Appearams tftVater-SpauU. jj, 



from the extremity c, fig. 3 ; when the folds of this fack difappeared. and the body of the 

 water-fpout, which was grey and tranfparent, fixed itfclt in the bottom of the foot, af- 

 fumed the verc.cal pofition, and became larger in diameter. My fecond fon. who, as well 

 as h.s elder brother, polTeires a very clear Hght, immediately excl'aimed, « See, father, how 

 rap,dly the vapours fly up through the bag." I faw, in fafl, that they feemed to expand it 

 «uh a bnd of tenfion, at the fame time giving it a deep indigo colour, which was commu- 

 nicated to the cloud. At the fame inftant .he colour of the whole water-fpout became fo 

 deep that we could diftinguifh no motion in its expanded part. We obferved only that 

 the whole phenomenon moved from eaft to weft, and was deftroyed on the coaft of Pro- 

 vence. Lallly a fourth was formed, which was deftroyed in the fame manner, without 

 any fuch reprodua.on, beyond the hills of Antlbes, as I obferved in .780, becaufe, their 

 courfe bemg more oblique towards the north, they could not meet the gulph Jean, and 

 the prolongation of their track was altogether over land. A fall of fnow fucceeded imme- 

 dmely afterwards, which was of the ufual denfity and configuration. It lafted all the reft 

 of the afternoon and the following night, fo that on the following day there was as much 

 fnow on the ground as before. It afterwards rained for a long time, which cleared the 

 country of the fnow .hat had accumulated. As the impetuous wind of the preceding day 

 continued with undiminilhed force through the whole night, and the other acceffary cir- 

 cumftances were l.kewife prefent, I think there is reafon to conclude that new water-fpouts 

 muft have been formed in the afternoon, and perhaps in the night of the 6th ; but the ob- 

 fcunty of the atmofphere, from the fall of fnow, did not permit me to obferve them I 

 .fliall therefore proceed to make fome remarks on the wind which caufed this phenomenon 

 Though the velocity of this wind was nearly equal to that of the greateft ftorms in our 

 feas, the waves were not proportionally deep. Two circumflances appeared to concur ia 

 producing this effeft ; the firft, that by the form of our coaft an eaft wind cannot have 

 paired over fo great an extent of fea as a wind frcm the fouth-weft. from which quarter 

 our greateft ftorms come. This caufe is conftant with regard to our local fituation. The 

 other circumftance was, that the wind did not blow obliquely downwards, but moved 

 parallel to the furfaee of the fea. This fuppofition, which is the only one that requires 

 proof, was confirmed at the time of obfervation by the appearance of a fmall Catalan 

 vclTel, which the wind of the 6th of January blew aftiore near Nice. I faw her pafs before 

 my windows, driven by a force (he was incapable of refilling. She did not labour much, but 

 came to an anchor at a li.tle diftance, from which, however, the violence of the wind 

 drove her on ftiore, though without confiderable damage, fince (he was got off a few days 

 after, and purfued her voyage. The force of this wind was feen not only in the inftance 

 of this veffel, but in a confiderable numhcr of others which were loft on the neiiibbourini? 

 Ihores. " *> 



It is an obfervation very agreeable to the opinion of Profeflbr Toaido, and at the fame 

 time well eftablifticd by every obfervation I have made fince I direflcd my attention to the 

 phenomena of water-fpouts, from the beginning of 1789 to the 1 <jth of March in the fame 

 year, on which d.ay we obferved thofe which I Ihall prcfently defcribc : it is a confirmed 

 obfervation, I fay, that the phafes of the moon arc accompanied with a change of weather. 



Jt 



