LAST year, when staying at this place, I was much struck by the clearness of the air, the deep blue of the sky, and steadiness of the stars. Moreover I used to notice on every clear day that the highest cirri, when near the sun, exhibited very beautiful spectrum colours. They did not behave as I have seen them behave once or twice in England, viz. take up all the colours in regular succession as their angular distance from the sun altered; but each cloud exhibited the colours in an apparently irregular manner that reminded one of the appearance of mother-of-pearl. This year it seems to me that the air is of a less deep blue, and on every clear clay there has been a very marked reddish glow all round the sun. This red glow in the midst of what would otherwise be a pure blue sky has been very noticeable. It has nearly, though not quite, “swamped” the diffraction colours spoken of as so remarkable last year.