THE EARTH. US 



storms, with very powerful effects, that do not seem to shew an}' great 

 speed ; and, on the contrary, we see these wind-measurers go round .vith 

 great swiftness, when scarce any damage has followed from the storm. 



Such is the nature and ihe inconstancy of the irregular winds with 

 which we are best acquainted. But their effects are much more for- 

 midable in those climates near the tropics, where they are often found 

 to break in upon the steady course of the trade-winds, and to mark 

 their passage with destruction. With us, the tempest is but rarely 

 known, and its ravages are registered as an uncommon calamity ; but 

 in the countries that lie between the tropics, and for a good space be- 

 yond them, its visits are frequent, and its effects are anticipated. In 

 these regions the winds vary their terrors ; sometimes involving all 

 tilings in a suffocating heat ; sometimes mixing all the elements of 

 fire, air, earth, and water together ; sometimes, with a momentary 

 swiftness, passing over the face of the country, and destroying all 

 things in their passage ; and sometimes raising whole sandy deserts in 

 one country, to deposit them upon some other. We have little rea- 

 son, therefore, to envy these climates the luxuriance of their soil, or 

 the brightness of their skies. Our own muddy atmosphere, that wraps 

 us round in obscurity, though it fails to gild our prospects with sun- 

 shine, or our groves with fruitage, nevertheless answers the call of in- 

 dustry. They may boast of a plentiful, but precarious harvest ; while, 

 with us, the labourer toils in a certain expectation of a moderate, but 

 a happy return. 



In Egypt,* a kingdom so noted for its fertility, and the brightness 

 of its atmosphere during summer, the south winds are so hot, that they 

 almost stop respiration ; besides which, they are charged with such 

 quantities of sand, that they sometimes darken the air as with a thick 

 cloud. These sands are so fine, and driven with such violence, lhat 

 they penetrate every where, even into chests, be they shut ever so 

 closely. If these winds happen to continue for any length of time, 

 they produce epidemic diseases, and are often followed by a great mor- 

 tality. It is also found to rain but very seldom in that country ; how- 

 ever, the want of showers is richly compensated by the copiousness 

 of their dews, which greatly tend to promote vegetation. 



In Persia, the winter begins in November, and continues till March. 

 The cold at that time is intense enough to congeal the water ; and 

 snow falls in abundance upon their mountains. During the months of 

 March and April, winds arise, that blow with great force, and seem to 

 usher in the heats of summer. These return again, in autumn, with 

 some violence; without, however, prgducing any dreadful effects. 

 But, during their summer, all along the coasts of the Persian Gulf, a 

 very dangerous wind prevails, which the natives call the Sameyel, 

 still more dreadful and burning than that of Egypt, and attended with 

 instant and fatal effects. This terrible blast, which was perhaps, the 

 pestilence of the ancients, instantly kills all those that it involves in 

 its passage. What its malignity consists in, none can tell, as noiit' 

 have ever survived its effects, to give information. It frequently, as 

 I am told, assumes a visible form, and darts, in a kind of bluish va 



* Buffon, . d. ii. p. 258 



