M. De la Rive (yii the Formation of Hail. 291 



I waited for a second scene similar to that which I have just 

 described, till a prodigious flash of lightning illuminated all 

 the lower mass of clouds, one of whose edges rested upon the 

 summit of the Puy-du-D6me. I imagined that I was all of a 

 sudden plunged into the most vivid hght, and I experienced a 

 general uneasiness, which probably arose solely from the terror 

 with which I was seized. I descended the Puy-du-D6me witli 

 the greatest rapidity, fearing to be hurt by the hailstones, or at 

 least to be drenched by the storm, and I made for an asylum in 

 a hollow grotto at the base of the Puy-du-C6me, which had on 

 other occasions afforded me shelter. The summit of the Puy- 

 du-D6me was enveloped in the tempest- cloud, and it would have 

 been imprudent to have remained longer there. 



After having remarked the direction of the storm, and rested 

 for a moment from my fatigue and alarm, I reached the Puy- 

 du-C6me, a magnificent observatory, where I was still near the 

 clouds. It was now two o'clock, and the state of the skies made 

 me fear other heavy showers, which I was solicitous of avoiding. 

 I then directed my steps towards the Puy-des-Goules, between 

 two and three miles from the top of Puy-du-C6me, and I as- 

 cended it about three o'clock. The heavens were very much in 

 the same state, the two strata of clouds were still apparent, and 

 the south wind, which was very cold, scudded with great strength 

 along the sides of the mountain. It brought along with it an- 

 other hail-cloud, which appeared to be heavily charged, and in 

 which I was enveloped for about five minutes. The hailstones 

 were numerous, and the largest was scarcely the size of a filbert. 

 They were formed of concentric layers, more or less transparent, 

 and were roundish or slightly oval ; they were all carried along 

 in a horizontal direction with great velocity, from which the at- 

 traction of the mountain seemed to make them swerve, and many 

 fell upon its sides. Very many struck me without doing me any 

 injury, and they fell as soon as they touched me. The greater 

 part of the cloud passed over my head, and I distinctly heard 

 the hissing noise of the hailstones, or rather a confused noise, 

 the result of an infinite number of partial sounds, which I could 

 attribute to nothing else than the friction of each hailstone 

 against the air. The cloud which passed over my head, and in 



