204 NATURAL HISTORY OF SELBORNE 



a blue mist, smelling strongly of sulphur, hanging along 

 our sloping woods, and seeming to indicate that thunder 

 was at hand. I was called in about two in the afternoon, 

 and so missed seeing the gathering of the clouds in the 

 north ; which they who were abroad assured me had 

 something uncommon in it's appearance. At about a 

 quarter after two the storm began in the parish of Hartley r , 

 moving slowly from north to south ; and from thence it 

 came over Norton-farm, and so to Grange-farm, both in this 

 parish. It began with vast drops of rain, which were soon 

 succeeded by round hail, and then by convex pieces of ice, 

 which measured three inches in girth. Had it been as ex- 

 tensive as it was violent, and of any continuance (for it was 

 very short), it must have ravaged all the neighbourhood. 

 In the parish of Hartley it did some damage to one farm ; 

 but Norton, which lay in the center of the storm, was 

 greatly injured ; as was Grange, which lay next to it. It 

 did but just reach to the middle of the village, where the 

 hail broke my north windows, and all my garden-lights and 

 hand-glasses, and many of my neighbours' windows. The 

 extent of the storm was about two miles in length and one 

 in breadth. We were just sitting down to dinner ; but were 

 soon diverted from our repast by the clattering of tiles and 

 the jingling of glass. There fell at the same time prodi- 

 gious torrents of rain on the farms above-mentioned, which 

 occasioned a flood as violent as it was sudden ; doing 

 great damage to the meadows and fallows, by deluging 

 the one and washing away the soil of the other. The 

 hollow lane towards Alton was so torn and disordered as 

 not to be passable till mended, rocks being removed that 

 weighed 200 weight. Those that saw the effect which the 

 great hail had on ponds and pools say that the dashing of 

 the water made an extraordinary appearance, the froth and 

 spray standing up in the air three feet above the surface. 

 The rushing and roaring of the hail, as it approached, was 

 truly tremendous. 



Though the clouds at South Lambeth, near London, 

 were at that juncture thin and light, and no storm was in 



