS SEEN IN THE SKY AT MIQUE, FRANCE. -INSTANCES OF PERSONS SEEING IMAGES OF THEMSELVES UPON CLOUDS. -IMAGES OF SHIPS IN THE SKY.INTERESTING EXPERIMENTS WITH AN IGNIS FATUUS. FROM optical phenomena belonging to the electric class; or which are supposed to have electrical connections, we proceed to consider the appearances which simply result from peculiar atmospheric conditions. 1. Halos. — The simplest form of the halo is that of a white concentric ring surrounding the sun or moon, a very common appearance in our climate in relation to the moon, occasioned by very thin vapor, or minute particles of ice and snow, diffused through the atmosphere, deflecting the rays of light. Double rings are occasionally seen, displaying the brightest hues of the rainbow. The colored ring is produced by globules of visible vapor, the resulting halo exhibiting a character of density, and appearing contiguous to the luminous body, according as the atmdsphere is surcharged with humidity. Hence a dense halo close to the moon is universally and justly regarded as an indication of coming rain. It has been stated as an approximation, that the globules which occasion the appearance of colored circles vary from the five thousandth to the fifty thousandth part of an inch in diameter. Though seldom apparent around the sun in our climate, yet it is only necessary to remove that glare of light which makes delicate colors appear white, to perceive segments of beautifully tinted halos on most days when light, fleecy clouds are present. When Humboldt was at Cumana,; a large double halo 742 WONDERS OF THE EARTH around the moon fixed the attention of the inhabitants, who considered it as the presage of a violent earthquake. The hygrometer denoted great humidity, yet the vapors appeared so perfectly in solution, or rather so elastic and uniformly disseminated, that they did not alter the transparency of the atmosphere. The moon arose, after a storm of rain, behind the Castle of St. Antonio. As soon as she appeared on the horizon, two circles were distinguished, one large and whitish, forty-four degrees in diameter, the other smaller, displaying all the colors of the rainbow. The space between the two circles was of the deepest azure. At the altitude of four degrees they disappeared, while the meteorological instruments indicated not the slightest change in the lower regions of the air. The phenomenon was chiefly remarkable for the great brilliancy of its colors, and for the circumstance that, according to the measures taken with Ramsden's sextant, the lunar disk was not exactly in the centre of the halos. Humboldt mentions likewise having seen at Mexico, in extremely fine weather, large bands spread along the vault of the sky, converging towards the lunar disk, displaying beautiful prismatic colors; and he remarks, that within the torrid zone similar appearances are the common phenomena of the night, sometimes vanishing and returning in the space of a few minutes, which he assigns to the superior currents of air changing the state of the floating vapors, by which the light is refracted. Between latitude fifteen degrees and the equator, he records having observed small tinted halos around the planet Venus, the purple, orange, and violet being distinctly perceptible, which was never the case with Sirius, Canopus, or Acherner. In the northern regions solar and lunar halos are very common appearances, owing to the abundance of minute and highly crystallized spicula of ice floating in the atmosphere. The arctic adventurers frequently mention the fall of icy particles during a clear sky and a bright sun, so small as scarcely to be visible to the naked eye, and most readily detected by their melting upon the skin. 2. Parhelia. - Mock suns, in the vicinity of the real orb, ._-I ~~~~~~~~~~~~~ —r —, -7-,.-=-= —~- _ --— I-::_ ~' m - ~ C -~ — ~ _ —-1 ~~ AND THE HEAVENS. 743 are due to the same cause as halos, which appear in connection with them. Luminous circles, or segments, crossing one another, produce conspicuous masses of light by their united intensities, and the points of intersection appear studded with the solar image. This is a meteorological rarity in our latitude, but a very frequent spectacle in the arctic climes. In Iceland, during the severe winter of 1615, it is related that the sun, when seen, was always accompanied by two, four, five, and even nine of these illusions. Captain Parry describes a remarkably gorgeous appearance, during his winter sojourn at,Melville Island, which continued from noon until six o'clock in the evening. It consisted of one complete halo, forty-five degrees in diameter, with segments of several others, displaying in parts the colors of the rainbow. Besides these there was another perfect ring of a pale white color, which went round the sky, parallel with the horizon, and at a distance from it equal to the sun's altitude; and a horizontal band of white light appeared passing through the sun. Where the band and the inner halo cut each other, there were two parhelia, and another close to the horizon, directly under the sun, which formed the most brilliant part of the spectacle, being exactly like the sun, slightly obscured by a thin cloud at his rising or setting. Captain Parry remarked that all phenomena of this kind, which came under his observation, were attended with a little snow falling, or rather small spicula or fine crystals of ice. The angular forms of the crystals determine the rays of light in different directions, and originate the consequent visual variety. We have various observations of parhelia seen in different parts of Europe, which in a less enlightened age excited consternation, and were regarded as portentous. Matthew Paris relates in his history, "A wonderful sight was seen in England, A. D. 1233, April 8, in the fifth year of the reign of Henry III., and lasted from sunrise till noon. At the same time, on the 8th of April, about one o'clock, in the borders of Herefordshire and Worccstershire, besides the true sun there 744 WONDERS OF THE EARTH appeared in the skyfour mock suns of a red color; also a certain large circle of the color of crystal, about two feet broad, which encompassed all England, as it were. There went out semicircles from the side of it, at whose intersection the four mock suns were situated, the true sun being in the east, and the air very clear. And because this monstrous prodigy cannot be described by words, I have represented it by a scheme, which shows immediately how the heavens were circled. The appearance was painted in this manner by many people, for the wonderful novelty of it." 3. Paraselene. - Mock moons, depending upon the causes which produce the solar image, or several examples of it, as frequently adorn the arctic sky. On the 1st of December, 1819, in the evening, while Parry's expedition was in Winter Harbor, four paraselenm were observed, each at the distance of twenty-one and a half degrees from the true moon. One was close to the horizon, the other perpendicular above it, and the other two in a line parallel to the horizon. Their shape was like that of a comet, the tail being from the moon. the side of each towards the real orb being of a light orange color. During the existence of these paraselenae, a halo appeared in a concentric circle round the moon, passing through each image. On the evening of March 30, 1820, about ten o'clock, the attention of Dr. Trail, at Liverpool, was directed by a friend to an unusual appearance in the sky, which proved to be a beautiful display of paraselenae. The moon was then thirtyfive degrees above the southern horizon. The atmosphere was nearly calm, but rather cloudy, and obscured by a slight haze. A wide halo, faintly exhibiting the prismatic colors, was described round the moon as a centre, and had a small portion of its circumference cut off by the horizon. The circular band was intersected by two small segments of a larger circle, which, if completed, would have passed through the moon, and parallel to the horizon. These segments were of a paler color than the first-mentioned circle. 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Tg, — ~I rr l —--=h 5 tTcr/; r P7S --::-- -— ~ -..-. s. I i Lrallers upon the top of nen Lomonct stnrtlctl hy sccillg their imsges of uolossai size upon n astjillg~ cl,u;l, AND THE HEAVENS. 745 intersection appeared two pretty well defined luminous disks, equalling the moon in size, but less brilliant. The western paraselena had a tail or coma, which was directed from the moon, and the eastern also, but much less clearly defined. 4. The Rainbow.- The most glorious vision depending upon the decomposition, refraction, and reflection of light, by the vapor of the atmosphere reduced to fluid drops, is the well-known arch projected during a shower of rain upon a cloud opposite to the sun, displaying all the tints of the solar spectrum. The first marked approximation to the true theory of the rainbow occurs in a volume entitled De Radiis Visus et Lucis, written by Antonius de Dominis, Archbishop of Spalatro, published in the year 1611, at Venice. Descartes pursued the subject, and correctly explained some of the phenomena; but upon Newton's discovery of the different degrees of refrangibility in the different colored rays which compose the sunbeam, a pencil of white or compounded light, the cause of the colored bands in the rainbow, of the order of their position, and of the breadth they occupy, was at once apparent. The bow is common to all countries, and is the sign of the covenant of promise to all people, that there shall no more be such a wide-spread deluge as that which the sacred narrative records. It is happily remarked by Mr. Prout, in his Bridgewater Treatise, that no pledge could have been more felicitous or satisfactory; for, in order that the rainbow may appear, the clouds must be partial, and hence its existence is absolutely incompatible with universal deluge from above. So long, therefore, as " He doth set his bow in the clouds," so long have we full assurance that these clouds must continue to shower down good, and not evil, to the earth. When rain is falling, and the sun is on the horizon, the bow appears a complete semicircle, if the rain cloud is sufficiently extensive to display it. Its extent diminishes as the solar altitude increases, because the colored arch is a portion of a circle whose centre is a point in the sky directly opposite to the sun. About the height of forty-five degrees the primary 94 746 WONDERS OF THE EARTH bow is invisible; and, hence, in our climate, the rainbow is not seen in summer about the middle of the day. In peculiar positions a complete circle may be beheld, as when the shower is on a mountain, and the spectator in a valley; or when viewed from the top of a lofty pinnacle, nearly the whole circumference may sometimes be embraced. Ulloa and Bouguer describe circular rainbows, frequently seen on the mountains, which rise above the table land of Quito. When rain is abundant, there is a secondary bow distinctly seen, produced by a double reflection. This is exterior to the primary one, and the intervening space has been observed to be occupied by an arch of colored light. The secondary bow differs from the other, in exhibiting the same series of colors in an inverted order. Thus the red is the uppermost color in the interior bow, and the violet in the exterior. A ternary bow may exist, but it is so exceedingly faint from the repeated reflections, as to be scarcely ever perceptible. The rainbow may be seen when the solar splendor falls upon the spray of the cataract and the waves, the shower of an artificial fountain, and the dew upon the grass. There is hardly any other object of nature more pleasing to the eye, or soothing to the mind, than the rainbow, when distinctly developed - a familiar sight in all regions, but most common in mountainous districts, where the showers are most frequent. Poetry has celebrated its beauty, and to convey an adequate representation of its soft and variegated tints is the highest achievement of the painter's art. While the Hebrews called it the Bow of God, on account of its association with a divine promise, and the Greeks the Daughter of Wonder, the rude inhabitants of the north gave expression to a fancy which its peculiar aspect might well create, styling it the Bridge of the Gods, a passage connecting heaven and earth. The principles which account for the formation of the rainbow explain the appearance of beautiful iridescent arches which have occasionally been observed during the prevalence of mist and sunshine. Mr. Cochin describes a spectacle of AND THE HEAVENS. 747 this kind, noticed from an eminence that overlooked some low meadow grounds, in a direction opposite to that of the sun, which was shining very brightly, a thick mist resting upon the landscape in front. At about the distance of half a mile from each other, and incurvated, like the lower extremities of the common rainbow, two places of peculiar brightness were seen in the mist. They seemed to rest on the ground, were continued as high as the fog extended, the breadth being nearly half as much more as that of the rainbow. In the middle, between these two places, and on the same horizontal line, there was a colored appearance, whose base subtended an angle of about twelve degrees, and whose interior parts were thus variegated. The centre was dark, as if made by the shadow of some object resembling in size and shape an ordinary sheaf of corn. Next this centre there was a curved space of a yellow flame color. To this succeeded another curved space of nearly the same dark cast as the centre, very evenly bounded on each side, and tinged with a faint blue green. The exterior exhibited a rainbow circlet, only its tints were less vivid, their boundaries were not so well defined, and the whole, instead of forming part of a perfect circle, appeared like the end of a concentric ellipsis, whose transverse axis was perpendicular to the horizon. The mist lay thick upon the surface of the meadows; the observer was standing near its margin, and gradually the scene became fainter, and faded away, as he entered into it. A similar fog bow was seen by Captain Parry during his attempt to reach the North Pole by means of boats and sledges, with five arches formed within the main one, and all beautifully colored. The iris lunaris, or lunar rainbow, is a much rarer object than the solar one. It frequently consists of a uniformly white arch, but it has often been seen tinted, the colors differing only in intensity from those caused by the direct solar illuminations. Aristotle states that he was the first observer of this interesting spectacle, and that he only saw two in the course of fifty years; but it must have been repeatedly 748 WONDERS OF THE EARTH witnessed, without a record having been made of the fact. Thoresby relates an account, received from a friend, of an observation of the bow fixed by the moon in the clouds, while travelling in the Peak of Derbyshire. She had passed the full about twenty-four hours. The evening had been rainy, but the clouds had dispersed, and the moon was shining very clearly. This lunar iris was more remarkable than that observed by Dr. Plot,.of which there is an account in his History of Oxford, that being only of a white color; but this had all the hues of the solar rainbow, beautiful and distinct, but fainter. Mr. Bucke remarks upon having had the good fortune to witness several, two of which were perhaps as fine as were ever witnessed in any country. The first formed an arch over the vale of Usk. The moon hung over the Blorenge; a dark cloud was suspended over Myarth; the river murmured over beds of stones, and a bow, illumined by the moon, stretched from one side of the vale to another. The second vas seen from the castle overlooking the Bay of Carmarthen, forming a regular semicircle over the River Towy. It was in a moment of vicissitude; and the fancy of the observer willingly reverted to the various soothing associations under which sacred authority unfolds the emblem and sign of a merciful covenant. 5. Optical Illusions. - A series of curious and interesting phenomena, involving the apparent elevation and approach of distant objects, the production of aerial images of terrestrial forms, of double images, their inversion, and distortion into an endless variety of grotesque shapes, together with the deceptive aspect given to the desert landscape, are comprehended in the class of optical illusions. Different varieties of this singular visual effect constitute the mirage of the French, the fata morgana of the Italians, the looming of the English seamen, and the glamour of the Highlanders. It is not peculiar to any particular country, though more common in some than others, and most frequently observed near the margin of lakes and rivers, by the sea shore, in mountain AND THE HEAVENS. 749 districts, and on level plains. These phantoms are perfectly explicable upon optical principles, and though influenced by local combinations, they are mainly referable to one common cause, the refractive and reflective properties of the atmosphere, and inequalities of refraction arising from the intermixture of strata of air of different temperatures and densities. Pliny mentions the Scythian regions within Mount Imaus, and Pomponius Mela those of Mauritania, behind Mount Atlas, as peculiarly subject to these spectral appearances. Diodorus Siculus likewise refers to the regions of Africa, situated in the neighborhood of Cyrene, as another chosen site. "Even," says he, "in the severest weather there are sometimes seen in the air certain condensed exhalations that represent the figures of all kinds of animals; occasionally they seem to be motionless, and in perfect quietude; and occasionally to be flying; while immediately afterwards they themselves appear to be the pursuers, and to make other objects fly before them." Milton might have had this passage in his eye when he penned the allusion to the same apparitions: - "As when, to warn proud cities, war appears WVaged in the troubled sky, and armies rush To battle in the clouds; before each van Prick forth the airy knights, and couch their spears, Till thickest legions close; with feats of arms From either side of heaven the welkin rings." The mirage, adverted to in noticing the sandy deserts of the globe, is the most familiar form of optical illusion. M. Monge, one of the French savans who accompanied Bonaparte in his expedition to Egypt, witnessed a remarkable example. In the desert between Alexandria and Cairo, in all directions green islands appeared, surrounded by extensive lakes of pure, transparent water. Nothing could be conceived more lovely or picturesque than the landscape. In the tranquil surface of the lakes, the trees and houses with which the islands were covered were strongly reflected with vivid and varied hues, and the party hastened forward to 750 WONDERS OF THE EARTH enjoy the refreshments apparently proffered them. But when they arrived, the lake on whose bosom they floated, the trees among whose foliage they arose, and the people who stood on the shore inviting their approach, had all vanished; and nothing remained but the uniform and irksome desert of sand and sky, with a few naked huts and ragged Arabs. But for being undeceived by an actual progress to the spot, one and all would have remained firm in the conviction that these visionary trees and lakes had a real existence in the desert. M. Monge attributed the liquid expanse, tantalizing the eye with an unfaithful representation of what was earnestly desired, to an inverted image of the cerulean sky, intermixed with the ground scenery. This kind of mirage is known in Persia and Arabia by the name of serab, or miraculous water, and in the western deserts of India by that of tchittram, a picture. It occurs as a common emblem of disappointment in the poetry of the Orientals. In the Philosophical Transactions for the year 1798 an account is given, by W. Latham, Esq., F. R. S., of an instance of lateral refraction observed by him, by which the coast of Picardy, with its more prominent objects, was brought apparently close to that of Hastings. On the 26th of July, about five in the afternoon, while sitting in his dining room, near the sea shore, attention was excited by a crowd of people running down to the beach. Upon inquiring the reason, it appeared that the coast of France was plainly to be distinguished with the naked eye. Upon proceeding to the shore, he found that, without the assistance of a telescope, he could distinctly see the cliffs across the Channel, which, at the nearest points, are from forty to fifty miles distant, and are not to be discovered, from that low situation, by the aid of the best glasses. They appeared to be only a few miles off, and seemed to extend for some leagues along the coast. At first the sailors and fishermen could not be persuaded of the reality of the appearance; but they soon became thoroughly convinced, by the cliffs gradually appearing more elevated, and seeming to approach AND THE HEAVENS. 751 nearer, and they were able to point out the different places they had been accustomed to visit, such as the Bay, the Old Head, and the Windmill at Boulogne, St. Vallery, and several other spots. Their remark was, that these places appeared as near as if they were sailing at a small distance into the harbor. The apparition of the opposite cliffs varied in distinctness and apparent contiguity for nearly an hour, but it was never out of sight; and upon leaving the beach for a hill of some considerable height, Mr. Latham could at once see Dungeness and Dover cliffs on each side, and before him the French coast from Calais to near Dieppe. By the telescope the French fishing boats were clearly seen at anchor, and the different colors of the land on the heights, with the buildings, were perfectly discernible. The spectacle continued in the highest splendor until past eight o'clock, though a black cloud obscured the face of the sun for some time, when it gradually faded away. This was the first time within the memory of the oldest inhabitants that they had ever caught sight of the opposite shore. The day had been extremely hot, and not a breath of wind had stirred since the morning, when the small pennons at the mast heads of the fishing boats in the harbor had been at all points of the compass. Professor Vince witnessed a similar apparent approximation of the coast of France to that of Ramsgate, for at the very edge of the water he discerned the Calais cliffs a very considerable height above the horizon, whereas they are frequently not to be seen in clear weather from the highlands above the town. A much greater breadth of coast also appeared than is usually observed under the most favorable circumstances. The ordinary refractive power of the atmosphere is thus liable to be strikingly altered by a change of temperature and humidity, so that a hill which at one time appears low may at another be seen towering aloft; and a city in a neighboring valley may from a certain station be entirely invisible, or it may show the tops of its buildings, just as if its foundations had been raised, according to the condition of the aerial medium between it and the spectator. 752 WONDERS OF THE EARTH At Buffalo, in May, 1855, an amusing optical illusion was observed, which was produced by fog. The following description is from one of the newspapers of that city: " A peculiar appearance was presented in the atmosphere over the lake on Saturday morning, the like of which had never been noticed before by those accustomed to daily intercourse with all the beauties and terrors peculiar to our waters. At an early hour some gentlemen, looking out upon the bay, discovered the top hamper and loftier sails of a vessel, apparently rising from.the surface of the water, the hull and lower masts being entirely invisible. Soon another craft, similarly situated, was pointed out, and' still the wonder grew.' It could not be that both these vessels had foundered and settled down so a plomb as to rest upon the bottom, on an even keel; yet there they were, as distinct as possible, sunk to their topmasts, the glassy surface of the water just reaching their lower mast heads. A tug was firing up, and when ready slowly steamed out into the lake. For a time there was nothing remarkable in her conduct; but suddenly she too sunk, and there was her smoke stack, just emerging from the deep, and ploughing through it without a ripple. It was a beautiful sight, rendered more so by the perfect placidity of the elements, the bright morning sun, and the soft, balmy temperature. The illusion grew out of a heavy fog bank, which lay upon the surface of the water, but did not obscure objects upon land; thus deceiving the eye as to the true level of the lake." Of all instances of optical illusion, thefata moryana, familiar to the inhabitants of Sicily, is the most curious and striking. It occurs off the Pharo of Messina, in the strait which separates Sicily from Calabria, and has been variously described by different observers, owing, doubtless, to the different conditions of the atmosphere at the respective times of observation, The spectacle consists in the images of men, cattle, houses, rocks, and trees, pictured upon the surface of the water, and in the air immediately over the water, as if called into existence by an enchanter's wand, the same object having frequently AND THE HEAVENS. 