70 VIOLENT SQUALL. 



induced me to take up open quarters for the night, 

 which was now closing in upon us ; but the threaten- 

 ing aspect of the sky to the south-east led me 

 to prefer a spot sheltered by the luxuriant foliage 

 which here fringed the river's banks. 



The squall reached us at seven. The wind, which 

 had been at south-east, veering to north, and the 

 thermometer falling five degrees ; it lasted for 

 about an hour, during which time the harsh screams 

 of the affrighted birds — the moaning of the wind — 

 the awful roll of thunder, and the fearful brilliancy of 

 the lightning, combined to supply all the terrible 

 beauty which invests such scenes ; especially when 

 they surprise the startled adventurer upon his un- 

 known path, and add their hostile influence to the 

 unreckoned dangers that await his progress. The 

 only means we had of preserving our only suit of 

 clothes dry from the drenching showers of rain was 

 by taking them off, and stuffing them into the hol- 

 low of a tree, which in the darkness of the night 

 we could do with propriety. 



Within an hour the weather had cleared up, and 

 was as fine as before the squall. The change came 

 just in time for me to secure a meridian altitude of 

 Achernar, which, with a set of sights for time, com- 

 pleted the requisite observations. We noticed a 

 sino^ular meteor in the E. S. E. about 8 o'clock 

 this evening, darting perpendicularly upwards : it 

 lasted for ten seconds : between the hour mentioned 

 and midnight, we saw a great many, passing chiefly 



