These meteors, denominated by the vulgar, Will-with-a-wisp, and
Jack-with-a-lantern, and at sea or on the coast, mariner’s lights, or
St. Helmo’s fires, are now considered as real exhalations from the
earth, produced by gas, vapor, or some other attenuated substance,
emanating from vegetable, animal or mineral materials, and combined with
the matter of light or heat, or both. Instead of being dense or solid,
they are uniformly rare and subtile; and, instead of originating in the
loftiest regions of the atmosphere, or beyond its range, are generated
for the greater part in low, marshy plains or valleys. To the fearful
and superstitious, they are a source of as much terror as the nobler and
sublimer meteors which have just been contemplated; and it is probable
that they have occasionally been the source of real and extensive
damage, when in a state of actual combustion, and that they have still
more frequently seduced a timid and benighted traveler into dangerous
bogs and quagmires.
In Italy, in the Bolognese territory, they are so frequent, in the
morassy grounds, that they are to be seen every night, some of them
affording as much light as a kindled torch, and others not being larger
than the flame of a candle, but all of them so luminous as to shed a
luster on the surrounding objects. They are constantly in motion, but
this motion is various and uncertain. They sometimes rise and at other
times sink, sometimes suddenly disappearing, and appearing again in an
instant in some other place. They usually hover about six feet from the
ground, differing both in figure and size, and spreading out and
contracting themselves alternately. Sometimes they break to appearance
into two parts, soon after uniting again in one body, and at intervals
float like waves, letting fall portions of ignited matter, like sparks
from a fire. They are more frequently observed in winter than in summer,
and cast the strongest light in rainy and moist weather. They are most
friendly to the banks of brooks and rivers, and to morasses; but they
are likewise seen on elevated grounds, where they are, however, of a
comparatively diminutive size.
In the month of March, 1728, a traveler being in a mountainous road,
about ten miles south of Bononia, perceived, as he approached the river
Riovedere, between eight and nine in the evening, a light shining very
brightly on some stones which lay on the banks. It was elevated about
two feet above them; its figure describing a parallelopiped, more than a
foot in length, and about six inches high, its longest side lying
parallel to the horizon. Its light was so strong that he could
distinguish by it very plainly a part of a neighboring hedge, and the
water in the river. On a near approach, it changed from a bright red to
a yellowish color, and on drawing still nearer, became pale; but when
the observer reached the spot it vanished. On his stepping back, he not
only saw it again, but found that the further he receded, the stronger
and more luminous it became. This light was afterward seen several
times, both in spring and autumn, precisely at the same spot, and
preserving the same shape.
On the twelfth of December, 1776, several very remarkable =ignes fatui=
were observed on the road to Bromsgrove, five miles from Birmingham, in
England, a little before daylight. A great many of these lights were
playing in an adjacent field, in different directions; from some of
which there suddenly sprang up bright branches of light, somewhat
resembling the explosion of a rocket, filled with many brilliant stars,
if, in the case of the latter, the discharge be supposed to be upward,
or vertical, instead of taking the usual direction. The hedge, and the
trees on each side, were strongly illuminated. This appearance continued
a few seconds only, when the =ignes fatui= played as before. The
spectator was not sufficiently near to observe whether the apparent
explosions were attended with any report.
In the month of December, 1693, between the twenty-fourth and thirtieth,
a fiery exhalation, without doubt generated in the same way with the
meteors described above, set fire to sixteen ricks of hay, and two barns
filled with corn and hay, at the village of Hartech, in Pembrokeshire.
It had frequently been seen before, proceeding from the sea, and in
these instances lasted for a fortnight or three weeks. It not only fired
the hay, but poisoned the grass, for the extent of a mile, so as to
induce a distemper among the cattle. It was a weak blue flame, easily
extinguished, and did not in the least burn any of the men who
interposed their endeavors to save the hay, although they ventured, not
only close to it, but sometimes into it. All the damage sustained
happened constantly in the night.
Belonging to this class of meteors is the =draco volans=, a fiery
exhalation, frequent in marshy and cold countries. It is most common in
summer; and, although principally seen playing near the banks of rivers,
or in boggy places, still it sometimes mounts up to a considerable hight
in the air, to the no small terror of the amazed beholders. Its
appearance is that of an oblong (sometimes roundish) fiery body, with a
long tail. It is entirely harmless, frequently sticking to the hands and
clothes of the spectators, without doing them the least injury.