CHAPTER III.

SECOND DAY.

ON THE ATMOSPHERE.

Composition of Atmospheric Air -- Atmosphere divided into three regions -- Air a fluid -- Its compressibility and elasticity -- Weight and pressure -- Equilibrium -- Transparency -- Wind -- Causes of Wind -- Variety of Winds -- Velocity of Winds -- Destructive Winds -- Wind under the control of God -- Wind a similitude of the Holy Spirit’s operations.

On the _second day_ God made a space or _expansion_, surrounding the solid earth to a certain height, called the _atmosphere_. This word is derived from ἀτμός and σφαῖρα, and signifies a body of vapor in a spherical form. By this name we understand the “entire mass of air which encircles all parts of the terrestrial globe, which moves with it round the sun, which touches it in all parts, ascending to the tops of its mountains, penetrating into its cavities, and incessantly floating on its waters. It is a fluid which we inhale from the first to the last moment of our existence.” The Hebrew word רקיע _rakiâ_, from רקע _rakâ_, used by Moses, (and which our translators, by following the _firmamentum_ of the Vulgate, which is a translation of the στερεωμα, of the Septuagint, have improperly rendered _firmament_,) signifies to _spread out as the curtains of a tent or pavilion_.[53] It corresponds with those beautiful words of Isaiah, “It is he that STRETCHETH OUT the heavens as a curtain, and SPREADETH THEM out as a tent to dwell in.” “Thus,” as a learned and pious author justly observes, “the second great production of the Almighty was the element which is next in simplicity, purity, activity, and power, to the light, (or, rather _fire_,) and no doubt was also used by him as an agent in producing some subsequent effects.”[54]

It is particularly deserving notice, that, after the creation of caloric, the atmosphere was the next regular production. If heat had not previously existed, could the atmosphere have been formed? The Creator, having first impressed certain principles on matter, impregnating it with repelling forces and systematical attractions, proceeded with his work according to these radical and fixed laws. One of the general laws discovered by Dr. Black, and which is laid down as a chemical axiom, is, that “Whenever a body _changes_ its state, it either combines with caloric, or separates from caloric.” “The most probable opinion concerning the nature of caloric,” says Mr. Dalton, “is that of its being an elastic fluid of great subtlety, whose particles repel one another, but are attracted by all other bodies. Every kind of matter has its peculiar affinity to heat, by which it requires a certain portion of the fluid, in order to be in equilibrium with other bodies at a certain temperature.”[55] It is now generally supposed, adds Mr. Parkes, that the air owes its elasticity to the caloric which it contains; and, that if it could be deprived entirely of this, it would lose its elastic form. The expansibility of the air is effected by the operation of caloric: for being rarefied by heat, it occupies a larger space than otherwise it would. It is extremely probable, says Lavoisier, that air is a fluid naturally existing in a state of vapor; or, as we may better express it, that our atmosphere is a compound of all the fluids which are susceptible of the vaporous or permanently elastic state, in the usual temperature, and under the common pressure.[56]

For the discovery of the composition of atmospheric air, we are indebted to Scheele, an able chemist, born 1742, at Stralsund, in Germany, who was a member of the Academy of Stockholm, and one of the Royal Society of Medicine at Paris, and whose laborious investigations of nature have perpetuated his memory. When the nature of atmospheric air began to be understood, it was imagined that it was a mere _mixture_ of oxygen gas and nitrogen gas; and Mr. Dalton is still of this opinion: but, says Mr. Parkes, we have now abundant reason to believe that it is a mere chemical compound; that is, that the oxygen and nitrogen form atmospheric air by a chemical union. Atmospheric air is a chemical mixture of oxygen and nitrogen rendered aërial by the expansive power of caloric: it likewise contains a portion of carbonic acid gas, which was formerly calculated at one per cent.; but Mr. Dalton has lately demonstrated that it does not amount to more than one part in a thousand.[57] Carbonic acid gas is nearly twice as heavy as common air; hence it is evident that it must combine _chemically_ with the atmosphere, or it would be found only near the surface of the earth. If it were merely _mixed_ with atmospheric air, its gravity would prevent it from ascending to any great height: but it is found to exist in the atmosphere at the greatest heights, (though probably not in the same proportion) as well as near the surface of the earth; which is a proof that it is not a mere mixture, but that it is chemically combined with the air. There are about 22 parts of oxygen, and 78 of nitrogen, in every 100 measures of atmospheric air, or 23 of the former and 77 of the latter, if the calculation be made by weight.[58]

Antony de Marti observes, If a few hundredth parts of oxygen only were wanting in atmospheric air, fire would lose its strength, candles would not diffuse such complete light, and animals would with difficulty separate the necessary quantity of the vivifying oxygen. On the other hand, if the atmosphere were more charged with oxygen than nitrogen, animals indeed would acquire a more free respiration; but, let us consider the activity which fire would acquire by air of superior purity. We know that, on some occasions, the least spark excites the strongest flame in a combustible body, and which increases so much as to consume it in a few moments: candles _then_ would be no sooner lighted than they would be destroyed, without answering any other purpose than that of dazzling us for a few moments: iron would be calcined, instead of acquiring from the fire that softness necessary for transforming it into its various instruments, and which it cannot receive in a more moderate heat. Nothing would be capable of checking the progress of this destructive element, which is nourished by vital air, if this aëriform substance were not abundantly mixed with mephitic air, which serves to restrain it.

Pure atmospheric air is composed of three gaseous substances only, but is perpetually contaminated by a variety of exhalations from the earth. “The atmosphere is a vast laboratory,” says Fourcroy, “in which nature operates immense analyses, solutions, precipitations, and combinations: it is a grand reservoir, in which all the attenuated and volatilized productions of terrestrial bodies are received, mingled, agitated, combined, and separated. Notwithstanding this mixture, of which it seems impossible for us to ascertain the nature, atmospheric air is sensibly the same, with regard to its intimate qualities, wherever we examine it.” Hence, whatever may be the nature of the aërial fluid, when absolutely pure, that which we breathe, and which commonly goes under the name of _air_, must be considered as an exceedingly heterogeneous mixture, various at various times, and which it is by no means possible to analyze with accuracy. The whole mass of it contains a great deal of water, together with the vast collection of particles raised from all bodies of matter on the surface of the earth by effluvia, exhalations, &c, so that it may be termed a _chaos_ of the particles of all sorts of matter confusedly mingled together. And hence it has been considered as a large chemical vessel, in which the matter of all kinds of bodies is copiously floating; and thus exposed to the continual action of that immense surface, the sun, from whence proceed innumerable operations, sublimations, separations, compositions, digestions, fermentations, putrefications, &c.

