I  was  leaning  on  my  knees,  with  my  lips  about
to  touch  the  water,  when,  from  my  proximity  to
the  earth,  I  heard  a  distant  murmuring  sound  of
an  extraordinary  nature.  I  drank,  however,  and
as  I  rose  on  my  feet,  looked  toward  the  southwest,
when  I  observed  a  yellowish  oval  spot,  the  appear-
ance of  which  was  quite  new  to  me.
Little  time  was  left  me  for  consideration,  as  the
next  moment  a  smart  breeze  began  to  agitate  the
taller  trees.  It  increased  to  an  unexpected  height,
and  already  the  smaller  branches  and  twigs  were
seen  falling  in  a  slanting  direction  toward  the
ground.  Two  minutes  had  scarcely  elapsed,  when
the  whole  forest  before  me  was  in  fearful  motion.
Here  and  there,  where  one  tree  pressed  against
another,  a  creaking  noise  was  produced,  similar
to  that  occasioned  by  the  violent  gusts  which  some-
times sweep  over  the  country.
Turning  instinctively  toward  the  direction  from
which  the  wind  blew,  I  saw,  to  my  great  astonish-
ment, that  the  noblest  trees  of  the  forest  bent  their
lofty  heads  for  a  while,  and,  unable  to  stand
against  the  blast,  were  falling  to  pieces.  So  rapid
was  the  progress  of  the  storm,  that  before  I  could
think  of  taking  measures  to  insure  my  safety,  the
hurricane  was  passing  opposite  the  place  where
I  stood.
200  STUDIES  IN  READING

The  tops  of  the  trees  were  seen  moving  in  the
strangest  manner,  in  the  central  current  of  the
tempest,  which  carried  along  with  it  a  mingled
mass  of  twigs  and  foliage  that  completely  obscured
the  view.  Some  of  the  largest  trees  were  seen
bending  and  writhing  under  the  gale;  others  sud-
denly snapped  across,  and  many,  after  a  momen-
tary resistance,  fell  uprooted  to  the  earth.