753 two images, one in the natural and the other in an inverted position. A combination of circumstances must concur to produce this novel panorama. The spectator, standing with his back to the east on an elevated place, commands a view of the strait. No wind must be abroad to ruffle the surface of the sea; and the waters must be pressed up by currents, which is occasionally the case, to a considerable height in the middle of the strait, so that they may present a slightly convex surface. When these conditions are fulfilled, and the sun has risen over the Calabrian heights, so as to make an angle of forty-five degrees with the horizon, the various objects on the shore at Reggio, opposite to Messina, are transferred to the middle of the strait, forming an immovable landscape of rocks, trees, and houses, and a movable one of men, horses, and cattle, upon the surface of the water. If the atmosphere at the same time is highly charged with vapor, the phenomena apparent on the water will also be visible in the air, occupying a space which extends from the surface to the height of about twenty-five feet. Two kinds of morgana may therefore be discriminated; the first at the surface of the sea, or the marine morgana; the second in the air, or the aerial. The term applied to this strange exhibition is of uncertain derivation, but supposed by some to refer to the vulgar presumption of the spectacle being produced by a. fairy or magician. The populace are said to hail the vision with great exultation, calling every one abroad to partake of the sight, with the cry of "Morgana, morgana!" Father Angelucci, an eye witness, describes the scene in the following terms: "On the 15th of August, 1643, as I stood at my window, I was surprised with a most wonderful delectable vision. The sea that washes the Sicilian shore swelled up, and became, for ten miles in length, like a chain of dark mountains; while the waters near our Calabrian coast grew quite smooth, and in an instant appeared as one clear, polished mirror, reclining against the aforesaid ridge. On tlis glass was depicted, in chiaro scuro, a string of several thousands of pilasters, all equal in altitude, distance, and degree of light and 95 754 WONDERS OF THE EARTH shade. In a moment they lost half their height, and bent into arcades like Roman aqueducts. A long cornice was next formed on the top, and above it rose castles innumerable, all perfectly alike. These soon split into towers, which were shortly after lost in colonnades, then windows, and at last ended in pines, cypresses, and other trees, even and similar. This was the fata morgana, which, for twenty-six years I had thought a mere fable." Brydone, writing from Messina, evidently in a dubious vein, states -" Do you know the most extraordinary phenomenon in the world is often observed near to this place? I laughed at it at first, as you will do; but I am now convinced of its reality, and am persuaded, too, that if ever it had been thoroughly examined by a philosophical eye, the natural cause must long ago have been assigned. It has often been remarked, both by the ancients and moderns, that in the heat of summer, after the sea and air have been much agitated by winds, and a perfect calm succeeds, there appears about the time of dawn, in that part of the heavens over the straits, a great variety of singular forms, some at rest, and some moving about with great velocity. These forms, in proportion as the light increases, seem to become more aerial, till at last some time before sunrise they entirely disappear. The Sicilians represent this as the most beautiful sight in nature. Leanti, one of their latest and best writers, came here on purpose to see it. He says the heavens appeared crowded with a variety of objects: he mentions palaces, woods, gardens, &c., besides the figures of men and other animals that appear in motion amongst them. No doubt the imagination must be greatly aiding in forming this aerial creation; but as so many of their authors, both ancient and modern, agree in the fact, and give an account of it from their own observation, there certainly must be some foundation for the story. There is one Giardini, a Jesuit, who has lately written a treatise upon this phenomenon, but I have not been able to find it. The celebrated Messinese Gallo has likewise published something on this singular sub AND THE HEAVENS. 755 ject. The common people, according to custom, give the whole merit to the devil; and indeed it is by much the shortest and easiest way of accounting for it. Those who pretend to be philosophers, and refuse him this honor, are greatly puzzled what to make of it. They think it may be owing to some uncommon refraction or reflection of the rays from the water of the straits, which, as it is at that time carried about in a variety of eddies and vortices, must consequently, say they, malie a variety of appearances on any medium where it is reflected. This, I think, is nonsense, or at least very near it. I suspect it is something of the nature of our aurora borealis, and, like many of the great phenomena of nature, depends upon electrical causes; which in future ages, I have little doubt, will be found to be as powerful an agent in regulating the universe, as gravity is in this age, or as the subtile fluid was in the last. The electrical fluid in this country of volcanoes is probably produced in a much greater quantity than in any other. The air, strongly impregnated with this matter, and confined betwixt two ridges of mountains - at the same time exceedingly agitated from below by the violence of the current and the impetuous whirling of the waters — may it not be supposed to produce a variety of appearances. And may not the lively Sicilian imaginations, animated by a belief in demons, and all the wild offspring of superstition, give these appearances as great a variety of forms? Remember, I do not say it is so, and hope yet to have it in my power to give you a better account of this matter." Ingenious as Brydone was, he here indulges a most unfortunate speculation, which, had he enjoyed the good fortune of personally observing the phenomenon, most likely he would not have proposed. It is to be accounted for upon optical principles, which M. Biot, in his Astronomie Physique, thus applies, from Minasi's dissertation upon the subject: "When the rising sun shines from that point whence its incident ray forms an angle of forty-five degrees on the Sea of Reggio, and the bright surface of the water in the bay is not disturbed either 756 WONDERS OF THE EARTH by wind or current -when the tide is at its height, and the waters are pressed up by the currents to a great elevation in the middle of the channel; the spectator being placed on an eminence, with his back to the sun and his face to the sea, the mountains of Messina rising like a wall behind it, and forming the background of the picture — on a sudden there appear in the water, as in a catoptric theatre, various multiplied objects- numberless series of pilasters, arches, castles, well-delineated, regular columns, lofty towers, superb palaces, with balconies and windows, extended alleys of trees, delightful plains, with herds and flocks, armies of men on foot, on horseback, and many other things in their natural colors and proper actions, passing rapidly in succession along the surface of the sea, during the whole of the short period of time while the above-mentioned causes remain. The objects are proved, by accurate observations of the coast of Reggio, to be derived from objects on shore. If, in addition to the circumstances already described, the atmosphere be highly impregnated with vapor and dense exhalations, not previously dispersed by the action of the wind and waves, or rarefied by the sun, it then happens that in this vapor, as in a curtain extended along the channel to the height of above forty palms, and nearly down to the sea, the observer will behold the scene of the same objects not only reflected on the surface of the sea, but likewise in the air, though not so distinctly or well defined. Lastly, if the air be slightly hazy and opaque, and at the same time dewy, and adapted to form the iris, then the above-mentioned objects will appear only at the surface of the sea, as in the first case, but all vividly colored or fringed with red, green, blue, or other prismatic colors." Aerial images of terrestrial objects are frequently produced as the simple effect of reflection. Dr. Buchan mentions the following occurrence: "Walking on the cliff about a mile to the east of Brighton, on the morning of the 18th of November, 1804, while watching the rising of the sun, I turned my eyes directly to the sea, just as the solar disk emerged from the AND THE HEAVENS. 757 surface of the water, and saw the face of the cliff on which I was standing represented precisely opposite to me, at some distance from the ocean. Calling the attention of my companion to this appearance, we soon also discovered our own figures standing on the summit of the opposite apparent cliff, as well as the representation of a windmill near at hand. The reflected images were most distinct precisely opposite to where we stood; and the false cliff seemed to fade away, and to draw near to the real one, in proportion as it receded towards the west. This phenomenon lasted about ten minutes, till the sun had risen nearly his own diameter above the sea. The whole then seemed to be elevated into the air, and successively disappeared. The surface of the sea was covered with a dense fog of many yards in height, and which gradually receded before the rays of the sun." In December, 1826, a similar circumstance excited some consternation among the parishioners of Mique, in the neighborhood of Poitiers, in France. They were engaged in the exercises of the jubilee which preceded the festival of Christmas, and about three thousand persons from the surrounding parishes were assembled. At five o'clock in the evening, when one of the clergy was addressing the multitude, and reminding them of the cross which appeared in the sky to Constantine and his army, suddenly a similar cross appeared in the heavens, just before the porch of the church, about two hundred feet above the horizon, and a hundred and forty feet in length, of a bright silver color, tinged with red, and perfectly well.defined. Such was the effect of this vision, that the people immediately threw themselves upon their knees, and united together in one of their canticles. The fact was, that a large wooden cross, twenty-five feet high, had been erected beside the church as a part of the ceremony, the figure of which was formed in the air, and reflected back to the eyes of the spectators, retaining exactly the same shape and proportions, but changed in position and dilated in size. Its red tinge was also the color of the object of which it was the reflected image. When the rays of the sun were withdrawn the figure vanished. 758 WONDERS OF THE EARTH The peasantry in the neighborhood of the Hartz Mountains formerly stood in no little awe of the gigantic spectre of the Brocken -the figure of a man observed to walk the clouds over the ridge at sunrise. This apparition has long been resolved into an exaggerated reflection, which makes the traveller's shadow, pictured upon the clouds, appear a colossal figure of immense dimensions. A French savant, attended by a friend, went to watch this spectral shape, but for many mornings they traversed an opposite ridge in vain. At length, however, it was discovered, having also a companion, and both figures were found imitating all the motions of the philosopher and his friend. The ancient classical fable of Niobe on Mount Sipylus belongs to the same category of atmospheric deceptions; and the tales, common in mountainous countries, of troops of horse and armies marching and countermarching in the air, have been only the reflection of horses pasturing upon an opposite height, or of the forms of travellers pursuing their journey. On the 19th of August, 1820, Mr. Menzies, a surgeon of Glasgow, and Mr. Macgregor began to ascend the mountain of Ben Lomond, about five o'clock in the afternoon. They had not proceeded far before they were overtaken by a smart shower; but as it appeared only to be partial, they continued their journey, and by the time they were half way up, the cloud passed away, and most delightful weather succeeded. Thin, transparent vapors, which appeared to have risen from Loch Lomond beneath; were occasionally seen floating before a gentle and refreshing breeze; in other respects, as far as the eye could trace, the sky was clear, and the atmosphere serene. They reached the summit about half past seven o'clock, in time to see the sun sinking beneath the western hills. Its parting beams had gilded the mountain tops with a warm, glowing color; and the surface of the lake, gently rippling with the breeze, was tinged with a yellow lustre. While admiring the adjacent mountains, hills, and valleys, and the expanse of water beneath, interspersed with numerous wooded islands, the attention of one of the party was attracted by a AND THE HEAVENS. 759 cloud in the east, partly of a dark-red color, apparently at the distance of two miles and a half, in which he distinctly observed two gigantic figures, standing, as it were, on a majestic pedestal. IHe immediately pointed out the phenomenon to his companion; and they distinctly perceived one of the gigantic figures, in imitation, strike the other on the shoulder, and point towards them. They then made their obeisance to the airy phantoms, which was instantly returned. They waved their hats and umbrellas, and the shadowy figures did the same. Like other travellers they had carried with them a bottle of usquebaugh, and amused themselves in drinking to the figures, which was of course duly returned. In short, every movement which they made they could observe distinctly repeated by the figures in the cloud. The appearance continued about a quarter of an hour. A gentle breeze from the north carried the cloud slowly away; the figures became less and less distinct, and at last vanished. (See engraving opposite p. 741.) North of the village of Comrie, in Perthshire, there is a bold hill called Dunmore, with a pillar of seventy or eighty feet in height built on its summit in memory of the late Lord Melville. About eight o'clock on the evening of the 21st of Aug., 1820, a perfect image of this well-known hill and obelisk, as exact as the shadow usually represents the substance, was distinctly observed projected on the northern sky, at least two miles beyond the original, which, owing to an intervening eminence, was not itself at all in view from the station where the aerial picture was observed. The figure continued visible for about ten minutes after it was first seen, and was minutely examined by three individuals. One of these fancied that there was a projection at the base of the monument, as represented in the air, which was not in the original; but, upon examining the latter the next morning, the image was found to have been more faithful than his memory; for there stood the prototype of the projection, in the shape of a clump of trees, at the base of the real obelisk. During a thunder storm in Petersburg, Va., on the 28th of 760 WONDERS OF THE EARTH July, 1855, at about four o'clock, P. M., the inverted shadow of Tab Street church was seen hanging over the real building, the point of the steeples touching. The picture lasted three minutes, and vanished at the occurrence of a loud clap of thunder. In northern latitudes the effects of atmospheric reflection and refraction are very familiar to the natives. By the term of uphillanger the Icelanders denote the elevation of distant objects, which is regarded as a presage of fine weather. Not only is there an increase in the vertical dimensions of the objects affected, so that low coasts frequently assume a bold and precipitous outline, but objects sunk below the horizon are brought into view, with their natural position changed and distorted. In 1818, Captain Scoresby relates that, when in the Polar Sea, his ship had been separated for some time from that of his father, which he had been looking out for with great anxiety. At length, one evening, to his astonishment, he beheld the vessel suspended in the air in an inverted position, with the most distinct and perfect representation. Sailing in the direction of this visionary appearance, he met with the real ship by this indication. It was found that the vessel had been thirty miles distant, and seventeen beyond the horizon, when her spectrum was thus elevated into the air by this extraordinary refraction. Sometimes two images of a vessel are seen, the one erect and the other inverted, with their topmasts or their hulls meeting, according as the inverted image is above or below the other. Dr. Wollaston has shown that the production of these images is owing to the refraction of the rays through media of different densities. Looking along a red-hot poker at a distant object, two images of it were seen, one erect and the other inverted, arising from the change produced by the heat in the density of the air. A singular instance of lateral mirage was noticed upon the Lake of Geneva by MM. Jurine and Soret, in the year 1818. A bark near Bellerive was seen approaching to the city by the left bank of the lake; and at the same time an image of the AND THE HEAVENS. 761 sails was observed above the water, which, instead of following the direction of the bark, separated from it, and appeared approaching by the right bank - the image moving from east to west, and the bark from north to south. When the image separated from the vessel, it was of the same dimensions as the bark; but it diminished as it receded from it, so as to be reduced to one half when the appearance ceased. This was a striking example of refraction, operating in a lateral as well as a vertical direction. 6. Ignis Fatuus. -This wandering meteor, known to the vulgar as the Will-o'-the-Wisp, has given rise to considerable speculation and controversy. Burying grounds, fields of battle, low meadows, valleys, and marshes, are its ordinary haunts. By some eminent naturalists it has been maintained to be only the shining of a great number of the male glowworms in England, and the pyraustse in Italy, flying together. The luminosities observed in several cases may have been due to this cause, but the true meteor of the marshes cannot thus be explained. The following is abridged from the Entomological Magazine, an English periodical: " Two travellers, proceeding across the moors between Hexham and Alston, were startled, about ten o'clock at night, by the sudden appearance of a light, close to the roadside, about the size of the hand, and of a well-defined oval form. The place was very wet, and the peat moss had been dug out, leaving what are locally termed'peat pots,' which soon filled with water, nourishing a number of confervse, and the various species of sphagnum, which are converted into peat. During the process of decomposition, these places give out large quantities of gas. The light was about three feet from the ground, hovering over the peat pots, and it moved nearly parallel with the road for about fifty yards, when it vanished, probably from the failure of the gas. The manner in which it disappeared was similar to that of a candle being blown out." Mr. Blesson, who examined this phenomenon upon the continent of Europe with great care and diligence, says, "The 96 762 WONDERS OF THE EARTH first time I saw the ignus fatuus was in a valley, in the forest of Gorbitz, in the New Mark. This valley cuts deeply in compact loam, and is marshy on its lower part. the water of the marsh is ferruginous, and covered with an iridescent crust. During the day bubbles of air were seen rising from it, and in the night blue flames were observed shooting from and playing over its surface. As I suspected that there was some connection between these flames and the bubbles of air, I marked, during the daytime, the place where the latter rose up most abundantly, and repaired thither during the night: to my great joy I actually observed bluish-purple flames, and did not hesitate to approach them. On reaching the spot, they retired, and I pursued them in vain; all attempts to examine them closely were ineffectual. Some days of very rainy weather prevented further investigation, but afforded leisure for reflecting on their nature. I conjectured that the motion of the air, on my approaching the spot, forced forward the burning gas, and remarked that the flame burned darker when it was blown aside; hence I concluded that a continuous thin stream of inflammable air was formed by these bubbles, which, once inflamed, continued to burn, but which, owing to the paleness of the light of the flame, could not be observed during the day. On another day, in the twilight, I went again to the place, where I awaited the approach of night; the flames became gradually visible, but redder than formerly, thus showing that they burned also during the day. I approached nearer, and they retired. Convinced that they would return again to the place of their origin when the agitation of the air ceased, I remained stationary and motionless, and observed them again gradually approach. As I could easily reach them, it occurred to me to attempt to light paper by means of them; but for some time I did not succeed in this experiment, which I found was owing to my breathing. I therefore held my face from the flame, and also held a piece of cloth as a screen; on doing which I was able to singe paper, which became brown-colored, and covered with a viscous moisture. ~ —~-~ ~ ~ -— =~~TI —-'-'!' —......-' ~ —~-OM natualiA il a reran or et lghtng a of ) a1) e 1w-JPAN i-T t l iiI __ I —= — Cl5__..~'E-'x... -~ — ~i~-~% C ~-' A a~trl~ti ~Granfretlghig lp fpam y,plli i (; — g~i,-';t,-, AND THE HEAVENS. 763 I next used a narrow slip of paper, and enjoyed the pleasure of seeing it take fire. The gas was evidently inflammable, and not a phosphorescent, luminous one, as some have maintained. But how do these lights originate. After some reflection, I resolved to make the experiment of extinguishing them. I followed the flame; I brought it so far from the marsh that probably the thread of connection, if I may so express myself, was broken, and it was extinguished. But scarcely a few minutes had elapsed when it was again renewed at its source, (over the air bubbles,) without my being able to observe any transition from the neighboring flames, many of which were burning in the valley. I repeated the experiment frequently, and always with success. The dawn approached, and the flames, which to me appeared to approach nearer to the earth, gradually disappeared. On the following evening I went to the spot and kindled a fire on the side of the valley, in order to have an opportunity of trying to inflame the gas. As on the evening before, I first extinguished the flame, and then hastened with a torch to the spot from which the gas bubbled up, when instantly a kind of explosion was heard, and a red light was seen over eight or nine square feet of the marsh, which diminished to a small blue flame, from two and a half to three feet in height, that continued to burn with an unsteady motion. It was therefore no longer doubtful that this ignis fatuus was caused by the evolution of inflammable gas from the marsh." The ignis fatuus of the churchyard and the battle field we may conclude to arise from the phosphuretted hydrogen emitted by animal matter in a state of putrefaction, which always spontaneously inflames upon contact with the oxygen of the atmosphere; and the flickering meteor of the marsh may be referred to the carburetted hydrogen, formed by the decomposition of vegetable matter in stagnant water, ignited by a discharge of the electric fluid, or by contact with some substance in a state of combustion. This wandering light has often been a source of terror to the ignorant, and has 764 WONDERS OF THE EARTH frequently seduced the benighted traveller into dangerous bogs and quagmires, under the impression that it proceeded from some human habitation. The production of inflammable gases is one of the processes in constant action in the great laboratory of nature, and extraordinary disengagements of combustible elements occur, though we are quite ignorant of the cause. In the middle of the last century the snow on the summit of the Apennines appeared enveloped in sheets of flame; and in the winter of 1693 hay-ricks in Wales were set on fire by burning gaseous exhalations. AND THE HEAVENS. 