c-jZ Ckfirvat'ions on tht Formaiion ittid 



A6-thefame<fftds^a« prodnced by the fame c«»fe«s 1= have-Httie- doubt- but that xwtoiw 



fpouts wtre fcrmcJ iK'ar us on tlic night bcrweti. the 27th r.iu! 2oth. But, as I did not 

 fee them, it becomes unneccllnry for me lo enhrge upon any wliich I did not niylVlf clearly 

 obfcrvc. 



The fevere cold hat! f^o»en tho>fnovv, and rfndevadjt fo,coini\»ft that, notwitl.ftanding 

 the influence of fcveral days of clear weather fonn afterwards, in which the host of llie fun 

 was very perceptible, there was not<he lead drpp of water fell from the eaves of the houfc 

 in which 1 dwell, which is cxpofcd to the fun in winter for eight hours, and, being filuated 

 near the fea> is, pcrf«i£lly ftnUtred 011 tVe iioriU Cd<j,by tlic ejnineuce of the nick of the 

 canie. 'iliis i^Ci. appeared very furpi ifmg to me, after a refidencc of about forty years in 

 this town. Several old perfons remarked, tliat this fiiovv would w ait for another fall before 

 it melted, and I found by the refult that tlte obfervation was true. 



On Sunday the .fourth of January 1789, at the jihafis of the firft quarter of the moon, 

 the cold \ttas again renewed, andjcontinued fevere.on the Monday and Tuefday. At eight 

 in the morning I fird obfcrvid an immenfe mafs of clouds towerinu upwards, and extending 

 from north-eaft to fouth, which role towards the zenith, by advancing to the weft ward. Ac- 

 cuftomed as I am fo confider thcfe clouds according to the fj ftem of my old ProfefTor of 

 Natural Philofophy, Father Beccaria^i I concluded tiratthey vould proceed to defolate our 

 fields the fruits of which, particularly the oranges and lemons, had already pevlflied by the 

 antecedent cold. And as a ftrong wihd thtn-prex-ailed over the face of the fea, 1 foretold 

 to nw two eldeft.fons, th^tit \vas very probable we might difcover fome water-fpout in the 

 courfe of the day. In fad, about five mioute^ after ten in the morning, I obferved on tlie 

 fea at the diftance of not more than a mufliet-fliot from the (here, a round fpace of ten or. 

 twelve toifes in.diameter,.in,Mrhidi the water did tnet really bpil,; but feemed ready to boiL 

 Hate XX'IV. Pterthero appeared all round, and fometimcs within the circle, vapours ill 

 the form of mift?,. eight toilcs and more in height, having the appearance, though on a 

 fcale incomparably larger, of thofe vapours which rife from the furface of water beginning 

 to fimmer. I fa-w clearly that this was,, if I may fo exprefa myfclf, the embryo of the foot 

 of a water-fpout driven along by the wind, while the clouds were not fufficiently advanced 

 to afford the ftera a body. It continued therefore to move before the wind from eatt to 

 weft, keeping, to my very great furprife, its furrounding vapours, elevated like fails, not- 

 withftanding the extreme force of impulfion which, drove it towards the fhore. As foon a» 

 it came near the land, the circle was contraaed, the mal's of vapour became of lefs dimen- 

 Cons, and at the moment it touched tlie land it was at once overfct by the wind, un- 

 der the. appearance of a long train of mill, fig. i, b, which was fpeedily diffipated. I then per- 

 ceived that the hope I had formed of feeing water-fpouts during the da/, was on the point 

 . of being realized : but as my occupations demanded my attendance elfewhere, 1 charged 

 my two eldeft fons to watch alternately at the window, in order that the phenomenon might 

 not pafs unobfervcd. , 



Atlaft, about eight minutes before noon, my fecond fon came to me, exclaiming. Fa- 

 ther, here is a very fuperb water-fpout." His carneRnefs was equal to that of a failor, 



• Elcaricifme Aunofpherique. Wc liavc a iranftatiou in Englifli. 



5 who. 



