122 LIVING LIGHTS. 



a very curious phenomenon. There are three scarlet ver- 

 benas, each about nine inches high, and about a foot apart, 

 planted in front of the greenhouse. As I was standing a 

 few yards from them, my attention was arrested by faint 

 flashes of light passing backwards and forwards from one 

 plant to the other. I immediately called the gardener and 

 several members of my family, who all witnessed the extraor- 

 dinary sight, which lasted for about a quarter of an hour, 

 gradually becoming fainter, till at last it ceased altogether. 

 There was a smoky appearance after each flash, which we all 

 particularly remarked. The ground under the plants was 

 very dry ; the air was sultry, and seemed charged with elec- 

 tricity. The flashes had the exact appearance of summer 

 lightning in miniature. This was the first time I had ever 

 seen any thing of the kind ; and having never heard of such 

 appearances, I could hardly believe my eyes. Afterwards, 

 however, when the day had been hot and the ground was 

 dry, the same phenomenon was constantly observed at about 

 sunset, and equally on the scarlet geraniums and verbenas. 

 In 1859 it was again seen. On Sunday evening, June 10, 

 of that year, my children came running in to say that the 

 lightning was again playing on the flowers. We all saw it ; 

 and again on July 11, I thought that the flashes of light 

 were brighter than I had ever seen them before." 



It has been asserted that this phenomenon was due to 

 optical illusion, but the experience of Goethe points to a dif- 

 ferent conclusion. He says, " On the 19th of June, 1799, 

 late in the evening, when the twilight was passing into a 

 clear night, as I was walking up and down with a friend in 

 the garden, we remarked very plainly about the flowers of 

 the Oriental poppy, which were distinguishable above every 



