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 

 lightning, 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 along 

 most lustily. The light 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 light 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 is more probably 

 allied to those curious cases globular lightning. Our 

 travellers in the boat may not have noticed the 

 sultriness 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 lightning. 



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 



