midnight sun
She does walk along , and no mistake ! '' And then he would look aloft , perhaps , and give an order for a brace to be tautened here , or a sheet slackened there -- the hours thus flying by in halcyon moments , as far as the wind and sea , and the course of the ship , and all on board were concerned -- collectively and individually . The nights in these southern latitudes were simply beautiful beyond compare . The moon had no sooner died out than she revived again , as if gifted with perpetual youth -- not an evening passing without her presence , sooner or later , on the scene -- and appeared , too , to have more dignity of position and greater size than in the frigid north , ascending right up to the very zenith , instead of merely skirting the heavens , as she sometimes does here , and shining down from thence like a midnight sun in radiant splendour . The Scorpion , also , amongst the various constellations , was similarly promoted , occupying a place nearer the centre of the firmament ; while the Southern Cross , quite a new acquaintance , followed by Castor and Pollux , began to descend towards the sea , becoming more diagonal as the days drew on than when originally observed , and finally vanishing from view head foremost . As for the North Star , it had long since entirely disappeared ; and only the horses in Charles ' Wain yet remained above the horizon towards that point of the compass . To Kate Meldrum 's eyes , the sunsets were especially grand ; for , as soon as the time came for the glorious orb of day to sink to rest in the golden west , a series of light amber-tinted clouds would arrange themselves all round the horizon , as if with a studied pictorial effect , like the stage grouping in what theatrical people term `` a set piece ; '' and then , by degrees , these clouds would become tinged with the loveliest kaleidoscopic colours , all vividly bright -- while the far-off heaven that lay between them was of the purest palest rose-hued gold , and the sky immediately above of a faint , ethereal , blueish , transparent green .