AURORA BOREALIS, OR NORTHERN LIGHTS, MOST FREQUENTLY SEEN IN NORTHERN
CLIMATES--CALLED MERRY DANCERS--ROSE TINTS--TINT-LIKE APPEARANCE--LADY
MARY FRIGHTENED.
One evening, just as Mrs. Frazer was preparing to undress Lady Mary, Miss
Campbell, her governess, came into the nursery, and taking the little girl
by the hand, led her to the window, and bade her look out on the sky
towards the north, where a low dark arch, surmounted by an irregular
border, like a silver fringe, was visible. For some moments Lady Mary
stood silently regarding this singular appearance; at length she said, "It
is a rainbow, Miss Campbell; but where is the sun that you told me shone
into the drops of rain to make the pretty colours?"
"It is not a rainbow, my dear; the sun has been long set."
"Can the moon make rainbows at night?" asked the little girl.
[Illustration: THE AURORA BOREALIS]
"The moon does sometimes, but very rarely, make what is called a _lunar_
rainbow. Luna was the ancient name for the moon. But the arch you now see
is caused neither by the light of the sun nor of the moon, but is known by
the name of Aurora Borealis, or Northern Lights. The word Aurora means
morning or dawn; and Borealis, northern. You know, my dear, what is meant
by the word dawn; it is the light that is seen in the sky before the sun
rises."
Lady Mary replied, "Yes, Miss Campbell, I have often seen the sun rise,
and once very early too, when I was ill, and could not sleep, for nurse
lifted me in her arms out of bed, and took me to the window. The sky was
all over of a bright golden colour, with streaks of rosy red; and nurse
said, 'It is dawn; the sun will soon be up.' And I saw the beautiful sun
rise from behind the trees and hills. He came up so gloriously, larger
than when we see him in the middle of the sky, and I could look at him
without hurting my eyes."
"Sunrise is indeed a glorious sight, my dear; but He who made the sun is
more glorious still. Do you remember what we read yesterday in the
Psalms?--
"Verse 1 The heavens declare the glory of God and the firmament
showeth His handywork.
2 One day telleth another and one night certifieth another.
3 There is neither speech nor language, but their voices are heard
among them.
5 In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun which cometh forth
as a bridegroom out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a giant
to run his course.
"The Northern Lights, Lady Mary, are frequently visible in Canada, but are
most brilliant in the colder regions near the North Pole, where they serve
to give light during the dark season to those dismal countries from which
the sun is so many months absent. The light of the Aurora Borealis is so
soft and beautiful, that any object can be distinctly seen; though in
those cold countries there are few human beings to be benefited by this
beautiful provision of Nature."
"The wild beasts and birds must be glad of the pretty lights," said the
child thoughtfully; for Lady Mary's young heart always rejoiced when she
thought that God's gifts could be shared by the beasts of the field and
the fowls of the air, as well as by mankind.
"Look now, my dear," said Miss Campbell, directing the attention of her
pupil to the horizon; "what a change has taken place whilst we have been
speaking! See, the arch is sending up long shafts of light; now they
divide, and shift from side to side, gliding along among the darker
portions of vapour like moving pillars."
"Ah, there, there they go!" cried the little girl, clapping her hands with
delight. "See, nurse, how the pretty lights chase each other and dance
about! Up they go, higher and higher! How pretty they look! But now they
are gone! They are fading away. I am so sorry," said the child,
despondingly, for a sudden cessation had taken place in the motions of the
heavens.
"We will go in for a little time, my dear," said her governess, "and then
look out again. Great changes take place sometimes in these aerial
phenomena in a few minutes."
"I suppose," said Lady Mary, "these lights are the same that the peasants
of Northern England and Ireland call the Merry Dancers?"
"Yes, they are the same, and they fancy that they are seen when war and
troubles are about to break out. But this idea is a very ignorant one, for
were that the case, some of the cold countries of the world, where the sky
is illumined night after night by the Aurora Borealis, would be one
continual scene of misery. I have seen in this country a succession of
these lights for four or five successive nights. This phenomenon owes its
origin to _electricity_, which is a very wonderful agent in nature, and
exists in various bodies, perhaps in all created things. It is this that
shoots across the sky in the form of lightning, and causes the thunder to
be heard, circulates in the air we breathe, occasions whirlwinds,
waterspouts, earthquakes, and volcanoes, and makes one substance attract
another.
"Look at this piece of amber. If I rub it on the table, it will become
warm to the touch. Now I will take a bit of thread and hold near it. See,
the thread moves towards the amber and clings to it. Sealing-wax and many
other substances when heated have this property. Some bodies give out
flashes and sparks by being rubbed. If you stroke a black cat briskly in
the dark, you will see faint flashes of light come from her fur, and on
very cold nights in the winter season, flannels that are worn next the
skin crackle and give sparks when taken off and shaken."
These things astonished Lady Mary. She tried the experiment with the amber
and thread, and was much amused by seeing the thread attracted; and she
wanted to see the sparks from the cat's back, only there happened,
unfortunately, to be no black cat or kitten in Government House. Mrs.
Frazer, however, promised to procure a beautiful black kitten for her,
that she might enjoy the singular sight of the electric sparks from its
coat; and Lady Mary wished winter were come, that she might see the sparks
from her flannel petticoat and hear the sounds.
"Let us now go and look out again at the sky," said Miss Campbell; and
Lady Mary skipped joyfully through the French window to the balcony, but
ran back, and flinging her arms about her nurse, cried out, in accents of
alarm, "Nurse, nurse, the sky is all closing together! Oh, Miss Campbell,
what shall we do?"
"There is no cause for fear, my dear child; do not be frightened. There is
nothing to harm us."
Indeed, during the short time they had been absent, a great and remarkable
change had taken place in the appearance of the sky. The electric fluid
had diffused itself over the face of the whole heavens; the pale
colour of the streamers had changed to bright rose, pale violet, and
greenish-yellow. At the zenith, or that part more immediately overhead, a
vast ring of deep indigo was presented to the eye, from this swept down,
as it were a flowing curtain of rosy light which wavered and moved
incessantly, as if agitated by a gentle breeze, though a perfect stillness
reigned through the air. The child's young heart was awed by this sublime
spectacle, it seemed to her as if it were indeed the throne of the great
Creator of the world that she was gazing upon, and she veiled her face in
her nurse's arms and trembled exceedingly, even as the children of Israel
when the fire of Mount Sinai was revealed, and they feared to behold the
glory of the Most High God. After a while, Lady Mary, encouraged by the
cheerful voices of her governess and nurse, ventured to look up to watch
the silver stars shining dimly as from beneath a veil, and she whispered
to herself the words that her governess had before repeated to her "The
heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament sheweth his
handywork."
After a little while, Mrs. Frazer thought it better to put Lady Mary to
bed, as she had been up much longer than usual, and Miss Campbell was
afraid lest the excitement should make her ill, but the child did not soon
fall asleep, for her thoughts were full of the strange and glorious things
she had seen that night.