CLOUDS AND CLOUD FORMS 
Last of the twilight glories, when the light has 
gone out of the lower clouds and the white 
cumulus has turned to dark purple, the wavy 
forms of the cirrus may be seen flaming like 
wind-blown torches far up the western sky. 
Common as the sunset colors are, we never 
seem to weary of them. They are always things 
to look at and to wonder over. No hues seen 
upon the earth are so full of light and fire, so 
brilliant in variety. The colors of the rainbow 
show a celestial spectrum, but they seem to 
pale beside the sky-splendors of the west; and 
as for the colors of the clouds at dawn, they are 
much paler than those of the sunset. At noon- 
time the clouds show no color in particular. 
Occasionally low-lying cloud flocks over a city 
like London will havea heated, flushed look, and 
when close to or under the sun they will glow 
like plates of hot iron; but this is caused by 
local dust and soot in the air. Often, too, in 
all warm countries a cloud passing across the 
face of the sun will have silvery or golden edges, 
and a pyramid of cumulus may be pink in the 
lights and blue in the shadows; but, aside 
from such exceptions, the clouds at noonday 
are practically white in light or grayed under 
shadow. 
Clouds at 
dawn and 
noon-time, 
