Dove on the Law of Storms. 



333 



The dead calm suddenly interrupting the fiercest raging of the 

 storm from opposite directions, which is shown in the register of 

 observations at St. Thomas, — that dreadful pause which fills the 

 heart of the bravest sailor with awe and fearful expectation. — 

 receives a simple explanation on the rotatory theory, which re- 

 quires that at the centre of the whirlwind the air should be in 

 repose ; but appears irreconcilable with the supposition of a cen- 

 tripetal inflowing, because two winds blowing towards each other 

 from opposite directions must gradually neutralize each other, 

 and thus their intensity must diminish more and more in ap- 

 proaching their place of meeting. This takes place on the great 

 scale in the trade winds; and if the centripetal view of hurricanes 

 were the just one, the same effect would necessarily be seen as 

 the centre of the storm passed over the station of observation. 

 But the phenomena shown by observation are widely different. 



