MAY. AURORA BOREALIS. 231 



sight where the dead silence of the mountains was 

 only broken hy 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 super- 

 stitious 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 au- 

 rora 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 assum- 

 ing its usual form, it remained comparatively 

 stationary above the north-eastern horizon, and 

 from that quarter there came the next day a severe 

 storm of sleet and wind. 



