178 Scientific IiitelUgence. — Meteorology. 



ter's edge, and surmounted by the barracks, and protected by a 

 handsome fort, and a coast, forming small and convenient bays, 

 from the town to its termination at the Cape, which runs boldly 

 into the sea. On the right is the Atlantic. That a scene, com- 

 posed of such ostensible material features, is grand and impos- 

 ing, may readily be supposed ; but those who are ignorant of 

 the peculiarities of a tropical climate, and its seductive influence 

 on a stranger, can form no adequate notion of the character and 

 extent of its actual power. For the moment home is forgotten ; 

 or if remembered, the remembrance is accompanied with a de- 

 sire it should be situated in such a seeming paradise. In thus 

 speaking of the view on arriving at Sierra Leone, we are sup- 

 posing the settlement to be made on a fine clear day, when the 

 atmosphere is bright and comparatively devoid of malaria, and 

 the river runs its natural course, unswollen, and free from dis- 

 coloration. Should the arrival, however, happen at a different 

 period, when the atmosphere is dense, oppressive, and fraught 

 with deleterious exhalations, and the rains are dehiging the face 

 of the country, and at once augmenting the river, and destroy- 

 ing its beauty, then Sierra Leone presents a very different ap- 

 pearance ; there is nothing to excite a pleasing anticipation, but 

 there is a world of causes for apprehension and for dread. The 

 realities of the scene are, of course, unaltered, for the two periods 

 are the property of the climate, and must be alike endured by 

 the colonists; but the appearances present a melancholy and 

 fearful contrast.'^ 



2. Description of an African Tornado.-^The seasons at 

 Sierra Leone are divided into the wet and the dry. The latter 

 is generally ushered in by the explosion of two or three torna- 

 dos, which, although formidable in themselves, are still so long 

 connected with the approach of a pleasant time, as that the in- 

 habitants have sometimes prayed for their appearance. One of 

 those strange commotions of nature is thus described by Mr 

 Boyle : — " A violent tornado appears to strangers a most ap- 

 pahng visitation, and produces an extraordinary effect upon 

 their feelings. It consists of successive flashes of the most vivid 

 lightning, tremendous shocks of thunder, rapidly and alarm- 

 ingly reiterated, impetuous gusts of wind, deluging rain. This 

 terrific combination of the elements sweeps along the whole of 



