projecting, at the same
moment, their shadows into the atmosphere, the lower parts dark and
slightly greenish, and above each of these shadows the rosy surface,
with the deeper rose of the belt which separates it from them; add to
this the regular contour of the cones of the shadow, principally at
the upper edge, and lastly, the laws of perspective causing all these
lines to converge the one to the other toward the very summit of the
shadow of Mont Blanc; that is to say, to the point of the sky where
the shadows of our own selves were; and even then one will have but a
faint idea of the richness of the meteorological phenomenon displayed
before our eyes for a few instants. It seemed as though an invisible
being was seated upon a throne surrounded by fire, and that angels
with glittering wings were kneeling before him in adoration."

Among the natural phenomena which now attract our attention, but fail
to excite our surprise, there are some which possess the
characteristics of a supernatural intervention. The names which they
have received still bear witness to the terror which they once
inspired; and even to-day, when science has stripped them of their
marvellous origin, and explained the causes of their production, these
phenomena have retained a part of their primitive importance, and are
welcomed by the _savant_ with as much interest as when they were
attributed to divine agency. Out of a large and very diverse number, I
will first select the _Spectre of the Brocken_.

The Brocken is the highest mountain in the picturesque Hartz chain,
running through Hanover, being three hundred and thirty feet above the
level of the sea.

One of the best descriptions of this phenomenon is given by the
traveller Hane, who witnessed it on the 23d of May, 1797. After having
ascended no less than thirty miles to the summit, he had the good
fortune at last to contemplate the object of his curiosity. The sun
rose at about four o'clock, the weather being fine, and the wind
driving off to the west the transparent vapors which had not yet had
time to be condensed into clouds. About a quarter-past four, Hane saw
in this direction a human figure of enormous dimensions. A gust of
wind nearly blowing off his hat at that moment, he raised his hand to
secure it, and the colossal figure imitated his action. Hane, noticing
this, at once made a stooping movement, and this was also reproduced
by the spectre. He then called another person to him, a