765 CHAPTER XXIV. SHOOTING STARS. - FIRE-BALLS. - NUMEROUS INSTANCES, WELL AUTHENTICATED, OF STONES AND LARGE MASSES OF IRON FALLING TO THE EARTH FROM THE UPPER REGIONS OF THE ATMOSPHERE.THEIR ORIGIN. FROM every region of the globe, and in all ages of time within the range of history, exhibitions of apparent instability in the heavens have been observed, when the curtains of the evening have been drawn. Suddenly a line of light arrests the eye, darting like an arrow through a varying extent of space, and in a moment the firmament is as sombre as before. The appearance is exactly that of a star falling from its sphere, and hence the popular title of shooting star, applied to it. The apparent magnitudes of these meteorites are widely different, and also their brilliancy. Occasionally they are far more resplendent than the brightest of the planets, and throw a very perceptible illumination upon the path of the observer. A second or two commonly suffices for the individual display, but in some instances it has lasted several minutes. In every climate it is witnessed, and at all times of the year, but most frequently in the autumnal months. As far back as records go, we meet with allusions to these swift and evanescent luminous travellers. Minerva's hasty flight from the peaks of Olympus, to break the truce between the Greeks and Trojans, is compared by Homer to the emission of a brilliant star. Virgil, in the first book of the Georgics, mentions the shooting stars as prognosticating weather changes: — " And oft, before tempestuous winds arise, The seeming stars fall headlong from the skies, And, shooting through the darkness, gild the night With sweeping glories and long trains of light." 766 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Various hypotheses have been framed to explain the nature and origin of these remarkable appearances. When electricity began to be understood, this was thought to afford a satisfactory explanation, and the shooting stars were regarded by Beccaria as merely electrical sparks. In support of this opinion he mentioned the following facts: about an hour after sunset, he and some friends that were with him observed a falling star directing its course directly towards them, and apparently growing larger and larger; but just before it reached them it disappeared. On vanishing, their faces, hands, clothes, and surrounding objects became suddenly illuminated with a diffused and lambent light. When sending up an electrical kite into the atmosphere, he likewise observed a quantity of electric matter about the kite, which assumed the appearance of a falling star. When the inflammable nature of the gases became known, Lavoisier and Volta supposed an accumulation of hydrogen in the higher regions of the atmosphere, because of its inferior density, giving rise by ignition to the meteoric exhibitions. While these theories of the older phi losophers have been shown to be untenable, there is still great obscurity resting upon the question, though we have reason to refer the phenomena to a cause exterior to the bounds of our atmosphere. The first attempt accurately to investigate these elegant me teors was made by two university students, afterwards Professors Brandes, of Leipsic, and Benzenberg, of Dusseldorf, in the year 1798. They selected a base line of forty-six thousand two hundred feet, somewhat less than nine English miles, and placed themselves at its extremities on appointed nights, for the purpose of ascertaining their average altitude and velocity. Out of twenty-two appearances identified as the same, they found 7 under 45 miles, 5 above 90 miles, 9 between 45 and 90 miles, 1 above 140 miles. AND THE HEAVENS. 767 The greatest observed velocity gave twenty-five miles in a second. A more extensive plan was organized by Biandes in the year 1823, and carried into effect in the neighborhood of Breslau. Out of ninety-eight appearances, the computed heights were, 4 under 15 miles, 13 from 70 to 90 miles, 15 from 15 to 30 miles, 6 above 90 miles, 22 " 30 to 45 miles, 5 from 140 to 460 miles. 33 " 45 to 70 miles, The velocities were between eighteen and thirty-six miles in a second - an average velocity far greater than that of the earth in its orbit. The rush of luminous bodies through the sky, of a more extraordinary kind, though a rare occurrence, has repeatedly been observed. They are usually discriminated from shooting stars, and known by the vulgar as fire-balls; but probably both proceed from the same cause, and are identical phenomena. They have sometimes been seen of large volume, giving an intense light, a hissing noise accompanying their progress, and a loud explosion attending their termination. In the year 1676 a meteor passed over Italy about two hours after sunset, upon which Montanari wrote a treatise. It came over theAdriatic Sea, as if from Dalmatia, crossed the country in the direction of Rimini and Leghorn, a loud report being heard at the latter place, and disappeared upon the sea towards Corsica. A similar visitor was witnessed all over England in 1718, and forms the subject of one of Halley's papers to the Royal Society. Sir Hans Sloane was one of its spectators. Being abroad at the time of its appearance, at a quarter past eight at night, in the streets of London, his path was suddenly and intensely illuminated. This, he apprehended at first, might arise from a discharge of rockets; but found a fiery object in the heavens, moving after the manner of a falling star, in a direct line from the Pleiades to below the girdle of Orion. Its 768 WONDERS OF THE EARTH brightness was so vivid, that several times he was obliged to turn away his eyes from it. The stars disappeared, and the moon, then nine days old, and high, near the meridian, the sky being very clear, was so effaced by the lustre of the meteor as to be scarcely seen. It was computed to have passed over three hundred geographical miles in a minute, at the distance of sixty miles above the surface, and was observed at different extremities of the kingdom. The sound of an explosion was heard through Devon and Cornwall and along the opposite coast of Bretagne. Halley conjectured this and similar displays to proceed from combustible vapors aggregated on the outskirts of the atmosphere, and suddenly set on fire by some unknown cause. But since his time, the fact has been established of the actual fall of heavy bodies to the earth from surrounding space, which requires another hypothesis. To these bodies the term aerolites is applied, signifying atmospheric stones, from oath, the atmosphere, and itOog, a stone. While many meteoric appearances may simply arise from electricity, or from the inflammable gases, it is now certain, from the proved descent of aerolites, that such bodies are of extra terrestrial origin. Antiquity refers us to several objects as having descended from the skies - the gifts of the immortal gods. Such was the Palladium of Troy, the image of the goddess of Ephesus, and the sacred shield of Numa. The folly of the ancients in believing such narrations has often been the subject of remark; but however fabulous the particular cases referred to, the mod erns have been compelled to renounce their scepticism respecting the fact itself, of the actual transition of substances from celestial space to terrestrial regions; and no doubt the ancient faith upon this subject was founded on observed events. The following table, taken from the work of M. Izarn, Des Pierres tombdes du Ciel, exhibits a collection of instances of the fall of aerolites, together with the eras of their descent, and the persons on whose evidence the facts rest; but the list might be largely extended. -I-I —-----— `z= —-21 —------------- - —; —--—; —----— r, ----------------- --- ~ -------- — ~ —-- ---— —------- I — = --, -s;Zs=E;E;;-;--'-' —--— —----------- - -~ --m; ----- - —-— 11 =====5` —-------— ~ —— - — j,- — -~ — ----- --- ~~ - ---------— ~ — -:ii -----—, ---------— :c i. —------ _rZ _ -- ~ t_ r —- ~- ~ - 5:~1 1'- - -- -" —-- " --' — -- - - - C 5 i i.. = - --— ~-~ --- --- -- -- --'--------;`" ----- --- i ~' 1; _ _ _ ___ _ '''` ------:_ —--- — ~ ---— ~ —~ - -- ii i == ~-I —="'-~ —=-:i: -- --------------— ~- _I Aateor Fccn nt 12enarcs i:1 the Iast Inclici;, So. 11, 1S-'i. Substance. Place. Period. Authority. Shower of stones, At Rome, Under Tullus Hostilius. Livy. Shower of stones, At Rome, Consuls C. Martius and M. Torquatus. J. Obsequens. Shower of iron, In Lucania, Year before the defeat of Crassus. Pliny. Shower of mercury, In Italy. Dion. Large stone, Near the River Negos, Thrace, Second year of the 78th Olympiad. Pliny. Three large stones, In Thrace, Year before J. C. 452. Ch. of Count Marcellin. Shower of fire, At Quesnoy, January 4, 1717. Geoffroy le Cadet. Stone of 72 lbs., Near Larissa, Macedonia, January, 1706. Paul Lucas. About 1200 stones; one of 120 lbs. N Another of 60 lbs. ear Padua, in Italy, In 1510. Carden, Yarcit. Another of 59 lbs. On Mount Yasier, Provence, November 27, 1627. Gassendi. Shower of sand for 15 hours, In the Atlantic, April 6, 1719. Pere la Fuille'e. z Shower of sulphur, Sodom and Gomorrah. Moses. F1 Sulphurous rain, In the duchy of Mansfield, In 1658. Spangenburgh. The same, Copenhagen, In 1646. Olaus Wormius. P Shower of sulphur, Brunswick, October, 1721. Siegesbawr. M Shower of unknown matter, Ireland, In -1695. Muschenbroeck. Pq Two large stones, weighing 20 lbs. Liponas, in Bresse, September, 1753. Lalande. 0 A stony mass. Niort, Normandy, In 1750. Lalande. H A stone of 7j lbs. At Luce, in Le Maine, September 13, 1768. Bachelay. P A stone, At Aire, in Artois,. In 1768. Gursonde do Boyaval. A stone, In Le Cotentin, Tn 1768. Morand. Extensive shower of stones, Environs of Agen, July 24, 1790. St. Amand, Baudin, &c. About twelve stones, Sienna, Tuscany, July, 1794. Earl of Bristol. A large stone of 56 lbs. Wold Cottage, Yorkshire, December 13, 1795. Captain Topham. A stone of about 20 lbs. Sale, Department of the Rhone, March 17, 1798. Lelievre and De Dr~e. A stone of 10 lbs. In Portugal, February 19, 1796. Southey. Shower of stones. Benares, East Indies, December 19, 1798. J. Lloyd Williams, Esq. Shower of stones, At Plaun, near Tabor, Bohemia, July 3, 1753. B. do Born. Mass of iron, 70 cubic feet, America, April 5, 1800. Philosophical Mag. Mass of iron, 14 quintals, Abakauk, Siberia, Yery old'Pallas, Chladni, &c. Shower of stones, Barboutan, near Roquefort, July, 178i Darcet, Jun., Lomet, &c. Large stone of 260 lbs. Ensisheim, Upper Rhine, November 7, 1492. Butenschoen. Two stones, 200 and 300 lbs. Near Veroni In 1762. Acad. de Bourd. A stone of 20 lbs, Sules, near Ville Franche, March 12, 1798. De Dr~e. Several stones, from 10 to 17 lbs. Near L'Aigle, Normandy, April 26, 1803. Fourcroy. 770 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Some of the instances in the preceding table are of sufficient interest to deserve particular notice. A singular relation respecting the stone of Ensisheim, on the Rhine, at which philosophy once smiled incredulously, regarding it as one of the romances of the middle ages, may now be admitted to sober attention as a piece of authentic history. A homely narrative of its fall was drawn up at the time by order of the Emperor Maximilian, and deposited with the stone in the church. It may thus.be rendered: "In the year of the Lord 1492, on Wednesday, which was Martinmas eve, the 7th of November, a singular miracle occurred; for between eleven o'clock and noon, there was a loud clap of thunder, and a prolonged, confused noise, which was heard at a great distance; and a stone fell from the air, in the jurisdiction of Ensisheim, which weighed two hundred and sixty pounds, and the confused noise was, besides, much louder than here. Then a child saw it strike on a field in the upper jurisdiction, towards the Rhine and Inn, near the district of Giscano, which was sown with wheat, and it did no harm, except that it made a hole there; and then they conveyed it from that spot; and many pieces were broken from it, which the landvogt forbade. They therefore caused it to be placed in the church, with the intention of suspending it as a miracle; and there came here many people to see this stone. So there were remarkable conversations about this stone; but the learned said that they knew not what it was; for it was beyond the ordinary course of nature that such a large stone should smite the earth from the height of the air; but that it was really a miracle of God; for before that time never any thing was heard like it, nor seen, nor described. When they found that stone, it had entered into the earth to the depth of a man's stature, which every body explained to be the will of God that it should be found; and the noise of it was heard at Lucerne, at Vitting, and in many other places, so loud that it was believed that houses had been overturned; and as the King lMaximilian was here the Monday after St. Catharine's day of the samne year, his royal excellency ordered the stone which ~~_i ~~-.... _.... 1~ f _~.- -- - Fr Eb ~ ~ ~ ~~~Fllo amtorcstninFane eepge71 AND THt HEAVENS. 771 had fallen to be brought to the Castle, and after having conversed a long time about it with the noblemen, he said that the people of Ensisheim should take it and order it to be hung up in the church, and not to allow any body to take any thing from it. His excellency, however, took two pieces of it; of which he kept one, and sent the other to the Duke Sigismund, of Austria; and they spoke a great deal about this stone, which they suspended in the choir, where it still is; and a great many people came to see it." Contemporary writers confirm the substance of this narration, and the evidence of the fact exists; the aerolite is precisely identical in its chemical composition with that of other meteoric stones. It remained for three centuries suspended in the church, was carried off to Colmar during the French revolution, but has since been restored to its former site, and Ensisheim rejoices in the possession of the relic. A piece broken from it is in the Museum of the Jardin des Plantes at Paris. The celebrated Gassendi was an eye witness of a similar event. In the year 1627, on the 27th of November, the sky being quite clear, he saw a burning stone fall in the neighborhood of Nice, and examined the mass. While in the air it appeared to be about four feet in diameter, was surrounded by a luminouS circle of colors like a rainbow, and its fall was accompanied by a noise like the discharge of artillery. Upon inspecting the substance, he found it weighed fifty-nine pounds, was extremely hard, of a dull metallic color, and of a specific gravity considerably greater than that of common marble. Having only this solitary instance of such an occurrence, Gassendi concluded that the mass came from some of the mountains of Provence, which had been in a transient state of volcanic activity. Instances of the same phenomenon occurred in the years 1672, 1756, and 1768; but the facts were generally doubted by naturalists, and considered as electrical appearances magnified by popular ignorance and timidity. A remarkable example took place in France in the year 1790. Between nine and ten o'clock at night, on the 24th of 772 WONDERS OF THE EARTH July, a luminous ball was seen traversing the atmosphere with great rapidity, and leaving behind it a train of light; a loud explosion was then heard, accompanied with sparks which flew off in all directions; this was followed by a shower of stones over a considerable extent of ground, at various distances from each other, and of different sizes. A procIs verbal was drawn up attesting the circumstance, signed by the magistrates of the municipality, and by several hundreds of persons inhabiting the district. This curious document is literally as follows: " In the year one thousand seven hundred and ninety, and the thirtieth day of the month of August, we, the Lieut. Jean Duby, mayor, and Louis Massillon, procurator of the commune of the municipality of La Grange-de-Juillac, and Jean Darmite, resident in the parish of La Grange-de-Juillac, certify in truth and verity, that on Saturday, the 24th of July last, between nine and ten o'clock, there passed a great fire, and after it we heard in the air a very loud and extraordinary noise; and about two minutes after there fell stones from heaven; but fortunately there fell only a very few, and they fell about ten paces from one another in some places, and in others nearer, and finally, in some other places farther; and falling, most of them, of the weight of about half a quarter of a pound each, some others of about half a pound, like that found in our parish of La Grange; and on the borders of the parish of Creon, they were found of a pound weight; and in falling, they seemed not to be inflamed, but very hard and black without, and within of the color of steel: and thank God, they occasioned no harm to the people, nor to the trees, but only to some tiles which were broken on the houses; and most of them fell gently, and others fell quickly with a hissing noise; and some were found which had entered into the earth, but very few. In witness whereof, we have written and signed these presents. Duby, mayor. Darmite." Though such a document as this, coming from the unlearned of the district where the phenomenon occurred, was not calculated to win acceptance with the savans of the French capital, yet it was corroborated by a host AND THE HEAVENS. 773 of intelligent witnesses at Bayonne, Toulouse, and Bourdeaux, and by transmitted specimens containing the substances usually found in atmospheric stones, and in nearly the same proportions. A few years afterwards, an undoubted instance of the fall of an aerolite occurred in England, which largely excited public curiosity. This was in the neighborhood of Wold Cottage, the house of Captain Topham, in Yorkshire. Several persons heard the report of an explosion in the air, followed by a hissing sound; and afterwards felt a shock, as if a heavy body had fallen to the ground at a little distance from them. One of these, a ploughman, saw a huge stone falling towards the earth, eight or nine yards from the place where he stood. It threw up the mould on every side, and after penetrating through the soil, lodged some inches deep in solid chalk rock. Upon being raised, the stone was found to weigh fifty-six pounds. It fell in the afternoon of a mild blt hazy day, during which there was no thunder or lightning; and the noise of the explosion was heard through a considerable district. It deserves remark that in most recorded cases of the descent of projectiles, the weather has been settled and the sky clear — a fact which plainly places them apart from the causes which operate to produce the tempest, and shows the popular term thunderbolt to be an entire misnomer. While this train of circumstances was preparing the philosophic mind of Europe to admit as a truth what had hitherto been deemed a vulgar error, and acknowledge the appearance of masses of ignited matter in the atmosphere occasionally descending to the earth, an account of a phenomenon of this kind was received from India, vouched by an authority calculated to secure it general respect. It came from Mr. Williams, F. R. S., a resident in Bengal. It stated that on December 19, 1798, at eight o'clock in the evening, a large, luminous meteor was seen at Benares and other parts of the country. It was attended with a loud, rumbling noise, like an ill-discharged platoon of musketry; and about the same time the inhab 774 WONDERS OF THE EARTH itants of Krakhut, fourteen miles from Benares, saw the light, heard an explosion, and immediately after the noise of heavy bodies falling in the neighborhood. The sky had previously been serene, and not the smallest vestige of a cloud had appeared for many days. Next morning, the mould in the fields was found to have been turned up in many spots; and unusual stones of various sizes, but of the same substance, were picked out from the moist soil, generally from a depth of six inches. As the occurrence took place in the night, after the people had retired to rest, the explosion and the actual fall of the stones were not observed; but the watchman of an English gentlemen, near Krakhut, brought him a stone the next morning which had fallen through the top of his hut, and buried itself in the earthen floor. This event in India was followed, in the year 1803, by a convincing demonstration in France, which compelled the eminent men of the capital to believe, though much against their will. On Tuesday, April 26, about one in the afternoon, the weather being serene, there was observed, in a part of Normandy, including Caen, Falaise, Alencon, and a large number of villages, a fiery globe, of great brilliancy, moving in the atmosphere with great rapidity. Some moments after, there was heard at L'Aigle, and in the environs to the extent of more than thirty leagues in every direction, a violent explosion, which lasted five or six minutes. At first there were three or four reports like those of a cannon, followed by a kind of discharge which resembled the firing of musketry; after which there was heard a rumbling like the beating of a drum. The air was calm and the sky serene, except a few clouds, such as are frequently observed. The noise proceeded from a small cloud which had a rectangular form, and appeared motionless all the time that the phenomenon lasted. The vapor of which it was composed was projected in all directions at the successive explosions. The cloud seemed about half a league to the north-east of the town of L'Aigle, and must have been at a great elevation in the atmosphere; for the inhabitants of two AND THE HEAVENS. 775 hamlets, a league distant from each other, saw it at the same time above their heads. In the whole canton over which it hovered, a hissing noise, like that of a stone discharged from a sling, was heard; and a multitude of mineral masses were seen to fall to the ground. The largest that fell weighed seventeen and a half pounds; and the gross number amounted to nearly three thousand. By the direction of the Academy of Sciences, all the circumstances of this event were minutely examined by a commission of inquiry, with the celebrated M. Biot at its head. They were found in harmony with the preceding relation, and reported to the French minister of the interior. Upon analyzing the stones they were found identical with those of Benares. The following are the principal facts with reference to the aerolites, upon which general dependence may be placed. Immediately after their descent they are always intensely hot. They are covered with a fused, black incrustation, consisting chiefly of oxide of iron; and what is most remarkable, their chemical analysis develops the same substances in nearly the same proportions, though one may have reached the earth in India and another in England. Their specific gravities are about the same; considering one thousand as the proportionate number for the specific gravity of water, that of some of the aerolites has been found to be, — Ennesheim stone,. 3233 Yorkshire,... 3508 Benares,... 3352 Bachalay's,... 3535 Sienna,. 3418 Bohemia,... 4281 Gassendi's,. 3456 The greater specific gravity of the Bohemian stone arose from its containing a greater proportion of iron. An analysis of one of the stones that fell at L'Aigle gives, - Silica,.. 46 per cent. Nickel,.. 2 per cent. Magnesia,. 10 " " Sulphur,.. 5 " Iron,... 