ble for about twenty minutes. There were frosts that day in Scotland while at Portsmouth and Southampton, as well as several other places, there were gales, thunder, hail, rain and snow; thus pretty rigidly fulfilling the prediction:-
"Sol and Saturn's equal declination
Puts the air in chilly perturbation:
Mars as well, doth cross Equator's line,
And thus for stormy weather is a sign."
Tuesday, Sept. 28th brought on the minimum pressure of the barometer, there having been a continuous fall of the mercury during eight days, amounting to no less than an inch and four-tenths. As might be conjectured, by the low readings of the barometer, there was a continuation of storms, chiefly at Holyhead, Penzance, &c., resulting in some instances in loss of life and property. The temperature, however, was some degrees higher, and thus again was verified the following:-
"It may be that the air's more warm,
yet tokens still of wind and storm."
On the 23rd, the trine aspect of Mercury and Uranus had the effect of repeating the rain-squalls in this locality, accompanied at night by vivid lightning, whilst stormy weather, as reported, was prevalent at Bristol and many other places. The storms and squalls appear to have been of even greater frequency and intensity on the 24th, notwithstanding the supposed improvement for two days indicated by instrumental registration. There were lightning and thunder from 4.15 to 7.30 a.m., and again from 6 till 7. p.m.; there were also turbulent squalls of wind, rain and hail throughout the day, clearly demonstrating the stormy influence of Saturn's conjunction with Venus, &c., as pre-intimated-
"From Venus passing Saturn, Moon in perigee,
Some hasty hail or rain one now expects to see."
The weather - its cause and effect - is in the present investigating epoch a fruitful theme to such as devote a moderate amount of attention to it, and it is therefore not much to be wondered at that although in this article we have already exceeded the proposed limits, we have given but a mere outline of that which we desired to do, and which if time and space permitted, the accumulated accounts before us would have enabled us to do. We have only reached to the 24th of September, and even in that period have said nothing of the rough weather experienced by sailors in the Atlantic, nor of the wrecks and loss of life in the North Sea, caused by violent storms of wind, lightning rain and hail. We have, moreover, almost forgotten to mention the very uncommon occurrence of lightning being observed at St. Leonards during seven successive nights in the month of September. But we hope to have said enough to convince reasonable people that those stupendous orbs which traverse space are mighty instruments in the hands of God for good & evil. Some other phenomena, including the recent Earthquake, may form the subject of a few remarks in our next."
