THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
305 
north; a black segment separates them from 
the horizon, its dark color forming a contrast 
with the pure white or bright red of the bow, 
which darts forth the rays, extends, becomes 
divided, and soon presents the appearance of a 
luminous fan, which, filling the northern sky, 
mounts nearly to the zenith, where the rays, 
uniting, form a crown which in its turn darts 
forth luminous jets in all directions. The sky 
then looks like a cupola of fire; the blue, the 
green, the yellow, the red, and the white vibrate 
in the palpitating rays of the aurora.’ 
“ Captains Kane and Ross, and other Arctic 
explorers give similar grand descriptions of these 
gorgeous polar illuminations, which almost, one 
would say, overbalance the terrible exposures 
and dangers which are met by those adven¬ 
turers who advance into those ice-bound lati¬ 
tudes. 
“A residence of two winters at the foot of 
Lake Superior afforded me an opportunity to 
behold some auroral displays which must have 
approximated to the glories of those witnessed 
by these adventurers. The brilliant pink and 
rosy hues which the auroras at times present 
were often marked; and when these bright 
26 U 