45 " " Zinc,...1" " 776 WONDERS OF THE EARTH Iron is found in all these bodies, and in a considerable quantity, with the rare metal nickel. It is a singular fact, that though a chemical examination of their composition has not discovered any substance with which we were not previously acquainted, yet no other bodies have been found, native to the earth, which contain the same ingredients combined. Neither products of the volcanoes, whether extinct or in action, nor the stratified or unstratified rocks, have exhibited a sample of that combination of metallic and earthy substances which the meteoric stones present. During the era that science has admitted their path to the earth as a physical truth, scarcely amounting to half a century, few years have elapsed without a known instance of descent occurring in some region of the globe. To Izarn's list, previously given, upwards of seventy cases might be added, which have transpired during the last forty years. A report relating to one of the most recent, which fell in a valley near the Cape of Good Hope, with the affidavits of the witnesses, was communicated to the Royal Society, by Sir John Herschel, in March, 1840. Previously to the descent of the aerolite, the usual sound of explosion was heard, and some of the fragments, falling upon grass, caused it instantly to smoke, and were too hot to admit of being touched. When, however, we consider the wide range of the ocean, and the vast unoccupied regions of the globe, its mountains, deserts, and forests, we can hardly fail to admit that the observed cases of descent must form but a small proportion of the actual number; and obviously, in countries upon which the human race are thickly planted, many may escape notice through descending in the night, and will lie embedded in the soil till some accidental circumstance exposes their existence. Some, too, are no doubt completely fused and dissipated in the atmosphere, while others move by us horizontally as brilliant lights, and pass into the depths of space. The volume of some of these passing bodies is very great. One which travelled within twenty-five miles of the surface, and cast down a fragment, was supposed to weigh upwards of AND THE HEAVENS. 777 half a million of tons. But for its great velocity, the whole mass would have been precipitated to the earth. Two aerolites fell at Braunau, in Bohemia, July 14, 1847. In addition to aerolites, properly so called, or bodies known to have come to us from outlying space, large metallic masses exist in various parts of the world, lying in insulated situations, far remote from the abodes of civilization, whose chemical composition is closely analogous to that of the substances the descent of which has been witnessed. These circumstances leave no doubt as to their common origin. Pallas discovered an immense mass of malleable iron, mixed with nickel, at a considerable elevation on a mountain of slate in Siberia a site plainly irreconcilable with the supposition of art having been there with its forges, even had it possessed the character of the common iron. In one of the rooms of the British Museum there is a specimen of a large mass which was found, and still remains, on the plain of Otumba, in the district of Buenos Ayres. The specimen alone weighs fourteen hundred pounds, and the weight of the whole mass, which lies half buried in the ground, is computed to be thirteen tons. In the province df Bahia, in Brazil, another block has been discovered weighing upwards of six tons. Considering the situation of these masses, with the details of their chemical analysis, the presumption is clearly warranted that they owe their origin to the same causes that have formed and projected the aerolites to the surface. With reference to the Siberian iron, a general tradition prevails among the Tartars that it formerly descended from the heavens. A curious extract, translated from the Emperor Tchangire's memoirs of his own reign is given in a paper communicated to the Royal Society, which speaks of the fall of a metallic mass in India. The prince relates, that in the year 1620 (of our era) a violent explosion was heard at a village in the Punjaub, and at the same time a luminous body fell through the air on the earth. The officer of the district immediately repaired to the spot where it was said the body fell, and having found the 98 778 WONDERS OF THE EARTH place to be still hot, he caused it to be dug. He found that the heat kept increasing till they reached a lump of iron, violently hot. This was afterwards sent to court, where the emperor had it weighed in his presence, and ordered it to be forged into a sabre, a knife, and a dagger. After a trial the workmen reported that it was not malleable, but shivered under the hammer; and it required to be mixed with one third part of common iron, after which the mass was found to make excellent blades. The royal historian adds, that on the incident of this iron of lightning being manufactured, a poet presented him with a distich that, "during his reign the earth attained order and regularity; that raw iron fell from lightning, which was, by his world-subduing authority, converted into a dagger, a knife, and two sabres." A multitude of theories have been devised to account for the origin of these remarkable bodies. The idea is completely inadmissible that they are concretions formed within the limits of the atmosphere. The ingredients that enter into their composition have never been discovered in it, and the air has been analyzed at the sea level and on the tops of high mountains. Even supposing that to have been the case, the enormous volume of atmospheric air so charged required to furnish the particles of a mass of several tons, not to say many masses, is, alone, sufficient to refute the notion. They cannot, either, be projectiles from terrestrial volcanoes, because coincident volcanic activity has not been observed, and aerolites descend thousands of miles apart from the nearest volcano, and their substances are discordant with any known volcanic product. Laplace suggested their projection from lunar volcanoes. It has been calculated that a projectile leaving the lunar surface, where there is no atmospheric resistance, with a velocity of seven thousand seven hundred and seventy-one feet in the first second, would be carried beyond the point where the forces of the earth and moon are equal, would be detached, therefore, from the satellite, and come so far within the sphere of the earth's attraction as necessarily to fall to it. But the enormous AND THE HEAVENS. 779 number of ignited bodies that have been visible, the shooting stars of all ages, and the periodical meteoric showers that have astonished the moderns, render this hypothesis untenable; for the moon, ere this, would have undergone such a waste as must have sensibly diminished her orb, and almost blotted her from the heavens. Olbers was one of the first to prove the possibility of a projectile reaching us from the moon; but at the same time he deemed the event highly improbable, regarding the satellite as a very peaceable neighbor, not capable now of strong explosions from the want of water and an atmosphere. The theory of Chladni will account generally for all the phenomena, be attended with the fewest difficulties, and, with some modifications to meet circumstances not known in his day, it is now widely embraced. He conceived the system to include an immense number of small bodies, either the scattered fragments of a larger mass, or original accumulations of matter, which, circulating round the sun, encounter the earth in its orbit, and are drawn towards it by attraction, become ignited upon entering the atmosphere, in consequence of their velocity, and constitute the shooting stars, aerolites, and meteoric appearances that are observed. Sir Humphry Davy, in a paper which contains his researches on flame, strongly expresses an opinion that the meteorites are solid bodies moving in space, and that the heat produced by the compression of the most rarefied air from the velocity of their motion must be sufficient to ignite their mass, so that they are fused on entering the atmosphere. It is estimated that a body moving through our atmosphere with the velocity of one mile in a second would extricate heat equal to thirty thousand degrees of Fahrenheit - a heat more intense than that of the fiercest artificial furnace that ever glowed. The chief modification given to the Chladnian theory has arisen from the observed periodical occurrence of meteoric showers, - a brilliant and astonishing exhibition, - to some notices of which we proceed. The writers of the middle ages report the occurrence of the stars falling from heaven in resplendent showers among the 780 WONDERS OF THE EARTH physical appearances of their time. The experience of modern days establishes the substantial truth of such relations, however once rejected as the inventions of men delighting in the marvellous. Conde, in his history of the dominion of the Arabs, states, referring to the month of October, in the year 902 of our era, that on the night of the death of King Ibrahim ben Ahmed, an infinite number of falling stars were seen to spread themselves like rain over the heavens, from right to left; and this year was afterwards called the "year of stars." In some Eastern annals of Cairo, it is related that, " In this year (1029 of our era,) in the month Redjeb, (August,) many stars passed, with a great noise and brilliant light; " and in another place the same document states, " In the year 599, on Saturday night, in the last ]Moharrem, (1202 of our era, and on the 19th of October,) the stars appeared like waves upon the sky, towards the east and west; they flew about like grasshoppers, and were dispersed from left to right; this lasted till daybreak; the people were alarmed." The researches of the Orientalist, M. Von Hammer, have brought these singular accounts to light. Theophanes, one of the Byzantine historians, records that in November of the year 472 the sky appeared to be on fire over the city of Constantinople with the coruscations of flying meteors. The chronicles of the West agree with those of the East in reporting such phenomena. A remarkable display was observed on the 4th of April, 1095, both in France and England. " The stars seemed," says one, "falling like a shower of rain from heaven upon the earth;" and in another case a bystander, having noted the spot where an aerolite fell, "cast water upon it, which was raised in steam with a great noise of boiling." The chronicle of Rheims describes the appearance, as if all the stars in heaven were driven, like dust, before the wind. " By the reporte of the common people, in this kynge's time, (William Rufus,") says Rastel, " divers great wonders were sene; and therefore the kyng was told by divers of his familiars, that God was not content with his lyvyng, but he was so wilful and proude of minde, that he regarded little AND THE HEAVENS. 781 their saying." There can be no hesitation now in giving credence to such narrations as these, since similar facts have passed under the notice of the present generation. The first grand phenomenon of a meteoric shower which attracted attention in modern times was witnessed by the Moravian missionaries at their settlements in Greenland. For several hours the hemisphere presented a magnificent and astonishing spectacle - that of fiery particles, thick as hail, crowding the concave of the sky, as though some magazine of combustion in celestial space was discharging its contents towards the earth. This was observed over a wide extent of territory. Humboldt, then travelling in South America, accompanied by M. Bonpland, thus speaks of it: " Towards the morning of the 13th of November, 1799, we witnessed a most extraordinary scene of shooting meteors. Thousands of bodies and falling stars succeeded each other during four hours. Their direction was very regular from north to south. From the beginning of the phenomenon there was not a space in the firmament equal in extent to three diameters of the moon which was not filled every instant with bodies or falling stars. All the meteors left luminous traces or phosphorescent bands behind them, which lasted seven or eight seconds." An agent of the United States, Mr. Ellicott, at that time at sea between Cape Florida and the West India Islands, was another spectator, and thus describes the scene: "I was called up about three o'clock in the morning, to see the shooting stars, as they are called. The phenomenon was grand and awful. The whole heavens appeared as if illuminated with sky rockets, which disappeared only by the light of the sun after daybreak. The meteors, which at any one instant of time appeared as numerous as the stars, flew in all possible directions, except from the earth, towards which they all inclined more or less; and some of them descended perpendicularly over the vessel we were in, so that I was in constant expectation of their falling on us." The same individual states that his thermometer, which had been at eighty degrees Fahrenheit for four days preceding, fell 782 WONDERS OF THE EARTH to fifty-six degrees, and, at the same time, the wind changed from the south to the north-west, from whence it blew with great violence for three days without intermission. The Capuchin missionary at San Fernando, a village amid the savannas of the province of Varinas and the Franciscan monks stationed near the entrance of the Orinoco, also observed this shower of asteroids, which appears to have been visible, more or less, over an area of several thousand miles, from Greenland to the equator, and from the lonely deserts of South America to Weimar, in Germany. About thirty years previous, at the city of Quito, a similar event occurred. So great a number of falling stars was seen in a part of the sky above the volcano of Cayambaro, that the mountain itself was thought at first to be on fire. The sight lasted more than an hour. The people assembled in the plain of Exida, where a magnificent view presented itself of the highest summits of the Cordilleras. A procession was already on the point of setting out from the convent of St. Francis, when it was perceived that the blaze on the horizon was caused by fiery meteors, which ran along the sky in all directions, at the altitude of twelve or thirteen degrees. In Canada, in the years 1814 and 1819, the stellar showers were noticed, and in the autumn of 1818 on the North Sea, when, in the language of one of the observers, the surrounding atmosphere seemed enveloped in one expansive ocean of fire, exhibiting the appearance of another Moscow in flames. In the former cases a residuum of dust was deposited upon the surface of the waters, on the roofs of buildings, and on other objects. The deposition of particles of matter of a ruddy color has frequently followed the descent of aerolites; the origin. of the popular stories of the sky having rained blood. The next exhibition upon a great scale of the falling stars occurred on the 13th of November, 1831, and was seen off the coasts of Spain and in the United States. This was followed by another in the ensuing year at exactly the same time. Captain Hammond, then in the Red Sea, off Mocha, in the AND THE HEAVENS. 783 ship Restitution, gives the following account of it: "From one o'clock, A. M., till after daylight, there was a very unusual phenomenon in the heavens. It appeared like meteors bursting in every direction. The sky at the time was clear, the stars and moon bright, with streaks of light and thin white clouds interspersed in the sky. On landing in the morning I inquired of the Arabs if they had noticed the above. They said they had been observing it most of the night. I asked them if ever the like had appeared before. The oldest of them replied that it had not." The shower was witnessed from the Red Sea westward to the Atlantic, and from Switzerland to the Mauritius. We now come to by far the most splendid display on record; which, as it was the third in successive years, and on the same day of the month as the two preceding, seemed to invest the meteoric showers with a periodical character; and hence originated the title of the November meteors. The chief scene of the exhibition was included within the limits of the longitude of sixty-one degrees in the Atlantic Ocean, and that of one hundred degrees in Central Mexico, and from the North American lakes to the West Indies. Over this wide area an appearance presented itself far surpassing in grandeur the most imposing artificial fireworks. An incessant play of dazzlingly brilliant luminosities was kept up in the heavens for several hours. Some of these were of considerable magnitude and peculiar form. One of large size remained for some time almost stationary in the zenith, over the Falls of Niagara, emitting streams of light. The wild dash of the waters, as contrasted with the fiery uproar above them, formed a scene of unequalled sublimity. In many districts the mass of the population were terror-stricken, and the more enlightened were awed at contemplating so vivid a picture of the Apocalyptic image - that of the stars of heaven falling to the earth, even as a fig tree casting her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. A planter of South Carolina thus describes the effect of the 784 WONDERS OF THE EARTH scene upon the ignorant blacks: " I was suddenly awakened by the most distressing cries that ever fell on my ears. Shrieks of horror and cries for mercy I could hear from most of the negroes of three plantations, amounting in all to about six or eight hundred. WThile earnestly listening for the cause, I heard a faint voice near the door calling my name. I arose, and taking my sword, stood at the door. At this moment, I heard the same voice still beseeching me to rise, and saying,' O my God, the world is on fire!' I then opened the door, and it is difficult to say which excited me most - the awfulness of the scene or the distressed cries of the negroes. Upwards of one hundred lay prostrate on the ground, some speechless, and some with the bitterest cries, but with their hands raised, imploring God to save the world and them. The scene was truly awful; for never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell towards the earth; east, west, north, and south it was the same." This extraordinary spectacle commenced a little before midnight, and reached its height between four and six o'clock in the morning. The night was remarkably fine. Not a cloud obscured the firmament. Upon attentive observation, the materials of the shower were found to exhibit three distinct varieties: 1. Phosphoric lines formed one class apparently described by a point. These were the most abundant. They passed along the sky with immense velocity, as numerous as the flakes of a sharp snow storm. 2. Large fire-balls formed another constituency of the scene. These darted forth at intervals along the arch of the sky, describing an arc of thirty or forty degrees in a few seconds. Luminous trains marked their path, which remained in view for a number of minutes, and in some cases for half an hour or more. The trains were commonly white, but the various prismatic colors occasionally appeared, vividly and beautifully displayed. Some of these fire-balls, or shooting stars, were of enormous size. Dr. Smith, of North Carolina, observed one which appeared larger than the full moon at the horizon. " I was startled," he remarks, "by the splendid light in which the surrounding scene was AND THE HEAVENS. 785 exhibited, rendering even small objects quite visible." The same, or a similar luminous body, seen at New Haven, passed off in a north-west direction, and exploded near the star Capella. 3. Another class consisted of luminosities of irregular form, which remained nearly stationary for a considerable time, like the one that gleamed aloft over Niagara Falls. The remarkable circumstance is testified by every witness, that all the luminous bodies, without a single exception, moved in lines which converged in one and the same point of the heavens, a little to the south-east of the zenith. None of them started from this point, but their direction, to whatever part of the horizon it might be, when traced backwards led to a common focus. The position of this radiant point among the stars was near y Leonis. It remained stationary with respect to the stars during the whole of the exhibition. Instead of accompanying the earth in its diurnal motion eastward, it attended the stars in their apparent movement westward. The source of the meteoric shower was thus independent of the earth's motion, and this shows its position to have been in the regions of space exterior to our atmosphere. According to Professor Olmstead, it could not have been less than two thousand two hundred and thirty-eight miles above the earth's surface. The attention of astronomers in Europe, and all over the world, was, as may be imagined, strongly roused by intelligence of this celestial display on the western continent; and as the occurrence of a meteoric shower had now been observed for three years successively, at a coincident era, it was inferred that a return of this fiery hailstorm might be expected in succeeling Novembers. Arrangements were therefore made to watch the heavens on the nights of the 12th and 13th in the following years at the principal observatories; and though no such imposing spectacle as that of 1833 has been witnessed, yet extraordinary flights of shooting stars have been observed in various places at the periodic time, tending also from a fixed point in the constellation Leo. They were seen in Europe and America on November 13, 1834. The following results 99 786 WONDERS OF THE EARTH of simultaneous observation were obtained by Arago, from different parts of France, on the nights of November 12 and 13, 1836: -- Place. Meteors. Place. Meteors. Paris, at the Observatory, 170 Von Altimarl,.. 75 Dieppe,... 36 Anjou,. 49 Arras,..... 27 Rochefort,. 23 Strasburg,. 85 Havre,....... 300 On November 12, 1837, at eight o'clock in the evening, the attention of observers in various parts of Great Britain was directed to a bright, luminous body, apparently proceeding from the north, which, after making a rapid descent, in the manner of a rocket, suddenly burst, and scattering its particles into various beautiful forms, vanished in the atmosphere. This was succeeded by others, all similar to the first, both in shape and the manner of their ultimate disappearance. The whole display terminated at ten o'clock, when dark clouds, which continued up to a late hour, overspread the earth, preventing any further observation. In the November of 1838, at the same date, the falling stars were abundant at Vienna; and one of remarkable brilliancy and size, as large as the full moon in the zenith, was seen on the 13th, by M. Verusmor, off Cherburg, passing in the direction of Cape La Hogue, a long, luminous train marking its course through the sky. The same year, the non-commissioned officers in the Island of Ceylon were instructed to look out for the falling stars. Only a few appeared at the usual time; but on the 5th of December, from nine o'clock till midnight, the shower was incessant, and the number defied all attempts at counting them. At Benares, on the evening of November 11, 1847, a meteor of great brilliancy suddenly shot up vertically in the western horizon, and burst at an angle of about thirty degrees or less, and was followed by a luminous streak, like the tail of a comet: it remained stationary and vertical for a few sec AND THE HEAVENS. 