STUDY X. 



285 



thing to vie with them, were it enriched with all 

 the gems of the Great Mogul. 



Sometimes the trade-winds, from the North- 

 eaft, or South-eafl, which conftantly blow there, 

 card the clouds through each other, like fo many 

 tufts of filk ; then fweep them away to the Weft, 

 croffing and re-croffing them over one another, 

 like the ofiers interwoven in a tranfparent bafket. 

 They throw over the fides of this chequered work, 

 the clouds which are not employed in the contex- 

 ture, and which are in no fmall number, roll them 

 up into enormous mafles, as white as fnow, draw 

 them out along their extremities in form of a 

 crupper, and pile them upon each other, like the 

 Cordeliers of Peru, moulding them into the Ihape 

 of mountains, of caverns, and of rocks 3 after- 

 wards, as evening approaches, they grow fome- 

 what calm, as if afraid of deranging their own 

 workmanfliip. When the Sun comes to fet be- 

 hind this magnificent netting, you fee a multitude 

 of luminous rays tranlmitted through each parti- 

 cular interftice, which produce fuch an effeâ:, that 

 the two fides of the lozenge illuminated by them, 

 have the appearance of being begirt with a fillet 

 of gold, and the other two, which are in the 

 fhade, feem tinged with a fuperb ruddy orange. 

 Four or five divergent ftrcams of light, emanated 

 from the fetting Sun up to the Zenidi, clothe with 



fringes 



