In the ‘Annals of Philosophy,’ vol. iv. p. 362, there is a minute description of a luminous arch which appeared in the sky on the night of Sunday, September 11th, 1814, and was seen in the west of England opposite the Irish Sea, the west part of the south of Scotland, and part of the west of Ireland. It was described as a part of either a body of dense greyish-white light, or a mass of luminous matter in the shape of an arch. Its height above the horizontal line was estimated at not more than 9 nor less than 6 miles. [Sidenote: It moved southward, and was assumed to differ from the Aurora.] Its direction when first seen was N. 80° E., and S. 80° W. It moved to the southward. It was assumed to differ from the Aurora Borealis in wanting coruscations, and in its having a much paler light. CHAPTER V. SOME QUALITIES OF THE AURORA. _Noises attending Auroræ._ [Sidenote: Noises attending Auroræ. Gmelin affirms them. Other testimony to them. Musschenbroek. Cavallo. Nairne. Belknap.] In the Edinb. Encyc., Gmelin is stated, in continuation of his description of an Arctic Aurora, to add:—“For however fine the illumination may be, it is attended, as I have heard from the relation of many persons, with such a hissing, cracking, and rushing noise through the air, as if the largest fireworks were playing off.” To describe what they then heard, the natives are said to use the expression, “Spolochi chodjat”—that is, The raging host is passing. The hunter’s dogs, too, are also described as so much frightened when the Auroræ overtake the hunters, that they will not move, but lie obstinately on the ground till the noise has passed. This account of noises seems to be confirmed by other testimony. They are stated to have been heard at Hudson’s Bay and in Sweden; and Musschenbroek mentions that the Greenland whale-fishers assured him they had frequently heard the noise of the Aurora Borealis, but adds that “no person in Holland had ever experienced this phenomenon.” Mr. Cavallo declares he “has repeatedly heard a crackling sound proceeding from the Aurora Borealis” (Elements of Nat. or Exper. Phil. vol. iii. p. 449). Mr. Nairne mentions that in Northampton, when the northern lights were very bright, he is confident he perceived a hissing or whizzing sound. Mr. Belknap of Dover, New Hampshire, North America, testifies to a similar fact (American Trans. vol. ii. p. 196). [Sidenote: Sir John Franklin negatives them.] Sir John Franklin mentions, in his ‘Journey to the Shores of the Polar Sea’:—“Nor could we distinguish its (the Aurora’s) rustling noise, of which, however, such strong testimony has been given to us that no doubt can remain of the fact.” [Sidenote: March 11th. Hissing noise heard during Aurora’s passage. Explained to arise from the snow.]