UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 77 



Therewith she rose in hast, and her addrest 

 With ready hand it to have reft away ; 

 But the swift bird obayd not her behest, 

 But swarv'd aside, and there againe did stay; 

 She followed her, and thought againe it to assay. 



And ever when she nigh approcht, the dove 

 Would flit a little forward, and then stay 

 Till she drew neare, and then againe remove ; 

 So tempting still her to pursue the prey, 

 And still from her escaping soft away ; 

 Till that at length into that forrest wide 

 She drew her far, and led with slow delay; 

 In th' end she her unto that place did guide 

 Whereat that woful man in languor did abide. 



7th. My curiosity about frost has been gra- 

 tified. Each of the last three nights the ther- 

 mometer has been below the freezing point last 

 night it was 28. The ground is hard, and grass, 

 trees, and shrubs, are quite white. Nothing can 

 be more beautiful each blade of grass sparkling 

 with gems, every branch and spray covered with 

 delicate crystals, and the leaves of the fir-trees 

 hanging like little miniature icicles. 



I asked my uncle where the frost comes from. 

 " It is in fact," said he, " frozen dew; when the 

 ground is cooled down to 32, the dew deposited 

 on it is congealed, and becomes hoar frost. This 

 often happens when the temperature of the at- 

 mosphere is much higher; and I have seen a 

 copious hoar frost in a clear calm night^ though 

 the air was not colder than 40V 



When I begged my uncle to explain that, he 

 told me that; from the satisfactory observations 



H 3 



