150 THE KING'S MIRROR 



and in constant motion, now one, now another darting 

 highest; and the light appears to blaze like a living 

 flame. While these rays are at their highest and bright- 

 est, they give forth so much light that people out of 

 doors can e'asily find their way about and can even go 

 hunting, if need be. Where people sit in houses that 

 have windows, it is so light inside that all within the 

 room can see each other's faces. The light is very change- 

 able. Sometimes it appears to grow dim, as if a black 

 smoke or a dark fog were blown up among the rays; and 

 then it looks very much as if the light were overcome by 

 this smoke and about to be quenched. But as soon as 

 the smoke begins to grow thinner, the light begins to 

 brighten again; and it happens at times that people 

 think they see large sparks shooting out of it as from 

 glowing iron which has just been taken from the forge. 

 But as night declines and day approaches, the light be- 

 gins to fade; and when daylight appears, it seems to 

 vanish entirely. 



The men who have thought about and discussed these 



lights have guessed at three sources, one of which, it 



seems, ought to be the true one. Some hold that fire 



/ circles about the ocean and all the bodies of water that 



( stream about on the outer sides of the globe; and since 



^Greenland lies on the outermost edge of the earth to the 



north, they think it possible that these lights shine forth 



from the fires that encircle the outer ocean. Others have 



suggested that during the hours of night, when the sun's 



course is beneath the earth, an occasional gleam of its 



light may shoot up into the sky; for they insist that 



Greenland lies so far out on the earth's edge that the 



