VOYAGE TO ALGEEIA. 201 



and shadow being almost horizontal. A pillar of reflected 

 light shimmered up to us from the slightly rippled sea. 

 I had previously noticed the phosphorescence of the 

 water, but to night it was stronger than usual, especially 

 among the foam at the bows. A bucket let down into 

 the sea brought up a number of the little sparkling 

 organisms which caused the phosphorescence. I caught 

 some of them in my hand. And here an appearance 

 was observed which was new to most of us, and strik- 

 ingly beautiful to all. Standing at the bow and looking 

 forwards, at a distance of forty or fifty yards from the 

 ship, a number of luminous streamers were seen rushing 

 towards us. On nearing the vessel they rapidly turned, 

 like a comet round its perihelion, placed themselves 

 side by side, and, in parallel trails of light, kept up with 

 the ship. One of them placed itself right in front of 

 the bow as a pioneer. These comets of the sea were 

 joined at intervals by others. Sometimes as many as 

 six at a time would rush at us, bend with extraordinary 

 rapidity round a sharp curve, and afterwards keep us 

 company, I leaned over the bow, and scanned the 

 streamers closely. The frontal portion of each of them 

 revealed the outline of a porpoise. The rush of the 

 creatures through the water had started the phosphor- 

 escence, every spark of which was converted by the 

 motion of the retina into a line of light. Each porpoise 

 was thus wrapped in a luminous sheath. The phospho- 

 rescence did not cease at the creature's tail, but was 

 carried many porooise-lengths behind it. 



To our right we had the African hills, illuminated 

 by the moon. Gibraltar Eock at length became visible, 

 but the town remained long hidden by a belt of haze, 

 through which at length the brighter lamps struggled. 

 It was like the gradual resolution of a nebula into 

 stars. As the intervening depth became gradually less, 



