38 



hot and disagreeable. " Oh, dear, no !" exclaimed 

 the Lord of the Bedchamber, "not at all disagree- 

 able, by any manner of means, Mr. Devil, upon 

 my word and honour ! Rather warm, to be sure." 

 In point of heat there is no difference between the 

 days and the nights ; or if there is any, it is that 

 the nights are rather the hottest of the two. The 

 lightning is incessant, and it does not show itself 

 forked or in flashes, but in wide sheets of mild blue 

 light, which spread themselves at once over the sky 

 and sea; and, for the moment which they last, 

 make all the objects around as distinct as in day- 

 light. The moon now does not rise till near ten 

 o'clock, and during her absence the size and bril- 

 liancy of the stars are admirable. In England 

 they always seemed to me (to borrow a phrase of 

 Shakspeare's, which, in truth, is not worth borrow- 

 ing,) to " peep through the blanket of the dark;" 

 but here the heavens appear to be studded with 

 them on the outside, as if they were chased with 

 so many jewels : it is really Milton's " firmament 

 of living sapphires ;" and what with the lightning, 

 the stars, and the quantity of floating lights which 

 just gleamed round the ship every moment, and 

 then were gone again, to-night the sky had an 

 effect so beautiful, that when at length the moon 

 thought proper to show her great red drunken 

 face, I thought that we did much better without 

 her. 



The above-mentioned floating lights are a kind 