Though, in this view, the atmosphere seems to be a kind of sink or common sewer, where all the poisonous effluvia arising from putrid and corrupted matter is deposited; yet it has a wonderful facility of purifying itself, and one way or other, of depositing those vapors contained in it; so that it never becomes noxious, except in particular places, and for a short time; the general mass remaining, upon all occasions, pretty much the same.[59] The way in which this purification is effected, is different according to the nature of the vapor with which the air is loaded. Aqueous vapor ascends; and also much of that vapor arising from decayed and putrid animal and vegetable substances, (and which, by some modern philosophers, is called _phlogiston_, attaching itself to the aqueous vapor,) ascends along with it; and probably descends again with the rain; whence the fertilizing qualities of rain-water above those of any other: while another part is absorbed by vegetables; for the phlogistic vapor is probably the food for plants. But sulphureous, acid, and metalline exhalations, produced principally by volcanos; vapors, arising from houses where lead and other metals are smelted; descend, in consequence of their specific gravity, and suffocate and spread destruction around them, poisoning not only animals, but vegetables also. From all these, the air seems not capable of purifying itself, otherwise than by winds, or by letting them subside by their superior gravity, till they are absorbed either by the earth or water, according as it is their nature to unite with one or other of these elements. Of this kind also seem to be the vapors which are properly called pestilential. The contagion of the plague itself seems to be of a heavy, sluggish nature, incapable of rising in the air, but attaching itself to the walls of houses, bed-clothes, and wearing apparel. Hence, scarcely any constitution of the atmosphere can dispel these noxious effluvia; nor does it seem probable that pestilential distempers ever cease until the contagion has operated so long, and been so frequently communicated from one to another, that, like a ferment much exposed to the air, it becomes vapid, communicates a milder infection, and at last loses its strength altogether.

The atmosphere, or body of air encompassing the earth on all sides, is generally divided into _three_ regions. The lowest region extends from the earth to the place where the air is no longer heated by the rays which the earth reflects: this region is the wannest. The _middle_ region begins where the preceding one ends, and goes to the summit of the highest mountains, or even the highest clouds; this is the space where rain, hail, and snow are engendered: this region is much colder than the preceding one. The _third_ region extends from the middle one to the utmost height of the atmosphere; whose limits have not been ascertained.[60] If the air were of an equal density throughout, the height of the atmosphere might be determined: but since the density of the air decreases with the pressure, it will be more rarefied and expanded the higher we go; and by this means the altitude of the atmosphere becomes indefinite, and terminates in pure ether. But though we cannot assign its real height, it is certain, from observations and experiments, that a distance of 45 or 50 miles is the utmost limit where the density is sufficient to refract the rays of light. For the beginning and ending of twilight show, that the height at which the atmosphere begins to refract the sun’s light is about 45 English miles; and therefore that may be reckoned the altitude of the air to the least degree of density.

The air is justly reckoned among the number of _fluids_, because it has all the properties by which a fluid is distinguished. It requires but little attention to be convinced of this. The air yields to the smallest force impressed on it; its parts are easily moved among themselves; it presses according to its perpendicular height, and its pressure is every where equal. That the air is a fluid consisting of such particles as have no cohesion among themselves, but easily glide over one another, and yield to the smallest impression, appears from the ease and freedom with which animals breathe in it, and move through it without any difficulty or sensible resistance. The ease with which it is penetrated, and driven about in every direction, and the motion of it in pipes and channels, however crooked and intricate, demonstrate its fluidity. It is also known to be a fluid, by the easy conveyance which it affords to sound.

_Compressibility_ and _elasticity_ are evident properties of air. Its elasticity was first ascertained by some experiments of Lord Bacon. The air nearest the earth is in a state of compression, occupying a smaller space than it otherwise would do, were it not compressed by the superincumbent air. It must therefore be in a state something resembling that of a quantity of fine carded wool thrown loosely into a deep pit; the lower strata supporting the weight of the upper strata, and being compressed by them; and so much the more compressed as they are further down, while the upper stratum only is in its unconstrained and most expanded state. If we should suppose this wool thrown in by a hundred weight at a time, it will be divided into strata of equal weights, but of unequal thickness, the lowest being the thinnest, and the superior strata gradually increasing in thickness.[61]

When the air is in a state of compression, we find that the same force with which we compressed it is necessary to keep it in its bulk; and that if we cease to press it together, it will swell out and regain its natural dimensions, which shows its elasticity. This distinguishes it essentially from such a body as a mass of flour, salt, and such like, which remains in the compressed state to which we reduce it. There is something therefore which opposes the compression of air, different from its simple impenetrability, and produces motion, by repelling the compressing body. As an arrow is gradually accelerated by the bow-string pressing it forward, and at the moment of its discharge is brought to a state of rapid motion; so the ball from a pop-gun or wind-gun is gradually accelerated along the barrel by the pressure of the air during its expansion from its compressed state, and finally quits it with an accumulated velocity. These two motions are indications perfectly similar to the elasticity of the bow and of the air.

Mr. Parkes observes, that atmospheric air in all states, and in all seasons, is _permanently_ elastic. This elasticity arises from caloric being chemically combined with the solid substances of which it is composed. I say _solid_, because we have abundant evidence that oxygen and nitrogen are both capable of taking a solid form, and actually do, in many instances, exist in a state of solidity. Nitrogen is a component part of all animal substances, and exists in a solid state in all the ammoniacal salts. Oxygen takes the same state when it combines with metals and other combustibles; and in the composition of the nitrous salts they both take the same state of solidity. These facts surely evince that atmospheric air owes its fluidity to caloric.

Dr. Hales, by means of a press, condensed the air 33 times; and, afterwards, by forcing water in an iron globe, into 1,551 times less space than it naturally occupies. The dilation of the air, by virtue of its elastic force, is found to be very surprising. In experiments made by Mr. Boyle, it dilated to 10,000, and even, at last, in 13,679 times its space; and this altogether by its own expansive force, without the help of fire. In fact, it appears that the air we breathe is compressed by its own weight into at least the 13,679th part of the space it would occupy in _vacuo_. But if the same air be condensed by art, the space it would take up when most dilated, will be, according to the same author’s experiments, as 550,000 to 1.

