THE AURORA. 61 
* But the band is often seen in a perfectly different form. Fre- 
quently it consists of single rays, which, standing close together, 
point in an almost parallel direction towards the magnetic pole. 
These become more intensely bright with each successive wave of 
light; hence each ray appears to flash and dart continually, and 
their green and red edges dance up and down as the waves of light 
run through them. Often, again, the rays extend through the whole 
length of the band, and reach almost up to the magnetic Pole. These 
are sharply marked, but lighter in colour than the band itself, and in 
this particular form they are at some distance from each other. Their 
colour is yellow, and it seems as if thousands of slender threads of 
gold were stretched across the firmament. A glorious veil of trans- 
parent light is spread over the starry heavens; the threads of light 
with which this veil is woven are distinctly marked on the dark 
background; its lower border is a broad intensely white band, edged 
with green and red, which twists and turns in constant motion. A 
violet-coloured auroral vapour is often seen simultaneously on diffe- 
rent parts of the sky. 
“Or, again, there has been tempestuous weather, and it is now, let 
us suppose, passing away. Below, on the ice, the wind has fallen; 
but the clouds are still driving rapidly across the sky, so that in the 
upper regions its force is not yet laid. Over the ice it becomes some- 
what clear; behind the clouds appears an Aurora amid the darkness 
of the night. Stars twinkle here and there; through the opening of 
the clouds we see the dark firmament, and the rays of the aurora 
chasing one another towards the zenith. The heavy clouds disperse, 
mist-like masses drive on before the wind. Fragments of the Northern 
Lights are strewn on every side: it seems as if the storm had torn the 
aurora bands to tatters, and was driving them hither and thither 
across the sky. These threads change form and place with incredible 
rapidity. Here is one! lo, it is gone! Scarcely has it vanished 
before it appears again in another place. Through these fragments 
drive the waves of light: one moment they are scarcely visible, in 
the next they shine with intense brilliancy. But their light is no 
longer that glorious pale green; it is-a dull yellow.- It is often 
difficult to distinguish what is aurora and what is vapour; the illu- 
minated mists as they fly past are scarcely distinguishable from the 
auroral vapour which comes and goes on every side. 
“But, again, another form. Bands of every possible form- and 
intensity have been driving over the heavens. It is now eight o’clock 
at night, the hour of the greatest intensity of the Northern Lights, 
_For a moment some bundles of rays only are to be seen in the sky. 
