# Littell's Living Age/Volume 125/Issue 1616/Miscellany

​Herr Weyprecht, the leader of the Austro-Hungarian Polar Expedition, describes the auroral and magnetic phenomena of the region between Novaya Zemlya and Francis Joseph Land as very remarkable. He says no pen or pencil can give any idea of the beauty of the northern lights at their greatest intensity. In February, 1874, the auroral discharge made a broad powerful stream of fire from west to east across the zenith, varied by continuous and intense swift-moving waves of rainbow-coloured light from one side of the horizon to the other. The lights also danced up from the southern horizon to the magnetic pole, making altogether the most splendid firework-nature could display. He considers the region above mentioned to be one of maximum auroral manifestation. Three kinds of aurora were noticed: one a quiet regular arch, stretching upwards from the southern horizon over the zenith, and growing pale on the northern horizon. Another, consisting in rnore distant light-bands continually changing their position and shape, and composed either of distinct rays, or different light; and lastly, the appearance of a corona, with rays streaming from, or towards, the magnetic pole. This is usually white with a slight tinge of green, and in cases of great intensity and motion, rays of prismatic colours, often very bright, shoot forth.
He detected the well-known green line by using a spectroscope; but his instrument was feeble, and the observations not to be compared with those of the Swedish expedition. With regard to the supposed connection between the northern lights and the weather, he found strong flaming exhibitions usually followed by storms. Magnetic disturbances were closely associated with the phenomena. He caused three thousand readings of magnetic instruments to be made, and these have still to be reduced; the principal results are, however, as follows: — Magnetic storms are of extraordinary magnitude and frequency in that region. They stand in the closest relation to the auroral discharges, and the disturbances arc greater as the motions of the light-streams become more lively, and the prismatic colours become more intense. Quiet regular arches, or ray-motions, have scarcely any action upon the needle. In all disturbances the declination-needle moved towards the east. Further details will be found in Petermann's Geographische Mittheilungen and Der Naturforscher for April 10, 1875.
Ancient Mosquito-Nets. — It may, perhaps, be worth while to point out that nets to protect the persons of sleepers from the attacks of noxious insects, though perhaps at no time very common in this country, were known in former days to others beside Richard Bishop of London. There was a "bedstead with a net for knatts" in the new chamber at Sawtre Abbey, when an inventory of the goods of that establishment was made at the time of the dissolution of the monastic corporations. (See Archæologia, xliii. i. 240.)
I have met with one or two other notices proving that these nets were in use in old days, but I cannot now call to mind where they are.
Bartholomew Glanvil, in his "De Proprietatibus Rerum" (Trevisa's version) has a chapter in which he tells with the deep feeling of one who had evidently suffered much how —
"A gnatte is a lyttell flye" that "soucketh bloudde, & hath in his mouthe a pype like a prick, and there with he percethe the flesche for to soucke the bloudde. … And is gendred of rotted or corrupt vapours of caraynes and corrupt place of marreys. By continualle flappynge of wynges he maketh noyse in the ayre as thoughe he hurred … and greueth slepynge men with noyse and with bytynge, and waketh theym of theyr reste, and fleeth aboute mooste by nyghte, and perceth and byteth membres vpon whiche he sitteth." — Edit. 1535, p. 169. Edward Peacock. Bottesford Manor, near Brigg.
We noticed lately as to be seen in the British Museum a terra-cotta boot, on the sole of which the hobnails were arranged to form an alpha at the beginning and an omega at the heel. Since then we have seen, in the Castellani collection of the Museum, a small gold boot with the nails very expressively forming the word πατου = "walk." There was thus apparently a good deal of scope for the ancient sutor without his looking ultra crepidam.Academy.