THE INDIAN OCEAN. 



345 



nomena, waterspouts. These are, perhaps, the most 

 majestic of all those "works of the Lord, and his 

 wonders in the deep," which they behold who "go 

 down to the sea in ships." They frequently appear 

 as perpendicular columns, apparently of many hun- 

 dred feet in height, and three feet or more in dia- 

 meter, reaching from the surface of the sea to the 

 clouds. The edge of the pillar is perfectly clean 

 and well-defined, and the effect has been compared 

 to a column of frosted glass. A series of spiral 



AVatkrspouts. 



lines run around it, and the whole has a rapid spiral 

 motion, which is very apparent, though it is not 

 always easy to determine whether it is an ascending 

 or descending line. Generally, the body of clouds 



