The St. Cloud journal. [volume] (St. Cloud, Minn.) 1866-1876, 1868-02-20

nomena.
We clip the following extract from a
St. Paul letter in the Philadelphia
Presbyterian, the truthfalness of which
will forcibly strike every Minnesotian.
The writer is supposed to be the Rev.
DR.. Brown, Pastor of the Central Pres
byterian Church Of Sc. Paul, who
writes under date Of Jan. 18th, 1868 :
Your many thousands of readers-at
least come Of them-would, 1 think, be
interested in an account Of the late
s'cold term'' here-:he coldest 10 St.
Paul for many years. Last Sunday and
Monday thermometers in different local.
tiles in the city indicated 4Oo, 40, and
in one place reported to me, that 1
have not veriied) 4so below zero.
puriog the week previous the elec-
tri6ed phenomena were marked aud
striking. Parl,elia, or mock suns, or as
they call them here, ''sun-dogs," we're
to be seen every day; and some days
followed the sun from his rising to bis
setting; being particularly brillian, at
sunrise and sunset. And at night there
we're ''moon dogs"
The morning displays far exceeded
any thing l had imagined of these
things. l get to m7 study in the church
at half-past seven. The sun is just rising.
The church stands on the first bluff, a
hundred feet above the r.ver, and above
most Of the business portion Of the city,
lying toward the east. Beyond the city
east, and across the bend Of the river
distant more than two miles-are other
bluffs rising perhaps two hundred feet
above the river. Behind these the sun
rises. As he came up on the mornings
Of last week, through perfectly still
atmosphere, attended right and left BY
too immense ''sun-dogs," nearly as
large and brilliant as himsele, and his
level rays shot across the valley, and
through the perpendicular columns Of
pure " lite smoke from thousands CT
chimneys, the effect was grand beyond
description. AS no air was stirring, to
carry of the smoke. the appearance at
times vas that Of great cooaagrat.;; t.;;on;
and at other times, Of an immense vol
cano, vomiting out lava and flames of
fire. Vesuvius. at the present time,
does not, I am sure, in the day time,
look SO grand as were these suarises
several times last week. Then, on
Wednesday night there was an auroral
lunar display Of surprising beauty. TIE
"oou was at the full, and hi sh iu the
heavens. The night was clear, though
a ilmy haze made the stars and moon
sensibly less brilliant. About 10 clock
the moon appeared surrounded by a
circle of white aurorsl light, about Eve
deeres in diameter. Rig ght and LETT, on
the opposite sides Of this circle, we:e
and cutting 1t, passing
through tho 'moon-dogs," and just
the moon, was an immense
ring of pure whiteauroral light, At least
ten degrees in diameter, almostas clearly
refined as white ribbon, aud As sharp
Iy contrasted against the back ground
OF blue sky. 1t was sight to thrill one
With wonder aud admiration, asd to be
for lifetime.
In one form or another these magnetic
electrical displays continued through
the week, the cold daily getting more
and more intense. Sunday morning the
mercury vas down to 400, 40, and
possibly 4S0 below zero. The SKY was
without cloud; not a breath Of ai7
was stirring, aad the stiffness and per-
feet quiet Of everything was that Of 4
Sabbath in summer. l went to my
study Is usual, AID felt no unusual sen
sation of cold. In fact, the exhilarat.on
Of being out in, aud breathing the air,
was purely delightful. My Sabbath
school met at nine o'clock, and was At
tended as usual. Quite small children
were present, who had come two miles.
My own children were all out, though
one of them is but Eve years old, snd
none we're suffering from the cold. The
church services, morning and evening,
we're attended much as usual. In short,
the intense cold seemed to trouble no
one. In the evening I had occasion to
walk t~o miles to see 4 sick man, aud
suffered no iaconvenience from the cold.
Monday morning the cold was the same
Is Sunday morning, but toward evening
moderated, and that night it showed.
I speak of these thing because I
could not have understood them before
experiencing them, and could scarcely
have believed them possible. Both
Sunday aud Monday | Vas out and
about, just - on other days; and
though clothed precisely as l vas in
New-Y FORK last winter, with the excep-
ton Of fur cap aud gloves,) when the
ooldest weather Vas 6o above zero, I
have not suffered at al from the cod
here, IS I often did there. I have in NY
congregation men aud women who re-
moved here from Marylsud, Virginia,
Kentucky and Mississippi, and they all
enthusiastically declare that it does not
seem SO cold here as it often did in the
States whence they came. can now
understand DR.. Kane's statement, that
he could, without incoovenience, stand
7Oo below zero, if no wind were blow
ing. Aud fortunately, here tie coolest
days are the stil'est days.
The last poetieal effort Of Halleck