rom the Sahara.

The vastness of this fall. In _Nature_, 68-65, we are told that it had
occurred in Ireland, too. The Sahara, of course--because, prior to
February 19, there had been dust storms in the Sahara--disregarding that
in that great region there's always, in some part of it, a dust storm.
However, just at present, it does look reasonable that dust had come
from Africa, via the Canaries.

The great difficulty that authoritativeness has to contend with is some
other authoritativeness. When an infallibility clashes with a
pontification--

They explain.

_Nature_, March 5, 1903:

Another analysis--36 per cent organic matter.

Such disagreements don't look very well, so, in _Nature_, 68-109, one of
the differing chemists explains. He says that his analysis was of muddy
rain, and the other was of sediment of rain--

We're quite ready to accept excuses from the most high, though I do
wonder whether we're quite so damned as we were, if we find ourselves in
a gracious and tolerant mood toward the powers that condemn--but the tax
that now comes upon our good manners and unwillingness to be too
severe--

_Nature_, 68-223:

Another chemist. He says it was 23.49 per cent water and organic matter.

He "identifies" this matter as sand from an African desert--but after
deducting organic matter--

But you and I could be "identified" as sand from an African desert,
after deducting all there is to us except sand--

Why we cannot accept that this fall was of sand from the Sahara,
omitting the obvious objection that in most parts the Sahara is not red
at all, but is usually described as "dazzling white"--

The enormousness of it: that a whirlwind might have carried it, but
that, in that case it would be no supposititious, or doubtfully
identified whirlwind, but the greatest atmospheric cataclysm in the
history of this earth:

_Jour. Roy. Met. Soc._, 30-56:

That, up to the 27th of February, this fall had continued in Belgium,
Holland, Germany and Austria; that in some instances it was not sand, or
that almost all the matter was organic: that a vessel had reported the
fall as occurring in the Atlantic Ocean, midway between Southampton and
the Barbados. The calculation is given that, in England alone,
10,000,000 tons of matter had fallen. It had fallen in Switzerland
(_Symons' Met. Mag._, March, 1903). It had fallen in Russia (_Bull. Com.
Geolog._, 22-48). Not only had a vast quantity of matter fallen several
mon