Charles Tomlinson

“ It is remarkable, also, as an example of that general harmony which prevails in the material world, that the most glowing and magnificent skies occur when terrestrial objects put on their deepest and most splendid hues. It has also been observed, that it is not the change of vegetation only, which gives to the decaying charms of autumn their finest and most golden hues, but also the atmosphere and the peculiar lights and shadows which then prevail; and there can be no doubt, on the other hand, that our perception of beauty in the sky is very much influenced by the surrounding scenery. ”

“ There was a sublimity in the mighty power and deafening roar of waters, heightened by the livid hue of the clouds, the sheeting rain, the howling of the wind, the lowing of the cattle, and the screaming and wailing of the assembled people, that riveted the attention. In the distance could dimly be descried the far-off dwelling of poor Funns, its roof rising like a speck above the flood, that had evidently made a breach in one of its ends. ”

“ While we watch the effects of the various rains, and their beneficial influence on the earth, there is also much to excite our gratitude and admiration; for among the many beautiful contrivances in creation, none is more remarkable than the means by which the earth is watered and refreshed by rain. The oceans, seas, lakes, and other waters of the earth supply the air with moisture, which, rendered elastic and invisible by the heat of the sun and of the earth, rises to various heights in the atmosphere, where it forms clouds in all their wonderful beauty and variety. ”

“ The trees and buildings, the spectators and their crowded equipages, and finally, the earth itself, at first distinctly seen, gradually became obscured by the thickening mist, and growing whiter in their forms, and fainter in their outlines, soon faded away ‘like the baseless fabric of a vision,’ leaving us, to all appearance, stationary in the cloud that still continued to involve us in its watery folds. ”

“ Who can venture to imitate, by the pencil, the endless varieties of red and orange and yellow which the setting sun discloses, and the magical illusions which all the day diversify the vast and varied space the eye travels over in rising gradually from the horizon to the upper sky? ”

“ The approach of a sleety snow-storm, following a deceitful gleam in spring, is always announced to us by the loud untuneful voice of the missel-thrush (turdus viscivorus) as it takes its stand on some tall tree, like an enchanter calling up the gale. ”

“ The eddies are larger and more powerful than ever. Here and there tracts of forest are observed undermined, the trees gradually giving way, and falling into the stream. Cattle, horses, bears, and deer are seen at times attempting to swim across the impetuous mass of foaming and boiling water; whilst, here and there, a vulture or an eagle is observed perched on a bloated carcass, tearing it up in pieces, as regardless of the flood, as on former occasions it would have been of the numerous sawyers and planters with which the surface of the river is covered when the water is low. ”

“ In the islands off the Irish coast the author of “Letters from the Irish Islands,” describes the rainbow of winter “as gradually advancing before the lowering clouds, sweeping with majestic stride across the troubled ocean, then, as it gained the beach, and seemed almost within one’s grasp, vanishing amid the storm of which it had been the lovely but treacherous forerunner. It is, I suppose, a consequence of our situation, and the close connexion between sea and mountain, that the rainbows here are so frequent and so peculiarly beautiful. ”

“ No matter what may be the convulsions to which the atmosphere is subjected, nor how violent its effects in sound and motion upon the agitated surface of the earth, not the slightest sensation of either can be detected by the individual who is floating in its currents. The most violent storm, the most outrageous hurricane, pass equally unheeded and unfelt ”

“ Now, too, a single rain-storm, like the above, breaks up all the paths and ways at once, and makes home no longer ‘home’ to those who are not obliged to leave it; while it becomes doubly endeared to those who are. ”

“ Through this dense body of vapour, which may be said to have commenced at an altitude of about 1000 feet, we were borne upwards to perhaps an equal distance, when the increasing light warned us of our approach to its superior limits, and shortly after, the sun and we rising together, a scene of splendour and magnificence suddenly burst upon our view, which it would be vain to expect to render intelligible by any mode of description within our power. ”

“ If the cloud, produced by the mingling of two differently heated currents of moist air, happen to form in the upper regions of the sky, it may be heavier than its own bulk of air, and will consequently begin to sink. Should the atmosphere near the earth be less dense than the cloud, the latter will continue to descend till it touches the ground, where it forms a mist. If the vapour has been condensed rapidly and abundantly, the watery particles will form rain, hail, or snow, according to the temperature of the air through which they pass. ”

“ Pursuing the illusion, which the previous events had been so strongly calculated to create, the impression upon our senses was that of entering upon a new world to which we had hitherto been strangers, and in which not a vestige could be perceived to remind us of that we had left, except the last faint echo of the voices which still dimly reached us, as if out of some interminable abyss into which they were fast retreating. ”

