176 THE SEA. 



quarter. " At first of a bright red, it became fainter and fainter, till it disappeared altogether. 

 After the lapse of four or five minutes, its brilliancy was suddenly restored, and it seemed 

 as if a column of burning materials had been projected into the air. This bright appearance 

 lasted from ten to twenty seconds, fading by degrees as the column became lower, till at 

 length only a dull red mass was distinguishable for about a minute, after which it again 

 vanished. 1 " The sailors thought it a revolving light, others that it must be a forest on fire. 

 All who examined it carefully through a telescope agreed in considering it a volcano, like 

 Stromboli, emitting alternately jets of flame and red-hot stones. The light was visible 



CAl'E liOKN. 



till morning; and although during the night it appeared to be not more than eight or 

 ten miles off, no land was to be seen. The present writer would suggest the probability 

 of its having been an electrical phenomenon. 



The naval station at the Falklands is at Port Stanley, on the eastern island, where 

 there is a splendid land-locked harbour, with a narrow entrance. The little port is, and 

 has been, a haven of refuge for many a storm-beaten mariner: not merely from the fury 

 of the elements, but also because supplies of fresh meat can be obtained there, and, indeed, 

 everything else. Wild cattle, of old Spanish stock, roam at will over many parts of the 

 two islands. When the writer was there, in 1862, beef was retailed at fourpence per 

 pound, and Port Stanley being a free port, everything was very cheap. How many boxes 

 of cigars, pounds of tobacco, cases of hollands, and demijohns of rum were, in consequence, 



