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I know of none in a level country troubled with it. It is indeed puzzling enough to conceive why in a day when hardly a single breeze is a-stir, the surface of a lake, which is as smooth as a mirror, should without any apparent cause begin to be in motion, which in less than an hour rises to a considerable swell, with a direction sometimes to one quarter and sometimes to another; yet such is really the case; and similar appearances have been observed in some of the Alpine Lakes, though it has been imputed as a lie to Buchanan that he tells of a similar phenomenon being frequent in the lake of Lenox."

"THE BOSOM WIND-is quite a different affair, and takes place wherever one object in the direction of the wind overlooks another; or universally where any thing breaks the current of the air that would otherwise impinge directly on the objects beyond it. This is particularly the case where large rocks screen things below them from the direct force of the wind, yet subject them to what is called a Bosom Wind. Near the sources of the Caldew is a valley called Swineside, never visited by the rays of the sun during the winter months. On the northern side of the hill which overshadows it in this manner, and at a considerable height above the valley, is a pretty large bason of water, called Booth-scale Tarn, three fourths of which are surrounded by an exceedingly steep heath, or by entire rocks; and the other fourth, being the side right above the valley, gives an outlet to the water. A road leads from the low grounds to the lake, and from the outlet winds about half round it, gradually ascending to some rocks where are slate quarries, on account of which it was first made; near these quarries the road is a considerable height above the lake, and the perpendicular heights of the hill above it can not be less than four hundred yards; on the other side of this height the descent is at an angle of perhaps fifty degrees, but on this

at a much greater. On a wet and windy day in Autumn I once took a ride with two companions to this lake; the wind blew directly over the height which I mentioned, not striking upon us except in uncertain puffs, on account of the intervention of the hill; that is, the wind, impinging on the inclined plane of the other side of the hill, was compelled towards the summit of it in an oblique direction, its powers continually increasing, and itself being more and more condensed by the addition of fresh air pressing on its course in a similar diverted manner. This current at the summit met with the regular wind, and, after striking violently on the mass of air moving in higher regions, was, by means of a combination of the weight and motion of that air, at last repelled into the tranquil and stagnant air beneath, where there was not a resistance from motion, and thus occasioned the wind of which I am speaking. It was this wind, which amused me very much at that time; I was looking at the lake beneath, and saw it grow black near the centre; the spot, where this first appeared, changed directly into a livid appearance by being contrasted with the rest of the water, through which, from this spot, as a fixed point, rolled concentric circles of waves towards the circumference in a tumultuous manner, whilst the centre itself remained quite smooth and undisturbed. The wind, which produced this agitation, immediately after ascended the sides of the bason, and affected us with a very great force; I could also observe the heath on the other sides of the pool shook by the same, and in the same main direction from a centre, very forcibly. Such were the effects that I observed. I am told, however, that others have known a wind of the same kind in dry weather snatch the water out of the pool, and scatter it as spray through the whole of this imprisoned space."

KELDS." There is an appearance on the surface of

lakes, which we can not account for on any principle, either of optics or perspective. When there is no apparent cause in the sky, the water will sometimes appear dappled with large spots of shades. It is possible these patches may have connexion with the bottom of the laké, as naturalists suppose the shining parts of the sea are occasioned by the spawn of fish; but this is more probable that in some way they are connected with the sky, as they are generally in the country esteemed to be a weather-gage. The people will often say, it will be no hay-day to-day, the lake is full of shades! I myself never saw this appearance, or I might be able to give a better account of it; but I have heard it so often taken notice of, that I suppose there is at least some ground for the observation. Though after all, I think it probable these shades may be owing only to floating clouds. I have often, says Mr. Locke, remarked this appearance on the lake of Geneva, without being able to assign a satisfactory reason; and the people of the country, I mean the philosophic part of them, are equally at a loss. If the spots were the shadow of a passing cloud, a vapour dense enough to interrupt the rays of the sun would certainly when suspended in a clear sky be visible, and immediately account for the appearance. But perhaps the effect may be derived from a cause diametrically opposite to the density of vapour. Let us suppose a partial rareness of the vapours dissolved in the atmosphere just above the spot, while every other part of the sky sheds light, by the reverberation of rays on the surface of the lake, that part sheds but little, and leaves a corresponding spot on the water, which compared with the splendour of the surrounding parts appears dark. The state of the sky may very well be considered as a weather-gage, because partial rarefactions destroy the equilibrium of the air.

"The shades are here (Ullswater in Cumberland) called Kelds, probably from the Saxon or British word keld, sig

nifying a spring or fountain; and the particular spots, which are longest in freezing over, are thus denominated. We have generally observed the shades in a morning, sometimes succeeded by rain, and always by wind from a southerly point; there is a slight current of air, a gentle swelling of the surface, yet the water not ruffled, but crisped over with a gentle breeze; the keld appears dark, while the other parts are more silvery; at a distance, though the sun be obscured, the appearance continues invariably the same. It looks as if oil had been poured on the water; and prismatic colours are visible on the surface of the keld, which varies in diameter in various places, and at different times, from sixty to two hundred yards, is sometimes nearly circular, at others angular. A little oil poured upon the lake from a point of land will extend and calm the surface to a much greater distance than would at first be imagined.... Early on a calm sunny morning, the bottom of the lake may be seen at the depth of about twelve yards, and the fishes may be discovered as they play in shoals. Something like a glory, or faint halo, with a slight mixture of prismatic colours, may be observed round the head of a person, when the exhalation is great on a hot sunny day, particularly if leaning over the side of the boat.*"

Primroses and poppies.-In the whole parish of Bishopstone, near Swindon, in Wiltshire, there never has been a primrose seen to grow, though in the neighbouring parishes they abound. A stream parts Bishopstone from Hinton, and on the side of the latter primroses are to be seen by thousands. The same singularity prevails with regard to poppies in a certain district. About East Grinstead, in Sussex, there are no corn poppies, while a few miles both east and west, and particularly in Surrey-the fields are quite red with them all the summer.

This account of the Kelds is from Hutchinson's Cumberland, but he himself in the first part quotes from Gilpin,

THE MONTHS-SEPTEMBER.

THIS month has retained its Latin name without the change of a single letter. By the Romans it was so called as being the seventh month from March,* and with them too it remained equally unaltered except for a short time in the reign of Domitian, when the tyrant, after two triumphs, having assumed the title of Germanicus, thought proper to give his new appellation to September, while he honoured October with his former name. This how

* "Dehinc quintus, Quintilis; et sic deinceps usque ad Decembrem a numero." VARRO DE LINGUA LATINA, lib. v. p. 54, 8vo. Paris, 1573.

Hone has some notable information on the derivation of the Latin word, September. He tells us that the word "is compounded of septem, seven, and imber, a shower of rain, from the rainy season usually commencing at this period of the year." This, I presume, he got in some way from Priscian or Isidore, both of whom have lent it the sanction of their authority. But with all due deference both for the grammarian and the saint, such a derivation is a palpable absurdity. As Gerard Vossius well observes, and as indeed must occur to every one of the least judgment, "hoc si esset, Octimber diceretur "—if this were the case, we should say Octimber, and not October. The truth seems to be that the suffix, ber, which occurs in a multitude of Latin words, is either a mere intensitive, or else it is some Teutonic root, of which we have long since lost the meaning.

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