THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 307 
set forth this ‘ glory of the Lord which is ter¬ 
rible 
“ ‘ It was a cold, dark, but clear winter’s night, 
and the sky in the earlier part of the evening 
showed no signs of the magnificent illumina¬ 
tion Avhich was already being prepared. A 
few streamers wavered now and then in the 
north, and a faint radiance, like that of the ris¬ 
ing moon, shone above the dark belt of shrub¬ 
bery which bordered the river; but this was a 
common occurrence, and it excited no notice or 
remark. Late in the evening, just as we were 
preparing to go to bed, Dodd happened to go 
out of doors for a moment to look after his 
dogs; but no sooner had he reached the outer 
door of the entry than he came rushing back, 
his face ablaze with excitement, shouting, “ Ken- 
nan ! Robinson! come out, quick!” With a 
vague impression that the village must be on 
fire, I sprang up, and without stopping to put 
on any furs ran hastily out, followed closely by 
Robinson, Harden, and Smith. As we emerged 
into the open air there burst suddenly upon our 
startled eyes the grandest exhibition of vivid 
dazzling light and color of which the mind can 
conceive. The whole universe seemed to be on 
