178 
HAYDEN. 
found all hands looking aloft, and there, directly over where 
we had been standing, upon the main top-gallant mast-head, 
was a ball of light, which the sailors call a corposant (corpus 
sancti), and which the mate had called out to us to look at. 
They were all watching it carefully, for sailors have a notion 
that if the corposant rises in the rigging it is a sign of fair 
weather, but if it comes lower down there will be a storm. 
Unfortunately, as an omen, it came down and showed itself 
on the top-gallant yard-arm. We were off the yard in good 
season, for it is held a fatal sign to have the pale light of the 
corposant thrown upon one’s face. As it was, the English 
lad did not feel comfortably at having had it so near him? 
and directly over his head. In a few minutes it disappeared^ 
and showed itself again on the fore top-gallant yard; and, 
after playing about for some time, disappeared once more, 
when the man on the forecastle pointed to it upon the flying- 
jib-boom-end. But our attention was drawn from watching 
this, by the falling of some drops of rain, and by a percepti¬ 
ble increase of the darkness, which seemed suddenly to add, 
a new shade of blackness to the night. In a few minutes 
low, grumbling.thunder was heard, and some random flashes 
of lightning came from the southwest. Every sail was taken 
in but the topsails; still, no squall appeared to be coming. 
A few puffs lifted the topsails, but they fell again to the 
mast, and all was as still as ever. A moment more, and a 
terrific flash and peal broke simultaneously upon us, and a 
cloud appeared to open directly over our heads, and let down 
the water in one body, like a falling ocean. We stood mo¬ 
tionless and almost stupefied; yet nothing had been struck. 
Peal after peal rattled over our heads, with a sound which 
seemed actually to stop the breath in the body, and the 
‘ speedy gleams ’ kept the whole ocean in a glare of light. 
The violent fall of rain lasted but a few minutes, and was 
followed by occasional drops and showers; but the lightning 
continued incessant for several hours, breaking the midnight 
darkness with irregular and blinding flashes. During all 
this time there was not a breath stirring, and we lay motion- 
