144 LIVING LIGHTS. 



CHAPTER XIX. 



LUMINOUS SHOWERS. 



IN many old works, accounts are found of so-called show- 

 ers of fire, during which the entire heavens seemed filled 

 with gleaming drops, that threatened to burn every living 

 thing, but were in reality harmless; the exhibition being 

 merely another instance of this strange phenomenon of 

 heatless light. 



Some years ago a party of peasants were making the 

 ascent of one of the high peaks of the Alps, when they 

 were caught in a rain-storm, which produced a demoralizing 

 effect upon them. As the rain fell, it seemed to become 

 luminous, and drops of fire apparently ran from their cloth- 

 ing and beards. Their attempts at brushing it away, while 

 adding to the startling nature of the phenomenon, showed, 

 however, that it was perfectly harmless. 



Dr. Phipson records some interesting instances of this kind 

 of phosphorescence, of which the following may be cited : — 



M. de Thielan observed on Jan. 25, 1822, near Freyburg, 

 a most extraordinary spectacle. A heavy snow had been 

 falling during the early part of the evening, and the trees, 

 branches, limbs, and leaves quivered and scintillated with 

 a resplendent bluish light, while the drops of rain upon the 

 grass left golden trains as they dripped to the ground. 



