When the sun approached the
verge of the horizon, he was frequently seen encircled by a halo of
splendour, which continued increasing till it covered a large space of
the heavens: it then began apparently to shoot out from the body of
the sun, in refulgent pencils, or radii, each as large as a rainbow,
exhibiting, according to the rarity or density of the atmosphere, a
display of brilliant or delicate tints, and of ever changing lights
and shades of the most amazing beauty and variety. About twenty
minutes after sun-set these splendid shooting rays disappeared,
and were succeeded by a fine, rich glow in the heavens, in which
you might easily fancy that you saw land rising out of the ocean,
stretching itself before you and on every side in the most enchanting
perspective, and having the glowing lustre of a bar of iron when newly
withdrawn from the forge. On this brilliant ground the dense clouds
which lay nearest the bottom of the horizon, presenting their dark
sides to you, exhibited to the imagination all the gorgeous and
picturesque appearances of arches, obelisks, mouldering towers,
magnificent gardens, cities, forests, mountains, and every fantastic
configuration of living creatures, and of imaginary beings; while the
finely stratified clouds a little higher in the atmosphere, might
really be imagined so many glorious islands of the blessed, swimming
in an ocean of light.
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