sort, but far more ambitious and costly, than that which is built at Barrackpoor, and it is vexatious to think that a very handsome church might have been built, and a handsome marble monument to Lord Cornwallis placed in its interior, for little more money than has been employed on a thing, which, if any foreigner saw it, (an event luckily not very probable) would afford subject for mockery to all who read his travels, at the expense of Anglo-Indian ideas of architecture.  Ugly as it is, however, by itself, it may yet be made a good use of, by making it serve the purpose of a detached ‘torre campanile’ to the new church which is required for the station; to this last it would save the necessity of a steeple or cupola, and would much lessen the expense of the building.”

* * * * *

THE NATURALIST.

We quote these Facts from the Correspondence of the Magazine of Natural History for May.

Luminous appearance on the ears of a Horse.

When we cannot find a satisfactory solution for any puzzling occurrence which we are desirous of investigating, perhaps the best way is to endeavour to accumulate a series of facts of the same kind.  Some years ago, I was riding from Edinburgh:  it was (as I happen to recollect) on the 12th of November, and in the evening.  There had been, since past midday, a succession of those stormy clouds, driven by a westerly wind, which are common at that season.  Perhaps the wind was a point or two to the north of west, if it makes any difference, and during the intervals there was always a comparative calm or slackening of the wind.  I was once taken by one of these storm-clouds about Nether Libberton, on the Dalkeith road.  I used the spur a little; and, having been a yeoman for many years, I was unconsciously holding a small rattan cane somewhat after the mode of “carry swords.”  Roused by the velocity of the wind, and the darkness of the passing cloud, I naturally turned my eyes to the right, and was not a little surprised to observe a pale clear flame, in form like that of a small candle, playing upon the point of the cane.  Taking it for granted, forthwith, that a stream of electricity, attracted by the cane, was passing from the cloud through my body, and through the horse, into the ground, I instantly turned it downwards.  At the time I did not wait to consider that I was in the hollow of the valley between one of the highest of the Pentlands and Arthur’s Seat, and that there were higher objects than myself, and scattered trees in the neighbourhood far more likely to act upon the cloud, or be exposed to its influence.  A short time after this happened, I mentioned the circumstance of the flame to a friend.  He told me, in return, that once, when riding between Hawick and Jedburgh, during a dark and stormy night, he was greatly annoyed, for most part of the way, by two flames, like candles, that appeared to issue from his horse’s ears.  He certainly is as little likely to be affected by superstition as most men; but never before having heard of such a circumstance, and the idea of electricity not then occurring to his mind, he could not help thinking that Will o’ the wisp and he, hoping it was nothing worse, had got into rather too close intimacy.