PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESSES. 517 



As one of the first evidences of this belief, I may 

 quote the following remarkable sentences from 

 Lord Armstrong's Presidential Address to the 

 British Association at Newcastle, in 1863 : 



" The sympathy also which appears to exist be- 

 tween forces operating in the sun and magnetic 

 forces belonging to the earth merits a continuance 

 of that close attention which it has already received 

 from the British Association, and of labours such 

 as General Sabine has, with so much ability and 

 effect, devoted to the elucidation of the subject. 

 I may here notice that most remarkable phenome- 

 non which was seen by independent observers at 

 two different places, on the istof September, 1859. 

 A sudden outburst ol light, far exceeding the 

 brightness of the sun's surface, was seen to take 

 place, and sweep like a drifting cloud over a por- 

 tion of the solar face. This was attended with 

 magnetic disturbances of unusual intensity, and 

 with exhibitions of aurora of extraordinary bril- 

 liancy. The identical instant at which the effusion 

 of light was observed was recorded by an abrupt 

 and strongly marked deflection in the self-regis- 



