MAY. AURORA BOREALIS. 231 



sight where the dead silence of the mountains was 

 only broken by the fancied rustling of the "dresses" 

 of the " merry dancers/' or by the sudden scream 

 or howl of some wild inhabitant of the rocks; and 

 I have done so until an undefinable feeling of 

 superstitious awe has crept over my mind, which 

 was not without difficulty shaken off. 



The aurora, bright as it sometimes is in this 

 country, must be far more wildly and vividly 

 splendid in the more northern and Polar regions. 

 Here it is almost invariably the forerunner of 

 change of weather, or of rough winds and storm. 



One night this spring the appearance of the 

 aurora was very peculiar. All the flashes seemed 

 to dart from a common bright centre in the 

 heavens : this continued for some time, until, at 

 length assuming its usual form, it remained com- 

 paratively stationary above the north-eastern 

 horizon, and from that quarter there came the 

 next day a severe storm of sleet and wind. 



