114 LIVING LIGHTS. 



birds, so that he was impressed that there was some associa- 

 tion between the light and the herons. 



That birds should be luminous is not, perhaps, strange. 

 Other vertebrates appear to possess this gift in an equally 

 remarkable manner. Some years ago an English gentleman, 

 a lover of sport, was travelling in South America ; and among 

 the tales that he heard from the natives was one that related 

 to a monkey with fiery eyes, as they expressed it. It seemed 

 that one season, when the tribe was far up the branch of 

 a small river, a woman wandered off into the forest at night, 

 and returned much alarmed, stating to the rest that an 

 animal had appeared to her with eyes gleaming like coals. 

 Several of the natives went to the spot designated, and were 

 repaid with a glimpse of the strange creature. 



Such a tale was, of course, not received in good faith, 

 being considered an example of the inventive fancy of these 

 children of the forest ; yet, curiously enough, Reninger the 

 naturalist, who travelled extensively in Paraguay, states 

 that he has seen the eyes of the monkey, Nyctipithecus trivir- 

 gatus, so brilliant in complete darkness that they illuminated 

 objects at a distance of half a foot. In several instances I 

 have referred to the phosphorescence of animals being used 

 possibly as a warning ; at least, this is the explanation given 

 the phenomena by some observers, and one of the most inter- 

 esting cases that may possibly come under this head is the 

 luminosity of frogs' eggs. This has been noticed in various 

 parts of Europe ; masses of luminous matter being found 

 about ponds and damp places, and termed mucilage atmos- 

 phSrique, as it was believed by the simple peasants to be part 

 of the tail of comets. 



On one occasion several peasants were travelling from one 



