CLOUDS AND CLOUD FORMS 



85 



Last of the twilight glories, when the light has 

 gone out of the lower clouds and the white 

 cumulus has turned to dark purple, the wavy 

 forms of the cirrus may be seen flaming like 

 wind-blown torches far up the western sky. 



Common as the sunset colors are, we never 

 seem to weary of them. They are always things 

 to look at and to wonder over. No hues seen 

 upon the earth are so full of light and fire, so 

 brilliant in variety. The colors of the rainbow 

 show a celestial spectrum, but they seem to 

 pale beside the sky-splendors of the west ; and 

 as for the colors of the clouds at dawn, they are 

 much paler than those of the sunset. At noon- 

 time the clouds show no color in particular. 

 Occasionally low-lying cloud flocks over a city 

 like London will have a heated, flushed look, and 

 when close to or under the sun they will glow 

 like plates of hot iron ; but this is caused by 

 local dust and soot in the air. Often, too, in 

 all warm countries a cloud passing across the 

 face of the sun will have silvery or golden edges, 

 and a pyramid of cumulus may be pink in the 

 lights and blue in the shadows ; but, aside 

 from such exceptions, the clouds at noonday 

 are practically white in light or grayed under 

 shadow. 



