"WILL-O'-THE-WISP"

Dominion, Volume 8, Issue 2279, 13 October 1914, Page 3

"WILL-O'-THE-WISP"

MYSTERIOUS WANDERER OF THE NIGHT. ,(E.y L. A. Mac Donald.) There are many people living in cities who are disposed to think that the wiil-o'-the-wisp is merely a phantom of the that it had its origin in the dead superstition of the Dark Ages, and that the phenomenon has no real material existence. But the fact of their reality is now firmly established in the minds of scientific men; and travellers who spend many nights out in the opeii country with only the canopy of heaven above them testify to the extraordinary movements of these mysterious lights. There is a strange fascination' in the motions of the will-o'-the-wisp, aiid the darkness of the surroundings, and the solitude of their arena fill the spectator.with awe and inexpressible curiosity. When ono sees them for the first time one has an indescribable feeling that the panorama before him is spirit land, and that the emancipated souls of the dead are exalting on their entrance to a happier environment. They glide from one place to another with such a graceful facility as to make one believe that there must bo somo unaccountable intelligence controlling and' directing their movements. Tlio will-o'-the-wisp is one of the grandest meteorological phenomena of the terrestrial atmosphere, and affords ouo of the greatest problems for mankind to unravel. It is no exaggeration to estimate their speed as fasLer than that of tlio swiftest express train. The ignis l'atuus, which is the technical name of this light may be seen in many parts of the Wellington province, assuming that tho observer is not afraid to main-' tain his vigils far into the night. The district lying between Halconibo,. Sanson, and Bulls is one of their favourite haunts, and one would be unfortunate indeed if ho sailed forth on any particular night in this locality without having his expectations more or less satisfied. The-writer, accompanied by a. friend, has seen them on very many occasions. Tlio country referred to stands like a widely-extending plateau. . Tho soa rolls in from'the south, Kapiti Island is distinctly visible, and the mountains' of the South Island loom up in the hazy distance, whilo to the north and northwest Ruapchu and Eginont rear their lofty summits. On all sides tho horizon is very far away. But what impresses ine especially at night time is the, almost ghostly solitude. There are clumps of bush in various places, but there are no sounds to indicate the existence' of 'any form of life. The weird screech of the New Zealand owl occasionally breaks tho stillness,,but at t'he same time it only serves to increase the sense of loneliness. Yet amid this scene of desolation there is ample material to engago one's contemplation while waiting for the appearauco of the will-o'-the-wisp. The heavcus above are as an open book. Tho Southem Cross, tho Milky Way, and the neighbouring stars and constellations shiiio with that pure radiance which characterise them when seen from regions devoid of smoke and fog. Thero blazes Alpha Centauri—reputedly the' | nearest fixed star to the earth—from its dizzy height of twenty million miles. Hero is Jupiter, the giant .of the solar system, with his rotinuo of rnobiis'revolving round him with surprising regularity. • '. ' .-.,:'

All of a sudden and without' any warning tho first will-o'-the-wisp makes its presence known. "There it is." you exclaim' involuntarily, and toeathlessly await further developments. At first sight' the average light is about as bright as the planet Venus, and when our evening star is setting on the horizon she might easily be mistaken for an ignis, fatuus./ This impression, however, is very quickly dispelled. The light instantly darts with _ amazing velocity to a distance of a mile or so, to the right or left of wlicro it was first seen. There it remains with vary r ing rapidity, now slowly, now faster, and the lino of its courso may be either straight or zig-zag. The air'currents do not seem to affect it. The light can travel on a stormy night, against the wind with as much ease as when the wind is in the. rear. Its brightness is pretty steady, and the ignis fatuus does not scintillate more than do lamps and lanterns when .they arc descried a long way off. At times, however, it exhibits abnormal increasos aiid diminutions in brilliancy, which is quite distinct from ordinary coruscations. Not infrequently, two or three more lights make their debut on the nocturnal stage. Sometimes they rise straight up into the air like a balloon to a height of .fifty feet, and down they come like a stone. At , other times two or threo seem to play at hide-and-seek among the trees. One seems to follow the other—no..birds in spring flit about as joyously as do the merry will-o'-the-wisps, and tho fire : flies of other lands are scarcely able to perforin such wonderful evolutions. There is little chance of getting very near to these strange creatures of the night, for they are very timid, and seem to retreat at the spectator's approach. All investigations with reference to thair character have to be made from afar, and this suffices to show how little can be■ discovered that is of sin absolutely trustworthy value. In • oldoii times they were supposed to have a malign influence on any traveller who was bold enough to follow them. They either drove him to insanity or else allured him to some dangerous bog, which would be the scene of his destruction. Such superstitions'are still held in great respect in Oriental countries. But anyone who has seen them in' New Zealand, where legendary lore and superstition are not yet rampant, may confidently affirm that as far as mere appearances go, they seem the very reverse of malignancy,. and they have no special liking for hovering 'above bogs and marshy places. They seem, to rise from the bowels of the earth as luminous gaseous bubbles, and after taking their intensely interesting exercise, they return whence they came. No one in the Old Country looks forward more expectantly to the Tetmm of the. swallow than lovers of meteorological phenomenato tho return of'their charming friend, will-o'-the-wisp. A well-known traveller has described a remarkable ignis fatuus, which ho saw in the Holy Land, when the atmosphere was so thick and hazy that the dew on the horses' bridles was remarkably clammy and unctuous. The meteor was sometimes globular, then in the form of the flame of a candle, presently afterwards it opened itself so much as to involve the whole company in a pale.harmless light, and then it would contract itself again and suddenly disappear; but m less than a minute it would become visible as before, and running along from one place to another with a swift progressive motion, would again expand itself and cover a considerable space of ground. In different countries the conditions under' which the light manifests itself vary. But seen under any conditions whatever, it will be found to be full of absorbingly interesting features, and if some of its finest presentments are not to be seen in tho Halcombe-Sanson-Bulls district, then its manifestations in Eastern lands must be glorious indeed.