416 ACCOUNT OF THE AECTIC REGIONS. 



lightning at sea, excepting when within 20 or 30 

 leagues of land. 



The aurora horealis, on the contrary, occurs in- 

 dependent of land and of cold, becoming more fre- 

 quent in its appearance as we approach the Pole, 

 and enlivening by its brilliancy, and peculiar gran- 

 deur, the tedious gloom of the long winter's nights^ 

 This phenomenon having been described by many 

 authors, some of whom have exhausted the powers 

 of language in the elegance of their representations, 

 renders it unnecessary for me to attempt any ge- 

 neral description of this interesting spectacle. I 

 shall, therefore, confine my remarks to a few par- 

 ticulars. 



This appearance, though not very frequently seen 

 in Britain, is very common as far south as Shetland 

 and Feroe. In Iceland, and other countries border- 

 ing on the arctic circle, the northern lights occur 

 almost every clear night during the winter. But 

 in summer, the season in which I have been in the 

 habit of visiting the polar seas, they can seldom be 

 seen, on account of the continual presence of the 

 sun. On the passage from England to Spitzbcrgen, 

 indeed, they occur occasionally ; but the general ob- 

 scurity of the atmosphere in the ^ring of the year, 

 prevents their frequent exhibition. It may not be 

 altogether uninteresting, to give a table of the state 

 of the weather, on the different occasions on which 

 I have observed them. 