“ If rain is not at all seasons pleasant and delightful, neither are rain-clouds among the most beautiful which diversify the landscape of the sky; for it has been well remarked, that “all the fine-weather clouds are beautiful, and those connected with rain and wind mostly the reverse.” ”

“ When the sun is more or less obscured by a thicker or thinner cirro-stratus cloud, and when he is said to be wading in the cloud, rain may come—if the cloud indicates rain it will come. A halo surrounding the disc of the sun is almost always sure to precede rain. A red sunset without clouds indicates a doubt of fair weather; but a fine day may be expected after a red sunset in clouds. A watery sunset, diverging rays of light, either direct from the sun or from behind a cloud, is indicative of rain. ”

“ So, also, when white light falls upon what we call a red surface, the yellow and blue rays are stifled or absorbed, leaving the red only to be reflected. Now, when we consider the various ways in which this absorption may take place; one or two, or all of the coloured rays being absorbed in every possible proportion, it is easy to form some idea of the manner by which the innumerable tints of the sky are produced. ”

“ A rainbow can only occur when the clouds containing or depositing the rain are opposite the sun,—and in the evening the rainbow is in the east, and in the morning in the west. As, therefore, our heavy rains in this climate are usually brought by the westerly wind, a rainbow in the west indicates that the bad weather is on the road, by the wind, to us; whereas, the rainbow in the east proves that the rain in these clouds is passing from us. ”

“ There is something very wonderful in the rapidity and perfection with which these natural prisms, the falling drops of rain, produce these effects. In the inconceivably short space of time occupied by a drop falling through those parts of the sky which form the proper angles with the sun’s rays and the eye of the observer, the light enters the surface of the drop, undergoes within it one or two reflexions, two refractions and decompositions, and has reached the eye ”

“ The boat was next conveyed by the horses to a point from which it was launched for the rescue of the Kerrs. Having pulled up as far as they could in the still water, they approached the desperate current, and fearlessly dashed into its tumultuous waves. For a moment the spectators were in the most anxious doubt as to the result; for, though none could pull a stronger oar, yet the boat in crossing a distance equal to its own length was swept down 200 yards. Ten yards more would have dashed them to atoms on the lower stone wall. ”

“ Some moments after, there was heard at Aigle, and in the environs of that town, in 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 dreadful rumbling, like the beating of a drum. The air was calm and the sky serene, except a few clouds, such as are frequently observed. ”

“ Over-head it is a mere bed of haze, more or less dense. In the horizon, when seen sideways, it often resembles shoals of fish, as already noticed; but it is liable to put on the most ragged and patchy appearances, making a very ugly sky.
The nimbus, or rain cloud, is seen to the greatest advantage in profile, in the horizon, and at a great p. 105distance, when it often resembles a lofty tower raised by its greater height to a conspicuous place among the dark threatening clouds, and catching the sun’s last rays upon its broad summit and sides. ”

“ A densely formed cloud must therefore detain a much larger share; and those dark and sombre forms, which sometimes make the sky so gloomy, can only result from the abundant absorption of the solar light. The brilliant whiteness which their edges occasionally exhibit, must result from the more copious transmission of light, so that the depths of shade in a cloud may be regarded as comparative measures of the varied thickness of its mass. ”

“ The earth is everywhere covered by a deep deposit of muddy loam, which, in drying, splits into deep and narrow chasms, forming a sort of network, from which, in warm weather, noxious exhalations rise, filling the atmosphere with a dense fog. ”

“ In hilly countries, on the contrary, clouds and vapours rest on the summits without descending into the plains, and, according to some, the hills attract electricity from the clouds, and thus occasion rain to fall. Mr. Phillips supposes that each drop of rain continues to increase in size from the commencement to the end of its descent, and as it passes successively through the moist strata of the air, obtains its increase from them; while the rain which falls on the mountain may leave these moist strata untouched, so that they may, in fact, not form rain at all. ”

“ Water, in the state of rain, hail, snow, or dew, is generally the only substance which falls from the atmosphere upon the earth. There are, however, many well authenticated instances of various substances being showered down upon the land, to the great alarm of persons who were ignorant that the powerful action of the wind was, perhaps, the chief cause of the strange visitations to which we allude.
We read of showers of sand, mud, sulphur, blood, fishes, frogs, insects, and stones ”

“ Unconscious of our own motion from any direct impression upon our own feelings, the whole world appeared to be in the act of receding from us in the dim vista of infinite space; while the vapoury curtain seemed to congregate on all sides and cover the retreating masses from our view. ”

