Plague-clouds in England.

Te Aroha News, Volume 1, Issue 47, 26 April 1884, Page 5

Plague-clouds in England.

Mrßuskis, lecturing at tho London Institution on Fob. 3, said ho was desirous of drawing attention to a series of cloud phenomena which, so far as he could weigh oxisting ovidences, wore peculiar to our own time, and had not hitherto received any special notice- from meteorologists. In olden days when the weather was fine it was beautifully fine, and when it was bad it was abominably bad ; but then there was an end of it. Now, however, w e had these plague-clouds for months without intermission. , His first expenonco ot tho plague-cloud was in 1871. when walking from Oxford to Abingdon, and he then described it as appearing to be composed of dead men's souls, blown hither and thither as if doubting which was tho fittest place for them. The scientific signs of the plague-wind were briefly these. It was a wind of darkness, tho sky becoming suddenly black. It was a malignant quality of wind, unconnected with any one quarter of tho compass. It always blew tremulously, making the trees shudder, and it polluted as well as enhanced the violence of all natural and necessary storms. If they wanted to know w hat tho sun looked like in one of theso plague- clouds, they had only to throw a bad crown into a basin of soapy water. If he were asked the meaning of these venomous clouds, he could tell them none according to their modern belief. He could tell them what meaning it would have borne to men of olden time. For the last twenty years England and all foreign nations, either tempting her or following her, had blasphemed the name of the Deity deliberately and openly, and overy man, by the advice of his superior, had done as much injustice to his brother as it was in his power to do. The seers of old predicted physical gloom ; and we had had so much physical gloom tho last few years that it had been said that England was. no longer the Empire on which the sun never set, but had become one on which the sun never ro.se. Wliat was best to bo done? Whether they could bring back the sun or not, they could assuredly bring back their own cheerfulness, Iheir own honesty, and their own tranquility ot mind. The paths of rectitude and piety once regained, who should say that the promise ot old time would not be found to hold good, and that the windows of heaven being opened blessings would be poured out co that there would not be room enough to receive them ?