OF SELBORNE. 327 
mometer in the morning was down to 10° with us, 
and at Newton only to 21°. Strong frost continued 
till the 31st, when some tendency to thaw was ob. 
served, and by January the 3d, 1785, the thaw was 
confirmed, and some rain fell. 
A circumstance that I must not omit, because it 
was new to us, is, that on Friday, December the 
10th, being bright sunshine, the air was full of icy 
spicule, floating in all directions, like atoms in a 
sunbeam let into a dark room. We thought them 
at first particles of the rime falling from my tall. 
hedges, but were soon convinced to the contrary 
by making our observations in open places where 
no rime could reach us. Were they watery parti. 
cles of the air frozen as they floated, or were 
they evaporations' from the snow frozen as they 
mounted ? 
We were much obliged to the thermometers for 
the early information they gave us, and hurried our 
apples, pears, onions, potatoes, &c., into the cellar 
and warm closets; while those who had not, or 
neglected such warnings, lost all their stores of 
roots and fruits, and had their very bread and 
cheese frozen. 
I must not omit to tell you, that during those 
two Siberian days my parlour cat was so electric, 
that, had a person stroked her and been properly 
insulated, the shock might have been given to a 
whole circle of people. 
I forgot to mention before, that during the two 
severe days, two men who were tracing hares in 
the snow had their feet frozen, and two men whe 
were much better employed had their fingers so af- 
fected by the frost while they were thrashing in a 
ey 
