Natural Philosophy. —Meteorology. 1 2B 
Maya, situated at the top of the Pyrenees, and one of the few 
roads ' oil the western ridge, by which cavalry or artillery can en- 
ter Spain. A division of British infantry were ordered to take 
possession of the pass, and remain there till 2 o’clock ; the day 
was very warm, and the sky clear and cloudless. About 3 o’clock, 
the summits of the adjoining hills were enveloped in a cloud of 
pitchy darkness, leaving but an obscure light as it quickly pas- 
sed over our heads, and producing a peculiar noise among the 
rocks. As the troops began to descend the mountain, they were 
overtaken by a violent hail-shower, which lasted about twenty 
minutes, and created more alarm among its victims than the ap- 
proaching contest. Contrary to my expectations, the storm was 
unaccompanied with either thunder or lightning, while the stones 
increased from the size of a bean to that of a hen-egg. These 
were transparent masses of ice, round in form, and having on 
their surface icicles about the length and thickness of the prong 
of a common silver fork. From this circumstance, I am indu- 
ced to believe, that the hail had been twice as large in the high- 
er regions of the atmosphere, and before they reached the sur- 
face of the earth, as the stones themselves, and the spiculse or 
icicles on their surface, had all the appearance of being partially 
melted down by heat. Fortunately the troops had their backs to 
the storm, else many of them must have lost their eyes, and been 
otherwise maimed, from the weight of the stones, and the 
force with which they fell. I have heard some of the men say, 
“ their thin tin-kettles were dinged (or dimpled), by the shower 
and I am inclined to believe so, from the circumstance of my 
being rendered lame for twenty-four hours, by one of them fal- 
ling on my toe. The rattling of these stones on the canteens 
and kettles of the men, and their gradually increasing in size 
for some time, rendered the scene truly alarming, even to those 
who had been in the daily habit of exposing their lives to the 
dangers of war. I am not aware of the extent of this shower, 
nor have I been able to ascertain its injurious consequences, 
from the French or Basque Journals; but from the damage 
done to the orchards and grain at the bottom of the Pyrenees, 
I should suppose it to have occupied a range of three miles, pro- 
ceeding from Roncesvalles into the valley of Bastan. 
R. S. Stewart, Esq. Belfast : 
» 2 