It is only by means of the experiments made with pumps,[62] and the barometrical tube, by Galileo and Torricelli, that we came to the proof, not only that the atmosphere is endued with _weight_ and _pressure_, but also of the measure and quantity of that pressure. The rise of water in a pump was formerly attributed to the horror that nature had of a vacuum. This absurd notion was refuted about the middle of the seventeenth century, by the following occurrence. The Duke of Florence, having occasion to raise water to the height of 50 or 60 feet, ordered a common pump to be made for that purpose; but when it was completed, the workmen were astonished to find that it would not work. The matter was referred to Galileo, but he was unable to account for it in any way. All they were able to determine was, that water would not rise in a common pump more than 32 or 35 feet. The fact remained inexplicable till philosophers caught the idea of atmospheric pressure; since when, the suspension of mercury in the barometer, and water in a pump, have been well understood.[63]

That the air is a heavy body, has been demonstrated by a variety of experiments. The air next the earth is more dense than that at a distance, because, as it is of an elastic or springy nature, it is pressed down by the whole weight of the superincumbent air. Its general force of gravity appears, from its surrounding the earth, and always accompanying it in its orbit round the sun. As the matter of which the air is composed is always variable, so likewise will its weight or gravity be, as barometers of various kinds and structure evince. The weight of the air at the earth’s surface, is found by the quantity of mercury that the atmosphere balances in the barometer; in which, at a mean state, the mercury stands 29½ inches high. And if the tube were a square inch wide, it would at that height contain 29½ cubic inches of mercury, which is just 15 pounds weight; and so much weight of air every square inch of the earth’s surface sustains; and every square foot, as containing 144 inches, must sustain a pressure of 2,160. At this rate, a middle-sized man, whose surface is about 15 square feet, must sustain a weight of 32,400 pounds, or 16 tons; for the air, like other fluids, presses equally upwards, downwards, and sideways, in every direction. But because this enormous weight bears equally on all sides, and is counterbalanced by the spring of air diffused through all parts of the body, it is not in the least felt by us.[64]

By this enormous pressure we should undoubtedly be crushed in a moment were not all parts of our bodies filled either with air or some other elastic fluid, whose spring is just sufficient to counterbalance the weight of the atmosphere. The human body is a bundle of solids, hard or soft, filled or mixed with fluids, and there are few or no parts of it which are empty. All communicate either by vessels or pores; and the whole surface is a sieve through which the insensible perspiration is performed. The whole extended surface of the lungs is open to the pressure of the atmosphere; every thing therefore is in equilibrio: and if free or speedy access be given to every part, the body will not be damaged by the pressure, however great, any more than a wet sponge would be deranged by plunging it any depth in water. The pressure is instantaneously diffused by means of the incompressible fluids with which the parts are filled: and if any parts are filled with air or other compressible fluids, these are compressed till their elasticity balances the pressure. Besides, all our fluids are acquired slowly, and gradually mixed with that proportion of air which they can dissolve or contain. The whole animal has grown up in this manner from the first vital atom of the embryo. For such reasons the pressure can occasion no change of shape by squeezing together the flexible parts; nor any obstruction by compressing the vessels or pores.

Sometimes the air is so heavy and elastic as to support the mercury in the tube at the height of 31 inches nearly; at other times it is so light and unelastic, as to suffer it to fall as low as 28 inches. The difference between these two altitudes is three inches, that is, about 1-9th of the whole weight of the atmosphere. Our bodies, therefore, are sometimes pressed with a weight one-ninth more than at other times, that is, with about 3,360 pounds more weight at one time than another. This has considerable effect on our feelings, and consequently on our health, but we are apt to ascribe this effect to a wrong cause. When we feel ourselves dull and languid, we think it is owing to the air being too thick and heavy about us. But it is just the reverse: the air is then too light and thin, as is evident from the mercury’s sinking in the barometer, and its not bearing up the clouds: it is seldom dense enough at two miles height to bear them up.[65] The weight of the air is proved by its supporting the clouds and vapors which we so frequently see floating in it; in the same manner that the swimming of a piece of wood indicates the weight of the water which supports it.

It may be remarked, says Mr. Parkes, that the Creator has endowed atmospheric air with the property of preserving its own _equilibrium_ at all times and in all places. Its elasticity is such, that, however it may be consumed by respiration or combustion, its place is immediately supplied with a new portion; and though by a mistaken policy the doors and windows of our habitations may be constructed so as to exclude it as much as possible, it will have admission; it forces its way through every crevice, and performs the most important office assigned it, in defiance of all our exertions. If the properties which are given to the different substances in nature, and the laws by which they are governed, be thus examined, we shall find them all tending to promote the welfare and felicity of every species of animated beings.

The _transparency_ of the air is a very beneficial property it possesses. According to Dr. Keill, and other writers on astronomy, it is entirely owing to the atmosphere that the heavens appear bright in the day-time. For, without an atmosphere, that part of the heavens only would shine in which the sun is placed: and if we could exist without air, and should turn our backs toward the sun, the whole heavens would appear as dark as in the night, and the stars would be seen as clear as in the nocturnal sky. In this case we should have no twilight; but a sudden transition from the brightest sunshine to the blackest darkness immediately after sunset; and from the blackest darkness to the brightest sunshine at sun-rising; which would be extremely inconvenient, if not fatal to the sight of men. But, by means of the atmosphere, we enjoy the sun’s light, reflected from the aërial particles, for some time before he rises, and after he sets. For, when the earth by its rotation has prevented us from seeing the sun, the atmosphere, being still higher than we, has the sun’s light imparted to it, which gradually decreases until he has descended 18 degrees below the horizon; and then, all that part of the atmosphere which is above us becomes dark. The atmosphere refracts the sun’s rays so, as to bring him in sight every clear day, before he rises in the horizon; and to keep him in view for some minutes after he is really set below it. For, at some times of the year, we see the sun ten minutes longer above the horizon, than he would be if there were no refractions; and about six minutes every day at a mean rate. We cannot but perceive the wisdom of God displayed in this contrivance, to prevent the sudden transition from light to extreme darkness, and his goodness manifested therein to man.

Besides these, there are many other advantages we derive from the atmosphere. Were it not for the atmospheric air, which is the vehicle of light and sound, our eyes would be useless, and the pleasures which arise from the variegated prospects that now surround us, unknown. Sound would never strike our ears, nor convey the charms of language from one person to another; all the delights of mutual converse would be lost. The sense of smell would never be regaled with odoriferous sweets; nor annoyed with exhalations from putrid and morbid substances. In short, life would become extinct, and a chaos of darkness and emptiness ensue. It has been well remarked, that, if the Deity had intended only to give us existence, and had been indifferent about our happiness or misery, all the necessary purposes of hearing might have been answered without harmony; of smell, without fragrance; of vision without beauty. The consideration of the various _uses_ to which the different substances in nature may be applied, gives so satisfactory an assurance of the goodness of the Almighty, as is calculated to produce in us gratitude and obedience. With this view, an elegant French writer has said on this necessary fluid, “In the use of atmospheric air, _man_ is the only being who gives to it all the modulations of which it is susceptible. With his voice alone, he imitates the hissing, the cries, and the melody of all animals; while he enjoys the gift of speech denied to every other. To the air he also communicates sensibility; he makes it sigh in the pipe, lament in the flute, threaten in the trumpet, and animates to the tone of his passions even the solid brass, the box tree, and the reed. Sometimes he makes it his slave: he forces it to grind, to bruise, and to move for his advantage an endless variety of machines. In a word, he harnesses it to his ear, and obliges it to waft him over the stormy billows of the ocean.”

