A GARDEN IN VENICE 



house before the hail began. Then, with a 

 scream, the storm burst on us ; hailstones fell for 

 five to six minutes, many the size of partridge 

 eggs, but mostly of a flatter form. In that short 

 time we saw the vines almost denuded of leaves ; 

 the grapes, nearly fit for picking, cut to the 

 ground ; the garden bloom of course destroyed, 

 and the paths covered with the hailstones that 

 had done such savage mischief. It was a 

 dreadful scene of garden devastation. Nor was 

 the immediate effect the last ; the heavier stones 

 so cut and bruised the rods which should the 

 next years have borne the grapes that succeeding 

 crops were greatly injured. On terra-Jirma 

 many attempts have been made to drive the 

 hail-storms off by cannon fire, and to the solution 

 of the question the Government has lent its aid, 

 but it is not yet decided whether the result is 

 worth the powder. 



These storms are very -partial. The one I 

 speak of did not break a pane of glass at Venice, 

 and left untouched some gardens within a quarter 

 of a mile of ours. By others I have known all 

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