614? Supposed Connection of Meteoric Phenomena, 



that the meteors having an " independence of the earth's rota- 

 tion," and the " stationary condition " not being " an instanta- 

 neous cause," but rather " an ultimate state of motions gra- 

 dually becoming quiescent, the conclusion seems inevitable, that 

 our planet owed the brilliant decorations of its atmosphere, 

 on the morning of Nov, 13., to the presence of foreign and 

 celestial visitants." The independence of the earth's rotation, 

 and yet the coincidence of the motion of the radiant with that 

 of the earth, in direction from w. to e., may, however, toge- 

 ther with " the stationary condition " of the meteoric cloud, 

 be reconciled upon the hypothesis before advanced [385 — 

 S90.] of a volcanic origin ; which influence, we have already 

 proved almost indubitably, has been known to affect the atmo- 

 sphere as it was affected after the display in question ; and to 

 coincide with the occurrence of the aurora, and the exhibition 

 of meteors scarcely less brilliant or less striking than those of 

 Nov. 13. 



With Mr. Twining's next argument, that these meteors 

 had no secondary dependence upon our planet (farther than 

 as alluded to above, and in his denial of any analogy with 

 meteorites *), I have no controversy ; but, with the last of his 

 arguments, respecting an " orbit of revolution round the 

 sun" (for the reasons already stated, in my remarks [385 — 

 390.] on Professor Olmsted's paper, and on Mr. Twining's), I 

 can hold no sympathy. They follow the preceding arguments 

 naturally and properly ; but, doubting the premises, I cannot 

 approve the deductions. With the truly philosophical and 

 religious tone of Mr. Twining's " final observations," I do, 

 however, most warmly sympathise, as they express the feelings 

 which subjects of this kind must awaken in the bosom of 

 every reflecting person : nor is the just and beautiful argu- 

 ment for the ^^ protecting^^ care of the Almighty lessened, in 

 my opinion, by the result of our speculations ; whether the 

 meteors were "foreign and celestial," or " of the earth, earthy." 

 In either case, mercy is mingled with power : and, perhaps, 

 after all, the argument would be strengthened by the reference 

 to the " volcano " rather than to the " comet." For, if the 

 latter be restrained by the invisible hand that launched it into 

 space, so, also, is the latter made the safety-valve of a planet 

 which, we must conclude from observation, has all the won- 

 derful energies of combustion and explosion that might have 



* In contradiction of the asserted distinctive character of these meteors, 

 it is expressly stated by Mr. Jenkins, Principe 1 of Middletown Academy 

 (Silliman's Journal^ xxvi. 397.), that " the meteoric shower of Nov. 13. last 

 presented appearances similar to those which have been often described; 

 except that no particular point of radiation was observed." Middletown is 

 in lat. 40° 26' N., long. 73° 59' w. 