_Wind_ is air in motion. As the air is a fluid, its natural state is that of rest, which it cannot have but by an universal equilibrium of all its parts. When, therefore, this natural equipoise of the atmosphere is destroyed in any part, the circumjacent air necessarily moves towards that part, to restore it; and this motion of the air is called _wind_. Hence, where the equilibrium of the air is disturbed, the wind may blow from every point of the compass at the same time: those who live northward of that point have a north wind; those who live southward have a south wind; and so on of the rest: but those who live on the spot, where all those winds meet and rush together, will have turbulent and boisterous weather, such as whirlwinds and hurricanes, accompanied with rain, lightning, and thunder. For sulphureous exhalations from the south, torrents of nitre from the north, and aqueous vapors from every part, are there violently blended together, and seldom fail to produce these phenomena.

The causes of wind augment or diminish the gravity or elasticity of the atmosphere; for two portions of air, which are equal in elasticity or gravity, remain mutually immoveable. We must look for the causes of wind in the variation of heat and cold, the position of the sun, the nature of the soil, the inflammation of meteors, the condensation of the vapors into rain, and other similar circumstances: but the most general causes are heat and cold. Fire, which expands and rarefies the air, diminishes its elasticity, and, consequently, makes it lighter in some places than in others; hence the pressure of the ambient air is greater than that of the rarefied, whence a motion arises; and thus several winds blow towards the part where the air is rarefied by the heat; which currents of air, if strong, are called _winds_, if gentle, _breezes_ or _gales_. Thus the air is constantly carried from the polar regions towards the torrid zone, where it is also affected by the diurnal motion of the sun from east to west.

“When we reflect attentively upon the nature of winds in general,” says Dr. O. Gregory, “considering all the causes which disturb the equilibrium of the atmosphere, the great mobility due to its fluidity and its elasticity, the influence of heat and cold upon the latter, the immense quantity of vapor with which it is charged and discharged alternately, the mutual effect of contiguous air and water in motion, the varied attractions of the sun and moon, upon the aërial fluid, and finally the changes produced by the earth’s rotation in the velocity of the atmospherical moleculæ at different parallels of latitude; we shall no longer be astonished at the inconstancy and variety which infringe upon the regularity of some of our winds, nor of the extreme difficulty of reducing the whole to laws wearing the semblance of certainty.”[66]

There is a great variety of winds. The ancients observed only four, called _venti cardinales_, because they blow from the four cardinal points. Homer mentions no more than _eurus_, the east; _notus_, the south; _zephyrus_, the west; and _boreas_, the north wind.[67] In imitation of him, others do the same. Afterwards intermediate winds were added, first one, then two, between each of these. Most writers, make only eight winds, and Vitruvius[68] informs us that the Athenians built a marble tower in the form of an octagon with eight winds marked, every one on that side which faced it. The moderns make 32 winds, the four cardinal winds 90 degrees distant, and 28 collateral or intermediate, 11 degrees and 15 minutes distant from each other, of which those in the middle between two cardinals, are 45 degrees distant from each cardinal.[69] But some make as many points on the compass, and as many winds, as there are degrees on the horizon, namely, 360.

The winds for a considerable space north of the equator, about 30 degrees in the open sea, blow from the north-east, and as far south of the equator, from the south-east. These are called _trade-winds_, from their facilitating trading voyages. In the Indian ocean, from its particular situation, and that of the lands which surround it, from April or May, to October or November, the wind blows from south-east to north-west; and during the rest of the year from the opposite quarters: these winds are called _monsoons_. In Jamaica and the Caribbee islands, in the months of July, August, or September, there are usually violent storms of wind, called _hurricanes_; the wind during the hurricane frequently veering, and blowing in every direction.

“Winds from all quarters agitate the air And fit the limpid element for use, Else noxious. Oceans, rivers, lakes, and streams, All feel the fresh’ning impulse, and are cleansed By restless undulation. E’en the oak thrives by the rude concussion of the storm. He seems indeed indignant, and to feel The impression of the blast with proud disdain, Frowning, as if in his unconscious arm He held the thunder. But the monarch owes His firm stability to what he scorns, More fixed below, the more disturbed above.”

Winds have been measured, and their velocity calculated. The following is Mr. John Smeaton’s table of the rate at which the wind travels:

Wind. Miles in Feet in an Hour. a Sec.

Hardly perceptible 1 1,47 Just perceptible 2 2,98 3 4,40 Gentle, pleasant 4 5,87 5 7,35 Pleasant brisk gale 10 14,67 15 22,00 Very brisk 20 29,34 25 36,67 High winds 30 44,01 35 51,34 Very high 40 58,68 45 66,01 Storm, tempest 50 73,35 Great storm 60 88,02 Hurricane 80 117,36 ---- that tears up trees, } destroys buildings &c. &c.} 100 146,70[70]

There are some winds that are awfully destructive. In the Gulf of Persia, particularly at Ormus, during the months of June and July, a hot suffocating wind sometimes blows from the west, for a day or two together, which scorches up and destroys any animal exposed to it. On this account the people of Ormus then leave their habitations, and retire to the mountains. Winds similar to this in kind, but not in degree, are sometimes felt on the coast of Coromandel, where they are called _terrenos_; and likewise on the Malabar coast. On the coast of Africa, north of Cape Verd, during the months of December, January, and February, an easterly wind sometimes blows for a day or two, called by sailors _harmattan_, so intensely cold, as to be almost as destructive as the west winds at Ormus. The _simoon_ is a hot wind which blows occasionally in the deserts of Arabia, parched by a vertical sun. If inhaled in any quantity, it produces instant suffocation, or at least leaves the unhappy sufferer oppressed with an asthma and lowness of spirits. Its approach is perceived by a redness in the air, well understood by those who are accustomed to journey through the desert; and the only refuge which they have from it, is to fall down with their faces close to the ground, and to continue as long as possible without respiration.[71] _Sirocco_ is a periodical wind which generally blows in Italy and Dalmatia every year about Easter. It blows from the south-east by south; it is attended with heat, but not rain; its ordinary period is twenty days, and it usually ceases at sunset. When the sirocco does not blow in this manner, the summer is almost free from easterly winds, whirlwinds, and storms. This wind is prejudicial to plants, drying and burning up the buds; though it hurts not man any otherwise than by causing in him an extraordinary weakness and lassitude; inconveniences that are fully compensated by a plentiful fishing, and a good crop on the mountains. In the summer time, when the westerly wind ceases for a day, it is a sign that the sirroco will blow the day following, which usually begins with a sort of whirlwind. When St. Paul was sailing close to the shore at Crete, there arose in the north-east, a tempestuous wind, called by the sacred historian, _euroclydon_; by Pliny, the _mariner’s plague_; and in modern language, a _levanter_, which drove the ship from the coast: this not being a point wind, but rather a kind of hurricane, often shifting its quarter, tossed them backward and forward in the Adriatic.

