As long had been their custom on the deep.
To tell thee of the dangers of the sea
At length, which human understanding scare,
Thunder-storms, sudden, dreadful in degree,
Lightnings, which seem to set on fire the air,
Dark floods of rain, nights of obscurity,
Rollings of thunder which the world would tear,
Were not less labour than a great mistake,
E'en if I had an iron voice to speak.
He describes the electric fires of St Elmo and the gradual development of the waterspout: