MR BA1RD ON THE AURORA BOREAL18. 129 



now flickering over the whole heavens, then suddenly withdrawn like 

 a veil from off the sky, but only for a moment, having their places al- 

 most immediately supplied by a fresh host in amazingly rapid motion. 

 When watching these bright visitants in their rapid career over the 

 sky, it was almost impossible not to be convinced that the ear could dis- 

 tinctly trace their quick sound as they passed over. The wind, however, 

 was blowing at the same time in short quick gusts, the sea was to be dis- 

 tinctly heard in the distance, and the hum and noise of the town came 

 also by fits upon the ear, so that it was impossible to ascertain, with any 

 thing like precision, whether or not the sound was imaginary, or a por- 

 tion, as it were, of some of the various noises I have mentioned. At 

 another time, after these fairy clouds had vanished, a bright broad arch 

 of light would form over the northern horizon, with thousands and tens 

 of thousands of short rays proceeding out of its upper edge, disappear- 

 ing after they had shot up a few degrees, in a narrower arch extending 

 over the other, from whose upper edge longer and brighter pencils flash- 

 ed up to the zenith. After continuing thus for some time, these arches 

 might be seen themselves in rapid motion, moving with all their bright 

 rays issuing from them, away to the west ; a host of short coloured rays 

 at times dancing, and leaping and skipping, along their edges with fan- 

 tastic motions, well deserving the name so appropriately applied to 

 them, the Merry Dancers. Soon after the arches became in motion, 

 they might be observed to be formed altogether almost in the west, but 

 it appeared to me that, though the southern quarter of the sky, at va- 

 rious times during the evening, was more covered with these meteors 

 than I had ever seen before, the arch never moved its western limb far- 

 ther southward than a point or two beyond due west. Once, while 

 watching this arch in motion, it seemed to stop with one of its limbs 

 about due west, while the other continued still to move steadily on from 

 the north, and, as it shortened the distance between the two limbs, and 

 contracted the space contained within the arch, the centre of the arch 

 rose higher up into the sky, and increased apparently in brightness. 

 This almost circular arch continued visible only for a short time, and 

 was truly beautiful. The arch itself, as I have said, increased in bright- 

 ness as it rose higher up in the heavens, and continued to shoot out from 

 its upper edge immense quantities of bright rays which converged in 

 the zenith, while it appeared to be bounded on the south-west and 

 north-west by immense pyramidal-shaped pillars of living fire, which 

 shot out directly from the horizon, and extended up to the zenith in huge 

 jets of startling brightness, givingtothe imaginative mind the idea of 

 \vatchfulsentinels, waving their swords of flame in protection of their 

 weaker and more timid comrades. The meteors continued visible thus, 

 constantly varying in appearance, till a late hour in morning, having 

 been observed still pretty bright at three o'clock. During the whole 

 time they lasted, they gave out a great degree of light, and though, at 



