.238 Profefor Wit L1AMs's Account of an. 
other colour. This I found to be the cafe with every thing I 
held up to view, whether near, or remote from the eye. | 
Another thing that deferves our attention is, the nature and 
appearance of the vapours that were then in the atmofphere, 
Early in the morning, the weather was cloudy :. the fun was 
but juft vifible through the clouds, and appeared of a deep red, 
as it had for feveral days before. In moft places thunder was 
heard feveral times in the morning. The clouds foon began to 
.rife from the S. W . with a gentle breeze ; and there were feve- 
‘ral mall fhowers before eight o'clock : fome places there 
‘were fhowers at other times, throughout the day. The water 
that fell was found to have an uncommon appearance, being 
thick, dark and footy. A gentleman, who was then at Ipf- 
wich, obferves, that ** he found the people much furprized 
with the ftrange appearance and fmell of the rain-water which 
they had faved in tubs. Upon examining the water, I found 
(fays he) alight feum over it, which rubbing between my 
thumb and finger, I found to be nothing but the black athes 
-of burnt leaves : the water gave the fame ftrong footy finell 
which we had obferved in the air’? The fame appearance was 
-obferved in many other places : and it was very remarkable on 
Merrimack-River. | Large quantities of fcum, or black afhes, 
“were found floating upon the furface of. the water, that day. 
An the night, the wind veered round to the N. E. and drove it 
-towards the fouth fhore. When the tide fell, it lay along the 
_-fhote at the width of four or five inches. This I found to he 
5 te cafe for five or fix miles ;—and probably it was the cafe for 
-many more. Lexamined a confiderable quantity of this mat- 
a ; and in tafte, colour and fmell, it very plainly appeared 
mto bé nothing more than what the cent'eman obferved at I5/- 
$ : wich 
