he parts of Egypt adjoining on Ethiopia; but the
winters were mild, and the springs and autumns delightful. The rarity of
rain in Egypt was remarkable, and drew the attention of foreigners,
who recorded, in somewhat exaggerated terms, the curious meteorological
phenomenon. In the Cyrenaica there was a delicious summer climate--an
entire absence of rain, with cool breezes from the sea, cloudy skies,
and heavy dews at night, these last supplying the moisture which through
the whole of summer covered the ground with the freshest and loveliest
verdure. The autumn and winter rains were, however, violent; and
terrific storms were at that time of no unusual occurrence. The natives
regarded it as a blessing, that over this part of Africa the sky was
"pierced," and allowed moisture to fall from the great reservoir of
"waters above the firmament;" but the blessing must have seemed one of
questionable value at the time of the November monsoon, when the country
is deluged with rain for several weeks in succession.

On the opposite side of the Empire, towards the north and the
north-east, in Azerbijan, on the Iranian plateau, in the Afghan plains,
in the high flat region east of the Bolor, and again in the low plain
about the Aral lake and the Caspian, a severe climate prevailed during
the winter, while the summer combined intense heat during the day with
extraordinary cold--the result of radiation--at night. Still more bitter
weather was experienced in the mountain regions of these parts--in
the Bolor, the Thian Chan, the Himalaya, and the Paropamisus or Hindu
Kush--where the winters lasted more than half the year, deep snow
covering the ground almost the whole of the time, and locomotion being
rendered almost impossible; while the summers were only moderately hot.
On the other hand, there was in this quarter, at the very extreme
east of the Empire, one of the most sultry and disagreeable of all
climates--namely, that of the Indus valley, which is either intolerably
hot and dry, with fierce tornadoes of dust that are unspeakably
oppressive, or close and moist, swept by heavy storms, which, while
they somewhat lower the temperature, increase the unhealthiness of the
region. The worst portion of the valley is its southern extremity, where
the climate is only tolerable during three months of the year. From
March to November the heat is excessive; dust-storms prevail; there are
dangerous dews at night; and with the inundation, which com