On Saturday, November 27, 1703, a tremendous storm shook all Europe, which has been considered the most dreadful tempest that has ever taken place since the deluge. This storm commenced three days before it arrived at its height. A strong west wind set in about the middle of the month, the force of which was increased every day till the 27th. Great damage was sustained, and much alarm excited, both by sea and land. The late Rev. Dr. Stennett, in endeavoring to account for it, observes, that “having most probably taken its rise in America, it made its way across the western ocean, and collecting confederate matter in its passage over the seas, spent its fury on those parts of the world, whither this army of terrors was principally commissioned.” The violence of the wind produced a hoarse, dreadful noise, like one continued peal of thunder; whilst the excessive darkness of the night added to the horror of the scene. Some accounts say, that it lightened; but it is probable, that this apprehension arose from there being, at times, many meteors and vapors in the air; the hurry and agitation of nature being too great to admit of thunder and lightning, in their usual course.

Great loss of property was sustained; many painful accidents happened to those who escaped with their lives; and not a few had all their apprehensions realized, as they met death in some of its most dreadful forms. In the city of London and its vicinity, more than 800 dwelling-houses were laid in ruins, and above 2,000 stacks of chimnies were precipitated to the ground. As a further proof of its strength and fury, we are informed, that the lead which covered the roof of 100 churches, was rolled up, and hurled, in prodigious quantities, to great distances. But the dreadful devastation spread throughout the country. In one extensive plain, on the banks of the Severn, not less than 15,000 sheep, being unable to resist its violence, were driven into the river and drowned. Such was the quantity of trees torn up by their roots, that a person anxious to ascertain the number, had proceeded through but a part of the county of Kent, when, arriving at the prodigious amount of 250,000, he relinquished the undertaking. If such were the dreadful ravages of this storm by land, it will be anticipated they were still more disastrous on the water. Accordingly we are informed, that the best part of our navy being then at sea, if it had been at any other than a full flood and spring tide, the loss might have proved fatal to the nation. It was computed that not less than 300 ships were utterly destroyed by this tempest; among which were 15 of the royal navy, containing upwards of 2,000 seamen, who “sunk as lead in the mighty waters.” The whole loss of property was estimated at four millions of money--of lives, about eight thousand--and cattle without number.

Towards the evening of the 27th, it pleased Him, “who gathereth the wind in his fists,” gradually to suppress the storm, till there was a perfect calm. Men were encouraged to leave the retreats in which they had taken refuge, and view the “desolations which God had made in the earth.”[72]

Though the winds are produced by the operation of natural causes, and seem to move in natural courses, yet there is a first Cause, whose efficiency is necessary to their existence, motions, and continuance. We shall select the following remarkable instance as an illustration of the truth of this assertion.

The disciples of Christ were once in imminent danger from a storm at the sea of Tiberias, which is also called the Sea of Galilee, and the Lake of Gennesaret, and, according to Pliny, is sixteen miles long, and six broad. It is said, “Behold, there arose a great tempest in the sea,” σεισμὸς μέγας, a great concussion or shaking. The same expression is frequently used, both in the Scripture and in other writings, for an earthquake; but here it is applied to the sea. Luke calls this tempest “a storm of wind;” Mark, “a great storm of wind;” and both of them use the word λαιλαψ, which the philosopher says is a particular kind of wind, or rather a conflict of many winds. The most probable derivation, says Mr. Parkhurst, seems to be from λα or λιαν, _very much_, and λαπτω, _to lick_ or _lap up_, as wolves do water in drinking; for a whirlwind _violently licks up_, as it were, the dust of all light bodies in its way. Hence λαιλαψ is a wind that is suddenly whirled and rolled about downwards and upwards. Aristotle explains the word by _a violent whirlwind, moving from beneath upwards_. Hesychius, a learned Grecian, defines it to be a storm or tempest of wind, with rain. It seems to have been a whirlwind and hurricane in which the disciples then were. Luke says, that this storm of wind _came down_; it descended with great force into the sea, and lifted up its waves, which beat into the ship, and pressed it much, so that it was in great danger of being swallowed up and sunk by them. All the views given us of this tempest show the disciples to have been in imminent danger. It is said, “that the ship was covered with the waves,” which “beat into it, so that it was now full of water,” as Mark expresses it. Nay, Luke says, “they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy,” or in great danger. The ship was immersed, or just sinking into the deep. So that the disciples were brought to the utmost extremity. The great distress they were in is expressed in these words, “We perish, ἀπολλύμεθα, _we are lost_.”[73] This way of speaking is still in use among sea-faring men, and indeed among others. Nothing is more common than for men to say, Such a vessel, or such a ship’s crew, or such a person, was lost at sea, in such a place, and at such a time. It is also to be observed, they do not say, We are in danger of being lost, or we are ready to be lost, or we shall be lost, but, _we are lost_. Which shows what apprehension they had of their condition; they saw no probability of escaping by any naturally rational method; they looked on themselves as lost.

All the Evangelists agree in this, though they do not use the same word. Mark mentions the place where he was asleep, _in the hinder part of the ship_, or stern, where he, as Lord and Master, should be. But to the great concern of the disciples, he was there in a deep or sound sleep, as the word αφυπνωσε, which Luke uses, signifies, and is confirmed by the loud cry, and repeated call of the disciples to him, saying, “Master, Master, we perish!” This sleep, doubtless, was brought on him through his great fatigue in preaching all the preceding day, and from the great concourse of people resorting to him, to have the sick healed, and devils cast out. He seems to have signified that he was very weary, just before he entered into the ship, to a man who said to him, “Master, I will follow thee whithersoever thou goest:” the answer he returned was, “The foxes have holes, and the birds of the air have nests; but the Son of Man hath not where to lay his head.” Intimating as though he wanted an opportunity to lie down, and take some rest: and accordingly, when he was come into the ship, placing himself at the stern, he lay down, and fell fast asleep.

