He breathes his rage in terrific squalls, and overwhelms his realm with an inexhaustible welter of
clouds. He strews the seeds of anxiety upon the decks of scudding ships, makes the foam-stripped ocean look old, and sprinkles with gray hairs the heads of ship-masters in the homeward-bound ships running for the Channel.
These mediators and mixers we detest--the passing
clouds: those half-and- half ones, that have neither learned to bless nor to curse from the heart.
Carried along a few hundred feet above the ground she was better able to appreciate the Titanic proportions of the storm than when she had flown in the comparative serenity of the zone above the
clouds, for now she could distinctly see the effect of the wind upon the surface of Barsoom.
In the open space between the
clouds and the black, bubbling sea far beneath, could be seen an occasional strange bird winging its way swiftly through the air.
As soon as the sun appeared in a clear strip of sky beneath the
clouds, the wind fell, as if it dared not spoil the beauty of the summer morning after the storm; drops still continued to fall, but vertically now, and all was still.
A terrific east wind swept away the groups of
clouds which had been so long gathering, and at night the semi-disc of the orb of night rode majestically amid the soft constellations of the sky.
Borne aloft Upon the
clouds, on ether charioted, He flies with speed of lightning.
"Furthermore, close to the Mountains of the
Clouds dwells a good friend, Ja the Mezop.
A huge black
cloud passed over his head, but in vain did he beg and beseech her to let a drop of water fall on him.
"The
clouds are dangerous for us; they contain opposing currents which might catch us in their eddies, and lightnings that might set on fire.
He got more and more perplexed up there among the
clouds as to what he should do with this wonderful find of his.
A few minutes later they were seen making the first steps of the descent; then a
cloud closed around them and hid them from view.