M. De la Rive on the Formation of Hail, 289 



It happened that on the Sd of August I was a witness, so to 

 speak, of the formation of the storm, and of the congelation of 

 the hailstones. 



Leaving Clermont at six in the morning, I ascended the high 

 ground which commands the town on the west. I traced the 

 limits of the hail of the 28th July, that I might determine by 

 following the edges of the injured surface, the shape of the cloud 

 which had conveyed the dreadful scourge. At 10 I reached the 

 base of the Puy-du-Dome ; the day being splendid, and the sua 

 most powerful. 



Some white clouds extended themselves over the Mont-Dore ; 

 the Puy-du-Dome stood out majestically from the azure sky. 

 Some shepherds whom I had interrogated respecting the effects 

 of the hail of the 28th, urged me to retreat without loss of time to 

 the hamlet of La Barraque, if I wished to avoid the storm which, 

 according to them, was assuredly and speedily coming to assail 

 us. The hope of seeing, in all its details, one of those magnifi- 

 cent scenes of which the atmosphere is the theatre, induced me, 

 on the contrary, to attain, as quickly as possibly, the summit of 

 the Puy-du-Dome, and before mid- day I was seated on the top 

 of this enormous pyramid, and extending my observations over 

 the immense horizon. The west wind, which had prevailed all 

 the morning, speedily brought along with it some low clouds, 

 which passed a few yards above my head, but the suu again 

 appeared. I then saw other clouds detach themselves from the 

 Mont-Dore, and approach very near me, impelled by a very 

 violent south wind, but which I did not feel till near one oVlock. 

 When I thus saw great clouds proceeding in different directions, 

 I could not for an instant doubt the formation of hail, and my 

 hopes were soon changed into reality. 



So long as the two strata of clouds were not superimposed 

 on each other, there was no appearance of hail. All I noticed 

 was, that those which came from the south, and which were the 

 most elevated, were congregating in little groups, which seemed 

 to precipitate themselves on each other, so forming great black 

 clouds,*so large and weighty that the wind could scarcely move 

 them, though they nevertheless proceeded towards the north. 

 The lower part of the cloud would then elongate itself, present- 

 ing an enormous projection, torrents of water would speedily 



