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.]
* * * * *
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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