Almost a Waterspout 315 



chances to be white, these lines greatly resemble the aurora 

 borealis, which takes the same form, and, when pale, can 

 scarcely be distinguished from them, except for the 

 streamers shooting — now extending, now withdrawing — 

 while the cloud streamers only drift slowly. Sometimes 

 there is but one line of cloud, a single streamer stretching 

 right across the sky. So far as I have been able to observe, 

 this radiation is usually followed by wind blowing in a 

 direction parallel to the course of the streamers. 



Once while walking in winter I was overtaken by a 

 storm of rain, and took shelter behind a tree, which for 

 some time kept me perfectly dry. But suddenly there 

 came an increase of darkness, and, glancing round, I saw 

 a black cloud advancing in the teeth of the wind, and 

 close to the earth. The trees it passed were instantly 

 blotted out, and as it approached I could see that in the 

 centre it bulged and hung down — or rather slightly slant- 

 ing forward — in the shape of an inverted cone with the 

 apex cut off. This bulging part was of a slaty black, and 

 the end travelled over the earth not higher than half the 

 elevation of an ordinary elm. It came up with great 

 speed, and in a moment I was completely drenched, and 

 the field was flooded. It did not seem so much to rain as 

 to descend in a solid sheet of water ; this lasted a very 

 short time, and immediately afterwards the storm began 

 to clear. Though not a perfect waterspout, it was some- 

 thing very near it. The tree behind which I had taken 

 shelter stood near a large pond, or mere ; and I thought 

 at the time that that might have attracted the cloud. The 

 field quite ran with water, as if suddenly irrigated, but 

 the space thus flooded was of small area — about an acre. 



The haymakers sometimes talk of mysterious noises 

 heard in the very finest weather, when it is still and calm, 



