20 



the old castle, at the southern entrance to the city of Canterbury, 

 appeared as if a stream of light was issuing from the old ruins. On 

 repairing to the spot it was discovered that the light emanated 

 from an innumerable swarm of small insects which had collected 

 on the walls and about the old ruins. They disappeared at 

 sunrise next morning. A similar phenomenon was witnessed 

 in the same place about thirty years ago." There is an 

 editorial note appended : — "The above paragraph appeared in one 

 of the London papers as a quotation from the Kentish Gazette, but 

 we have some reason for believing the statement to have been a 

 mere fabrication." Possibly it was, but the following observation 

 appears to afford a more satisfactory explanation of both this and 

 the preceding account. 



Hearing that I was interested in this subject the late Mr. 

 Benjamin Harrison of Ightham, Kent, was good enough to send me 

 one of his old notebooks drawing my attention to an entry which I 

 will quote in ed'tensn : — 



Met Bridger the butcher, who formerly resided on the confines 

 of Woolmer Forest. 



He said :— " Did you see Old Will of the Wisp ? " 

 I replied : — " Once, in passing a boggy spot near Brasted late 

 at night, I fancied I saw a faint light over the water, but it was 

 impossible to approach near." 



" Well then, I have; and not only seen Old Will, but caught 

 him ! " 



" Oh ! how wa3 that '? " 



" Well, I'll tell you. Me and a friend had been to a cricket 

 match and stayed late. It were about midsummer, and as we 

 were passing a boggy spot in Woolmer Forest we saw a lot of 

 lights dancing up and down, and I said, * There's Old Will of the 

 Wisp.' Presently the trackway led us close by the outside of the 

 bog and we saw a lot more of ttie light. We were both on horses, 

 and seeing the light get close to my mate, who was in front, I 

 shouted out ' Here he comes, Strike at un with your whip.' He did 

 so, and hit un too, and in a minute his horse's mane was all alight, as 

 it were. We stopped and examined, and saw lots of little lights all 

 entangled in the mane ; and so it kept on until we put our horses 

 in the stable, where the light became stronger. ' Wait a bit ' I 

 said, 'let me go and get something to catch un in.' I went indoors 

 and got a tumbler, and came back and shook the ujane over the 

 glass, and then covered it with my hand, and took it indoors. We 