“ The size of a cloud may be such, or clouds may exist in different elevations, which in an upper region produce hail, in a lower region snow, and at a still lower elevation rain. Rain may also form in an upper region of the sky, and descend into a colder stratum of the atmosphere, and be frozen into hail. Hail generally precedes storms of rain.
Change of wind and the action of opposite currents, so necessary for the production of rain, are also frequent during hail-storms. While clouds are agitated with the most rapid motions, rain generally falls in greatest abundance ”

“ Kerr, a little a-head of the others, was seen tearing off the thatch, as if trying to force an entrance through the roof, whilst the miserable women clung to the house-top, the blankets which they had used to shelter them almost torn from them by the violence of the p. 53hurricane; and the roof they had left yielding and tottering, fell into the sweeping flood. The thatch resisted all Kerr’s efforts; and he was now seen to let himself drop from the eaves on a small speck of ground higher than the rest, close to the foundation of the back wall of the buildings, which was next the spectators. ”

“ The greatest depth of rain which falls in the Indian ocean is during the time when the periodical winds, called the monsoons, change their direction. When the winds blow directly in-shore the rains are very abundant, so much so that, after a continuance of twenty-four hours, the surface of the sea has been covered with a stratum of fresh water, good enough for drinking, and ships have actually filled their casks from it. ”

“ All rivers which rise in high and cold regions, and pass into warm lowlands, are naturally very liable to overflow their bounds. A remarkable example is afforded by the river Rhone, which rises in the glaciers of Switzerland; and, after passing through the lake of Geneva, descends into the south-eastern departments of France,—a very level district, where the climate is mild and genial. Rapid meltings of the ice in Switzerland, or heavy falls of rain or snow in that country, greatly affect this river ”

“ In summer, when the heat has been very great, the rain is often ushered in by a thunder-storm, and falls in torrents, which at an earlier season would do harm to the young buds and blossoms of spring; but now the vegetation is strong enough to resist the floods so necessary to maintain moisture in the parched earth. ”

“ A rainbow is sometimes formed by the rays of the moon falling upon drops of rain, in the same manner as the solar rays, and refracted and reflected by the drops; but the colours are faint in consequence of the feeble light of the moon compared with that of the sun. A lunar rainbow has been thus described by an observer:—“The moon was truly ‘walking in brightness,’ brilliant as she could be, not a cloud was to be seen near her ”

“ As the Cumulus belongs to the day, so does the Stratus to the night. It is the lowest of all the clouds, and actually rests upon the earth, or the surface of water. It is of variable extent and thickness, and is called Stratus, a bed or covering. It is generally formed by the sinking of vapour in the atmosphere, and on this account has been p. 85called Fall-cloud. It comprehends all those level, creeping mists, which, in calm evenings, spread like an inundation from the valleys, lakes, and rivers, to the higher ground. ”

“ I believe that the reason of this migration of sea-gulls, and other sea-birds, to the land, is their security of finding food; and they p. 202may be observed, at this time, feeding greedily on the earth-worms and larvæ driven out of the ground by severe floods; and the fish on which they prey in fine weather in the sea, leave the surface, and go deeper in storms. The search after food, as we have agreed on a former occasion, is the principal cause why animals change their places. The different tribes of the wading birds always migrate when rain is about to take place ”

“ Rapidly does the landscape brighten under the influence of the welcome shower; and as it becomes more rich and extensive, all nature seems to rise up and rejoice. The birds chirp merrily among the foliage; the flowers raise their drooping heads, and the thirsty ground drinks in with eager haste the mellowing rains. All day long, perhaps, does the rain continue to fall, until the earth is fully moistened and “enriched with vegetable life.” At length, towards evening, the sun peeps out from p. 13among the broken clouds, and lights up, by his sudden radiance, the lovely scene. ”

“ Clouds are often seen to advantage in mountainous countries. Here the aspect of the heavens may be entirely different at different elevations. A single cloud in the valley may conceal the whole of the upper sky from an observer; but as he ascends he may gradually get above this and other layers or bands of cloud, and see a beautifully variegated sky above him, while the clouds which conceal the valley may be rolling at his feet. ”

“ Espy says, are known to produce rain. Humboldt speaks of a mysterious connexion between volcanoes and rain, and says that when a volcano bursts out in South America in a dry season, it sometimes changes it to a rainy one. The Indians of Paraguay, when their crops are threatened by drought, set fire to the vast plains with the intention of producing rain. In Louisiana, heavy rains have been known from time immemorial to succeed the conflagration of the prairies; and the inhabitants of Nova Scotia bear testimony to a similar result from the burning of their forests. ”