787 onds, when it commenced to bend and assume the form of a serpent. It then continued to change its form, as shown in the illustration, to be seen at page 769. The intensity of its light diminishing as it widened and extended its figure, it moved slowly, perhaps three degrees on towards the south. The numbers in the engraving show the various forms which the meteoric light assumed from its first appearance till it vanished. It first appeared at seventeen minutes, and disappeared at twenty-six minutes past six, P. M., being visible for a space of nine minutes. Professor Olmstead, himself an eye witness of the great meteoric shower on the American continent, after carefully collecting and comparing facts, proposed the following theory: The meteors of November 13, 1833, emanated from a nebulous body which was then pursuing its way along with the earth around the sun; that this body continues to revolve around the sun in an elliptical orbit, but little inclined to the plane of the ecliptic, and having its aphelion near the orbit of the earth; and finally, that the body has a period of nearly six months, and that its perihelion is a little within the orbit of Mercury. The diagram represents the ellipse supposed to be described, E being the orbit of the earth, M that of Mercury, and N that of the assumed nebula, its aphelion distance being about 95 millions of miles, and the perihe- M lion 24 millions. Thus, when in aphelion, the body is close to the orbit of the earth, and this occuring periodically, when the earth is at the same time in that part of its orbit, nebulous particles are attracted towards it by its gravity, and then, entering the atmosphere, are consumed in it by their concurrent velocities, causing the appearance of a meteoric shower. The parent body is inferred to be nebular, because, though the meteors fall 788 WONDERS OF THE EARTH towards the earth with prodigious velocity, few, if any, appear to have reached the surface. They were stopped by the resistance of the air, and dissipated in it; whereas, if they had possessed any considerable quantity of matter, the momentum would have been sufficient to have brought them down in some instances to the earth. Arago has suggested a similar theory —that of a stream or group of innumerable bodies, comparatively small, but of various dimensions, sweeping round the solar focus in an orbit which periodically cuts that of the earth. These two theories are in substance the Chladnian hypothesis, first started to explain the observed actual descent of aerolites. Though great obscurity rests upon the subject, the fact may be deemed certain that independently of the great planets and satellites of the system, there are vast numbers of bodies circling round the sun, both singly and in groups, and probably an extensive nebula, contact with which causes the phenomena of shooting stars, aerolites, and meteoric showers. But admitting the existence of such bodies to be placed beyond all doubt, the question of their origin, whether original accumulations of matter, old as the planetary orbs, or the dispersed trains of comets, or the remains of a ruined world, is a point beyond the power of the human understanding to reach. AND THE HEAVENS. 789 CHAPTER XXV.* WONDERS OF THE HEAVENS AS REVEALED BY THE RESEARCHES OF ASTRONOMERS. — THE FIXED STARS NOT INFERIOR IN SIZE TO THE SUN, AND SUPPOSED TO BE CENTRES, A'ROUND WHICH SYSTEMS OF WORLDS REVOLVE. — 2,400,000,000 OF WORLDS WITHIN THE LIMITS EXPLORED BY HUMAN VISION, SOME OF THEM MORE THAN 1,000,000 TIMES LARGER THAN OUR OWN.- THEIR DISTANCES FROM EACH OTHER IMMENSE, AND THEIR MOVEMENT THROUGH SPACE INCONCEIVABLY RAPID. -PROBABLE DIVERSITY OF SCENERY IN THE WORLDS WHICH CONSTITUTE THE UNIVERSE, AND REFLECTIONS RESPECTING THE BEINGS BY WHICH THEY MAY BE INHABITED. FRom the discoveries of astronomy it appears that our earth is but as a point in the immensity of the universe - that there are worlds a thousand times larger, enlightened by the same sun which "rules our day" -that the sun himself is an immense luminous world, whose circumference would enclose more than twelve hundred thousand globes as large as ours - that the earth and its inhabitants are carried forward through the regions of space at the rate of a thousand miles every minute -that motions exist in the great bodies of the universe, the force and rapidity of which astonish and overpower the imagination - and that beyond the sphere of the sun and planets, creation is replenished with millions of luminous globes, scattered over immense regions to which the human mind can assign no boundaries. Of this vast universe, how small a portion has yet been unveiled to our view! With respect to the bodies which compose our planetary system, we know only a few general facts and relations. In regard to the fixed stars, we have acquired little more than a few rude conceptions of their * This chapter is compiled from the writings of Thomas Dick, LL. D., author of " Celestial Scenery," "The Sidereal Heavens," etc., etc. 790 WONDERS OF THE EARTH immense distance and magnitudes. In relation to the comets, we only know that they move in long, eccentric orbits, that they are impelled in their courses with immense velocity, and appear and disappear in uncertain periods of time. Of the numerous systems into which the stars are arranged; of the motions peculiar to each system; of the relations which these motions have to the whole universe as one vast machine; of the nature and arrangement of the numerous nebulae which are scattered throughout the distant regions of space; of the worlds which are connected with the starry orbs; of the various orders of beings which people them; of the changes and revolutions which are taking place in different parts of the universe; of the new creations which are starting into existence; of the number of opaque globes which may exist in every region of space; of the distance to which the material world extends, and of the various dispensations of the Almighty towards the diversified orders of intelligences which people his vast empire, - we remain in almost profound ignorance. Let us first endeavor to form some idea of the vast quantity of matter contained- in the universe. In order to do this, we must pursue a train of thought commencing with those magnitudes which the mind can easily grasp, proceeding through all the intermediate gradations of magnitude, and fixing the attention on every portion of the chain, till we arrive at the object or magnitude of which we wish to form a conception. We must endeavor, in the first place, to form a conception of the bulk of the world in which we dwell; which, though only a point in comparison of the whole material universe, is in reality a most astonishing magnitude, which the mind cannot grasp without a laborious effort. We can form some definite idea of those protuberate masses we denominate hills, which arise above the surface of our plains; but were we transported to the mountainous scenery of Switzerland, to the stupendous range of the Andes in South America, or to the Himmalayan Mountains in India, where masses of earth and AND THE HEAVENS. 791 rocks, in every variety of shape, extend several hundreds of miles in different directions, and rear their projecting summits beyond the region of the clouds - we should find some difficulty in forming an adequate conception of the objects of our contemplation. For, (to use the words of one who had been a spectator of such scenes,) "Amidst those trackless regions of intense silence and solitude, we cannot contemplate, but with feelings of awe and admiration, the enormous masses of variegated matter which lie around, beneath, and above us. The mind labors, as it were, to form a definite idea of those objects of oppressive grandeur, and feels unable to grasp the august objects which compose the surrounding scene." But what are all these mountainous masses, however variegated and sublime, when compared with the bulk of the whole earth? Were they hurled from their bases, and precipitated into the vast Pacific Ocean, they would all disappear in a moment, except perhaps a few projecting tops,, which, like a number of small islands, might be seen rising a few fathoms above the surface of the waters. The earth is a globe whose diameter is nearly eight thousand miles, and its circumference about twenty-five thousand; and consequently its surface contains nearly two hundred millions of square miles - a magnitude too great for the mind to take in at one conception. In order to form a tolerable idea of the whole, we must endeavor to take a leisurely survey of its different parts. Were we to take our station on the top of a mountain of moderate size, and survey the surrounding landscape, we should perceive an extent of view stretching forty miles in every direction, forming a circle eighty miles in diameter, and two hundred and fifty in circumference, and comprehending an area of five thousand square miles. In such a situation the terrestrial scene around and beneath us — consisting of hills and plains, towns and villages, rivers and lakes - would form one of the largest objects which the eye, and even the imagination, can steadily grasp at one time; but such an object, grand and extensive as it is, 792 WONDERS OF THE EARTH forms no more than the forty thousandth part of the terraqueous globe; so that before we can acquire an adequate conception of the magnitude of our own world, we must conceive forty thousand landscapes of a similar extent to pass in review before us; and were a scene of the magnitude now stated to pass before us every hour, till all the diversified scenery of the earth were brought under our view, and were twelve hours a day allotted for the observation, it would require nine years and forty-eight days before the whole surface of the globe could be contemplated, even in this general and rapid manner. But such a variety of successive landscapes passing before the eye, even although it were possible to be realized, would convey only a very vague and imperfect conception of the scenery of our world; for objects at the distance of forty miles cannot be distinctly perceived; the only view which would be satisfactory, would be that which is comprehended within the range of three or four miles from the spectator. Again, as has been already stated, the surface of the earth contains' nearly 200,000,000 of square miles. Now, were a person to set out on a minute survey of the terraqueous globe, and to travel till he passed along every square mile on its surface, and to continue his route without intermission, at the rate of thirty miles every day, it would require eighteen thousand two hundred and sixty-four years before he could finish his tour, and complete the survey of this "huge rotundity on which we tread;" so that, had he commenced his excursion on the day in which Adam was created, and continued it to the present hour, he would not have accomplished one third part of this vast tour. In estimating the size and extent of the earth, we ought also to take into consideration the vast variety of objects with which it is diversified, and the numerous animated beings with which it is stored; the great divisions of land and water; the continents, seas, and islands into which it is distributed; the lofty ranges of mountains which rear their heads to the AND THE HEAVENS. 793 clouds; the unfathomed abysses of the ocean; its vast subterraneous caverns, and burning mountains; and the lakes, rivers, and stately forests with which it is so magnificently adorned; the many millions of animals, of every size and form, from the elephant to the mite, which traverse its surface; the numerous tribes of fishes, from the enormous whale to the diminutive shrimp, which " play" in the mighty ocean; the aerial tribes which sport in the regions above us, and the vast mass of the surrounding atmosphere, which encloses the earth and all its inhabitants as "with a swaddling band." The immense variety of beings with which our terrestrial habitation is furnished conspires with every other consideration to exalt our conceptions of that power by which our globe, and all that it contains, were brought into existence. The preceding illustrations, however, exhibit the vast extent of the earth, considered only as a mere superficies. But we know that the earth is a solid globe, whose specific gravity is nearly five times denser than water, or about twice as dense as the mass of earth and rocks which compose its surface. Though we cannot dig into its crust beyond a mile in perpendicular depth, to explore its hidden wonders, yet we may easily conceive what a vast and indescribable mass of matter must be contained between the two opposite portions of its external circumference, reaching eight thousand miles in every direction. The solid contents of this ponderous ball are no less than 263,858,149,120 cubical miles - a mass of material substance of which we can form but a very faint and imperfect conception — in proportion to which all the lofty mountains which rise above its surface are less than a few grains of sand, when compared with the largest artificial globe. Were the earth a hollow sphere surrounded merely with an external shell of earth and water, ten miles thick, its internal cavity would be sufficient to contain a quantity of materials one hundred and thirty-three times greater than the whole mass of continents, islands, and oceans, on its surface, and the foundations on which they are supported. We have the 100 794 WONDERS OF THE EARTH strongest reasons, however, to conclude that the earth, in its general structure, is one solid mass, from the surface to the centre, excepting, perhaps, a few caverns scattered here and there amidst its subterraneous recesses; and that its density gradually increases from its surface to its central regions. What an enormous mass of materials, then, is comprehended within the limits of the globe on which we tread! The mind labors, as it were, to comprehend the mighty idea, and after all its exertion, feels itself unable to take in such an astonishing magnitude at one comprehensive grasp. How great must be the power of that Being who commanded, it to spring from nothing into existence; who "measureth the ocean in the hollow of his hand, who weigheth the mountains in scales, and hangeth the earth upon nothing"! It is essentially requisite, before proceeding to the survey of objects and magnitudes of a superior order, that we should endeavor, by such a train of thought as the preceding, to form some tolerable and clear conception of the bulk of the globe we inhabit; for it is the only body we can use as a standard of comparison to guide the mind in its conceptions, when it roams abroad to other regions of material existence. And, from what has been now stated, it appears that we have no adequate conception of a magnitude of so vast an extent; or, at least, that the mind cannot, in any one instant, form to itself a distinct and comprehensive idea of it, in any measure corresponding to the reality. Hitherto, then, we have fixed only on a determinate magnitude - on a scale of a few inches, as it were, in order to assist us in our measurement and conception of magnitudes still more august and astonishing. If we pass from our globe to some of the other bodies of the planetary system, we shall find that one of these stupendous orbs is more than nine hundred times the size of our world, and encircled with a ring two hundred thousand miles in diameter, which would nearly reach from the earth to the moon, and would enclose within its vast circumference several hundreds of worlds as large as AND THE HEAVENS. 795 ours. Another of these planetary bodies, which appears to the unassisted eye only as a brilliant speck on the vault of heaven, is found to be of such a size, that it would require fourteen hundred globes of the bulk of the earth to form one equal to it in dimensions. The sun himself is eight hundred and eighty thousand miles in diameter, and one million three hundred thousand times larger than the earth. Were its central parts placed adjacent to the surface of the earth, its circumference would reach two hundred thousand miles beyond the moon's orbit, on every side, filling a cubical space of 681,472,000,000,000,000 miles. If it would require eighteen thousand years to traverse every square mile on the earth's surface, at the rate of thirty miles a day, it would require more than two thousand millions of years to pass over every part of the sun's surface, at the same rate. Even at the rate of ninety miles a day, it would require more than eighty years to go round its circumference. Were the sun a hollow sphere, surrounded by an external shell and a luminous atmosphere; were this shell perforated with several hundreds of openings into the internal part; were a globe as large as the earth placed at its centre, and another globe as large as the moon, and at the same distance from the centre as the moon is from us, to revolve round the central globe, - it would present to the view of a spectator upon that globe a universe as splendid and glorious as that which now appears to the unassisted eye, -a universe as large and extensive as the whole creation was conceived to be, by our ancestors, in the infancy of astronomy. Here the imagination begins to be overpowered and bewildered in its conceptions of magnitude, when it has advanced scarcely a single step in its excursions through the material world; for it is highly probable that all the matter contained within the limits of the solar system, incomprehensible as its magnitude appears, bears a smaller proportion to the whole mass of the material universe than a single grain of sand to all the particles of matter contained in the body of the sun 796 WONDERS OF THE EARTH and his attending planets. Nay, were the whole cubical space included in the orbit of the planet Herschel' a space 3,600,000,000 miles in diameter —to be formed into a solid globe, containing 24,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 cubical miles, and overspread with a brilliancy superior to that of the sun, to continue during the space of a thousand years in this splendid state, and then to be extinguished and annihilated, - there are beings, who reside in spaces within the range of our telescopes, to whom its creation and destruction would be equally unknown.; and to an eye which could take in the whole compass of nature, it might be altogether unheeded, or, at most, be regarded as the appearance and disappearance of a lucid point in an obscure corner of the universe -just as the detachment of a drop of water from the ocean, or a grain of sand from the sea shore, is unheeded by a common observer. If we extend our views from the solar system to the starry heavens, we have to penetrate, in our imagination, a space which the swiftest ball that was ever projected, though in perpetual motion, would not traverse in ten hundred thousand years. In those trackless regions of immensity we behold an assemblage of resplendent globes, similar to the sun in size and in glory, and, doubtless, accompanied with a retinue of worlds, revolving, like our own, around their attractive influence. The immense distance at which the nearest stars are known to be placed proves that they are bodies of a prodigious size, not inferior to our sun, and that they shine, not by reflected rays, but by their own native light. The following consideration will prove, to those unacquainted with the mathematical principles of astronomy, that the stars are placed at an immeasurable distance. When they are viewed through a telescope, which magnifies objects a thousand times, they appear no larger than to the naked eye; which circumstance shows, that though we were placed at the thousandth part of the distance from them at which we now are, they would still appear only as so many shining points; for we should AND THE HEAVENS. 797 still be distant from the nearest of them twenty thousand millions of miles; or, in other words, were we transported several thousands of millions of miles from the spot we now occupy, though their numbers would appear exceedingly increased, they would appear no larger than they do from our present station; and were we carried forward thousands of millions of miles farther, this immense advance towards them would require to be many times repeated, before their disks would appear to expand into large circles like the moon. Dr. Herschel viewed the stars with telescopes magnifying six thousand times; yet they still appeared only as brilliant points, without any sensible disks or increase of diameter. We will now endeavor to form some idea of the number of the heavenly bodies. Nearly a thousand of these luminaries may be seen in a clear winter night, by the naked eye; so that a mass of matter equal to a thousand solar systems, or to thirteen hundred and twenty millions of globes of the size of the earth, may be perceived by every common observer. But the number of stars visible to the naked eye is extremely small, compared with the number which has been descried by means of optical instruments. In a small portion of the sky, not larger than the apparent breadth of the moon, a greater number of stars has been discovered than the naked eye can discern throughout the whole vault of heaven. In proportion as the magnifying powers of the telescope are increased, in a similar proportion do the stars increase upon our view. They seem ranged behind one another in boundless perspective, as far as the assisted eye can reach, leaving us no room to doubt, that, were the powers of our telescopes increased a thousand times more than they now are, millions beyond millions, in addition to what we now behold, would start up before the astonished sight. Sir William Herschel informs us, that, when viewing a certain portion of the milky way, in the course of seven minutes, more than fifty thousand stars passed across the field of his telescope; and it has been calculated, that within the range of such an instrument, applied to all 798 WONDERS OF THE EARTH the different portions of the firmament, more than eighty millions of stars would be rendered visible. A Here, then9, within the limits of that circle which human vision has explored, the mind perceives, not merely eighty millions of worlds, but at least thirty times that number; for every star considered as a sun may be conceived to be surrounded by at least thirty planetary globes; so that the visible system of the universe may be stated, at the lowest computation, as comprehending within its vast circumference 2,400,000,000 of worlds! This celestial scene presents an idea so august and overwhelming, that the mind is confounded, and shrinks back at the attempt of forming any definite conception of a multitude and a magnitude so far beyond the limits of its ordinary excursions. If we can form no adequate idea of the magnitude, the variety, and economy of one world, how can we form a just conception of thousands? If a single million of objects of any description presents an image too vast and complex to be taken in at one grasp, how shall we ever attempt to comprehend an object so vast as two thousand four hundred millions of worlds? None but that Eternal Mind which counts the number of the stars, which called them from nothing into existence, and arranged them in the respective stations they occupy, and whose eyes run to and fro through the unlimited extent of creation, can form a clear and comprehensive conception of the number, the order, and the economy of this vast portion of the system of nature. We have now the strongest reason to believe that all the stars in the universe are arranged into clusters or groups, which astronomers distinguish by the name of nebula, or starry systems, each nebula consisting of many thousands of stars. The nearest nebula is that whitish space or zone which is known by the name of the milky way, to which our sun is supposed to belong. It consists of many hundreds of thousands of stars. More than two thousand five hundred nebulae have already been observed; and if each of these contain as many stars as the milky way, several hundreds of millions of AND THE HEAVENS. 