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At'RORA, ill Mylljolo^y, the {jodckis of the morning, was, 

 according to Htliod, the dauglier of Tliea and Hypci-ion, 

 and 11110? of Sol and Luna ; but according to others, the 

 dan;rhter of Titan and Terra. Under this title the ancients 

 .d.-lfad the light which precedes the rifmg of the fun above 

 our hcmifphere. The poets rcprcfent her as rifing out of 

 the ocean in a cliariot, drawn by two rofe-coloured horfes, 

 called by Ilomtr, Lampus and Phxton, with rofy lingers 

 dropping gentle dew. The large veil on her head was 

 folded backwards to denote that the brightnefs of day was 

 already advanced, fo as to difperfe the darkncfs of the night. 

 Virgil dclcribes her as afceiiding in a flame-coloured chariot 

 with four horfes. 



Aurora, in OrnUhology, a fpecies of Psittacus that 

 inhabits Brafil. It is yellow ; arm-pits, margins of the 

 wings, and outer great quill-feathers in the middle, red. 

 This is pfitlacus In'.na of BrilT. perroqitet jaiine of Satern. 

 'Orn. ama%xie jaune BufFon, and anrora-pr.rrol of Latham. 



The length of this bird is twelve inches ; bill, cere, legs 

 and claws white ; eye-brows and irides red ; tail rounded, 

 the four exterior feathers red within from the bale to the 

 middle. Gmclin. 



Aurora, in Zoology, a fpecies of Coluher with 179 

 abdominal plates, and thirty-feven fuhcaudal fcales. This 

 is a native of America, and is of a livid colour, with the 

 back yellow. Gmelin. Dr. Shaw defcribes it as an orange- 

 coloured fnake, with yellow dorfal band and abdomen. 

 Lentrth about two feet and a half, and moderately thick 

 in proportion ; head rather large, and covered with very 

 large fcales ; tail fliort, and tapering to an obtufe point. 



Aurora Borealls, or Avs-Oka SeJ>tentrionalis, in Phyf:i)- 

 lo'yy, the northern dawn or light, fometimes called _/ZrMw«v, 

 is an extraordinary meteor, or luminous appearance, (hewing 

 itfelf in the night-time, in the northern part of the heavens : 

 and moft ufually in frofty weather. 



It is ufually of a reddilh colour, inclining to yellow, and 

 •fends out freq\ient corufcalions of pale light, which feem to 

 rife from the horizon in a pyramidal undulating fonn, and 

 (hoot, with great velocity, up to the zenith. This light 

 fomctimes appears remarkably red, as it happened Dec. 5, 

 l'i'i,1, of which we have very full accounts from divers parts 

 of Europe, in the Fhil. Tranf. N''459. fed. 7. p. 5S3 — 606. 



The aurora borealis appears frequently in form of an arch ; 

 chiefly in the fpring and autumn ; after a dry year. — The 

 arch is partly briglit", partly dark ; but generally tnuifparent. 

 And the matter of which it confifts is alfo found to have 

 110 cfTedl on the rays of light which pafs thn.(igh it. Dr. 

 Hamilton obferves, that he cnuld plainly difcern the fmallell 

 ■fpeck in the Pleiades through the denfity of thofe clouds 

 which formed the aurora borealis in 1763, without the 

 lead diminution of its fplendor, or increafe of twinkling. 

 Phil. Effays, LIT. iii. p. 106. 



Sometimes it produces an iris. — M. Godin judges, that 

 moil of the extraordinary meteors and appearances in the 

 flvies, related as prodigies by hiftorians, e. gr. battles, and 

 the like, may be probably enough reduced to the clafs of 

 aurorx borcales. Vide Hill. Acad. R. Scienc. an. 1762. 

 p. 405. 



This kind of meteor, which is more uncommon as we ap- 

 proach towards the equator, is almoll conllant during the 

 long winter, and appears with the greatell luftre, in t'he 

 polar regions. 



