36 A Twenty-second Memoir on the Law of Storms. [No. 1. 



4. — Other Phenomena before and during the Cyclone. 

 Of those before it. — The remarkable bank of clouds noticed both 

 by myself and by Mr. Barlow at 200 miles distant, is the first of 

 these. And supposing the Cyclone to have been travelling on a 

 Westerly course, so as to pass the light vessel at the Sand Heads, 

 watchful and careful commanders of ships would have had from this 

 sign alone, some 24 hours of warning ! and this would again have 

 been corroborated by the remarkable twinkling of the stars, and their 

 being seen so brightly at a very low altitude ; an indication well 

 known in the China Sea, and to which I have so frequently alluded. 

 There was also at the Sand Heads as noticed by Mr. Barlow the 

 moaning sound of the wind. 



During the Cyclone. — The complete absence of thunder and light- 

 ning, as usual in these commotions, is another proof to the many we 

 have of their electric nature, I think. That is to say : there is great 

 electric action going on, but then the observers and every thing 

 about them being enveloped in the electric disk and becoming con- 

 ductors, do not feel it ; and the transfer of electric fluid goes on till 

 an equilibrium is established ; but without discharges, because there 

 is contact between the disk of the Cyclone and the earth. 



The luminous appearance which so many of the observers so 

 clearly testify to, is also a farther confirmation of this view,* for 

 there seems no doubt it existed but the moon being then twenty 

 days old and passing the meridian at about 4 a. m. on the 13th, may 

 have had something to do with it, as supposed by some of the 

 respondents to my queries. Nevertheless, the balance of evidence 

 seems to be considerably in favour of the existence of moon light.f 



As it may be possible that the Eev. gentleman who is stated to 

 have seen the phosphoric lights (reply to query No. 8, p. 20) may 

 have been deceived by some appearances arising from burning houses 

 or boats. I think it unnecessary to remark upon them, though there 

 is no doubt, that meteors of this kind have been seen in Cyclones in 

 various parts of the world. 



Altogether it will be seen that this Chittagong Cyclone is evidently 



* See also Col. Reid's " Law of Storms," p. 74 — 76 for an instance of this light 



f Quere : is it this electric light which, when seen above, produces the " red sky' 



of the Southern Indian Ocean so well known there as the precursor of a hurricane ? 



