118 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



colder, but also less dense than those near the 

 surface of the earth ; and the white porous nature 

 of hail is owing to the rarity of the atmosphere 

 where they were congealed. Professor Leslie 

 has proved this by the simple experiment of 

 freezing small quantities of water in the reser- 

 voir of an air pump from which the air had been 

 considerably exhausted. Hailstones, however, 

 are not always globular like these ; I have seen 

 a shower of irregular lumps of ice of a great size, 

 some of them weighing even three or four 

 ounces, and producing dreadful mischief, killing 

 the lambs and destroying all the crops. Last 

 summer there was a partial hailstorm near 

 London, which broke thirty thousand panes of 

 glass in the green-houses of one nursery-ground." 

 I am sorry to add, mamma, that every body 

 says it is going to thaw ; and there will be an end 

 of all the amusement I have had to-day in look- 

 ing at the beautiful feathery flakes as they blew 

 against the windows. 



20th. After dinner this gloomy evening, we 

 had another edition of our story-play. Though 

 very much amused by all I heard, I will only 

 mention two or three little circumstances which 

 may perhaps be interesting to you or Marianne. 



The word telescope was whispered to my aunt; 

 and in the course of her story she contrived to 

 introduced the tube through which Prince Ali, 



