Spain and southern France have on record some showers of extremely large hailstones. In 1829, masses of ice weighing four and one-half pounds fell at Cazorta, Spain. Houses were stove-in by them. During a hurricane in the south of France, in 1844, there fell ice-masses weighing eleven pounds. Mysterious and ominous to those ignorant of their cause have been the many showers of “ink, blood, sulphur,” falls of red or green snow, and similar phenomena. Such things were believed to betoken the wrath of God, and to forebode war, famine, pestilence, flood, and other dire calamities. Of course, the good people knew exactly what any shower meant--after the calamity occurred. When it didn’t occur, the shower was simply a warning. That such phenomena are readily explained goes without saying; and not a few of the wise of days past have refused to be seriously alarmed, though they could not find a correct solution of the mystery. Some of the philosophic minds of other days endeavored to explain these occurrences by supposing blood vaporized from battle-fields was mingled with rain, not knowing that the red portion of the blood can not evaporate. The microscope has solved these mysteries. The rains of blood are merely stained by earthy matter: sometimes organic, gathered by the wind; sometimes volcanic dust, thrown out by eruptions; and in one case, where numerous blood-spots appeared on houses and fences in Provence, in 1608, and the priests asserted it was the work of the devil, the spots at length proved to be the excrement of butterflies. Rains of melted sulphur have been found to owe their color to the yellow pollen of pine trees. Ink is merely sooty rain-water. Showers of this character are more frequent than might be supposed. More than a score have occurred in Europe in the present century; and a number in this country. Red and green snow owe their color to microscopic vegetable life, and are quite commonly met with in the Arctic world. One bold headland has long been known as Crimson Cliff, from the extensive deposits of red snow there. CHAPTER XIV. FLOODS IN THE SOUTH. “‘Mother dear, the water’s coming after! Mother, ’tis between us and the hill!’ Looking down, they see the flood, with laughter Lapping idly ’neath the window sill. * * * * * ‘Mother, in the water we are wading! Mother, it grows deeper as we go!’ ‘Hasten, children! hasten--day is fading!’ Higher creeps the river, black and slow. * * * * * ‘Mother, ’tis so deep, and we are dripping! Mother, we are sinking! Haste, oh haste!’ In her arms uplifting them and gripping, On she plunges, wading to the waist. * * * * *