Proceedings. 27 



be directed by comparatively slight inequalities of the surface 

 of the ground. I naturally supposed that the reason why I 

 was out of the rain at these particular points was because 

 I was out of the wind, but shortly afterwards I found that 

 this was not necessarily always the case. The edge of the 

 cliff is in many places more or less broken, so that one can 

 readily descend a few feet, sometimes much more. While it 

 was raining I happened accordingly to scramble down perhaps 

 six or eight feet, and was surprised to find that the rain had 

 ceased, though the wind was blowing as strongly as ever 

 against the face of the cliff, and I was fully exposed to its 

 force. On ascending I found it raining as before, and this 

 I tried several times in order to make quite sure ; I even 

 found that below the top of the cliff the ground and grass 

 were dry. I thought possibly this absence of rain might in 

 some way be accounted for by difference of level, and when I 

 approached the western end of the cliffs, where is a sudden 

 drop in the level to the point that overlooks Scratchell's Bay, 

 I almost expected that I should descend into a stratum free 

 from rain ; this, however, was not the case, as it was raining 

 almost as thickly at the lower level as on the higher portion 

 of the cliffs. I am quite unable to suggest any explanation 

 of what seemed to me a singular phenomenon, and simply 

 state the circumstances in the hope that someone present may 

 be able to throw some light on them. 



In Darwin's ' NaturaUst's Voyage round the World ' he 

 narrates a somewhat similar instance as regards wind, 

 observed during his visit to St. Helena : — "One day I noticed 

 a curious circumstance : standing on the edge of a plain, ter- 

 minated by a great cliff of about a thousand feet in depth, 

 I saw at the distance of a few yards right to windward, some 

 Tern, struggling against a very strong breeze, whilst, where 

 I stood, the air was quite calm. Approaching close to the 

 brink, where the current seemed to be deflected upwards from 

 the face of the chff, I stretched out my arm, and immediately 

 felt the full force of the wind : an invisible barrier, two yards 

 in width, separated perfectly calm air from a strong blast." 