Christ was their last resource, but he was asleep in the same ship. However, they resolved to apply to him, and in so doing were certainly right. They used this language, “Lord, save us;” which implies that they believed he was able to save them; and indeed the considerable miracles which had been so lately wrought in their presence, were sufficient to convince them of his ability to deliver them in their greatest extremity. Our Lord indeed blamed them for their incredulity and want of faith. The question he put to them, as related by Luke, is “Where is your faith?” You professed to have faith in me, and doubtless had a little while ago; where is it now? Mark expresses himself, “Why are ye so fearful? how is it that ye have no faith?” that is, none in exercise, none sufficient to suppress your alarming fears? Matthew says, “Why are ye fearful, Oh ye of little faith?” It would seem they had no faith in Christ when sleeping, though not destitute of it when awake; but for this he justly reprimanded them. For though, as the Son of Man, he was asleep, yet as the Son of God, by nature, he neither sleeps nor slumbers. He was equally able to save them when sleeping as well as when waking.

It is not only certain that he was able to save them, but it is matter of fact that he in reality did so. Being awaked by his disciples, he rises up, and, with a majestic voice, and in an authoritative manner, showing, as it were, some kind of resentment at the wind and sea, as if they had exceeded their commission, and the one had blown and the other raged too much, and too long, rebukes them, saying, “Peace, be still:” Σιώπα, πεφίμωσο, be silent, hold thy peace, stop thy mouth, put a bridle on it, (as the last Greek word signifies;) go on no longer to threaten with shipwreck, and loss of lives. On this the wind ceased, and the sea became calm and smooth. The ship now moved quietly on, and they all arrived safe at the land of the Gadarenes, which is opposite to Galilee.

This had a very considerable effect both on the mariners and disciples, who rightly concluded from hence that their deliverer was more than a man. There was such a display of majesty, such a lustre of Divine power appeared in this behest, as filled them with astonishment and fear. They _marvelled_ greatly, and _feared exceedingly_. Matthew seems to relate this, as though the mariners were the only persons who were affected with their deliverance: the men said one to another, “What manner of man is this, that even the winds and the sea obey him?” But Mark and Luke represent it as a question of the disciples to one another, “What manner of man is this?” of what qualities, powers, and perfections? He must be more than a mere man, he can be no other than the mighty God, “whom the winds and the sea obey.” It is to be observed, that the word _man_, inserted in our translation, is not in the question, as expressed by any of the Evangelists, in the original, but “Who is this?” The disciples were sufficiently convinced by this miracle, which so nearly concerned themselves, that their Master must be God over all, blessed forever.

This amazing instance of the power of Christ, shows clearly his Deity. Since he has such authority over the wind and seas, it must unavoidably follow that he is truly and properly God. It is said, “he rebuked the wind and the sea,” a phrase that is used only of the Most High God, who stands distinguished from all other beings by this, that “he stilleth the noise of the seas, the noise of their waves, and the tumult of the people.” The Messiah makes use of this as an argument to prove, that he is able to redeem, because he can rebuke the sea, dry it up, and cover the heavens with clouds. “Is my hand shortened at all, that it cannot redeem? or have I no power to deliver? behold, at my rebuke I dry up the sea: I make the rivers a wilderness. I clothe the heavens with blackness, and I make sackcloth their covering.” That it is the Messiah who here speaks, the following words abundantly declare: “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning; he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The Lord God hath opened mine ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away back. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” Now on our Lord rebuking the wind and the sea, the one _ceased_, and the other became _calm_; this was done by speaking a word only, in an authoritative manner. Moses divided the waters of the Red Sea with a rod; Joshua, the waters of Jordan with the ark of the covenant; Elisha, with the Prophet’s mantle: but here Christ calmed the raging billows with a word. When he rebuked the wind and the sea, not only the former instantly ceased to rage, but the sea immediately became calm, which was very unusual and extraordinary; for after the wind has ceased, and the storm is over, the waters of the sea commonly continue raging, and in a violent motion for a considerable time. Must not that man be an infidel, who can read this account, and deny the Deity of Jesus Christ? Or, must he not be forced to one or other of these two conclusions, either to deny the truth of the fact, or to believe that Jesus Christ is truly and properly God?

[_Addenda on Atmosphere._

1. By more recent and accurate experiments it is established, that the relative proportions of oxygen and hydrogen in air, are not precisely as given by Mr. Wood; but are 21 of oxygen, and 79 of hydrogen in 100 parts.

2. Experiments on the _compressibility_ of the atmosphere have been carried to a much greater extent than stated in the text, and since our author wrote. It was generally believed that air might be made to assume a _liquid_ form by pressure; and it has been recently accomplished by Mr. Perkins, as he states, by a pressure of 2,000 atmospheres.

3. Our author very justly states, that the _gaseous_ state of the atmosphere is owing to the quantity of _caloric_ in combination, the entire _abstraction_ of which would render our atmosphere a body as solid as the diamond. This caloric is not imparted to it by the beams of the sun _passing through_ it; because, radiant matter does not warm gaseous bodies by passing through them. This caloric is chiefly supplied from the _earth_, by the lowest stratum of air coming in contact with it, and when heated ascends, and thus gives place to a colder stratum. Hence the air is much warmer at the surface of the earth, than in its higher regions.

4. Our author inclines to the opinion that the atmosphere is the product of a _chemical_ combination of the gases, yet great names, and weighty arguments are in favor of the opposite theory of a _mere mixture_ of gases.

5. There is one point not presented in the preceding section. It is well known that oxygen is abstracted from the air by _combustion_, and the _breathing_ of animals. This abstraction is very large. From whence then comes the supply of oxygen sufficient to keep up the constitutional quantity of this gas in the atmosphere? The only answer I have met with to this difficult question is this: The _growing of vegetables_ is supposed to supply it, as it is well known that they absorb carbonic acid during the day, and evolve oxygen. But it is also well known that this process is _reversed_ during the night. Hence it would appear that this is not a sufficient cause. Still it would seem there must be a sufficient supply from some source, as chemists have not been able to detect any change in the constitution of the air.

May not the oxygen be _restored_ back again by _evolution_ from those bodies which have _absorbed_ it, _upon their decomposition_? Thus there would be a successive absorption and evolution as the process of nature went on; which would tend to keep up an equal distribution of oxygen.]

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Footnotes - Chapter III

[53] Dr. Clarke on Gen. i, 6.

[54] Benson on Gen. i, 6.

[55] Dalton’s New System of Chemical Philosophy, part 1, p. 1.

[56] Lavoisier’s Elements of Chemistry, p. 78.

