Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1868-11-21
NATURES DISPLAYS.

Nature is no niggard in the dispensing of
her beauties and sublimities. The pre-.
diced meteoric shower of Saturday morn
ing was not 30 prolific as it had been in
previous years; but, nevertheless, afforded
some very beautiful visions, and was OBJ
served in nearly all parts of the United
States, Geographic dispatches from numer.
GUS points indicating Its visibleness nearly
everywhere. San Francisco aends word
that her part Of the exhibition surpassed in
splendor that of 1S47. 10 all the South
err States the shower was copious and bril-
liant. The Eastern States were also favored
with what the scribes there are pleased to
denominaie "a grand development of c.
lestiai pyrotechnIcs." There have been sew
eral accounts of scientific observations Of
these phenomena published, but they are
for the most part dry and technical, and
lack in giving US information as to why we
have these meteors, whence they came, what
their effects are upon our atmospherical
condition, what effect, if any they produce
upon or prognosticale for our crops, and
whether they have any direct or traCeable
connection with the earthquakes that have
been so pleutifully distributed of late. Apart
from these questions Of utility, the meteoric
displays eau only be viewsd as something
beautllul-surpassingly beautilul-tO the
eye. Nature, after all, is the purveyOr of
gorgeous beauties such As mans feeble
powers may well fail of initiating. Take,
for instance, the phenomena described by
a sailor az having presented itself to his
view while the recent fearfGl earthquake
in South America was in progress. Several
islands 10 the Pacific appeared 10 be CON-
posed of diamonds, emeralds, ameihysts,
rubies, etc, and it was with greatest Diff
Guilty himself and his companions could be
persuaded that they did not actually see
| huge boUlders of these precious gems in
every variety and in all the geOrgeousness
and magnifce1ce ofreality. Other most de-
| Iightful and wonderful exhibitions ofnature
are those which derived from phosphorus.
| The waters Of the great oceans and tribu-
| taries are more or less phOsphorescent.
! Those of the Gulfof Mexico wonderfully so.
| Running down the coast Of Florida one
| sometimes sees q 'phOsphorescent tide MP
| or meeting of the tides or currents, sight
compared with which all the dazzling
effects of the cleverest artificial later day
! Transformation scenes are az nothing.
| Imagine, if you can, a steamer dashiug
| along al ten huOLoJ uuuCA a 5LalAAl hA1 anu
through phOsphorescent waters, in which
the porpoises that sport on either side are
turned into huge gold fish with trailing
tails like comets. Breakers ahead sings
! out the man on the look out. Not So
shouts the officer on the deck, 1t is only a
tide-rip' And there stretching along for
miles is a line Of Light, which grows
brighter and brighter as the ship comes up
to it. In moment or two it is reached,
and the vessel plunges into perfect sea Of
emeralds, anethsts, rubies and diamonds,
which fairly dazzles the eyes to look upon.
! Il is only moment or two, however, that
this perfect fairy scene lasts-the ship is
soon out Of it, and, looking asterD, the
brilliant tide-rip when miles away, seems
4 still like a rivulet of gold mesndering
! through the trackless deep"