beautiful photographs of the moon prove; but to
obtain these proofs the exposure must be a long
one, whereas exposure to the solar rays for only
a fraction of a second is sufficient to darken
paper so prepared; and we all know by
experience that the face may be exposed to the
sun for hours without undergoing a very
perceptible change of colour. If any darkening
of the skin do really ensue from exposure to the
night air, it is probably owing to the evolution
of heat and moisture to the skin from the body,
the passage through which is impeded by the
cold night air.

Interesting as the subject may be, it would
occupy far too much space to mention in detail
the numerous influences attributed to the moon
in addition to those already cited. It is said
to cause fish to putrefy, to affect the growth of
shell-fish, the hatching of eggs, the birth of
infants, the marrow of animals, the weight of
individuals, and the healing of wounds. The
moon is also held to have a powerful influence
on deranged persons, hence called lunatics. It
would be singular if it were established that the
moon really does affect insane persons in the
manner averred by Hippocrates and other of
the oldest writers on medicine. But as far as
we know, no attempt has been made to prove
either the affirmative or the negative of the
assertion, on a scale sufficiently comprehensive to
settle the question. Physicians of note have,
even in recent times, given their opinion in
favour of the affirmative; but the observations
have been too limited to render the result of
much value.

Admiral Fitzroy's forecasts of the weather
are based on considerations which have no
relation to the moon's influence. These are also
quite a secondary matter, the principal object his
predictions are intended to serve being to indicate
the direction and force of the wind for only two
or three days in advance. Though some may
deny the invariable accuracy of these predictions,
nobody can deny that they have effected
much good. If they only saved a score of lives
in a year (though very much greater service may
be claimed for them) that would be quite
sufficient to justify the very moderate expenditure
of the public funds which they occasion. The
system inaugurated by Admiral Fitzroy has
been adopted in France and other countries. In
France, semaphores have been erected on every
elevated point on the coast, from Nice to Cette,
and from Bayonne to Cherbourg. At each of
these semaphore stations there is a comfortable
residence for a non-commissioned officer, and
from two to five sailors. One room is set apart
for the telegraphic apparatus, which is
connected by a wire with the nearest telegraph
line. When a vessel approaches the coast she is
signalled, and in return gives her name, to
what country she belongs, whether she is in
distress, and if she be in want of anything. In
return she is told on what part of the coast
she is, her distance from the nearest port, and
at what hour the tide will serve for entering it;
besides any other information she may require.

By means of these stations, merchants in Paris,
Lille, and other large cities, learn the arrival of
their ships on the coast, hours and hours before
they reach the port to which they are bound.
The central office at Paris can receive from
these stations an exact statement of the force
and direction of the wind on all parts of the coast,
and in return can inform each of probable
changes which it is of interest to the seafaring
population and the crews of coasting-vessels to
be made acquainted with. So numerous and
minute are the records kept in France and
England of all matters affecting meteorological
science, that it cannot be long before it will be
ascertained whether fixed rules can be laid
down whereby every man may judge for himself
with something like certainty what the weather
will be for the ensuing four-and-twenty hours
or so. It is not likely, however, that the moon's
influence will form an element in the settlement
of the question.

MY EXCURSION AGENT.

VAST numbers of people are, for a comparatively
trifling sum, conveyed from one large
town to another, or from the heart of a populous
neighbourhood to sylvan scenery or picturesque
surroundings, and then, after a few days' revel
in the unwonted peace and air and freedom, are
taken back to their work-a-day life. Wanting
to know something of the statistics and general
management of the enormous excursion trains
which, during the summer months, convey them,
I sought for the longest-established manager
of such expeditions, and found him at home
nestling in a large newly-fronted house, under
the shadow of the British Museum. The
front door of this house, on which was a large
brass plate duly inscribed with the excursion
agent's honoured name, stood open, and by the
side of a glass door within, where the visitor's
bell is usually to be found, I read the word
"Office," and entering, found my agent awaiting
my anticipated arrival. The house is, as I
afterwards learned, a private hotel, but the
neighbourhood being severely respectable, and the
neighbours objecting to anything so low as a
public announcement on a board, my agent
defers to their prejudices, describes his house as a
boarding-house or receptacle for his customers
while in town, and, being a Temperance man
himself, conducts his establishment on strict
Temperance principles. And at the very outset
of our conversation my agent let me know that
he was not a contractor for excursion trains or
trips, that he had no responsibility, and that the
work was entirely performed by the railway
companies over which the trips were taken;
that he made suggestions as to the routes, &c.,
that his profit accrued from head-money or per
centage on those whom he induced to travel—in
fact, that he was a traveller on commission for
various railway companies, in which capacity
he paid all his own advertising, generally a
heavy amount.