[57] Manchester Memoirs, New Series, vol. i, p. 254.

[58] When solid substances are rendered permanently aëriform by heat, the air thus produced is called a _gas_. John Baptist van Helmont, a physician and chemist, born at Brussels, in 1577, and educated at Louvain, was the first chemist who made use of this term to denote an elastic fluid. He gave fixed air the name of _gas_.

The oxygen gas in atmospheric air is the principle of combustion, as the vehicle of heat; and is absolutely necessary for the support of animal life. Pure oxygen gas has the property of accelerating the circulation of all the animal fluids, and occasions the most rapid combustion of all combustible substances; so that it is the most energetic and powerful agent that chemists are acquainted with. Oxygen gas is a little heavier than atmospheric air, and 740 times lighter than water.

Nitrogen gas is chiefly distinguished by certain _negative_ qualities, such as being incapable of supporting combustion and animal life. It is uninflammable, and somewhat lighter than atmospheric air. Nitrogen gas has the effect of neutralizing, in some measure, the properties of oxygen gas, and rendering it fit for respiration and combustion. By the union of nitrogen gas with the oxygen gas this change is effected: the latter, which would burn every thing within its reach with an unparalleled activity, is, as it were, dissolved and diluted; and the nature of the former is so much enveloped by the latter, that the compound possesses properties different from either of these gasses, so as to be fitted for every purpose for which it was designed.

Though nitrogen gas is, by itself, so noxious to animals, it answers an important end when mixed with oxygen gas in atmospheric air. Were it not for this large quantity of nitrogen in the atmosphere, the blood would flow with too great rapidity through the vessels, and all animals would have too great spirits; the consequence of which would be, that the life of man would not be protracted to the length that it now is. “If the proportions of oxygen and nitrogen were reversed in the atmospheric air, says Dr. Lambe, the air taken in by respiration would be more stimulant, the circulation would become accelerated, and all the secretions would be increased: but the tone of the vessels, thus stimulated to increased action, would be destroyed by over-excitement; and, if the supply from the stomach were not equal to the consumption, the body must inevitably waste and decay.” Hence the wisdom of God is remarkably displayed in the constitution of the atmospheric air! See Parke’s Chemical Catechism, chap. ii.

[59] “Mr. Cavendish,” says Dr. O. Gregory, “is the first who endeavored to establish that the proportions of the two principal elements of the atmospheric air were constant. The observations since made by M. de Mairy in Spain, M. Berthollet, in Egypt and in France; Mr. Davy, in England; and by Dr. Beddoes on the air brought from the coast of Guinea, seem to have confirmed this grand result. But one of the finest experiments made on this subject is that of Gay Lussac, in France, who, having been elevated alone in a balloon to the height of 6,900 metres, the greatest ever attained by any person, brought some atmospheric air from these regions. This air, being analysed at his return, comparatively with that on the surface of the earth, gave the same principles in the same proportions; a proof that the chemical constitution of the atmosphere at these great heights, is the same as at the surface of the earth. This result has been since confirmed by the experiments made by Messrs. Humboldt and Gay Lussac on eudiometry. The air of the surface of the earth, analysed at different days, at various hours and temperatures, presented no change in its composition: it always contained 0.21 of oxygen in volume, 0.783 of azote, 0.003 of hydrogen, and 0.004 of carbonic acid. Biot and Arrago have also lately verified this grand result. The atmospheric air, analysed in places the most distant from each other, in deep valleys, on high mountains, on banks of lakes, and in the glaciers of Chamouny, always presented to them the same composition.” Haüy’s Natural Philosophy, Note, vol. i. p. 218.

[60] Sturm’s Reflections, vol. iv. p. 49.

[61] “Galileo, to whom was reserved the glory of preparing, long before, the way for the theory of Newton, by the discovery of the law to which the acceleration of heavy bodies is subjected, having let fall from a great height different balls of gold, of lead, of copper, or porphyry, with a ball of wax, observed that all these bodies employed nearly the same time in falling to the earth. The ball of wax, the only one that was sensibly retarded, was no more than four inches from the earth at the end of the fall of the other bodies. Galileo, considering that this difference was very far from being proportional to that of the weights, concluded that it depended solely on the resistance of the air. This conjecture has been since verified by direct experiments, consisting in letting fall from the top of a tube, within which the vacuum has been made the most perfect possible, bodies of different materials, such as lead, iron, wood, cork, feathers, wool, &c, and it has been found that none of these bodies will then permit of our perceiving any sensible difference in the duration of their fall. As to bodies which raise themselves in air, such as smoke, it is known that their ascension is occasioned by the circumstance of their being specifically lighter than air: they are with respect to this fluid, situated as a piece of cork is with respect to water, which when immersed in that water to a certain depth, and then left to itself, rises again to the surface. The vulgar regard all as being without gravity which rises instead of falling: whence Newton remarked that the weight of the vulgar was the excess of the absolute weight of a body above the weight of the air. The ascent of air-balloons in the midst of the air is well calculated to undeceive the partisans of this theory of bodies without heaviness.” Haüy’s Natural Philosophy, vol. i. p. 48.

[62] To Otto Guericke, a burgo-master of Magdeburgh, we are indebted for the invention of the pneumatic machine, or air-pump.

[63] The atmosphere presses equally on the whole surface of the water in the well, until the rod of the pump is moved; but, by forcing the rod down, the bucket compresses the air in the lower part of the pump tree, which being elastic, forces its way out of the tree through the valve; so that when the bucket is again raised, that part of the pump tree under the bucket is void of air; and the _weight of the atmosphere_, pressing on the body of water in the well, forces up a column of water to supply its place; the next stroke of the pump rod causes another column of water to rise; and as long as the bucket fits the pump tree close enough to produce a vacuum, a constant stream of water may be drawn from below. Parkes’s Chemical Catechism, pp. 47, 418.

[64] As the earth’s surface contains, observes Mr. Ferguson, in round numbers, 200,000,000 square miles, must contain no less than 5,575,680,000,000,000 square feet; which being multiplied by 2,160, the numbers of pounds on each square foot, amounts to 12,043,468,800,000,000,000 pounds, for the weight of the whole atmosphere. Mr. Coates computed that the weight of the air which pressed upon the whole surface of the earth, is equal to that of a globe of lead sixty miles in diameter.

