Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1937-11-28
Red Glory Has Not Been Duplicated Since Then in
Sublmity or Extent, With Its Mingling of
Purest White in alienation.

fallen snow. The light seemed the
same in every portion of the firma-
ment, but without any apparent cause
IN THE City of New York the dis
play, as witnessed from an emf
hence which commanded an unob-
structed view of the horizon in every
direction. was, in the latter part OF
the evening. magnificent beyond de-
scription. At about quarter before
s the attention of observers was at
tracted by most unusual appearance
of the heavens.
The sky was wholly overcast, as
in New Haven, at the same hour;
though the cloud was not sufficiently
dense, absolutely to obscure all the
stars, OF which quite a number were
seen from time to time, family glim-
mering through. At the time of the
first observation the whole heaven
was suffused with a lovely carnation,
brightest, apparently, at the COM
mencement Of the zenith.
This tint, reflected on the snow,
clothed all nature with a red-tinted
garniture of supernal beauty. It
gradually faded. though at the end
OF an hour it was still slightly per-
ceptible. The sky then rapidly
cleared and all traces of the aurora
passed away.
But at about half-past 7, the north
and east being still overcast and
some stratifled clouds extending
themselves along the horizon around
toward the west, brightness began
to appear in the northwest. which,
in very short time, extended itself
upward As degrees in column of diff
fused light, quite broad at the base
and tapering to point.
This column moved very slowly south
ward and at length became divided
into two OF similar character. But in
the meantime, in all the north, and
especially in the northwest, numerous
streamers began to make their appear
ance. They became family red at the
height Of about 80 degrees, and the
redness OF the whole blended itself into
one general cloud, while the columns
continued distinct and white below.
The changes were rapid, but the red
tint covered the heavens nearly to the
zenith for long time The moon,
emerging from the clouds a little be-
fore 8, detracted from the brightness
Of the display. The whole subsidized, or
nearly so, shortly after 8, and observa-
tons were discontinued.
A FEW minutes before Q, however,
the community was summoned to
witness q new exhibition Of auroral
wonders, "the lustrous grandeur Of
which no tongue could tell, nor pen
portray" The heavens were at this
time wholly unclouded, with the ex-
ception Of q single very small and faint
cirrus high in the northwest. Innu-
merable bright arches shot up from
the whole northern semi-circle of the
horizon, and from even father south,
all convergtng to the zenith with great
rapidity.
Their upper extremities were of the
most brilliant scarlet, while below they
were exceedingly white. At the forma-
ton Of the corona the appearance of
the columns below, which were very
numerous and bright, resembled that
Of bright cotton of long fiber, drawn
out at full length. The intermingled
hues afforded each other a mutual
strong relief and exhibited the most
dazzling contrasts ever beheld.
The duration Of this display was re-
variable. For three-Quarters Of an
hour after its formation, which took
place about 8 O'Clock. the corona con-
tinued, with variable brightness, to
maintain its position = little to the
south Of the zenith. At about $50 the