346' OBSEKY ATlt)NS 6'fi £ukl NOUS ^ AKIM A^s". 



/ wAv^es next the shore, and was so strong, that I cd«ia for 



fhe moment distinctly see my servant, who stood at a little 

 distance from me; he also perceived it, and called out to? 

 me at the same instant. On both these occasions the flash 

 was visible for about four or five sccotids, and although <P 

 watched for it a considerable time, I did not see it repeatfedf 

 Diffused !u- A diffused luminous appearance of the sea,- in sdin# 



minous ap- respects different from M'bat I have seen, hasTjeen desferfl)©* 



pearance ot the * ^ ' ^ ,. , 



sea. by several navigators. ysaini. 



Godeheu de Riville saw \k\c sea assume the appeJltahce of 



" • a plain of snow on the coast of Malabar*. ' ■ ^"^ '>''■'' 



Other similar - Captain Horsburg, in the notes he gave to Sir Joseph 



appearances at g^nks, says, there is a peculiar phenomenon sometimes 



particular . , . r , ,. >• , /. T.,t . i 



limes. seen within a lew degrees distance of the coast oi Malabar, 



during the rainy monsoon, which he had an opportuuitjf 

 of observing. At midnight the weather was cloudy, and 

 the sea was particularly dark, when suddenly it changed t» 

 a white flaming colour all around. This bore no resem- 

 blance to the sparkling or glowing appearance he had obi 

 lit served on other occasions in seas near the equator, but was 



;,, a regular white colour, like milk, and did not continue 

 .sSs3«,A». ;• more than ten minutes. A similar phenomenon, hd say&,^ 

 is frequently seen in the Banda sea, and is very alarming ttf 

 those, who have never perceived or heard of such art 

 appearance before. 'rono'^': 



Striking in- This Singular phenomenon appears to ^^b^'ej^plal^feU^b^ 



stance of this some observations communicated to me by Mr. Langsta;fff 

 o 1 on, a, surgeon in the city, -who formerly made several voy4tge6« 

 In going from New Holland to China, about half an h-aur 

 after sunset, every person on board was astonished by; rf 

 : - i:' .-• ■ milky appearance of the sea: the ship seemed to be sur- 

 rounded by ice covered with snow. Some of the comjraa)? 

 supposed they were in soundings, and that a coral bottom 

 gave this curious reflection, but on sounding with 7&faa 

 thorns of line no bottom M'as met with. A bucket of 

 water beings hauled up, Mr. Langstaff examined it in. the 

 dark, and discovered a great number of globular bodies^ 

 each about the size of a pin's head, ■ linked together.! iI%Q 



,.,■; •, _; * Mein.' Etr^uig, d.c rAtud. des Sc, Tom,, 5.- q .'li: '\o 

 -, " chains 



f^iji 



