84 
BEN NEVIS IN MID-WINTER. 
BEN NEVIS IN MID-WIN TEE. 
BY CLEMENT L. WEAGGE, F.R.G.S., ETC. 
1 left Fort William for the hoary old Ben shortly before half-past 
ten on the morning of January 2nd, 1883, accompanied by my friend 
Mr. P. E. Warburton, Mr. William Whyte (my former assistant at 
the temporary meteorological observatory on the mountain), and 
Donald, an ancient guide, to assist in case of need, and ever ready to 
lend a willing hand. “ Robin Renzo,” my faithful Newfoundland dog, 
who knows Ben Nevis almost as well as his master, as usual made up 
the party. It will be remembered that on the 1st of November last, 
owing to stress of weather forbidding the regular daily ascents of the 
mountain, and to the absence of a permanent observatory-house there, 
I was obliged to discontinue the daily work of the meteorological 
observing system on the summit and slopes which was in simultaneous 
connection with a system of observations at the sea level at Fort 
William, and which I had the honour to organise and carry on during 
a second summer’s season under the auspices of the Scottish Meteoro¬ 
logical Society. The trip on this occasion was specially undertaken in 
order to examine the instruments, and to bring down those not 
intended to be left on the Ben for the entire winter. Some account of 
the weather conditions and of our doings before the final start must 
not, by the way, be omitted. 
The early morning, then, of the 2nd of January, was wild and 
stormy—just such weather as one can thoroughly enjoy, more especially 
in the romantic Western Highlands, where the sweeping gusts and 
heavy rain squalls have, to my mind, a peculiar charm of their own. 
My usual observations at nine a.m., near the sea level, showed that 
a depression from the Atlantic was passing, and that the weather 
would probably clear in its rear. The barometer, about 30ft. above 
sea and reduced to 32° Fahr., read 20T77., Aneroid 29*236, and 
pressure was rapidly recovering ; temperature of the air by the 
dry-bulb thermometer was 43*0°, wet bulb 41*1°. These values showed 
a dew point of 38*8°, a relative humidity of eighty-five per cent., and 
an absolute humidity or weight of vapour of •236iu., leaving the 
weight of the dry-air represented by 28*941in. of the mercurial column. 
The temperature of the sea was 1*8° lower than that of the air ; the 
wind had moderated, and was blowing with a velocity of twenty miles 
an hour from south-south-west; the sky was three-quarters covered 
with nimbus and loose cumulus clouds ; 0*733in. of rain had fallen 
during the night, and rain was still falling. In the spectroscope the 
red solar lines were dark and prominent. No true rainband was seen 
to the left, but a dark broad shading to the right of the sodium line 
D, and the “green ” lines were more distinct and better defined than 
at the same hour on the previous day. Altogether, the spectrum 
augured well for good weather. The observations over, our next 
business was to see to our luncheon and mountain equipment, and to 
