GEORGE J. VARNEY. FOOTNOTES: [5] Among other beliefs in regard to lightning is that of the upward stroke. It has even found expression in the _American Journal of Science and Arts_. On careful consideration of the cases offered in support, both printed and unprinted, I find that every one is susceptible of a reasonable explanation without this theory. [6] It is not usual that the body of moisture can be reached so near the surface, but this magazine is situated on low ground. THE SEA'S SECRET. Just as it is, it hath been, love, I know-- So long ago That time and place have faded: I forget What rivers ran, what hills closed round us; yet Thus much my soul remembers: thou and I Saw the sun's rise and set, felt life slip by. And then it was that first the deep-voiced sea Sang low to thee and me Its ancient secrets by the lonely shore; And we two watched the strange birds dip and soar Between the fading sea-line, far and dim, And the white dazzle of the sands' long rim. All that thou saidst--all that we heard and told In some lost language old-- Has perished like the speech; yet _this_ remains: From the vast desert of the ocean-plains A great moon climbing, with a dull red glare Like smouldering fire, far up the purple air. And then--I cannot grasp it--yet I _know_ That something, long ago, Held fast thy soul to mine with cords of pain And marvellous joy, and love's sweet loss and gain. All save that love the years have swept away-- A thousand years, a single yesterday! But when my soul dreams, by the lonely sea, Back to eternity, I hear an echo, through its hollow moan, From those lost lives drowned in the centuries gone: I catch the haunting memory, and I know The secret that you told me long ago. G.A. DAVIS. It is not usual that the body of moisture can be reached so near the surface, but this magazine is situated on low ground. DUNGENESS, GENERAL GREENE'S SEA-ISLAND PLANTATION. Southernmost of those famed "Sea Islands" of Georgia, lying right in sight of Florida's northern shore, on the northern verge of the tropic border-land, Cumberland Island presents its beach-front to the ocean. It unites within itself all those attractions which have made Florida famous--all but river and lake: it has the balmiest climate in the South; the vegetation of its forests is semi-tropical; it has game in abundance. It has all these, and yet its territory is now a waste. In November I visited it, and again in April, and later in August. To reach it one must go first to St. Mary's, the town farthest south on the Georgia coast, or to Fernandina, the northernmost city in Florida. In either case he will have to hire a boat and a boatman, and in either case he must carry with him his provisions.