799 stars must exist even within that portion of the heavens which lies open to our observation. And yet all this vast assemblage of suns and worlds, when compared with what lies beyond the utmost boundaries of human vision, in the immeasurable spaces of creation, may be no more than as the smallest particle of vapor to the immense ocean. Immeasurable regions of space lie beyond the utmost limits of mortal view, into which even imagination itself can scarcely penetrate, and which are doubtless replenished with the operations of Divine Wisdom and Omnipotence. For it cannot be supposed that a being so diminutive as man, whose stature scarcely exceeds six feet —who vanishes from the sight at the distance of a league - whose whole habitation is invisible from the nearest star -whose powers of vision are so imperfect, and whose mental faculties are so limited - it cannot be supposed that man, who "dwells in tabernacles of clay, who is crushed before the moth," and chained down, by the force of gravitation, to the surface of a small planet - should be able to descry the utmost boundaries of the empire of Him who fills immensity, and dwells in "light unapproachable." That portion of his dominions, however, which lies within the range of our view, presents such a scene of magnificence and grandeur as must fill the mind of every reflecting person with astonishment and reverence, and constrain him to exclaim, I" Great is our Lord, and of great power; his understanding is infinite." " When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast ordained, — what is man, that thou art mindful of him?" " I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; " I have listened to subtile disquisitions on thy character and perfections, and have been but little affected, "but now mine eye seeth thee; wherefore I humble myself, and repent in dust and ashes." Lastly, the rapid motions of the great bodies of the universe claim our attention. WVe can acquire accurate ideas of the relative velocities of moving bodies only by comparing the motions with which we are familiar with one another, and 800 WONDERS OF THE EARTH with those which lie beyond the general range of our minute inspection. We can acquire a pretty accurate conception of the velocity of a ship impelled by the wind - of a steamboat of a race horse - of a bird darting through the air - of an arrow flying from a bow - and of the clouds when impelled by a stormy wind. The velocity of a ship is from eight to twelve miles an hour - of a race horse, from twenty to thirty miles —of a bird, say from fifty to sixty miles, and of the clouds, in a violent hurricane, from eighty to one hundred miles an hour. The motion of a ball from a loaded cannon is incomparably swifter than any of the motions now stated; but of the velocity of such a body we have a less accurate idea; because, its rapidity being so great, we cannot trace it distinctly by the eye through its whole range, from the mouth of the cannon to the object against which it is impelled. By experiments, it has been found, that its rate of motion is from four hundred and eighty to eight hundred miles in an hour, but it is retarded every moment by the resistance of the air and the attraction of the earth. This velocity, however, great as it is, bears no sensible proportion to the rate of motion which is found among the celestial orbs. The planet Jupiter, in describing his circuit round the sun, moves at the rate of twenty-nine thousand miles an hour. The planet Venus, one of the nearest and most brilliant of the celestial bodies, and about the same size as the earth, is found to move through the spaces of the firmament at the rate of seventy-six thousand miles an hour, and the planet Mercury with a velocity of no less than one hundred and fifty thousand miles an hour, or seventeen hundred and fifty miles in a minute - a motion two hundred times swifter than that of a cannon ball. These velocities will appear still more astonishing if we consider the magnitude of the bodies which are thus impelled, and the immense forces which are requisite to carry them along in their courses. However rapidly a ball flies from the mouth of a cannon, it is the flight of a body only a few inches in diameter; but one of the bodies whose motion has been AND THE HEAVENS. 801 just now stated is eighty-nine thousand miles in diameter, and would comprehend within its vast circumference more than a thousand globes as large as the earth. Could we contemplate such motions from a fixed point at the distance of only a few hundreds of miles from the bodies thus impelled, it would raise our admiration to its highest pitch; it would overwhelm all our faculties, and, in our present state, would produce an impression of awe, and even of terror, beyond the power of language to express. The earth contains a mass of matter equal in weight to at least 2,200,000,000,000,000,000,000 tons, supposing its mean density to be only about two and a half times greater than water. To move this ponderous mass a single inch beyond its position, were it fixed in a quiescent state, would require a mechanical force almost beyond the power of numbers to express. How much more must be the force requisite to impel it with a velocity one hundred and forty times swifter than a cannon ball, or sixty-eight thousand miles an hour, the actual rate of its motion in its course round the sun! But whatever degree of mechanical power would be requisite to produce such a stupendous effect, it would require a force one hundred and fifty times greater to impel the planet Jupiter in his actual course through the heavens. Even the planet Saturn, one of the slowest moving bodies of our system, a globe nine hundred times larger than the earth, is impelled through the regions of space at the rate of twenty-two thousand miles an hour, carrying along with him two stupendous rings, and seven moons larger than ours, through his whole course round the central luminary. Were we placed within a thousand miles of this stupendous globe, where its hemisphere, encompassed by its magnificent rings, would fill the whole extent of our vision, the view of such a ponderous and glorious object, flying with such amazing velocity before us, would infinitely exceed every idea of grandeur we can derive from terrestrial scenes, and overwhelm our powers with astonishment and awe. Under such an emotion, we could only exclaim, "GREAT AND MARVELLOUS ARE THY 101 802 WONDERS OF THE EARTH WORKS, LORD GOD ALMIGHTY!" The ideas of strength and power implied in the impulsion of such enormous masses of matter through the illimitable tracts of space, are forced upon the mind with irresistible energy, far surpassing what any abstract propositions or reasonings can convey, and constrain us to exclaim, "Who is a strong Lord like unto thee? Thy right hand is become glorious in power. The Lord God omnipotent reigneth." If we consider the immense number of bodies thus impelled through the vast spaces of the universe - the rapidity with which the comets, when near the sun, are carried through the regions they traverse; if we consider the high probability, if not absolute certainty, that the sun, with all his attendant planets and comets, is impelled with a still greater degree of velocity towards some distant region of space, or around some wide circumference; that all the thousands of systems of that nebula to which the sun belongs, are moving in a similar manner; that all the nebulae in the heavens are moving around some magnificent central body; in short, that all the suns and worlds in the universe are in rapid and perpetual motion, as constituent portions of one grand and boundless empire, of which Jehovah is the sovereign; and if we consider, still further, that all these mighty movements have been going on, without intermission, during the course of many centuries, and some of them, perhaps, for myriads of ages before the foundations of our world were laid, - it is impossible for the human mind to form any adequate idea of the stupendous forces which are in incessant operation throughout the unlimited empire of the Almighty. To estimate such mechanical force, even in a single instance, completely baffles the mathematician's skill, and sets the power of numbers at defiance. "Language," and figures, and comparisons are " lost in wonders so sublime," and the mind, overpowered with such reflections, is irresistibly led upwards, to search for the cause in that Omnipotent Being who upholds the pillars of the universe - the thunder of whose power none can com AND THE HEAVENS. 803 prehend. While contemplating such august objects, how emphatic and impressive appears the language of the sacred oracles, " Canst thou by searching find out God? Canst thou find out the Almighty to perfection? Great things doth he, which we cannot comprehend. Thine, O Lord, is the greatness, and the glory, and the majesty; for all that is in heaven and earth is thine. Among the gods there is none like unto thee, O Lord, neither are there any works like unto thy works. Thou art great, and dost wondrous things; thou art God alone. Hast thou not known, hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of all things, fainteth not, neither is weary There is no searching of his understanding. Let all the earth fear the Lord, let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of him; for he spake, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast." Again, the immense spaces which surround the heavenly bodies, and in which they perform their revolutions, tend to expand our conceptions on this subject, and to illustrate the magnificence of the divine operations. In whatever point of view we contemplate the scenery of the heavens, an idea of grandeur irresistibly bursts upon the mind; and if empty space can, in any sense, be considered as an object of sublimity, nothing can fill the mind with a grander idea of magnitude and extension than the amplitude of the scale on which planetary systems are constructed. Around the body of the sun there is allotted a cubical space of 5,600,000,000 of miles in diameter, in which forty-three planetary globes revolve - every one being separated from another by vast intervals of space. The space which surrounds the utmost limits of our system, extending in every direction to the nearest fixed stars, is at least 40,000,000,000,000 miles in diameter; and it is highly probable that every star is sur rounded by a space of equal or even of greater extent. A body impelled with the greatest velocity which art can produce -a cannon ball for instance- would require twenty years to pass through the space that intervenes between the earth 804 WONDERS OF THE EARTH and the sun, and four millions seven hundred thousand years ere it could reach the nearest star. Though the stars seem to be crowded together in clusters, and some of them almost to touch one another, yet the distance between any two stars which seem to make the nearest approach is such as neither words can express nor imagination fathom. These immense spaces are as unfathomable, on the one hand, as the magnitude of the bodies which move in them, and their prodigious velocities, are incomprehensible on the other; and they form a part of those magnificent proportions according to which the fabric of universal nature was arranged - all corresponding to the majesty of that infinite and incomprehensible Being, "who measures the ocean in the hollow of his hand, and meteth out the heavens with a span." How wonderful that bodies at such prodigious distances should exert a mutual influence on one another! that the moon, at the distance of two hundred and forty thousand miles, should raise tides in the ocean and currents in the atmosphere! that the sun, at the distance of ninety-five millions of miles, should raise the vapors, move the ocean, direct the course of the winds, fructify the earth, and distribute light, and heat, and color, through every region of the globe! yea, that his attractive influence and fructifying energy should extend even to the planet Neptune, at the distance of more than twenty-eight hundred millions of miles! So that, in every point of view in which the universe is contemplated, we perceive the same grand scale of operation by which the Almighty has arranged the provinces of his universal kingdom. Perhaps some may be disposed to insinuate, that the views now stated are above the level of ordinary comprehension, and founded too much on scientific considerations to be stated in detail to common readers. Any person of common understanding may be made to comprehend the leading ideas of extended space, magnitude, and motion, which have been stated above, provided the descriptions be sufficiently simple, clear, and well defined; and should they be at a loss to com AND THE HEAVENS. 805 prehend the principles on which the conclusions rest, or the mode by which the magnificence of the works of God has been ascertained, an occasional reference to such topics would excite them to inquiry and investigation, and to the exercise of their powers of observation and reasoning on such subjects, which are too frequently directed to far less important objects. The following illustration, however, stands clear of every objection of this kind, and is level to the comprehension of every man of common sense: Either the earth moves round its axis once in twenty-four hours, or the sun, moon, planets, comets, stars, and the whole frame of the universe move around the earth, in the same time. There is no alternative, or third opinion, that can be formed on this point. If the earth revolve on its axis every twentyfour hours, to ploduce the alternate succession of day and night, the portions of its surface about the equator must move at a rate of more than a thousand miles an hour, since the earth is more than twenty-four thousand miles in circumference. This view of the fact, when attentively considered, furnishes a most sublime and astonishing idea. That a globe of so vast dimensions, with all its load of mountains, continents, and oceans, comprising within its circumference a mass of two hundred and sixty-four thousand million of cubical miles, should whirl around with such amazing velocity, gives us a most august and impressive conception of the greatness of that Power which first set it in motion, and continues the rapid whirl from age to age. though the huge masses of the Alpine Mountains were in a moment detached from their foundations, carried aloft through the regions of the air, and tossed into the Mediterranean Sea, it would convey no idea of a force equal to that which is every moment exerted, if the earth revolve on its axis. But should the motion of our earth be called in question, or denied, the idea of force, or power, will be indefinitely increased. For, in this case, it must necessarily be admitted, that the heavens, with all the innumerable host of stars, have a diurnal motion around the globe; which motion must 806 WONDERS OF THE EARTH be inconceivably more rapid than that of the earth, on the supposition of its motion. For, in proportion as the celestial bodies are distant from the earth, in the same proportion would be the rapidity of their movements. The sun, on this supposition, would move at the rate of four hundred and fourteen thousand miles in a minute; the nearest stars, at the rate of fourteen hundred millions of miles in a second; and the most distant luminaries with a degree of swiftness which no numbers could express. Such velocities, too, would be the rate of motion, not merely of a single globe like the earth, but of all the ten thousand times ten thousand spacious globes that exist within the boundaries of creation. This view conveys an idea of power still more august and overwhelming than any of the views already stated, and we dare not presume to assert, that such a degree of physical force is beyond the limits of infinite perfection; but on the supposition it existed, it would confound all our ideas of the wisdom and intelligence of the divine mind, and would appear altogether inconsistent with the character which the Scripture gives us of the Deity as " the only wise God." For it would exhibit a stupendous system of means altogether disproportioned to the end intended, namely, to produce the alternate succession of day and night to the inhabitants of our globe, which is more beautifully and harmoniously effected by a simple rotation on its axis, as is the case with the other globes which compose the planetary system. Such considerations, however, show us, that, on whatever hypothesis, whether on the vulgar or the scientific, or in whatever other point of view, the frame of nature may be contemplated, the mind is irresistibly impressed with ideas of power, grandeur, and magnificence. Having taken a general survey of the universe, let us now endeavor to form a more specific idea of the bodies which compose this vast assemblage of systems and worlds. From what we know of the wisdom and intelligence of the divine Being, we may safely conclude that he has created nothing in vain; and, consequently, that these enormous globes of light AND THE HEAVENS. 807 were not dispersed through the universe merely as so many splendid tapers to illuminate the voids of infinite space. To admit, for a moment, such a supposition, would be inconsistent with the marks of intelligence and design which are displayed in all the other scenes of nature which lie within the sphere of our investigation. It would represent the Almighty as amusing himself with splendid toys — an idea altogether incompatible with the adorable majesty of heaven, and which would tend to lessen our reverence of his character as the only wise God. If every part of nature in our sublunary system is destined to some particular use in reference to sentient beings, if even the muddy waters of a stagnant pool are replenished with myriads of inhabitants, should we for a moment doubt that so many thousands of magnificent globes have a relation to the accommodation and happiness of intelligent beings? since in every part of the material system which lies open to our minute inspection, it appears that matter exists solely for the purpose of sentient and intelligent creatures. As the Creator is consistent in all his plans and operations, it is beyond dispute that those great globes which are suspended throughout the vast spaces of the universe are destined to some noble purposes worthy of the infinite power, wisdom, and intelligence which produced them. And what may these purposes be? Since most of these bodies are of a size equal, if not superior, to our sun, and shine by their own native light, we are led by analogy to conclude that they are destined to subserve a similar purpose in the system of nature -to pour a flood of radiance on surrounding worlds, and to regulate their motions by their attractive influence. We must regard them, then, as material structures in the formation of which infinite wisdom and goodness have been employed. If this earth, which is an abode of apostate men, and a scene of moral depravity, and which, here and there, has the appearance of being the ruins of a former world — presents the variegated prospect of lofty mountains, romantic dells, and fertile plains; meandering rivers, transparent lakes, 808 WONDERS OF THE EARTH and spacious oceans; verdant landscapes, adorned with fruits and flowers, and a rich variety of the finest colors, and a thousand other beauties and sublimities that are strewed over the face of nature —how grand and magnificent a scenery, may we suppose, must be presented to the view, in those worlds where mortal evil has never entered to derange the harmony of the Creator's works, where love to the Supreme and to one another fires the bosoms of all their inhabitants, and produces a rapturous exultation, and an incessant adoration of the Source of happiness! In such worlds we may justly conceive that the sensitive enjoyments, and the objects of beauty and grandeur which are displayed to their view, as far exceed the scenery and enjoyments of this world, as their moral and intellectual qualities excel those of the sons of men. In the next place, it is highly reasonable to believe that an infinite diversity of scenery exists throughout all the worlds which compose the universe; that no one of all the millions of systems to which we have now adverted exactly resembles another in its construction, motions, order, and decorations. There appear, indeed, to be certain laws and phenomena which are common to all the systems which exist within the limits of human vision. It is highly probable that the laws of gravitation extend their influence through every region of space occupied by material substances; and it is beyond a doubt that the phenomena of vision, and the laws by which light is reflected and refracted, exist in the remotest regions which the telescope has explored. For tlie light which radiates from the most distant stars is found to be of the same nature, to move with the same velocity, to be refracted by the same laws, and to exhibit the same colors as the light which proceeds from the sun, and is reflected from surrounding objects. The medium of vision must, therefore, be acted upon, and the organs of sight perform their functions, in those distant regions, in the same manner as takes place in the system of which we form a part, or, at least, in a manner somewhat analogous to it. But, although the visible systems AND THE HEAVENS. 809 of the universe appear to be connected by certain general principles and laws which operate throughout the whole, yet the indefinite modifications which these laws may receive in each particular system may produce an almost infinite diversity of phenomena in different worlds, so that no one department of the material universe may resemble another. That the Creator has actually produced this effect, is rendered in the highest degree probable, from the infinite variety presented to our view in those departments of nature which lie open to our particular investigation. In the animal kingdom we find more than two hundred thousand different species of living creatures, and about the same variety in the productions of vegetable nature; the mineral kingdom presents to us an immense variety of earths, stones, rocks, metals, fossils, gems, and precious stones, which are strewed in rich profusion along the surface, and throughout the interior parts of the globe. Of the individuals which compose every distinct species of animated beings, there is no one which bears an exact resemblance to another. Although the ten hundred millions of men that now people the globe, and all the other millions that have existed since the world began, were to be compared, no two individuals would be found to present exactly the same aspect in every point of view in which they might be contemplated. In like manner, no two animals will be found bearing a perfect resemblance. The same observation will apply to the scenery of lakes, rivers, grottos, and mountains, and to all the diversified landscapes which the surface of the earth and waters presents to the traveller and the student of nature. If from the earth we direct our views to the other bodies which compose our planetary system, we shall find a similar diversity, so far as our observations extend. From the surface of one of the planets, the sun will appear seven times larger, and from the surface of another, three hundred and sixty times smaller than he does to us. One of those bodies is destitute of a moon; but from its ruddy aspect, either its 102 810 WONDERS OF THE EARTH surface or its atmosphere appears to be endowed with a phosphorescent quality, to supply it with light in the absence of the sun. Another is surrounded by four resplendent moons, much larger than ours; a third is supplied with six, and a fourth with seven moons, and two magnificent rings to reflect the light of the sun, and diversify the scenery of its sky. One of these globes revolves round its axis in ten, and another in twenty-three hours and a half. One of them revolves round the sun in eighty-eight, another in two hundred and twentyfour days; a third in twelve years, a fourth in thirty, a fifth in eighty-two, and a sixth in one hundred and sixty-five years. From all which, and many other circumstances that have been observed, an admirable variety of phenomena is produced, of which each planetary globe has its own peculiarity. Even our moon, which is among the smallest of the celestial bodies, which is the nearest to us, and which accompanies the earth during its revolution round the sun, exhibits a curious variety of aspect, different from what is found upon the earth. The lunar mountains, in general, exhibit an arrangement and an aspect very different from the mountain scenery of our globe. They may be arranged into the four following varieties: 1. Insulated Mountains, which rise from plains nearly level, like a sugar loaf placed on a table, and which may be supposed to present an appearance somewhat similar to Mount Etna or the Peak of Teneriffe. The shadows of these mountains, in certain phases of the moon, are as distinctly perceived as the shadow of an upright staff when placed opposite to the sun; and their heights can be calculated from the length of their shadows. The heights and the length of the base of more than seventy of these mountains have been calculated by M. Schroeter, who had long surveyed the lunar face with powerful telescopes. Thirty of these insulated mountains are from two to five miles in perpendicular height; thirteen are above four miles; and about forty are from a quarter of a mile to two miles in altitude. The length of their bases varies from AND THE HEAVENS. 