In the Shetland ifles, the "merry dancers," as the northern 

 lights are there called, are the conllant attendants of clear 

 evenings, and afford great relief amidll the gloom of the long 

 winter nights. They common!;' appear at twilight, near the 

 horizon, of a dun colour, approaching to yellow ; they fome- 



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times eo;;tlnue in that ftate for feveral hours, without sny 

 perceptible motion ; and afterwards they break out into 

 llreams of ftronger light, fpreading into ccliimns, and alter- 

 ing flowly into 10,000 diflerent Ihapes, and varying their 

 colours from all the tints of yellow to the moll obfcure ruffct. 

 They often cover the whole hemifjihere, and then exhibit the 

 moft brilliant appearance. Their motions at thio time are 

 moll amazingly quick ; and they allonitli the fpeftator with 

 the rapid change of their form. They break out in places 

 where none were feen before, fl<i!uming brifldy along the 

 heavens, are fuddenly extinguiihed, and are fucceeded by an 

 uniform dutky traft. This again is brilliantly illuminated in 

 the fame manner, and as fuddenly left a dark fpace. In 

 fome nights, they alfume the appearance of large columns, 

 on one iide of the deepeil yellow, and on the other, graduall/ 

 changing till it becomes undift'nguifhcd from the flty. They 

 have generally a llrong tremulous motion from one end to the 

 other, and tiiis continues till the whole vaniflies. As for us, 

 who fee only the extremities of thvfe northern phenomena, 

 v/e can have but a fitint idea of tlicir fplendor and motions. 

 According to the ftate of the atmofphcre, they differ in 

 colour; and fonietimes affuming the colour of blood, they 

 make a dreadful appearance. Therultic fages, whoobfcr\e 

 them, become prophetic, and terrify th . fpeftators witli 

 alarms of war, peililence, and famine : nor, indeed, were 

 thefe fuperftitious prefaces peculiar to the northern iflands : 

 appearances of a limilar nature are of ancient date ; and 

 they were dillinguiihed by the appellations of " phafmata," 

 " trabes," and " bolides," according to their foi-ms and 

 colours. In old times they were either more rare, or lefs 

 frequently noticed : but w'hen they occurred, they were 

 fuppofed to portend great events, and the timid imagination 

 formed of them aerial confliils. 



In the northern latitudes of Sweden and Lapland, the 

 anroriE borcales are not only fingularly beautiful in their ap- 

 pearance, but afford travellers by their almoll conllant ef- 

 fulgence a very beautiful light during the whole night. In 

 Hudfon's bay, the aurora borealis diifnfes a variegated fplen- 

 dor, which is laid to equal that of the full moon. In the 

 north-eallern parts of Siberia, according to the defeription 

 o*' Gmelin (Reife durch Siberien, vol. iii. p. 135.), cited 

 and tranflated by Dr. Blagden (Phil. Tranf. vol. Ixxiv. 

 p. 228.), thefe northern lights are ohferved to " begin with 

 fingle bright pillars, rifing in the north, and alnioft at the 

 fame tinit; in the nci th-eall, which gradually iiicrealing com- 

 prehend a large fpace of the heavens, rufh about from place 

 to place with incredible velocity, and finally almoll cover 

 the whole fl<y up to the zenith, and produce an appearance 

 as if a vail tent was expandtd in the heavens, glittering 

 with tjold, rubies, and fapphire. A more beautiful fpettacle 

 cannot be painted ; but whoever lliould fee fiich a northern 

 light for the firll time, could not behold it without terror. 

 For, however fine the illuminatio'i may be, it is attended, 

 as I have learned from the relation of many perfons, vvith 

 fuch a hiffing, cracking, and rufhing noife through the air, 

 as if the largeft lire-works were playing off. To defcribe 

 wh.n they then hear, they make ufe of the expreffion " fpo- 

 lochi chodjat," that is, the raging hod is prfiing. The 

 hunters, who purfue the white and blue foxes in the con- 

 fines of the Icy fea, arc often overtaken in their courfe by 

 theie northern lights. Their dogs are then fo much fright- 

 ened, tliat they will not move, but lie obRinately on the 

 ground till the noife has palTed. Commonly clear and calm 

 V,- gather follows this kind of northern lights. I have heard 

 this account, not from one perfon only, but confirmed by 

 the uniform tcftimony of many who have fpent part of 

 feveral years in ihcfc very northern regions, and inhabited 

 2 different 



