IS IT GOING TO RAIN? 103 



As darkness came on, the rumbling increased, and 

 the mountains and the woods and the still air were 

 such good conductors of sound that the ear was viv- 

 idly impressed. One seemed to feel the enormous 

 convolutions of the clouds in the deep and jarring 

 tones of the thunder. The coming of night in the 

 woods is alone peculiarly impressive, and it is doubly 

 so when out of the darkness comes such a voice as 

 this. But we fed the fire the more industriously, 

 and piled the logs high, and kept the gathering gloom 

 at bay by as large a circle of light as we could com- 

 mand. The lake was a pool of ink and as still as if 

 congealed ; not a movement or a sound, save now 

 and then a terrific volley from the cloud-batteries 

 now fast approaching. By nine o'clock little puffs 

 of wind began to steal through the woods and tease 

 and toy with our fire. Shortly after, an enormous 

 electric bomb-shell exploded in the tree-tops over 

 our heads, and the ball was fairly opened. Then fol- 

 lowed three hours, with only two brief intermissions, 

 of as lively elemental music and as copious an out- 

 pouring of rain as it was ever my lot to witness. It 

 was a regular meteorological carnival, and the rev- 

 elers were drunk with the wild sport. The apparent 

 nearness of the clouds and the electric explosion was 

 something remarkable. Every discharge seemed to 

 be in the branches immediately overhead and made us 

 involuntarily cower, as if the next moment the great 

 limbs of the trees, or the trees themselves, would come 

 crashing down. The mountain upon which we were 



