PHOSPHORESCENCE. 61 
proximity to the boat after a few seconds had 
elapsed, fully convinced every one that it belonged 
to no boat; besides, as the guide remarked, ‘no 
bird could fly so quick.’ It appears that this phe- 
nomenon, which I believe to have been globular 
hg¢htning, is not unprecedented in the neighbour- 
hood of Loch Scavig; for though the four oarsmen 
had never witnessed it before, they had heard it 
spoken of on the land as betokening evil, and were 
so much afraid of it that they pulled the boat alone 
most lustily. The hght curved off and was soon 
lost to sight, having been in view and indeed very 
near to the boat, for about two minutes. The 
next day was extremely sultry. 
This kind of travelling ight reminds us of some 
descriptions of Will-o’-the-Wisp ; but besides be- 
ing seen over the sea, its resemblance to the light 
of a ship (though it is quite evident no ship or 
boat carried it), and the extreme sultriness of the 
next day, makes me think that it 1s more probably 
allied to those curious cases globular lighting. Our 
travellers in the boat may not have noticed the 
sultrmess of the air whilst on the water, but only 
remarked it the next day, and the men at the 
oars might have heard of the disastrous effects of 
globular hehtninge. 
A similar light, but a fixed one, was observed 
by Maffei, in 1713, and the phenomenon recorded 
by F. Arago :—It was during a heavy shower of 
