35 



most weird and extraordinary sights one can picture and of 

 course is only perceptible at night. 



A large number of animals appear to be capable of 

 giving out light which is at any rate often due to the fact 

 that they can secrete some material which is usually spoken 

 of as phosphorescent. Every one has seen the sea shore at night 

 when the crests of the waves are breaking, or the crests of the 

 little waves shining with a bright light ; this is due to the 

 presence of enormous numbers of minute animalculag which 

 can, when in any way disturbed or irritated, emit a phoshorescent 

 fluid. In the Arabian sea I have seen this "White Water " (as 

 sailors call it) in great perfection, when the ocean for miles has 

 resembled a sea of quicksilver, and the darker the night the 

 better the effect. On steaming from the dark ocean into this 

 expanse of " White Water " the effect is extraordinary, the 

 reflection from the water throws a ghastly appearance on every 

 thing, the mast, yards and sails show out with great distinctness 

 and our faces are anything but pleasant to behold. This 

 phenomena sometimes extends for 20 or 30 miles in one 

 direction, but how far in another I cannot say. I have known 

 officers in charge of the watch to stop the engines before coming 

 up to it, imagining the ship was running on to a Coral reef. 

 I have had buckets of water drawn while passing through ; on 

 being allowed to stand for a minute or two the water became dark ; 

 but plunge the hand in and the whole appeared a blaze 

 of light. On examining the water in daylight a number of minute 

 globular bodies were visible under an ordinary magnifying glass, 

 but I could not distinguish any sign of life in them. Should a 

 school of porpoises or a shark be seen in such water, ever}' part 

 of the head, eyes, back and fins is plainly visible, the shark 

 then is more repulsive in appearance I think than at any other 

 time, and enough to make one shudder at the thought of being 

 overboard. 



St. Elmo's Lights. — Comozant or Corposant. 



This peculiar and interesting phenomenon is not very 

 frequently seen. It consists of a pale blue light visible at the 

 mast heads or on the yards. These lights seldom appear 

 except during thunder-storms or howling gales of wind and 

 always under most unpleasant circumstances. Being visible only 

 at night they lend to make the phenomenon more mysterious to 

 an ignorant and superstitious seaman. In size they are about as 

 large as the flame of a candle and of a pale blue colour, perhaps 

 one at each mast head and at the yard arms, or on some iron work 

 on the yards. They appear quite suddenly and last for a minute or 

 two, then disappear and then up in some other place, seeming 



