THE SPECTRE OF THE BROCKEN.
I am going to tell you respecting some of the appearances produced by clouds which reflect like mirrors; and by those changes in the atmosphere which turn aside, in an irregular manner, the rays of light, which, as they pass from an object to the eye which is looking at it, excite the sensation called vision.
One of the most remarkable of these, has long been known by the name of "The Spectre of the Brocken." The Brocken is the loftiest summit of the Hartz Mountains, in Germany; it is said to be 3,300 feet above the level of the sea, and to command the prospect of a tract of land which is inhabited by more than five millions of people.
It appears that clouds, from some cause or other, which perhaps we shall never perfectly know, are wont at times to collect on the neighbouring heights, and reflect a very distinct shadow of great size of whatever object may be on the summit of the Brocken, when the sun is rising and casts his beams horizontally. The best account of this wonderful spectacle, is given by the Abbe Hauy, who visited it in 1797, and I shall give you his own statement.
"After having been here for the thirtieth time," says Mons. Hauy, "I was at length so fortunate as to have the pleasure of seeing the Spectre. The sun rose about four o'clock, and the atmosphere being quite serene towards the east, his rays could pass without any obstruction over the Heinrichshohe.[A] In the south-west, however, towards Achtermanshohe,[B] a brisk west wind carried before it thin transparent vapours, which were not yet condensed into thick heavy clouds. About a quarter past four I went towards the inn, and looked round to see whether the atmosphere would permit me to have a free prospect to the south-west; when I observed, at a very great distance towards Achtermanshohe, a human figure of a monstrous size. A violent gust of wind having almost carried away my hat, I clapped my hand to it by moving my arm towards my head, and the colossal figure did the same. The pleasure which I felt on this discovery can hardly be described, for I had already walked many a weary step in the hopes of seeing this shadowy image, without being able to gratify my curiosity. I immediately made another movement by bending my body, and the colossal figure before me repeated it. I was desirous of doing the same thing once more; but my colossus had vanished: I remained in the same position, waiting to see whether it would return, and in a few minutes it again made its appearance on the Achtermanshohe. I paid my respects to it a second time, and it did the same to me. I then called the landlord of the Brocken; and having both taken the same position which I had taken alone, we looked towards the Achtermanshohe, but saw nothing. We had not, however, stood long, when two such colossal figures were formed over the above eminence, which repeated our compliments by bending their bodies as we did; after which they vanished. We retained our position, kept our eyes fixed on the same spot, and in a little time the two figures again stood before us, and were joined by a third," (most likely by the double reflection of one of the spectators.) "Every movement that we made by bending our bodies, these figures imitated; but with this difference, that the phenomenon was sometimes weak and faint, sometimes strong and well defined."
There are some remarkable circumstances attending the Brocken, that are doubtless in some degree connected with "The Spectre," which was once looked upon as a supernatural apparition. When Christianity was introduced into Germany, the priests and votaries of the old superstition, retired to the Brocken as a refuge, and there long kept up the dark and mysterious rites of the great Saxon idol, Cortho. It is a very wild place, full of clefts and caverns, and with rivulets and waterfalls on all sides of it, so that it would answer their purpose remarkably well. After the inhabitants had taken up the profession of Christianity, they used to celebrate on this mountain a festival on Midsummer night, in honour of St. Walpurgis, a female saint, who had first introduced Christianity among them. A legend then prevailed, that the summit of the mountain was occasionally haunted by a demon, which could have been no other than the Spectre. Everything about the mountain was looked upon with awe and veneration. A beautiful spring which runs down its side, is at this day called the Magic Spring; a pretty little lily that abounds on the Mountain, is called the Wizard's Flower; and two great square granite rocks are called the Wizard's Chair. These names may be looked upon as monuments of the estimation in which the mountain was once held.
While you ought, my young friends, to feel happy and grateful in being taught what these natural things really are, and released from all superstitious fears or notions respecting them; you should be most careful not to forget what you owe to a purer faith, of which the character is to invite you to inquire into, and to know everything within your reach.
I shall say something to you respecting the cause of the Spectre, in a future chapter.
