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JOURNEY OF MAUPERTUIS. 247
ferently every part of the fky. Sometimes they begin by forming a large fcarf of clear
and moving light, whofe extremities reach to the horizon, and which rapidly traverfes the
heavens with a motion refembling the caft of a fifherman’s net, preferving in this motion
very perceptibly a direction perpendicular to the meridian. Molt frequently after
thefe preludes, all the lights unite towards the zenith where they form the head of a kind
of crown. Oftentimes arcs, fimiliar to thofe we fee in France towards the north, are feen
towards the fouth, at times in the north and fouth at once, their tops approaching while
their extremities retire finking towards the horizon. I have feen fome of thefe op-
pofites whofe fummits nearly touched each other at the zenith; both one, and the
other haye frequently beyond them feveral concentric arcs. ‘They have all of them
their tops towards the fouth, with however a trifling variation weftward which did not
appear to me to be conftantly the fame, and which at times is imperceptible. Some of
thefe arcs, after appearing broadeft upon the horizon, become narrower as they ap-
proach each other, and reprefent above more than half a great ellipfis: to defcribe all the
figures which thefe lights affume, and all the motions they make, would be an endlefs
talk. Their moft ordinany motion is one which makes them refemble curtains flying
in the air; and by the fhades of colours which they affume, one would take them to be
of thofe taffeties which are called flame coloured ; fometimes they carpet part of the
heavens with fcarlet. At Ofwer Torneo (one day,) it was the eighteenth of Decem-
ber, a fight of this defcription, in {pite of my being accultomed to them, excited my
aftonifhment. ‘Towards the fouth a wide region of the fky was tinted with fo lively a red,
it feemed as though the whole conftellation of Orion was tinged with blood; at firft fixed,
the light foon began to move, and after affuming other colours, fuch as violet and blue,
it formed a dome whofe fummit was very little diftant from the zenith towards the fouth-
weft; the brighteft moon then fhining took away nothing from the fpectacle. I faw no
more than two of thefe red lights which are rare in thefe countries; and where they are
dreaded as portents of fome great misfortune. Indeed, furveying thefe phenomena,
one cannot be furprifed that thofe looking on them differently than with the eye of
philofophy, fhould fancy them chariots of fire, fighting armies, or any other prodigious
things.
We remained at Torneo, fhut up in our rooms in a ftate of inaction, until the month
of March, when we began new undertakings.
The length of the arc we had meafured, which differed fo much from the computa-
tion of the book on the fize and figure of the earth, aftonifhed us; and in fpite of the
inconteltability of our operation, we refolved to verify our work by the molt rigorous
proofs.
As to our triangles, all their angles had been fo many times obferved, and by fo
great a number of perfons who all agreed, that no room was left to doubt of the truth
of that part of our work. It had even an advantage above any other former work of
this nature: hitherto two angles only having been ufed, and the third computed,
whereas all our angles had been obferved, notwithftanding the inconvenience it occafioned
by caufing us to make feveral very difagreeable procrattinations of our refidence on the
tops of mountains.
Moreover, although only eight triangles were neceflary to determine the diftance
between Torneo and Kittis, we obferved feveral fupernumerary angles, and our hepta-
gon thereby afforded combinations or fucceflions of triangles without number.
Our work, at leaft this part of it, had been done, we may fay, a great many times
over; all that was neceflary therefore was to compare by calculation the lengths given
by all thefe different fucceflions of triangles, We carried our patience fo far as to
I compute
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