THE ARCTIC LANDS. 



53 



she has run her long course of brightness. The uniform whiteness of the land- 

 scape and the general transparency of the atmosphere add to the lustre of her 

 beams, which serve the natives to guide their nomadic life, and to lead them 

 to their hunting-grounds. 



But of all the magnificent spectacles that relieve the monotonous gloom of 

 the Arctic winter, there is none to equal the magical beauty of the Aurora. 

 Night covers the snow-clad earth ; the stars glimmer feebly through the haze 

 which so frequently dims their brilliancy in the high latitudes, when suddenly 

 a broad and clear bow of light spans the horizon in the direction where it is 

 traversed by the magnetic meridian. This bow sometimes remains for several 

 hours, heaving or waving to and fro, before it sends forth streams of light 

 ascending to the zenith. Sometimes these flashes proceed from the bow of 

 light alone; at others they simultaneously shoot forth from many opposite 

 parts of the horizon, and form a vast sea of fire whose brilliant waves are con- 

 tinually changing their position. Finally they all unite in a magnificent crown 

 or copula of light, with the appearance of which the phenomenon attains its 

 highest degree of splendor. The brilliancy of the streams, which are com- 

 monly red at their base, green in the middle, and light yellow toward the 

 zenith, increases, while at the same time they dart with greater vivacity through 

 the skies. The colors are wonderfully transparent, the red approaching to a 

 clear blood-red, the green to a pale emerald tint. On turning from the flaming 

 firmament to the earth, this also is seen to glow with a magical light. The 

 dark sea, black as jet, forms a striking contrast to the white snow-plain or the 

 distant ice-mountain ; all the outlines tremble as if they belonged to the 

 unreal world of dreams. The imposing silence of the night heightens the 

 charms of the magnificent spectacle. 



But gradually the crown fades, the bow of light dissolves, the streams be- 

 come shorter, less frequent, and less vivid ; and finally the gloom of winter 

 once more descends upon the northern desert. 



3 



