OF SELBORNE 281 



LETTER LXIII 



As the frost in December, 1784, was very extra ordinarj-, 

 you, I trust, -will not be displeased to hear the particulars ; 

 ;and especially when I promise to say no more about the 

 severities of winter after I have finished this letter. 



The first week in December was very wet, with the 

 harometer very low. On the 7th, with the barometer at 

 '28, five-tenths, came on a vast snow, which continued all 

 that day and the next, and most part of the following 

 night ; so that by the morning of the 9th the works of 

 men were quite overwhelmed, the lanes filled so as to be 

 impassable, and the ground covered twelve or fifteen 

 inches without any drifting. In the evening of the 9th 

 the air began to be so very sharp that we thought 

 :it would be curious to attend to the motions of a 

 thermometer : we therefore hung out two ; one made 

 by Martin and one by Dolland, which soon began to 

 show us what we were to expect ; for, by ten o'clock, 

 they fell to 21, and at eleven to 4, when we went to bed. 

 ■On the 10th, in the morning, the quicksilver of Dolland's 

 ^lass was down to half a degree below zero ; and that of 

 Martin's, which was absurdly graduated only to four 

 <iegrees above zero, sunk quite into the brass guard 

 of the ball ; so that when the weather became most 

 interesting this was useless. On the 10th, at eleven at 

 night, though the air was perfectly still, Dolland's glass 

 went down to one degree below zero I This strange 

 :severity of the weather made me very desirous to know 

 what degree of cold there might be in such an exalted 

 ;and near situation as Newton. We had therefore, on 



Ihe morning of the 10th, written to Mr. , and 



•entreated him to hang out his thermometer, made by 

 Adams ; and to pay some attention to it morning and 



