THE INDIAN OCEAN. 



327 



is the same with that of the still more strikiui,' phe- 

 nomena, waterspouts. These are, perhaps, the most 

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

 wonders in the deep," whi",h 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 



WATRUSfOL'TS. 



to a column ot frost ad glass. A series of spiral lines 

 run around it, and the whole has a rapid spiral 

 motion, which is very apparent, though it is not 

 always easy to determine wtiether it is an ascending 



