36S GREENLAND VOYAGE. 
upper edge of b, be in alternate patches at the 
temperatures, of 40° and 50°, all damp to satura¬ 
tion ;—then the cloud produced at e, would assume 
the form of the masses of air that had the highest 
temperature, and might consist of innumerable 
streaks or patches, of varying magnitude and den¬ 
sity. 
But, let it be observed, these remarks do not 
extend to the denial of the electrical origin of 
some clouds, nor indeed to the denial of an occa¬ 
sionally electrical agency in the production of 
rain. For it is highly probable, if not certain, 
that the thunder-cloud receives its peculiar form 
and character from its electrical state ; and that 
thunder showers, hail in summer, and the forma¬ 
tion of lumps of ice in the atmosphere, are phe¬ 
nomena, in the production of which electricity is 
an important agent. 
The northern face of the Faroe Islands abounds 
with huge perpendicular cliffs, somewhat colum¬ 
nar, rearing their proud crests over the ocean, to 
the height of 1500 and 2000 feet; and defying, ap¬ 
parently, the ravages of time, and the rage of the 
elements. I once approached one of these cliffs 
under circumstances of extraordinary interest. 
The weather was thick and stormy: we were anxi¬ 
ously looking out for the land. A shower pass- 
