382 THE BORDERLAND OF SCIENCE. 



Zach's handwriting. It would mend the story ex- 

 ceedingly if some day a real relation should be esta- 

 blished between comets and solar spots. Of late years 

 good reason has been shown for advancing a connection 

 between these spots and the earth's magnetism. If the 

 two things had been put to Zach he would probably 

 have chosen the comets. Here is a hint for a paradox : 

 the solar spots are the dead comets, which have parted 

 with their light and heat to feed the sun, as was once 

 suggested. I should not wonder if I were too late, 

 and the thing had been actually maintained.' De 

 Morgan was not far wrong. Something very like his 

 paradox was advocated, before the Eoyal Astronomical 

 Society, by Commander Ashe, of Canada, earlier we 

 believe than the date of De Morgan's remarks. I 

 happen to have striking evidence in favour of De 

 Morgan's opinion about the view which Zach would 

 probably have formed of the theory which connects 

 sun-spots and the earth's magnetism. When the 

 theory was as yet quite new, I referred to it in a 

 company of Cambridge men, mostly high mathe- 

 maticians, and it was received at first as an excellent 

 joke, and welcomed with laughter. It need hardly 

 be said, however, that when the nature of the evi- 

 dence was stated, the matter assumed another aspect. 

 Yet it may be mentiond, in passing, that there are 

 those who maintain that, after all, this theory is untrue, 

 the evidence on which it rests being due only to certain 

 strange coincidences. 



In many instances, indeed, considerable care is re- 



