608 APPENDIX. 



seeing it assume some fixed point, until I was fairly 

 tired out. At 7 h p. m., it being " twilight grey," but 

 with a purplish blue tint over head, a very faint reddish 

 aurora could be with difficulty distinguished. This be- 

 came more clear as the night darkened, and at 9 h 54 m 

 00 s r. m., some clouds at S.W. and E. were illuminated 

 exactly similar to the effect produced by the moon when 

 rising. The needle was agitated, and moved only 15' 

 backward and forward, insomuch that I told Mr. King, 

 who was waiting outside the observatory, that there was 

 no occasion for him to stay ; but when I was about to 

 return to the house, I perceived some very thin filmy 

 rays flit with great swiftness from S.S.W., at an angle of 

 18°, to E. b. S. : here they became united with the il- 

 lumined part, which they seemed to set into immediate 

 and violent motion ; at the same instant the S. S.W. 

 quarter was left in darkness, while the eastern glowed 

 in one brilliant mass of whirling aurora. Having called 

 to Mr. King, I ran to the needle, which was moving very 

 quickly to the eastward. It went from 0° 10' E. at 

 once to 2° 0' E., to 2° 15' E., to 3° 10' E., arch E. to 

 S. W. across the zenith : 2° 40' to 2° 05' E., beam S.W. : 

 2° 50', luminous in the south: 3° 10' E., arch E. to 

 S.W., motion S.W. to E. : 3° 00' to 3° 18', arch E. to 

 S.W. over zenith: 1° 55' E., arch in motion S.W. to 

 E. over zenith, 1° 30' E. : arch S.W. to N. E. across 

 zenith, 3° 25' E.: 2° 20' E., 3° 15' E., arch S.W to E. 

 over zenith, and another S.W. to S.E., at an angle of 

 80° : 3° 30' E. to 2° 10' E., 4° 00' E., 2° 15' E., arch 

 over zenith: 1° 55 f E., motion S.W. to E. : 1° 20' E., 

 2° 10' E., 1° 40' E., 2° 40' E., 1° 40' E., 4° 10', motion 

 W. to N.E. : 3° 30' E. to 3° 50' E., 2° 30' E., motion 

 due E. along the same arch: 0° 55' E., 1° 30' E., 

 0° 35' E., 1° 50' E., 0° 30' E„ 1° 25' E., 0° 10' W., 



