III. To the astronomer how exquisite were the time, when, wrapt in all the enjoyment of meditation, he beholds the path of the galaxy; calculates the movements of the planets, as the sun marshals their seasons; sees the eclipses of the satellites; witnesses the splendour of Mercury and Venus; the crimson aspect of Mars; and the diminutive orbs of the Asteroids. Standing, in imagination, on the convex of Jupiter, the earth appears a globule of silver; while the Herschell wheels its stupendous course, almost to the apparent limit of the solar sphere. Drinking, as it were, the dews of every orbit,-in imagination, he listens to the seraphic notes of the planetary gamut; hears them the frontiers of the solar influence; penetrating the unlimited regions of space; rolling from one system to another; each mingling its harmony with theirs; and shedding volumes of sound, more rich and more delightful to the heart, than the powers of language can convey; than the imagination can picture, or the judgment understand. And far more rich and more delightful to the senses, than perfumes, wafted over an Arabian sea1; when spring has renewed the year; and the moon is rising, " in clouded majesty," over the last remnants of day. pass 1 The simile in Milton, to which this alludes, is from Massinger :-Act iii. sc. i. BOOK III. CHAPTER I. In many parts of America, explosions are heard among mountains, for which no one has been able satisfactorily to account; though it is probable, they proceed from internal volcanoes. Sometimes a single stroke is heard; at other times five or six in succession; sounding like volumes of thunder. Lewis observed them in his progress to the source of the Missouri river; Techo speaks of them in the province of Guayra in Brazil; Vasconcellos heard them in the Serra de Piratininga; Acuna alludes to them in his account of Teixira's voyage down the Orellana; and Humboldt says, they are frequently heard in those districts of Mexico, which abound in coals. At Haddam in Connecticutt, too, similar sounds are heard, accompanied by concussions of the earth'. These explosions have an awful effect upon the minds of those, that hear them; for to the effect, which loud sounds generally produce, they have the still more sublime one, 1 Burckhardt mentions loud explosions, as being frequently heard by the Arabs from the mountain of Om Shommar in the deserts of Sinai. Upon searching it, however, he could find no traces of a volcano. In Chili* noises are frequently heard, indicating subterraneous waters or winds. * Molina, vol. i. p. 26. arising from the mystery, in which their causes are enveloped. High winds, tornadoes, and thunder-storms1, are peculiarly impressive to men of proud imaginations. In the Greek mythology Jupiter was esteemed the deity of clouds, lightning, thunder, and of tempests. Many are the passages in the poets, in which these phenomena are described in adequate terms of admiration. What a fine effect is produced in the Iliad, where thunder strikes awe into the hearts of Nestor and Diomed, and unmans their companions! And when the chiefs are engaged in carousals, Humbled they stood:-pale horror seized them all; In the Hebrew writings3, also, the Deity is frequently represented, as employing tempests against the enemies of the Jews. Tasso has not neglected to imitate these fine examples. Milton has improved upon them: and Ossian has almost surpassed both Tasso and Milton themselves. 1 Lui-shin, the Chinese god of thunder, has the wings, beak, and talons of an eagle. The ancient Gauls and Scythians* worshipped thunder under the name of Taranis; and the druidesses, who pretended to be able to transform themselves and others into animals, to cure all manner of diseases, and to know future events, affected, also, to have the power of raising and quelling + The Laplanders‡ once adored thunder under the name of Hora storms. galles. 2 Book vii. The Tartars believe, that whatever is struck by lightning is impure; having been visited by divine displeasure.-Marco Polo, ii. c. xxi. The Chinese are exceedingly fearful of lightning.-Staunton, vol. ii. 305. II. The storms of Europe, sublime as they are, have nothing, with which they can compare with those of Africa, Asia, and America. The mountains of Kondokoo', near the Gambia, are cultivated to their summits; villages are erected in romantic glens between them; and the inhabitants listen, with solemn yet not undelighted awe, from their tremendous precipices, as the thunder rolls, in lengthening volumes, from one narrow defile to another. The description of Virgil sinks into insignificance: Ipse pater, media nimborum in nocte, corusca Georg. i. v. 328. The fear in this passage, so faithfully described, is far less impressive, than the pleasing awe, which affects the natives of the Gambia. Lucretius, however, has a preeminent passage; in which, alluding to the fear of the superstitious, he increases the natural sublimity of the phenomenon, by marking its effects upon the imagination of tyrants. Quoi non conrepunt membra pavore, Fulminis horribile quum plaga, torrida tellus De Nut. Rer. v. 1218.2 1 Vid. Park's second Journey. 2 Chatterton has a fine description of the coming on of a storm : The sun was gleaming in the midst of day, Dead still the air, and eke the welkin blue, &c. &c. Thunder is heard among the Andes; but lightning is said to be entirely unknown in Chili. At the Cape of Good Hope lightning is rarely seen; and thunder still more rarely heard. In the deserts to the north, however, both the one and the other assume the most frightful characters: there being nothing to conduct the electric fluid to the earth. At these times the Boshiesmen curse in the bitterest manner. The West Indies are subject to norths, souths, and hurricanes: the East Indies to typhons and monsoons. Than a monsoon few things are more sublime, in the whole range of Nature's phenomena. That from the south-west, we are told, begins in the middle of June: it is preceded by violent blasts of wind: lightning then appears in the distant horizon: soon it approaches nearer, appearing and disappearing every instant. Thunder then rolls in immense volumes; and at length bursts, with a multitude of sudden and tremendous crashes. When the thunder ceases, rain descends, for many days. The sky then clears; and the face of nature, which before had been fainting, as it were, with drought, assumes a renovated aspect. The rivers are full and tranquil1; the air is pure and delicious; and the sky varied and embellished with clouds. Gentle rains then ensue; in July they rage again with greater violence; in September they gradually abate; and towards its close depart, as they came, amid thunder and lightning and tempests of wind. One of the most dreadful monsoons on record is that, witnessed and recorded by Forbes. The British combined force lay encamped at Baroche; and were preparing 'Elphinstone Caubul, p. 128. 4to. |