811 three and a half to ninety-six miles in extent. Some of these mountains must present a very grand and picturesque prospect around the plains in which they stand. -2. Ranges of Mountains, extending in length two or three hundred miles. These ranges bear a distant resemblance to our Alps, Apennines, and Andes, but they are much less in extent, and do not form a very prominent feature of the lunar surface. Some of them appear very rugged and precipitous, and the highest ranges are, in some places, above four miles in perpendicular altitude. In some instances they run nearly in a straight line from north east to south-west, as in that range called the Apennines; in other cases they assume the form of a semicircle, or a crescent.3. Another class of the lunar mountains is the Circular Ranges, which appear on almost every part of the moon's surface, particularly in its southern regions. This is one of the grand peculiarities of the lunar ranges, to which we have nothing similar in our terrestrial arrangements. A plain, and sometimes a large cavity, is surrounded with a circular ridge of mountains, which encompasses it like a mighty rampart. These annular ridges and plains are of all dimensions, from a mile to forty or fifty miles in diameter, and are to be seen in great numbers over every region of the moon's surface. The mountains which form these ridges are of different elevations, from one fifth of a mile to three and a half miles in altitude, and their shadows sometimes cover one half of the plain. These plains are sometimes on a level with the general surface of the moon, and in other cases they are sunk a mile or more below. the level of the ground which surrounds the exterior circle of the mountains. In some of these circular ridges a narrow pass or opening has been perceived, as if in-tended to form an easy passage or communication between the interior plain and the regions beyond the exterior of the mountains. -4. The next variety is the Central Mountains, or those which are placed in the middle of circular plains. In many of the plains and cavities surrounded by annular mountains, there is an insulated mountain, which rises from the 812 WONDERS OF THE EARTH centre of the plain, and whose shadow sometimes extends, in a pyramidal form, across the semidiameter of the plain to the opposite ridges. These central mountains are generally from half a mile to a mile and a half in perpendicular altitude. In some instances they have two and sometimes three separate tops, whose distinct shadows can be easily distinguished. Sometimes they are situated towards one side of the plain or cavity; but in the great majority of instances their position is nearly or exactly central. The lengths of their bases vary from five to about fifteen or sixteen miles. From what has been said respecting the lunar mountains, it will evidently appear that there must be a great variety of sublime and picturesque scenery connected with the various landscapes of the moon. If its surface be adorned with a diversity of color, and with something analogous to the vegetation of our globe, there must be presented to the view of a spectator in the moon a variety of scenes altogether dissimilar to those which we can contemplate on the earth. The circular plains and mountains will present three or four varieties of prospect, of which we have no examples. In the first place, a spectator near the middle of the plain will behold his view bounded on every hand by a chain of lofty mountains, at the distance of five, ten, fifteen, or twenty miles, according to the diameter of the plain; and as the tops of these mountains are at different elevations, they will exhibit a variety of mountain scenery. In the next place, when standing on the top of the central mountain, the whole plain, with its diversified objects, will be open to his view, which will likewise take in all the variety of objects connected with the circular mountain range, which bounds his prospect. A third variety of view will be presented in travelling round the plain, where the various aspects of the central mountain will present, at every stage, a new landscape and a diversity of prospect. Another view, still more extensive, will be obtained by ascending to the summit of the circular range, where the whole plain and its central mountain will be full in view, and a prospect will, at the same AND THE HEAVENS. 813 time, be opened of a portion of those regions which lie beyond the exterior boundary of the mountains. A diversity of scenery will likewise be presented by the shadows of the circular range and the central mountain. When the sun is in the horizon, the whole plain will be enveloped in the shadows of the mountains, even after daylight begins to appear. These shadows will grow shorter and shorter as the sun rises in the heavens; but a space of time equal to one or two of our days will intervene before the body of the sun is seen from the opposite side of the plain, rising above the mountain tops; and a still longer space of time before his direct rays are seen at the opposite extremity. These shadows are continually varying; during the increase of the moon they are thrown in one direction, and during the decrease in a direction exactly opposite; and it is only about the time of full moon that every part of the plain, and the mountains which surround it, are fully enlightened, and the shadows disappear. The Lunar Caverns form a very peculiar and prominent feature of the moon's surface, and are to be seen throughout almost every region, but are most numerous in the south-west part of the moon. Nearly a hundred of them, great and small, may be distinguished in that quarter. They are all nearly of a circular shape, and appear like a very shallow egg cup. The smaller cavities appear within almost like a hollow cone, with the sides tapering towards the centre; but the larger ones have, for the most part, flat bottoms, from the centre of which there frequently rises a small, steep conical hill, which gives them a resemblance to the annular ridges and central mountains above described. In some instances their margins are level with the general surface of the moon; but in most cases they are encircled with a high annular ridge of mountains marked with lofty peaks. Some of the larger of these cavities contain smaller cavities of the same kind and form, particularly in their sides. The mountainous ridges which surround these cavities reflect the greatest quantity of light; and hence that region of the moon in which they abound appears brighter 814 WONDERS OF THE EARTH than any other. From their lying in every possible direction, they appear, at and near the time of full moon, like a number of brilliant streaks or radiations. These radiations appear to converge towards a large brilliant spot surrounded by a faint shade, near the lower part of the moon, which is known by the name of Tycho, and which every one who views the full moon, even with a common telescope, may easily distinguish. In regard to their dimensions, they are of all sizes, from three miles to fifty miles in diameter at the top; and their depth below the general level of the lunar surface varies from one third of a mile to three miles and a half. Twelve of these cavities, as measured by Schroeter, were found to be above two miles in perpendicular depth. These cavities constitute a peculiar feature in the scenery of the moon, and in her physical constitution, which bears scarcely any analogy to what we observe in the physical arrangements of our globe. But, however different such arrangements may appear from what we see around us in the landscapes of the earth, and however unlikely it may at first sight appear that such places should be the abode of intelligent beings, there can be no doubt that, in point of beauty, variety, and sublimity, these spacious hol lows, with all their assemblage of circular and central mountain scenery, will exceed in interest and grandeur any individual scene we can contemplate on our globe. WTe have only to conceive that such places are diversified and adorned with all the vegetable scenery which we reckon beautiful and picturesque in a terrestrial landscape, and with objects which are calculated to reflect with brilliancy the solar rays, in order to give us an idea of the grandeur of the scene. And that the objects connected with these hollows are formed of substances fitted to reflect the rays of the sun with peculiar lustre, appears from the brilliancy which most of them exhibit when either partially or wholly enlightened; presenting to view, especially at full moon, the most luminous portions of the lunar surface, so that former astronomers were led to compare them to rocks of diamond. AND THE HEAVENS. 815 Whether the moon has an atmosphere, or body of air similar to that which surrounds the earth, has been a subject of dispute among astronomers. It may be surrounded with a fluid which serves the purpose of an atmosphere, although this atmosphere, as to its nature, composition, and refractive power, may be very different from the atmosphere which surrounds the earth. It forms no proof that the moon or any of the planets is destitute of an atmosphere because its constitution, its density, and its power of refracting the rays of light are different from ours. As we have seen that the surface of the moon, in respect to its mountains, caverns, and plains, is very differently arranged from what appears on the landscape of our globe, so we have every reason to conclude that the atmosphere with which that orb may be surrounded is materially different in its constitution and properties from that body of air in which we move and breathe; and it is highly probable, from the diversity of arrangements which exists throughout the planetary system, that the atmospheres of all the planets are variously constructed, and have properties different from each other If, therefore, the Author of nature act on the same general principles, in other systems, as he has done in ours,- which theie is every reason to believe, when we consider his infinite wisdom and intelligence, - we may rest assured that every one of the two thousand four hundred millions of worlds which are comprehended within the range of human vision has a magnificence and glory peculiar to itself, by which it is distinguished from all the surrounding provinces of Jehovah's empire. In this view we may consider the language of the apostle Paul as expressing not only an apparent, but a real fact. "There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for one star differeth from another star in glory." To suppose that the Almighty has exhausted his omnipotent energies, and exhibited all the manifestations of his glory which his perfections can produce, in one system, or even in one million of systems, would be to 816 WONDERS OF THE EARTH set limits to the resources of his wisdom and intelligence, whichl are infinite and incomprehensible. Ience we find the sacred writers, when contemplating the numerous objects which creation exhibits, breaking out into such exclamations as these: "How manifold, O Jehovah, are thy works! In wisdom hast thou made them all." In the next place, besides the magnificence and variety of the material structures which exist throughout the universe, the organized and intelligent beings with which they are peopled present a vast field of delightful contemplation. On this general topic, the following ideas may be taken into consideration: 1. The gradations of intellect, or the various orders of intelligences, which may people the universal system. That there is a vast diversity in the scale of intellectual existence, may be proved by considerations similar to those which have been already stated. Among sentient beings, in this world, we find a regular gradation of intellect, from the muscle, through all the orders of the aquatic and insect tribes, till we arrive at the dog, the monkey, the beaver, and the elephant, and last of all to man, who stands at the top of the intellectual scale, as the lord of this lower world. We perceive, too, in the individuals which compose the human species, a wonderful diversity in their powers and capacities of intellect, arising partly from their original constitution of mind, partly from the conformation of their corporeal organs, and partly from the degree of cultivation they have received. But it would be highly unreasonable to admit that the most accomplished genius that ever adorned our race was placed at the summit of intellectual perfection. On the other hand, we have reason to believe that man, with all his noble powers, stands nearly at the bottom of the scale of the intelligent creation. For a being much inferior to man, in the powers of abstraction, conception, and reasoning, could scarcely be denominated a rational creature, or supposed capable of being qualified for the high destination to which AND THE HEAVENS. 817 man is appointed. As to the number of species which diversify the ranks of superior intellectual natures, and the degrees of perfection which distinguish their different orders, we have no data, afforded by the contemplation of the visible universe, sufficient to enable us to form a definite conception. The intellectual faculties, even of finite beings, may be carried to so high a pitch of perfection as to baffle all our conceptions and powers of description. The following description, in the words of a celebrated Swiss naturalist, may perhaps convey some faint idea of the powers of some of the highest order of intelligences:"To convey one's self from one place to another with a swiftness equal or superior to that of light; to preserve one's self by the mere force of nature, and without the assistance of any other created being; to be absolutely exempted from every kind of change; to be endowed with the most exquisite and extensive senses; to have distinct perceptions of all the attributes of matter, and of all its modifications; to discover effects in their causes; to raise one's self by a most rapid flight to the most general principles; to see in the twinkling of an eye these principles; to have at the same time, without confusion, an almost infinite number of ideas; to see the past as distinctly as the present, and to penetrate into the remotest futurity; to be able to exercise all these faculties without weariness, - these are the various outlines from which we may draw a portrait of the perfections of superior natures." A being possessed of faculties such as these is raised as far above the limited powers of man as man is raised above the insect tribes. The Scriptures assure us, that beings approximating, in their powers and perfections, to those just described, actually exist, and perform important offices under the government of the Almighty. The perfections of the angelic tribes, as represented in Scripture, are incomparably superior to those of men. They are represented as possessed of powers capable of enabling them to wing their flight with amazing rapidity from world to world. For the angel Gabriel, being commanded 103 818 WONDERS OF THE EARTH to fly swiftly, while the prophet Daniel was engaged in supplication, approached to him before he had made an end of presenting his requests. During the few minutes employed in uttering his prayer, this angelic messenger descended firom the celestial regions to the country of Babylonia. This was a rapidity of motion surpassing the comprehension of the inost vigorous imagination, and far exceeding even the amazing velocity of light. They have power over the objects of inanimate nature; for one of them "rolled away the stone from the door of the sepulchre," at the time of Christ's resurrection. They are intimately acquainted with the springs of life, and the avenues by which they may be interrupted; for an angel slew, in one night, one hundred and eighty-five thousand of the Assyrian army. They are perfectly acquainted with all the relations which subsist among mankind, and can distinguish the age and character of every individual throughout all the families of the earth; for one of these powerful beings recognized all the first born in the land of Egypt, distinguishing the Egyptians from the children of Israel, and exerted his powers in their destruction. And as they are " ministering spirits to the heirs of salvation," they must have a clear perception of the persons and characters of those who are the objects of the divine favor, and to whom they are occasionally sent on embassies of mercy. They are endowed with great physical powers and energies; hence they are said "to excel in strength;" and the phrases, "a strong angel," and "a mighty angel," which are sometimes applied to them, are expressive of the same perfection. Hence they are represented, in the Book of the Revelation, as "holding the four winds of heaven," as executing the judgments of God upon the proud despisers of his government, as "throwing mountains into the sea," and binding the prince of darkness with chains, and " casting him into the bottomless pit." They are endowed with unfading and immortal youth, and experience no decay in the vigor of their powers; for the AND THE HEAVENS. 819 angels who appeared to Mary at the tomb of our Savior appeared as young men, though they were then more than four thousand years old. During the long succession of ages that had passed since their creation, their vigor and animation had suffered no diminution, nor decay. They are possessed of vast powers of intelligence - hence they are exhibited in the Book of Revelation as being " full of eyes," that is, endowed with "all sense, all intellect, all consciousness; turning their attention every way; beholding at once all things within the reach of their understandings; and discerning them with the utmost clearness of conception." The various other qualities now stated necessarily suppose a vast comprehension of intellect; and the place of their residence, and the offices in which they have been employed, have afforded full scope to their superior powers. They dwell in a world where truth reigns triumphant; where moral evil has never entered; where substantial knowledge irradiates the mind of every inhabitant; where the mysteries which involve the character of the Eternal are continually disclosing; and where the plans of his providence are rapidly unfolded. They have ranged through the innumerable regions of the heavens, and visited distant worlds for thousands of years; they have beheld the unceasing variety and the endless multitude of the works of creation and providence, and are, doubtless, enabled to compare systems of worlds with more accuracy and comprehension than we are capable of surveying villages, cities, and provinces. Thus their original powers and capacities have been expanded, and their vigor and activity strengthened; and, consequently, in the progress of duration; their acquisitions of wisdom and knowledge must indefinitely surpass every thing that the mind of man can conceive. We have, likewise, certain intimations, that among these celestial beings there are gradations of nature and of office; since there are among them "seraphim and cherubim, archangels, thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers," which designations are evidently expressive of their respective endowments, of the 820 WONDERS OF THE EARTH stations they occupy, and of the employments for which they are qualified. Hence it appears that, although we know but little in the mean time of the nature of that diversity of intellect which prevails among the higher orders of created beings, the intimations given in the sacred volume and the general analogy of nature lead us to form the most exalted ideas of that amazing progression and variety which reign throughout the intellectual universe. 2. Not only is there a gradation of intellect among superior beings, but it is highly probable that a similar gradation or variety obtains in the form, the organization, and the movements of their corporeal vehicles. The human form, especially in the vigor of youth, is the most beautiful and symmetrical of all the forms of organized beings with which we are acquainted, and in these respects may probably bear some analogy to the organic structures of other intelligences. But in other worlds there may exist an indefinite variety, as to the general form of the body or vehicle with which their inhabitants are invested, the size, the number, and quality of their organs, the functions they perform, the splendor and beauty of their aspect, and particularly in the number and perfection of their senses. Though there are more than two hundred thousand species of sensitive beings which traverse the earth, the waters, and the air, yet they all exhibit a marked difference in their corporeal forms and organization. Quadrupeds exhibit a very different structure from fishes, and birds from reptiles; and every distinct species of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and insects differs from another in its conformation and functions. It is highly probable that a similar variety exists in regard to the corporeal vehicles of superior intelligences - accommodated to the regions in which they respectively reside, the -functions they have to perform, and the employments in which they are engaged; and this we find to be actually the case, so far as our information extends. When any of the angelic tribes AND THE HEAVENS. 821 were sent on embassies to our world, we find that, though they generally appeared in a shape somewhat resembling a beautiful human form, yet in every instance there appeared a marked difference between them and human beings. The angel who appeared at the tomb of our Savior exhibited a bright and resplendent form: " His countenance was like the brightness of lightning, and his raiment as white as snow," glittering with an extraordinary lustre, beyond what mortal eyes could bear. The angel who delivered Peter from the prison to which he had been confined by the tyranny of Herod, was arrayed in such splendor, that a glorious light shone through the whole apartment where the apostle was bound, dark and gloomy as it was. That these beings have organs of speech, capable of forming articulate sounds and of joining in musical strains, appears from the words they uttered on these and other occasions, and from the song they sang in the plains of Bethlehem, when they announced the birth of the Savior. They appear to possess the property of rendering themselves invisible at pleasure; for the angel that appeared to Zacharias in the sanctuary of the temple was invisible to the surrounding multitudes without, both at the time of his entrance into and his exit from the "holy place." In particular, there is every reason to conclude that there is a wonderful variety in the number and acuteness of their organs of sensation. We find a considerable variety, in these respects, among the sensitive beings which inhabit our globe. Some animals appear to have only one sense, as the muscle, and the zoophytes; many have but two senses; some hate three; and man, the most perfect animal, has only five. These senses, too, in different species, differ very considerably in point of vigor and acuteness. The dog has a keener scent, the stag a quicker perception of sounds, and the eagle and the lynx more acute visual organs than mankind. The same diversity is observable in the form and the number of sensitive organs. In man, the ear is short and erect, and scarcely susceptible of motion; in the horse and the ass, it is long and 822 WONDERS OF THE EARTH flexible; and in the mole, it consists simply of a hole which perforates the skull. In man there are two eyes; in the scorpion and spider, eight; and in a fly, more than five thousand. That superior beings, connected with other worlds, have additional senses to those which we possess, is highly probable, especially when we consider the general analogy of nature, and the gradations which exist among organized beings in our world. It forms no reason why we should deny that such senses exist, because we can form no distinct conceptions of any senses besides those which we possess. If we had been deprived of the senses of sight and hearing, and left to derive all our information merely through the medium of feeling, tasting, and smelling, we could have had no more conception of articulate language, of musical harmony and melody, of the beauties of the earth, and of the glories of the sky, than a muscle, a vegetable, or a stone. To limit the number of senses which intelligent organized beings may possess to the five which have been bestowed upon man, would be to set bounds to the infinite wisdom and skill of the Creator, who, in all his works, has displayed an endless variety in the manner of accomplishing his designs. While, in the terrestrial sphere in which we move, our views are limited to the external aspects of plants and animals, organized beings, in other spheres, may have the faculty of penetrating into their internal (and to us invisible) movements- of tracing an animal from its embryo state, through all its gradations and evolutions, till it arrive at maturity; of perceiving at a glance, and as it were through a transparent medium, the interior structure of an animal, the complicated movements of its curious machinery, the minute and diversified ramifications of its vessels, and the mode in which its several functions are performed; of discerning the fine and delicate machinery which enters into the construction and produces the various motions of a microscopic