of the Terrestrial Globe. 229 



Danube was built to render the passage over this river easy 

 during the winter, when the cold did not freeze the waters. He- 

 rodian has a narrative of the soldiers, instead of going with 

 pitchers to seek for water on the banks of the Rhine, supplying 

 themselves with axes, and, after cutting the ice, removing it to 

 their camp. 



And what are we to conclude from these passages ? Nothing 

 more than that, in the time of the Romans, the rivers of France^ 

 and the Rhine, and the Danube, were sometimes completely 

 frozen over. 



But now we shall present a table which will demonstrate, that, 

 in far later times, these same rivers, on the one hand, and the 

 Po, the Gulf of Venice, and even the Mediterranean itself, were 

 frequently frozen. 



In 8G0, The Adriatic and the Rhone were frozen. 



Note The complete congelation of the Rhone, near to Aries, or 



in any other part of Provence, seems to require, according to 

 observations made in 1776, a degree of cold of — 0.4 Fahr. : 

 In 1709, when the Gulf of Venice was frozen over, the ther- 

 mometer in the city descended to 4° below zero. (Ac. des Sc. 

 1749.) 

 1 133. The Po was frozen over from Cremona as far as the sea. The Rhone 

 was crossed upon the ice. And the wine was congealed in the 

 cellars. (This shows the thermometer must have been at zero.) 

 1216. The Po and Rhone frozen to a great depth. (Thermometer at least 



at zero.) 

 1234. The Po and Rhone again frozen. Loaded carriages crossed the 

 Adriatic opposite to Venice. (Thermometer 4° below zero at 

 least.) 

 1226. The Danube frozen over quite across, for a considerable time. 

 1290. Loaded carriages crossed the Rhine upon the ice opposite Brysach. 



The Categut was also completely frozen. 

 1302. The Rhone frozen. (At zero.) 

 1305. The Rhone, and all the other rivers in France frozen. (Papon. 



Hist, de Prov.) 

 1323. The Rhone frozen. Travellers on foot and horseback went on the 



ice from Denmark to Lubeck and to Dantzic. 

 1334. AUthe rivers of Italy and France were frozen. 

 1364. The Rhone was frozen at Aries, to a great depth ; loaded carriages 

 crossed it upon the ice. (Zero.) (Villani, quoted by Papon, iii. 

 210.) 

 1408. The Danube frozen throughout its whole course. The ice extend- 

 ed without interruption from Norway to Denmark. Carriages 



