LESSON XXIV. 



ON THE AURORA BOREALIS. 



Silent from the north, 



A blaze of meteors shoots : cnsweeping first 



The lower skies, they all at once converge 



High to the crown of heav'n, nnd all at once 



Relapsing quick, as quickly reascend, 



And mix ml thwart, extinguish and renew, 



All aether emu sing in a maze of light. THOMSON. 



1 HERE are, perhaps, but few appearances in* 

 nature which are more curious than those known 

 by the appellations, Aurora B&realis, Northern- 

 lights, or Streamers. The radiant streams, )ikfi 

 legions rushing to the engagement, meet and 

 mingle, insomuch that the air seems to be con- 

 flicting fire; presently they start from one ano- 

 ther, and, like armies in precipitate flight, each 

 marching a different way, they are thrown into a 

 quivering motion : the whole horizon is illumi- 

 nated with the glancing flames j and, with an 

 aspect partly awful, and partly ludicrous, they re- 

 present extravagant and antic vagaries, 



The villagers, assembled together, gaze at the 



spectacle, first with astonishment, then with horror, 



H 3 



