136 ANTHELTA. 



congelation, is not at all essential to the pro- 

 duction of these meteors. 



On the 17th of May, 1826, I ascended Snow- 

 don, the loftiest mountain of the Caernarvonshire 

 chain, from Nant Colwyn, in company with my 

 brother, Mr. Thomas Blackwall ; and, in pass- 

 ing over Clawdd Goch, or the red ridge, which 

 leads directly to the summit of the Wyddfa, the 

 highest of its peaks, we perceived our shadows, 

 extremely well defined, on a white cloud, at a 

 short distance from us, to the east. The head 

 of each shadow was encompassed by a glory, or 

 broad disk of yellowish white light, which formed 

 the centre of a small white halo, whose diameter 

 did not exceed five degrees. Both shadows were 

 distinctly visible to each individual, but it was 

 otherwise with the luminous appearances which 

 accompanied them; the glory and halo with 

 which the shadow of my brother's head was 

 encircled being seen by him alone, while those 

 surrounding the shadow of my own head, though 

 very conspicuous to myself, were not perceptible 

 to him. 



As we stood admiring this unusual and amus- 

 ing spectacle, we were suddenly enveloped in a 

 dense cloud, brought over the ridge by a gentle 

 breeze from the west : fortunately, I had a cou- 



