Retrospective Criticism. 763 



nomenon I witnessed several years after, on my horse's head, 

 when riding between Norwich and Bungay, throw any light 

 upon its cause and origin. One thing was common to both 

 cases, the weather was very wet, and had been so for some 

 time. I cannot help thinking that electricity had more to do 

 with it than an insect ; but all is vague conjecture, and one 

 would like a better foundation than this to build upon. — S, T. 

 Stokeferry, June 8. 1832. 



The luminousness of touchwood is familiar to country folks, 

 as it was also to Sir Walter Raleigh. See his " Lie." — 

 J.Z). 



Luminous Appearance on the Ears of a Horse, (p. 111. 400.) 

 — The explanation of this "puzzling occurrence" (p. 400.) 

 reminds me of the following circumstance, related by Pro- 

 fessor Silliman, in his Journal of Science, " The late Mr. 

 Whitney of Newhaven, when riding on horseback, near East 

 Rock, in the vicinity of that town, during a night thunder 

 storm of great severity, was astonished to find all at once his 

 horse's ears tipped with fire. He alighted, but now dis- 

 covered the same phenomenon at the end of his whip, stirrups, 

 and every prominent object. His own person, and that of an 

 attendant, were tipped in the same manner." In this case it 

 appears to me that a stream of electricity played around the 

 two horsemen, and became attracted by the most prominent 

 points of the group. In classic story we find an almost paral- 

 lel phenomenon, which, among the superstitious ancients, 

 invested the principal actors with divine agency. I allude to 

 Castor and Pollux, around whose heads, in a violent storm, 

 during the Argonautic expedition, two flames of fire were seen 

 to play, when the tempest ceased and the sea was becalmed. 

 From this occurrence their power to protect sailors was more 

 firmly credited, and the two before-mentioned flames (such 

 being not uncommon in storms) have since been known by 

 the names of Castor and Pollux : when they both appeared, 

 it was a sign of fair weather ; but, if only one was seen, it 

 prognosticated storms, and the aid of Castor and Pollux was 

 consequently invoked. The electric current would, doubtless, 

 flash with great intensity on the metal helmets of the heroes, 

 and, on this account, the Romans believed the twins to head 

 their armies, with a star glittering on their heads. Perhaps 

 your clever correspondent, Mr. John Murray, may be induced 

 to throw some light on this curious circumstance, in connection 

 with his ingenious theories of atmospheric electricity. — John 

 Timhs, 5. Lyon's Inn, London, May. 4. 1832. 



Luminous Appearance on the Ears of a Horse (p. 111. 400.), 

 and Facts on the hampyris noctiliica. — May not this pheno- 



