ELEPHANTA, the designation which the October storms bear, all over the western side of India, is conferred on them as occurring about the time when the sun is in the constellation Hast'hi, the Sanskrit for elephant. But as they reached I3ombay from nearly dite east, their name is there not unnaturally imagined to have been conferred on them from the celebnited island Elephanta, or Gharapuri. The elephanta commonly makes its appearance a fortnight or so after the S.W. inon soon weather has fairly cleared tip when showers have almost ceased to fall, the 'barometer has become high, the sky bright and clear, and the alternating sea and land breezes have set in. For t hree or four evenings before its appearance, superb piles of thunder-clouds are seen to accumulate about 3 o'clock every afternoon over the Ghats; they soon ascend some way in the air, advancing apparently against the sea-breeze,—that is, the upper arid lower strata of air move opposite ways to each other. Magnificent displays of lightning, with low growling thunder, prevail as twilight sets in ; an hour or two after sunset the sky resumes its serenity. At length the clouds grow darker
and more watery, the thunder becoines louder, the lightning more brilliant ; they tumble up the sky, rolling in vast masses over each other, till a sudden squall bursts, and a deluge of rain follows. This scarcely ever occurs earlier in the day than 3 P.M., and it very seldom continues till dawn,though after three or four hours' interruption it sometimes resumes before noon next day. When once the gale is over, the sky in general clears up, the clouds vanish, the alternate winds restune sway,—hot days and dewy nights succeed, and the settled season commences. From 3840-1857, Bombay was five times without a squall from the east, with rain and thunder ; it has usually hap pened betwixt the itli and 10th October.—Bonibuy Standard and Chronicle of Western Italia.