346 THE OCEAN. 



above descend below the common level, joining the 

 pillar in the form of a funnel, but sometimes the 

 summit is invisible, from its becoming gradually 

 more rare. Much more constant is the presence of 

 a visible foot ; the sea being raised in a great heap, 

 with a whirling and bubbling motion, the upper 

 part of which is lost in the mass of spray and foam 

 which is driven rapidly round. The column, or 

 columns, for there are frequently more than one, 

 move slowly forward with a stately and majestic 

 step, sometimes inclining from the perpendicular, 

 now becoming curved, and now taking a twisted 

 form. Sometimes the mass becomes more and more 

 transparent, and gradually vanishes ; at others, it 

 separates, the base subsiding, and the upper por- 

 tion shortening with a whirling motion, till lost in 

 the clouds. The pillar is not always cylindrical : a 

 very frequent form is that of a slender funnel de- 

 pending from the sky, which sometimes retains that 

 appearance without alteration, or, at others, lengthens 

 its tube towards the sea, which at the same time 

 begins to boil and rise in a hill to meet it, and soon 

 the two unite and form a slender column, as first 

 described. 



When these sublime appearances are viewed from 

 a short distance, they are attended with a rushing 

 noise, somewhat like the roar of a cataract. The 

 phenomenon is doubtless the effect of a whirlwind, 

 or current of air revolving with great rapidity and 

 violence ; and the lines which are seen, are probably 

 drops of water ascending in the cloudy column. 

 They are esteemed highly dangerous : instances have 