animalcule, and the curious vessels and the circulation of juices which exist in the body of a plant; of tracing the secret processes which are going on in the mineral kingdom, and the AND THE HEAVENS 823 operation of chemical affinities among the minute particles of matter, which produce the diversified phenomena of the universe. And, in fine, tiose senses which the inhabitants of other worlds enjoy in common with us may be possessed by them in a state of greater acuteness and perfection. While our visual organs can perceive objects distinctly only within the limits of a few yards or miles around us, their organs may be so modified and adjusted as to enable them to perceive objects with the same distinctness at the distance of a hundred miles, or even to descry the scenery of distant worlds. If our powers of vision had been confined within the range to which a worm or a mite is circumscribed, we could have formed no conception of the amplitude of our present range of view; and it is by no means improbable that organized beings exist whose extent of vision as far exceeds ours as ours exceeds that of the smallest insect, and that they may be able to perceive the diversified landscapes which exist in other worlds, and the movements of their inhabitants, as distinctly as we perceive the objects on the opposite side of a river, or of a narrow arm of the sea. What has been now said in reference to the organs of vision is equally applicable to the organs of hearing, and to other senses; and since faculties or senses such as those we have now supposed would tend to unveil more extensively the wonderful operations of the Almighty, and to excite incessant admiration of his wisdom and beneficence, it is reasonable to believe that he has bestowed them on various orders of his creatures for this purpose. Perhaps some, whose minds are not accustomed to such bold excursions through the regions of material existence, may be apt to consider the preceding details as too improbable and extravagant to claim our serious attention. Nothing short of such sublime and magnificent conceptions seems at all suitable to the idea of a Being of infinite perfection and of eternal duration. If we admit that the divine Being is infinite, pervading the immensity of space with his 824 WONDERS OF THE EARTH AND THE HEAVENS. presence, why should we be reluctant to admit the idea that his almighty energy is exerted throughout the boundless regions of space. for it is just such a conclusion as the notion of an infinite intelligence should naturally lead us to deduce. Whether does it appear to correspond more with the notion of an infinite Being, to believe that his creative power has been confined to this small globe of earth, and a few sparkling studs fixed in the canopy of the sky, or to admit, on the ground of observation and analogy, that he has launched into existence millions of worlds, and that all the millions of systems within the reach of our vision are but as a particle of vapor to the ocean, when compared with the myriads which exist in the unexplored regions of immensity? Who would dare to prove that such conceptions are erroneous, or impossible, or unworthy of that Being who sits on the throne of the universe. To attempt such a proof would be nothing less than to set bounds to Omnipotence; to prescribe limits to the operations of Him "whose ways are past finding out." "Can man conceive beyond what God can do? Nothing but quite impossible is hard. He summons into being with like ease A whole creation and a single grain. Speaks he the word, a thousand worlds are born! A thousand worlds? There's space for millions more; And in what space can his great fiat fail? Condemn me not, cold critic, but indulge The warm imagination: why condemn? Why not indulge such thoughts as swell our hearts With fuller admiration of that Power Which gives our hearts with such high thoughts to swell? Why not indulge in his augmented praise? Darts not his glory a still brighter ray, The less is left to chaos and the realms Of hideous night? " INDEX. Adelsberg Cave,... Page 391, 398 Atmosphere, salutary effect of its curAerolites,....... 768 rents,...... 682 at Ensisheim,..... 770 vapor in the,...... 684 at La Grange, France,.... 771 Aurora Australis,....... 735 at L'Aigle, France,..... 774 Borealis........ 730 description of,..... 775 account of, by Dr. Dalton,. 733 in England,....... 773 ancient descriptions of,.. 735 in India,....... 773, 777 elevation of...... 738 near Nice,........ 771 its connection with electricity near Cape of Good Hope,... 776 and magnetism,.. 740 number of,..... 776 sounds attending,.... 737 specific gravity and analysis of,. 775 various appearances of,.. 731 table of,........ 769 Autun, Bise, or Mistral Wind,. 665, 666 theory of,...... 778 Bahr Assal Lake....... 536 Amazon River,........ 520 Baikal Lake,......... 537 America, discovery of...... 599 Bass Rock......... 357 rainless districts of,..... 700 Bay of Baiae....... 259 North, barren region of,... 449 Ben Lomond, aerial images seen from, 758 great level region of;... 448 Bermuda Islands one mass of animal lakes of,....... 537 remains...... 48 prairies of..... 449 Bitumen,......... 483 timber region of,.... 448 Blue John Mine,...... 400 South, climate of..... 514 Bog iron ore........ 45 llanos of,....... 442 Bone caverns,........ 407 pampas of,...... 446 Bridge, Natural, of Virginia,... 503 selvas of,....... 445 over the Ain el Leban, 504 Animalcules. See Infusoria. Brocken, spectre of the,..... 758 Antiparos, Grotto of,...... 397 Caddis fly, the,........ 49 Aral, Sea of......... 531 Cataracts,......... 496 Arched Rock of Lake Superior,. 625 Caverns, bone,...... 407 Arches, luminous,....... 746 where found, 407, 409, 411 Ashes, volcanic, showers of; 221, 332, 651 bones how deposited in,. 408, 411 Asia, deserts of,........ 440 emitting noxious gas,... 412 Astronomical reasoning, correctness of, 804 formation of, by action of waves, 625 Atmosphere, the,...... 643 general remarks on,.... 382 agitations of the,..... 645 in w.ich ice accumulates in sumits height,....... 643 mer, and melts in winter, 404 opposing currents in the,... 651 in Bolenchen, Yucatan,.. 396 104 (826) 826 INDEX. Caverns, Lunar,........ 813 Currents, oceanic, equatorial,.. 602 Mammoth, in Kentucky,... 402 extent of,..... 615 of Adelsberg,..... 391, 398 north polar,.... 600, 601 of Antiparos,.......397 occasional,...... 608 of Blue John Mine,......400 opposing,...... 611 of Eldon Hole,...... 389 south polar,..... 600 of Fingal, in Staffa,..... 387 their effect on navigation,. 607 of the Guacharo,...... 394 wood, &c., conveyed by, 598, 601 of Gurtshellir,...... 388 under,..... 609 of the Speedwell Mine,... 393 Dead Sea, th...... 531 Peak,....... 391 depression of its level,.... 535 stalactic,........ 397 its fruit......... 533 the table land of Quito the dome its origin,........ 532 of an immense subterra- peculiarities of its waters;.. 534 nean,..... 384 Death of animals prior to man's disused for religious purposes,.. 383 obedience,.... 81 variation of temperature in,.. 403 by drought... 702 varieties of,...... 389 Deserts,...... 430, 434 where most frequent,.... 386 of Sahara,...... 435 Chalk, fossil remains in..... 46 cold, of Northern Asia,... 440 how deposited,... 47 Dew,........... 712 Charybdis,..... 611, 612, 614 deposition of....... 714 Chimney Rock, St. Helena,... 358 injuries caused by..... 715 Chirotherium, the,...... 35 of Palestine,...... 715 Clouds,......... 687 theory of....... 713 classification of,...... 688 Diamonds,......... 65 Cirrocumulus, or Sondercloud,. 692 Dinotherium, the,...... 27 Cirrostratus, or Wanecloud,.. 693 probable habits of the,.. 28 Cirrus, or Curlcloud,.... 689 Downs, or Dunes, formation of,.. 638 Cumulostratus, or Twaincloud,. 693 Dover, Straits of, formerly an isthmus, 622 Cumulus, or Stackencloud,.. 689 Earth, antiquity of the,..... 74 Stratus, or Fallcloud,.... 690 strata of the, composed of fossil Nimbus, or Raincloud,.... 694 animalcules,.... 41 Copper,.......... 60 size of the...... 791 Coral,......... 96 variety of objects diversifying the growth of........ 101 surface of the,.. 792, 809 insects, or polyps,... 97 Earthquakes, animals have a presentiislands,....... 108, 117 ment of,...... 242 reefs,........ 111 attending the formation of voltexture of,........ 106 canic islands,.. 277 zoophytes...... 100, 101 at Cadiz,........ 201 Cordillera Mountains, traces of earth- at Calabria,....... 214 quakes upon the,... 250 at Callao,... 230 Currents, atmospheric,..... 645 at Caraccas,....... 202 opposing,... 651 at Chittagong,... 245 salutary effects of,.... 682 at Conception and Talcahuano,. 233 oceanic,.... 598 at Galongoon,....... 245 cause of,..... 599, 605 at Gibraltar,..... 202 INDEX. 827 Earthquakes at Guanaxuato,... 224 Earthquakes, phenomena attending,. 222 at Lisbon,....... 196 precede volcanic eruptions,. 261, 307 at Oporto....... 200 probable traces of; in South Amerat sea,......... 233 ica,.... 250 at Simoda, Japan,... 231 on Mount Etna,.... 247 at Sumbawa..... 220 on the Bay of Baie,... 254 centre of,...... 211 progress from the centre of,.. 213 central....... 212 rising and retiring of the sea durchasms formed by,..... 225 ing,........ 230 connection between the weather subterranean connection between and,..... 240 volcanic eruptions and,. 268 connection between those occur- theory of,...... 261 ring at great distances, but volcano of Jorullo produced by,. 275 approaching each other in Electricity,...... 719 time,...... 269 connection of Aurora Borealis different kinds of movements of with,..... 740 the earth during,... 190 prevalence of, on high mountains, 720 different nature of matters thrown prevalence of; near the equator,. 721 up by volcanoes and,.. 272 Elephant fossil,....... 25 duration of....... 209 Encrinites,......... 52 affecting the state of volcanic England, advance of its coast upon eruptions,... 267, 270 the sea,..... 632 emotions produced by,.... 207 downs upon its coasts,.... 638 escape of gas from the bottom of waste of its coasts by encroachthe sea during,.... 230 ments of the ocean,.. 627 extent of countries convulsed by, 211, Ensisheim, meteoric stone of,... 770 218 Etesian winds,........ 659 frequency of..... 184 Etna, Mount, height of,..... 126 Graham Island formed by,... 279 Eulalie Lake drained byan earthquake, 190 hills on the Island of Lanzarote Europe, plains of,..... 431, 450 formed by..... 273 Evaporation of water...... 684 in Hindustan....... 252 amount of, in Great Britain,.. 686 in the Mississippi Valley,... 187 Falls,.......... 495 instrument for measuring the di- Kaaterskill,....... 497 rection and intensity of,. 195 of the Evanson,...... 498 island in the Aleutes group formed Niagara%.... 500 by,........ 286 of the Orco,....... 498 Island of Sabrina formed by,. 277 Tequendama,....... 499 Island of Santorin formed by,. 288 Trolhetta,....... 497 lakes formed by,.... 187 252 Fata Morgana..... 748 752 linear,........ 211 Fire-balls,....... 725, 767 matter ejected by,..... 227 Flint, fossil remains in,.... 47 Monte Nuovo formed by,... 272 Flood, remarkable, in Scotland,.. 505 most frequent in countries near Forests converted into peat bogs,. 85, 87 the sea,...... 186 fossil,......... 73 occur in all countries,.... 184 Footprints in.sandstone,..... 34 permanent subsidence and eleva- France, downs of,.. 641 tion of land by,.. 244, 385 Geology in harmony with revelation,. 75 828 INDEX. Germany, level lands of... 452, 454 Ichthyosaurus, probable habits of the, 17 Geysers.......... 476 Ignis fatuus, the,....... 761 Giant's Causeway....... 358 theory of the....... 763 Glaciers, appendages to snow moun- Iguanodon, the........ 21 tains....... 138 Illusions, optical....... 748 chasms in........ 146 India, fossil remains in,..... 28 colors of........ 151 Infusoria.......... 42 ice, texture of,...... 142 fossil,.... 40 45, 47, 327 moraines........ 149 water of the Red Sea colored by, 557 movement of...... 152 Iron,........... 67 of Switzerland,...... 141 immense masses of, supposed to origin of,........ 151 have fallen from the atvariation in extent of,.... 156 mosphere,..... 777 Glyptodon, the........ 34 meteoric,........ 776 Gold, where found....... 54 Islands, coral...... 108, 117 Grotto del Cane,....... 413 floating........ 538 Gulf Stream, the,....... 602 Graham, formed by an earthBank of Newfoundland formed by quake,....... 279 the,....... 607 of Sabrina, formed by an earthits temperature,... 606 quale.... 277 Guevo Upas, or Poison Valley,.. 298 of Santorin, formed by an earthHailstorms,..... 709 quake,.. 288 Halos, how produced...... 741 Ivory, fossil......... 25 remarkable, seen by Humboldt,. 742 Jerusalem, temple of, furnished with Harmattan, or desert hot winds, 659, 662 lightning conductors,.. 730 Helm wind......... 668 Jorullo, volcano of, produced by an Himmalaya Mountains, passes of, 133, 419 earthquake,.....275 Hoar frost,........716 Khamsin wind,....659 Holyoke, Mount, greenstone columns Kirauea, volcano of,......367 on........ 358 Kraabla Mount, eruption of,... 366 Hurricanes......... 607 Labyrinthodon, the...... 35 in West Indies and Mauritius, 671, 673 Lagoon Islands, or Atolls,.. 108, 117 on the American coast,... 674 Lakes, agitation of,....... 542 their rotatory and progressive mo- Celano, drained by an artificial tions,......6 75 tunnel through a mountheir uses in the economy of na- tain....... 529 ture,....... 682 containing floating islands,.. 538 Ice, polar........ 565 color and transparency of,.. 543 adventures of ships with,. 569, 576 depression of,....... 545 classification of...... 568 drained by an earthquake,... 190 theory of........ 566 formed by an earthquake,... 187 Icebergs.......... 571 having no apparent affluents nor their color....... 572 outlets...... 528 creation of an....... 573 having outlets, but no apparent origin of,........ 572 affluents,...... 529 rocks transported by,... 575 having affluents, but no outlets,. 529 Ichthyosaurus, the,...... 15 having both affluents and outlets, 537 eyes of the,...... 16, 78 largest, where found,... 527 INDEX. 829 Lakes of Switzerland,..... 541 Mannering Pass,...... 422 of North America,. 528 Marble, encrinitic,.... 52 of Mandia,....... 436 nummulitic,....... 51 Urameah,........ 530 Purbeck, composed of shells,.. 50 Land breezes,........ 655 Mastodon, the,........ 26 permanent elevation and subsi- Megalonyx, the,....... 33 dence of,.. 245, 249, 254 Megalosaurus, the,....... 22 the, formerly at the bottom of Megatherium, the,.... 31 the ocean,... 46 Meteors,.......... 765 Landslips, how produced,.... 171 remarkable, at Benares,... 786 of Les Diablerets,..... 176 in England,....... 767 of Mount Carnans,... 172 in Italy,......... 767 of Mont Conto,...... 174 theory of,........ 778 of Mont Grenier,... 177 Minerals, how deposited,.... 54 of Mont Ruffi,...... 172 Mines, access to,....... 418 of the White Mountains,... 179 arsenic,......... 64 produced by the action of the coal}....... 67 ocean upon cliffs,.. 623 copper,......... 60 Lava, flames issuing from,.. 347 depth of,........ 418 flowing up hill,...... 345 diamond,........ 65 great thickness of its streams,. 345 drainage of,....... 68 heat of,......... 350 general remarks on,..... 415 immense quantities of, ejected by gold,.......... 54 irregular volcanic erup- iron,... 67 tions.3......73 lead...... 58 influx of, into the sea,.. 8348 Odin's,......... 415 issuing from lateral rents,...336 platinum,........ 55 mass of ice preserved by,.. 354 quicksilver,..... 60 nature of the different kinds,. 356 salt,........ 65, 416 progress of,....... 341 silver,....... 56 time required for its cooling,.. 353 sulphur,........ 65 turning from objects in its course, 346 tin,...... 64 velocity of its streams,.... 349 ventilation of,....... 416 Lead,........... 58 Milky Way, the,....... 798 Lightning conductors,..... 727 Mirage...... 437) 748, 749 globular,........ 725 Mississippi River,....... 522 its identity with electricity, 719, 726 great raft in the,..... 541 singular effects of,..... 724 Valley, earthquake in the,... 187 three classes of...... 725 Monsoons, the,........ 652 velocity of,........ 725 change of the,..... 653 Limestone, indusial,...... 49 theory of the,...... 654 nummulitic,....... 51 Monte Nuovo, formed by an earthLlanos of South America,.... 442 quake,...... 272 Maelstrom, the,....... 611 Moon, caverns in the,..... 813 Mammoth, fossil,....... 24 central mountains of the,. 811 found entire in a cliff,.... 25 circular mountains of the,.. 811 Main Tor, or Shivering Mountain,.. 170 insulated mountains in the,.. 810 Man, modern origin of,..... 80 mountain ranges of the,... 811 830 INDEX. Moon, probability of its having an at- Ocean, waves of the,...... 587 mosphere..... 815 Optical illusions....... 748 Mososaurus, the,....... 23 in the Arctic Ocean,..760 Mountains, ascent of...... 124 at Brighton, England... 756 description of,...... 120 at Buffalo,........ 752 lunar......... 810 at Comrie, Scotland,..... 759 sensations produced by ascending, 132 at Hastings, England,.. 750 snow,......... 130 at Miqu6, France,..... 757 torrents........181 at Ramsgate, England,... 751 uses of,......... 129 at Petersburg, Virginia,... 759 passes,....... 133, 419 in Sicily,........ 752 of military importance,.. 421 near Cairo,........ 749 Naphtha......... 65 on the Hartz Mountains,... 758 springs......... 483 on Ben Lomond,...... 758 Nebule,....... 798 Orinoco, periodical rise of the,.. 517 Needles, the, formed by the action of Oyster shells, extensive beds of,.. 46 water....... 626 Palisades on the Hudson River of volNiagara Falls........ 500 t canic origin..... 357 supposed change in their locality, 502 Pampas, description of the,... 446 Nile, the,.......... 524 fossil remains in the,...29, 518 cataracts of the,....... 496 Pamperos,......... 667 increase of land at its mouth,. 6. 3 Paraselence, or mock moons,... 744 rise of the,........ 513 Parhelia, or mock suns,.....742 source of the,....... 488 superstitions respecting,... 743 North-west Passage, discovery of,. 581 Peat, antiseptic properties of,... 89 Nummulites......... 51 bogs of Ireland,...... 85 Ocean, the,....... 547 bogs, bursting of,..... 91 advance of coasts upon the,. 632 distribution of,...... 84 Atlantic, outline of the,.. 582 fossils discovered in,.... 94 calms upon the,..... 562 nature and origin of,.... 83 color of the,...... 555 Petroleum springs,....... 482 description of a storm upon the,. 563 Pitch springs,...... 483 its encroachment upon the land,. 618 Plains........... 427 freezing of the,...... 58 of America,......441 ice in the....... 565 of Germany,..... 452,454 inequalities of its bed,.... 548 of Europe,...... 450 its currents,....... 598 Planets, diversity of scenery in,.. 809 its saltness,....... 550 Plateaus, or table lands,.....428 its tides,........ 593 Plesiosaurus, the,....... 17 its uses......... 547 its supposed habits..... 18 phosphorescence of the,... 561 Plymouth breakwater,...... 590 rising and retiring of the, during Po, the River, increase of land at its earthquakes,... 197, 230 mouth,..... 636 subsidence of its bed,.... 114 Polyps, or coral insects,..... 97 sulphuretted hydrogen in the,. 554 Pompeii, destruction of, by volcanic transparency of certain parts of ashes,....... 329 the,....... 558 Prairies of North America,.... 449 temperature of the,.... 564 Pterodactyle, the,....... 19 INDEX. 831 Puzzuoli, solfatara of,...... 302 Sea, Dead, the,........ 531 Quicksilver mines,....... 60 Mediterranean, the,... 583 Quito, climate of, affected by an earth- of Aral,..... 531 quake.... 242 Sea weed, of great length,.... 585 Rain,.... 695 Selvas of South America,.... 445 comparative' quantities of, in dif- Showers, meteoric,..... 779 ferent countries,.. 696, 699 at Quito,........ 782 periodical, in tropical countries,. 698 in Greenland....... 781 periodical, in South America,. 514 in North America,..... 783 Rainbow.......... 745 in the Red Sea...... 782 lunar......... 747 periodical return of,..... 785 Rain drops, impressions of; in sand- theory of........ 787 stone....... 37 Silver mines,........ 56 Randa, destruction of; by an avalanche, 165 Simoom wind, or samiel,.. 659 Rapids and cataracts...... 495 Sirocco........ 659, 663 Reefs, coral,......... 111 at New South Wales.... 665 Refraction, atmospheric, in northern Sivatherium, the,....... 28 latitudes..... 760 Slikensides,.........415 Relugas, effects of a flood at,... 507 Sloth, the,......... 29 Rhone, the, increase of land at its Snow, beauty of its crystals when magmouth......635 nified.... 703 Rivers, colors of their waters,... 494 fields of the Alps,... 133, 135 descent of,....... 492 in Canton,...... 704 directions of,..... 489 limits of,...... 704 diversities of,....... 491 peculiarities of, on high mounelevation of, by winds,.... 509 tains,....... 136 length of........ 492 plains of Norway,... 134 origin of........ 487 storm in Scotland,.....707 rise of,....... 511 upon the Alps..... 706 peculiarities of, derived from coun- Solfataras,....... 299 tries through which they Sound, propagation of; in elevated repass,....... 494 gions........429 subterranean passages of,.. 504 Springs, ebullient....... 476 termination of,..... 518 theory of,.. -. 479 Sabrina Island formed by an earth-. hot and cold, in the same locaiity, 472 quake,...... 278 intermittent,...... 465 Sahara, Desert of....... 435 incrusting....... 485 Salt mines,....... 65, 416 inflammable,....... 482 Sal ammoniac found in semi-extinct mineral,....... 484 volcanoe s...... 304 perennial.........464 Samiel wind, or simoom..... 659 reciprocating,....... 465 Sand, pillars of....... 677 their origin,....... 458 Santorin, Island of...... 288 thermal....... 470 Scoria, description of,...... 325 Stars arranged in nebula,.... 798 extensive arched vaults formed of, 343 beings by which they may be inScylla, rock of,...... 611, 613 habited...... 816 Sea breezes,......... 655 diversity of scenery in,. 808, 815 Caspian, the,....... 531 rapid motions of,...... 799 916 —ENTIRE NUMBER OF PAGES, INCLUSIVE OF ENGRAVINGS. Stars, regarded as worlds,.... 806 Volcanoes, filling up of their craters spaces by which they are sur- during repose,.... 311 rounded,...... 803 formation of lateral rents in,.. 336 number of....... 797 formed by an earthquake,...275 shooting,........ 765 height to which matter ejected altitude and velocity of,.. 766 by, is thrown up,... 331 hypotheses respecting,.. 766 immense quantities of animalcules Stalactites,......... 397 ejected by....327 St. Elmo's fire,........ 726 intermittent,...... 306 Steppes of Europe and Asia,. 430, 432 in what countries found,... 292 Swamp, Great Dismal,..... 93 matter ejected by,..... 324 Tempests, local,....... 699 mud,......... 305 violent, at Cromwell's death,.. 646 number of,....... 380 violent, in England,..... 669 of Kirauea..... 367 Temple of Serapis,....... 254 of Mikra Kameni,..... 289 Thunder storms,..... 722 of Papandayang,.... 244 Tides of the ocean,...... 593 permanently active..... 361 cause of....... 593 phenomena attending their erupinequalities of,...... 594 tions,..... 317, 359 influence of winds upon,... 596 phenomena preceding their eruptheir effect upon rivers,... 597 tions,..... 261, 307 Tin mines,....... 64 semi-extinct,..... 299 Tortoise, large fossil,...... 29 Volcanic ashes, showers of, 197, 220, 221, Trade winds,........ 648 230, 236, 253, 332, 333, 651 their limits,...... 648 immense quantities of,.. 327, 329 theory of,...... 649 Volcanic eruption of Mount Kraabla,. 366 Trees, fossil,..... 72, 86, 251 of Mauna Loa,.....370 Ullah Bund, or God's Dike,..... 253 of Skaptaar Yokul,... 376 Universe, immensity of the,.... 799 of Mount Stromboli,... 362 quantity of matter contained in of Mount Vesuvius,. 307, 319 the,........ 790 irregular,..... 292, 372 Valleys.......... 423 lightning and thunder.... 334 Val del Bove,....... 247 soil of great fertility,.. 293, 330 Vesuvius, Mount, eruptions of, 307, 308, Waves, depth to which they extend,. 589 % 310, 319, 329, 336, 340 how formed....... 587 Volcanoes, bases of,......293 allayed by oil,...... 591 breaking up of their craters at the their height, form, extent, and commencement of erup- velocity,...... 588 tions.......316 tidal.......... 595 classification of,...... 291 Water, evaporation of..... 684 cones of........ 295 Waterspouts....... 679 columns of smoke issuing from Wells, artesian,....... 458 their craters, how formed, 333 fish brought up by,... 328, 464 craters of....... 296 theory of,........458 eruptions of, by the crater and by Whirlwinds,......... 675 lateral rents,...295, 338 Winds, classification of,..... 647 external forms of..... 292 Zoophytes, flowering, or animal flowers, 100 extinct,......297 in the form of trees, vases, &c.,. 101