Page:Popular Science Monthly Volume 6.djvu/712

692 western sky. At 10.30 I sent an assistant to the bridge, and listened for his whistle and pipe at the eastern end of the Serpentine. The whistle rose to a shrillness far surpassing any thing previously heard, but it sank sometimes almost to inaudibility; proving that, though the air was on the whole highly homogeneous, acoustic clouds still drifted through the fog. A second pipe, which was quite inaudible yesterday, was plainly heard this morning. We were able to discourse across the Serpentine to-day with much greater ease than yesterday.

During our summer observations, I had once or twice been able to fix the position of the Foreland in thick haze by the direction of the sound. To-day my assistant, hidden by the fog, walked up to the Watermen's Boat-House sounding his whistle; and I walked along the opposite side of the Serpentine, clearly appreciating for a time that the line joining us was oblique to the axis of the river. Coming to a point which seemed to be exactly abreast of him, I marked it, and on the following day, when the fog had cleared away, the marked position was found to be perfectly exact. When undisturbed by echoes, the ear, with a little practice, becomes capable of fixing with great precision the direction of a sound.

On reaching the Serpentine this morning, a peal of bells, which then began to ring, seemed so close at hand that it required some reflection to convince me that they were ringing to the north of Hyde Park. The sounds fluctuated wonderfully in power. Prior to the striking of eleven by the great bell of Westminster, a nearer bell struck with loud clangor. The first five strokes of the Westminster bell were afterward heard, one of them being extremely loud; but the last six strokes were inaudible. An assistant was stationed to attend to the twelve-o'clock bells. The clock which had struck so loudly at eleven was unheard at twelve, while of the Westminster bell eight strokes out of twelve were inaudible. To such astonishing changes is the atmosphere liable.

At 7 the Westminster bell striking seven was not at all heard from the Serpentine, while the nearer bell already alluded to was heard distinctly. The fog had cleared away, and the lamps on the bridge could be seen from the eastern end of the Serpentine burning brightly; but, instead of the sound sharing the improvement of the light, what might be properly called an acoustic fog took the place of its optical predecessor. Several series of the whistle and organ-pipe were sounded in succession; one series only of the whistle-sounds was heard, all the others being quite inaudible. Three series of the organ-pipe were heard, but exceedingly faintly. On reversing the positions and sounding as before, nothing whatever was heard.

At eight o'clock the chimes and hour-bell of the Westminster clock were both very loud. The "acoustic fog" had shifted its position or temporarily melted away.