coincidence in the generality of cases: namely,
that in spite of the night being pitch dark, the
palaces and buildings were bright, as seen by
the clearest moonlight.

"Other visions have been of a still more
fanciful character.

"One man appeared to be marching through
incessant ranks of soldiers, who, with arms
presented, filled both sides of the way; another
saw innumerable rows of white tents the whole
length of the line; a third, a luxuriant summer
landscape; a fourth, arcades of Oriental lamps;
a fifth, a complete illumination, with crackers,
rockets, and fountains of fire, as far as the eye
Could reach. It was nearly always the same
object which presented itself, repeated in endless
variations, as a Fata-Morgana, and the object
was seldom of a painful or disagreeable character.
Of the latter class of illusion I have only heard
one or two instances:

"The first was from an officer who was obliged
to employ whatever time he could spare from
severe field service, in writing and making
calculations in figures. 'By degrees,' said he,'as
the day darkened, and distant objects became
indistinct, the white snow-covered plain raised
itself perpendicularly on either hand, like two
immense sheets of paper, which were ruled like
the pages of an account-book, the posts of the
telegraph representing the vertical, and the
wires the horizontal, lines; and as I went on
becoming ever closer and closer to each other, and
at length crowded with names and figures, which
in the fifth column, being all fractional, were
enough to torment a man in the full use of his
faculties to death, much more a poor wretch
who felt himself on the eve of losing his senses
altogether.'

"The other was from a private from Copenhagen,
who had been unusually exposed to hunger,
cold, and night duty, and who was barely able,
by the extremest exertion of his will, to drag
himself along in the ranks :

" ' What tormented me most,' he said, ' was,
that whichever way I turned my eyes, I saw
nothing but great storehouses, from all the
windows of which looked forth famished
warehousemen, making faces at me, and singing,
" Ha, ha, ha ! Ha, ha, ha !" just as is sung in
Orpheus. I heard this tune for more than four
hours together, and though I talked to my
comrades it was all the same, still the terrible
melody went on, Ha, ha, ha! Ha, ha, ha!
and the famished countenances made grimaces
at me, keeping time to the hideous tune. It
was more than mortal could bear.'

"The effect of this excessive fatigue and
anxiety was such, that many of the sufferers
seemed nearly passing into mental aberration.
There were some who temporarily lost their
memory to that degree, that they neither knew
whence they were coming nor whither they
were going. There were officers who were
perfectly unable to state to what regiment they
belonged; and I have heard one of the bravest
among them acknowledge that there was a
certain half-hour, during which he was in despair,
feeling, that in case of an attack, he should
be as much at his wits' end as a drunken
man."

FARMERS IN MUSLIN.

CAN our readers picture to themselves an
Agricultural Exhibition, at which the farmers
are attired mainly in white muslin, with turbans
instead of hats, and slippers instead of boots—
the said farmers, moreover, having black or
brown faces, decorated perhaps with paint, and
generally set off by earrings of gold and pre-
cious stones, not to mention other rings
wherever it is possible to place them—on the arms
and the fingers, the ankles and toes? Such
an anomaly may have been suggested at
Hanwell, but it is only lately that it has found
existence in real life; and, even now, it may
not be seen in this country. To behold it
one must have been at Calcutta a few weeks
ago, when a proceeding was enacted which had
been hitherto unparalleled in India.

For the idea of this novel experiment, the local
public are indebted, it appears, to the excellent
Lieutenant-Governor of Bengal, the Hon. Cecil
Beadon. It occurred to him, we are told, in
the early part of last year, that an Agricultural
Exhibition, somewhat on the model of those
held in England, would be of material benefit
to the country, by improving the breed of
cattle, introducing a better class of agricultural
implements, and stimulating the tillers of
the soil to greater care concerning the quality
of the produce brought to market. To carry
out these objects the most effectual measures
were taken. Local committees were appointed in
every part of India, and announcements of the
nature of the scheme were circulated in all the local
languages. The Bengal government advanced
a sufficient sum of money for prizes, which were
on a very liberal scale, and for the general
expenses of the Exhibition: so there was no
occasion to solicit subscriptions. But contributions
of objects to be exhibited were demanded
from all sides, and the response was satisfactory
in the highest degree. By the end of the year,
the collections were nearly completed. These,
consisting of live stock, machinery, and produce,
were all properly classified, and placed in
temporary buildings erected on a large piece of
ground assigned for the purpose. And, on the
15th of January, the Exhibition was formally
opened by Sir John Lawrence, who arrived out
just in time for the ceremony. In honour of the
occasion were gathered together natives of each
presidency and all the provinces. Many were
tempted for the first time from their homes;
Rajahs and Nawabs, landowners and merchants,
equally stimulated by the double attraction of a
tamasha, and its promise of practical results. In
the "saloon tent," where the Governor-General
presided, was an array of notables, Native and
European, such as the City of Palaces has
seldom seen; the gorgeous costumes of the
Natives, and brilliant uniforms of the British