The following simple experiments within the reach of every one’s observation, show clearly the weight or gravitating power of the air. Let any one lay his hand on the top of a long perpendicular pipe, such as a pump filled to the brim with water, which is at first prevented from running out by the valve below: then let the valve be opened, so that the water may descend, and he will find his hand so hard pressed to the top of the pipe that he cannot draw it away. The prop is now gone; he has no pressure under his hand; a column of air, 45 miles high forces it down by its weight; and he must let in the air under it before the hand can be withdrawn.--If we shut the nozzle and valve-hole of a pair of bellows after having squeezed the air out of them, we shall find that a very great force, even some hundred pounds, is necessary for separating the boards; they being kept together by the pressure of the air which surrounds them.--If any one will apply the open end of a syringe to his hand, and then draw up the piston, he will find his hand sucked into the syringe with great force, and it will give pain, and the soft part of the hand will swell into it, being pressed in by the neighboring parts, which are subject to the action of the external air.

[65] A heavy air is more favorable to health than a light one, because it promotes the circulation of the blood, and insensible perspiration. When the air is heavy, it is generally clear; whereas a light air is generally accompanied with clouds, rain, or snow, which render it damp. Too great a dryness of the air is very injurious to the human body; but this seldom happens for any length of time, except in sandy countries. A damp air is very unwholesome, because it relaxes the fibres, obstructs insensible perspiration, and if heat accompany the dampness, it disposes the humors to putrefy. An air too hot dilates all the fluids of the body, and occasions sweatings, which bring on weakness and oppression. On the other hand, when the air is to cold, the solid parts contract excessively, and the fluids are condensed; hence result obstructions and inflammations. The best air is that which is neither too heavy nor too light, too moist nor too dry, and which is not impregnated with noxious vapors. Sturm’s Reflections, vol. iv, p. 50.

[66] “The most ingenious theories of the periodical winds we recollect, are those of Mr. Hadley, first proposed in Phil. Trans. vol. xxxix, p. 58, and lately revised by Mr. Dalton, in his Meteorological Essays,--and of Dr. Halley, first published in Phil. Transac. vol. xvi, p. 153, and recently defended by Dr. Kirwan, in his paper, ‘On the Variations of the Atmosphere.’ In the latter mentioned paper Kirwan has given some interesting information relative to variable winds, as westerly, easterly, southerly, northerly, and opposite concomitant winds; also relative to the succession of winds, and the Sirocco. See likewise the Philosophical Magazine, No. 60. Some curious facts respecting winds, and waves on the surface of the sea, are related by Mr. Horsburg in the Philosophical Journal, No. 60.” Haüy’s Nat. Phil. vol. i, pp. 285,286.

[67] Odyss. v. 295.

[68] A celebrated architect, born at Formio, in Italy. He was greatly esteemed by Julius Cæsar, and employed by Augustus in constructing public buildings and warlike machines. He wrote a valuable Treatise on Architecture.

[69] This division, with the several names on each point, was made by the Germans, as most commodious; but these names are not easily expressed in other languages. They are thus marked in English:

North. East. South. West. N and by E E and by S S and by W W and by N N N E E S E S S W W N W N E and by N S E and by E S W and by S N W and by W N E S E S W N W N E and by E S E and by S S W and by W N W and by N E N E S S E W S W N N W E and by N S and by E W and by S N and by W

[70] “The most decisive circumstance tending to show the great velocity of brisk winds,” says Dr. O. Gregory, “is that of the rapid passage of the celebrated aëronaut M. Garnerin, from London to Colchester. On the 30th of June, 1802, the wind being strong, though not impetuous, M. Garnerin and another gentleman ascended with an inflammable air-balloon from Ranelagh Gardens, on the south-west of London, between four and five o’clock in the afternoon; and in exactly three-quarters of an hour they descended near the sea, at the distance of four miles from Colchester. The distance of the places of ascent and descent is at least 60 miles; so that, allowing no time for the elevation and depression of the balloon, but, supposing the whole period occupied in transferring it in a path nearly parallel to the earth’s surface, its velocity must have been at the rate of 80 miles per hour. If, therefore, the wind moved no faster than the balloon, its velocity was then 80 miles per hour, or 117½ feet per second; a celerity but little less than the greatest assigned by Kraaft: and hence it is probable, that the velocity of very impetuous winds is not less than 130 or 140 feet per second.” Haüy’s Nat. Phil. vol. i, p. 282.

[71] Mr. Bruce, who, in his journey through the desert, suffered from the simoon, gives of it the following graphical description. “At eleven o’clock, while we contemplated with great pleasure the rugged top of Chiggre, to which we were fast approaching, and where we were to solace ourselves with plenty of good water, Idris, our guide, cried out, with a loud voice, ‘Fall on your faces, for here is the simoon.’ I saw from the south-east a haze come, in color like the purple part of the rainbow, but not so compressed or thick. It did not occupy twenty yards in breadth, and was about twelve feet high from the ground. It was a kind of blush on the air, and it moved very rapidly: for I scarce could turn to fall on the ground with my head to the northward, when I felt the heat of its current on my face. We all lay flat on the ground as if dead, till Idris told us it was blown over. The meteor or purple-haze which I saw, was indeed passed, but the light air that still blew was of heat sufficient to threaten suffocation. For my part, I found distinctly in my breast that I had imbibed a part of it, nor was I free of an asthmatic sensation, till I had been some months in Italy, at the baths of Poretta, near two years afterwards.” Though the severity of this blast seems to have passed over them almost instantaneously, it continued to blow so as to exhaust them till twenty minutes before five in the afternoon, lasting through all its stages very near six hours, and leaving them in a state of the utmost despondency.

_Fatal Simoon._--Extract of a letter from Smyrna:--We have received intelligence of a dreadful calamity having overtaken the largest caravan of the season, on its route from Mecca to Aleppo. The caravan consisted of 2,000 souls, merchants and travellers from the Red Sea and Persian Gulf, pilgrims returning from Mecca, and a numerous train of attendants; the whole escorted by 400 military. The march was in three columns. On the 15th of August last, they entered the great Arabian Desert, in which they journeyed seven days, and were already approaching its edge. A few hours more would have placed them beyond danger; but on the morning of the 23d, just as they had struck their tents, and commenced their march, a wind arose from the north-east, and blew with tremendous violence. They increased the rapidity of their march to escape the threatening danger; but the fatal Kamsin had set in. On a sudden dense clouds were observed, whose extremity obscured the horizon, and swept the face of the desert. They approached the columns, and obscured the line of march. Both men and beast, struck with a sense of common danger, uttered loud cries. The next moment they fell beneath its pestiferous influence lifeless corpses. Of 2,800 souls, composing the caravan, not more than 20 escaped this calamity; they owed their safety to the swiftness of their dromedaries. Literary Panorama, for January, 1814.

[72] See Baptist Magazine, for December, 1816.

[73] So the word is translated Luke xix, 10; 2 Cor. iv, 3.

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