422 On the Cyclones of Tasmania, ce. 
6°30 had falleu to a moderate breeze. During this period, 
viz., from about 4°30 to 5, we had an exhibition of the phos- 
phoric lights, illuminating the points of the three topgallant 
yards, the gaff, and fore-topmast studding-sail boom-ends, 
and the royal-yard lifts, both to leeward as well as windward, 
these latter being quite coyered with it. 
This gale brought with it a great quantity of the fine dust, 
preventing any one from looking to windward. 
From 7h. 30m. p.m. it blew hard again in squalls, the air 
becoming cooler during that time. At 8h. 80m., the breeze 
since eight having been light and variable from N.W. to 
S.W., a most severe gust came from the W., lasting about 
a minute, when it settled down into a strong breeze from 
that quarter, bringing more hot wind; this breeze, however, 
only lasted till 8h. 45m., when another seyere gust came 
from the South, settling down into a strong breeze from 8.W., 
phosphoric lights again appearing on the royal-yard points, 
though not to the same extent as previously. ‘he S.W. 
breeze continued steady until 2 a.m. of the 7th, when it 
veered to the westward—and the darkness then, for the first 
time, began to show symptoms of decreasing; so that at 
2h. 80m. a.m. the masts and yards could just be distin- 
guished, at 8 the horizon pretty plainly, and at daylight the 
sky merely presented a very hazy aspect: the sun, however, 
was not at all visible until 6 A.m., when it appeared as a red 
ball, and at 7h. 80m. A.M. again cast a shadow.” 
Captain Fletcher has given thirty-six readings of the baro- 
meter from noon of the 5th to noon of the 7th; I have 
projected these in a curve in Fig. VII.* The mercury falls 
from 29°66 at noon of the 5th to its minimum 29°31 between 
2 and 3 p.m. of the 6th, and rises to 29°645 at noon of the 
* See “ Australasian Cyclonology.” 
