406 THE NATURAL HISTORY 



of cold bright metal on it, as an illustration of the 

 possibility of ' setting the Thames on fire ' ! Cutting 

 a steel bar with a rapidly revolving disc of soft iron ! 

 and so on. ' What d'ye think of that, Ned,' asked 

 one of the party, who appreciated the incredulous 

 smile that already sufficiently expressed ' Ned's ' ideas 

 on the subject, but the only response was a deliberate 

 appeal to his snuff-box, accompanied by a cunning 

 look at each individual present, and a mute assertion, 

 as intelligible as words, of his steady resolve not to 

 allow himself to be betrayed into the weakness of 

 believing such tales on any account. ' To change the 

 subject,' I continued, 'you all know "Matthew's bush," 

 where the murder was committed many years ago; 

 well, last evening, as I was hurrying by there in the 

 twilight, without bestowing a thought on the fearful 

 associations of the spot, I suddenly saw a ghost, as 

 distinctly as ever I saw anything in my life.' The 

 hitherto incredulous snuff taker at once interposed 

 with extraordinary solemnity 'Ah, tJiat I wool believe,' 

 thus implying that all the rest was not worth a serious 

 thought. He was very much disappointed, however, 

 and not a little laughed at, when, to his eager question 

 ' what was it like ? ' I replied, that it more resembled 

 a white moth than any other thing I could liken it to, 

 and that it seemed to be mysteriously flitting up and 

 down just above the grass, as it passed round the 

 murderer's bush and disappeared. You, of course, will 

 not care to be told that my ghost was nothing more 

 supernatural than the Hepialus humuli" This is 

 known to collectors as the Ghost Swift, and is so 

 called from the silvery white wings of the male, and 

 from its habit of fluttering over the herbage at dusk, 

 probably in search of its dingy companion, now rising, 

 now falling, without appearing to make much onward 

 progress, unless when pursued. This common species 

 is not the only one of its genus to be found here, but 

 we have now reached a division of moths in which the 



