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.
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