But now the clouds are lowering; they divide into strata, end,
gradually getting heavier, denser, and darker, at last veil the horizon
in a blueish grey mist. Towards the zenith they tower up in bright
broad-spreading masses, and assume the appearance of gigantic mountains
in the air. All at once the sky is completely overcast, excepting that a
few spots of deep blue still appear through the clouds. The sun is hid,
but the heat of the atmosphere is more oppressive. The noontide is past;
a cheerless melancholy gloom hangs heavily over nature. Fast sink the
spirits; for painful is the change to those who have witnessed the
joyous animation of the morning. The more active animals roam wildly
about, seeking to allay the cravings of hunger and thirst; only the
quiet and slothful, who have taken refuge in the forest, seem to have
no apprehension of the dreadful crisis. But it comes! it rushes on with
rapid strides, and we shall certainly have it here. The temperature is
already lowered; the fierce and clashing gales tear up trees by the
roots. Dark and foaming billows swell the surface of the deeply agitated
sea.
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