388 Aurora Borealis. 



leads them to shed blood in duels, in defiance of the precepts of 

 religion and the laws of the state ?" 



The same Academy has proposed the following question for 



" How far is it possible, in the present state of philosophy, to 

 explain aqueous meteorological phsenomena?" 



A 



LXVIII. Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



AURORA. BORKAI.IS, OR NORTHERN LIGHTS. 



SINGULAR and striking modification of that very mysterious 

 phaenomenon, the aurora borealis, presented itself to the inhabi- 

 tants of all the northern parts of England and the south of Scot- 

 land, on the evening of Sunday the 17th October, of which we 

 have received some particulars from various places. The follow- 

 ing is the account that has been transmitted to us from an inge- 

 nious Mine-engineer, who happened at the time of its appearance 

 to be residing at Seathwaite in Borrowdale, in Cumberland, at 

 the house of Mr. Dixon, the resident Agent of the black-lead 

 mine; viz. 



Monday 18th Oct. The wind here yesterday morning blew 

 rather strong and cold from the north, but the same died away 

 as the sun advanced in its course, through a fair and nearly clear 

 day ; so that the evening after sun-set proved exceedingly still, 

 clear and starlight, with but a moderate degree of cold, com- 

 pared with that of the morning. In the evening, at about ten 

 minutes before nine by the clocks here, (which ))erhaps may dif- 

 fer considerably from true time,) I was called out of the house by 

 Mr. Dixon, who a minute before had walked out, to witness a 

 singular appearance in the sky, which seemed just then beginning 

 to show itself. On going out, 1 observed an unusual degree of 

 light shining over the tops of all the crags which surround this 

 very deep and sudden valley ; particularly over the high hills al- 

 most due north from us, called Brunslow-How ; over which, full 

 as vivid a light shone as from the twilight of a midsummer's 

 night. This general glimmer of light in the horizon (which we 

 referred without hesitation to the aurora) occasioned the outlines 

 of all the crags and hills forming our visible horizon, to be al- 

 most as well defined as by day-light some time before or after 

 sun-rising or setting, and enabled Mr. Dixon to observe and to 

 name the very particular parts of the eastern end of Bas-Brown 

 hill, to the westward, and those of Jenny-bank Crag to the east- 

 ward, between which points of our horizon a narrow, and nearly 

 equally wide stripe of thin white and slightly luminous cloud was 

 stretched, not in a straight vertical plane, but apparently in a 



plane 



