[1] Strange coincidences sometimes occur; and upon the day that George Spero made the ascent which was to be so fatal to him I knew that he had started, from the extraordinary restlessness of the magnetic needle, which announced at Paris, where I had remained, the intense aurora borealis for which he had been waiting so anxiously to make his aerial journey. It is well known that the aurora borealis causes magnetic disturbances which are felt at long distances from their manifestation. But what surprised me most, and what I never have been able to explain, is, that at the very time of the accident I experienced an undefined uneasiness; then a kind of presentiment that some accident had happened to him. The despatch announcing his death found me almost prepared for it. [2] Phantasms of the Living. By E. Gurney and Frederick Myers, of the University of Cambridge, and Frank Podmore. London, 1886. (The president of the Society for Psychical Research is Professor Balfour Stewart, F. R. S.) * * * * * Transcriber's Notes Simple typographical errors were corrected, in some cases by referring to other editions of this book. Punctuation and spelling were made consistent when a predominant preference was found in this book; otherwise they were not changed. Page 280: "A SOUL CLOTHED WITH AIR." is the heading of a chapter that is not identified as such in this edition. End of the Project Gutenberg EBook of Urania, by Camille Flammarion