19"] A CHRISTMAS TREE 227 



with coloured paper to clothe its branches; the whole erection 

 was remarkably creditable and the distribution of the presents 

 caused much amusement. 



Whilst revelry was the order of the day within our hut, the 

 elements without seemed desirous of celebrating the occasion with 

 equal emphasis and greater decorum. The eastern sky was 

 massed with swaying auroral light, the most vivid and beautiful 

 display that I had ever seen — fold on fold the arches and cur- 

 tains of vibrating luminosity rose and spread across the sky, 

 to slowly fade and yet again spring to glowing life. 



The brighter light seemed to flow, now to mass itself in 

 wreathing folds in one quarter, from which lustrous streamers 

 shot upward, and anon to run in waves through the system of 

 some dimmer figure as if to infuse new life within it. 



It is impossible to witness such a beautiful phenomenon with- 

 out a sense of awe, and yet this sentiment is not inspired by 

 its brilliancy but rather by its delicacy in light and colour, its 

 transparency, and above all by its tremulous evanescence of form. 

 There is no glittering splendour to dazzle the eye, as has been 

 too often described; rather the appeal is to the imagination by 

 the suggestion of something wholly spiritual, something instinct 

 with a fluttering ethereal life, serenely confident yet restlessly 

 mobile. 



One wonders why history does not tell us of ' aurora ' wor- 

 shippers, so easily could the phenomenon be considered the mani- 

 festation of ' god ' or ' demon.' To the little silent group which 

 stood at gaze before such enchantment it seemed profane to 

 return to the mental and physical atmosphere of our house. 

 Finally when I stepped within, I was glad to find that there had 

 been a general movement bedwards, and in the next half-hour the 

 last of the roysterers had succumbed to slumber. 



Thus, except for a few bad heads in the morning, ended the 

 High Festival of Midwinter. 



There is little to be said for the artificial uplifting of animal 

 spirits, yet few could take great exception to so rare an outburst 

 in a long run of quiet days. 



After all we celebrated the birth of a season which for weal 

 or woe must be numbered amongst the greatest in our lives. 



