80 CUEEENTS AND TYPHOONS. 



sounding, we went away in a south-west course, the same 

 as I believed the cyclone to have taken. The barometer 

 at once began to fall, and the following day we overtook 

 the storm, which was plainly visible ahead. The baro- 

 meter had been falling since we left the sounding-spot 

 and bore away to the south-west. I again hove-to, and 

 the barometer at once began to rise. After allowing 

 sufficient time for the cyclone to get well ahead, we 

 went on once more. 



I give this as an instance of a slow-travelling 

 cyclone of large diameter. I do not think these storms 

 are ever of great height, — seldom, I imagine, does their 

 thickness extend over a mile ; their horizontal diameter 

 varies from a couple of hundred miles to a thousand or 

 more. The more limited the storm is in its range, the 

 greater the violence. I only once saw through the 

 thick vapour which is blown along by the violent wind, 

 and then I saw the blue sky and bright sun. It was 

 but for a moment ; a sort of rent in the dense cloudy 

 shroud. 



Electricity is frequently very prevalent, but I never 

 heard thunder during the passage of a true cyclone 

 storm. 



