VOYAGE TO ALGERIA. 149 



reflected light shimmered up to us from the slightly 

 rippled sea. I had previously noticed the phosphores- 

 cence 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 ap- 

 pearance was observed which was new to most of us, 

 and strikingly 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 ex- 

 traordinary rapidity round a sharp curve, and after- 

 wards 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 

 phosphorescence, every spark of which was converted by 

 the motion of the retina into a line of light. Each por- 

 poise was thus wrapped in a luminous sheath. The 

 phosphorescence did not cease at the creature's tail, but 

 was carried many porpoise-lengths behind it. 



To our right we had the African hills, illuminated 

 by the moon. Gibraltar Rock 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, 

 the mist vanished more and more, and finally all the 



