_Rome_ on the
ninth January 1842, there was a fall of snow which remained on the
ground several hours, and on the thirteenth the hills of Albano and
Tusculum were still covered with snow. The cold was twenty two degrees
below freezing point, which is a very rare circumstance in the Roman
states. At _Carthagena_, where severe cold is seldom known, the
thermometer fell for the first time to a degree and a half below zero.
The hills for the first time for many years were covered with snow. At
_Madrid_, the great basin of the Buen-Retiro was covered with ice
several inches thick, and two sentinels of the queen's palace were
frozen to death at their posts. At _Valencia_ the thermometer fell seven
degrees below freezing point. At _Burgois_, _Barcelona_, and _Cordova_,
the weather was equally severe. Even the shores of _Africa_ experienced
a similar visitation;--at _Algiers_ the thermometer stood at three
degrees below zero. So low a temperature had not been experienced for
twenty years. At _Trieste_ on the third of January, the roads were
blocked up with snow, and the Mails from France and Italy were two days
in arrears.

During the same month at _Tours_, but a few very slight falls of snow
were experienced, and which throughout the whole winter, with the
exception of one or two days, did not cover the ground for more than a
few hours duration.

On the third, the thermometer here, stood at thirty-six degrees of
Farenhenit in the shade, on the ninth at 24 deg., the thirteenth at 31 deg.,
the fifteenth at 39 deg., the twentieth at 34 deg., and on the twenty-fifth at
forty-six degrees; the latter being the highest point the mercury
attained during the month, and seventeen at nine o'clock in the morning
of the tenth, the lowest, and which at midday rose to twenty-five
degrees. There were thirteen clear, sunny days, and but six in which
rain or snow fell. The north east winds prevailed until the tenth, when
west and south west winds set in, and continued until the end of the
month. The average daily range of temperature was four and a half.

The weather of the succeeding month rapidly became still more
propitious, and the many days which a genial sun shone forth in
uninterrupted splendour, produced a very sensible effect upon
vegetation, the swelling buds of many of the deciduous trees, appeared
on the eve of expanding into full form and beauty, while the green
mantle of the plain assumed a lively and luxurious appearance.