and especially in Scotland. ~ 153 



consequence of the misty and wet night which set in here- 

 abouts.'* He speaks, also, of his ** own feeUngs, and those of 

 several of my patients, in reference to headaches, nervous ex- 

 citement," &c., which he attributes to an electrical state of 

 the atmosphere. 



In regard to the electrical state of the atmosphere in Octo- 

 ber 1839, it is of course impossible to draw any very certain 

 inference. It is, however, remarked, in several of the reports 

 before quoted, that the aurora borealis and shooting stars were 

 more frequent than usual in September and October 1839. 

 Farther, on the 23d October, as Mr Craigie of Dumbarnie in- 

 formed the autlior, " one of my family is quite positive she 

 saw a flash of light during the shock ; but this was not ob- 

 served by any of the others present." 



(4.) Every one who has read the reports quoted in the pre- 

 vious part of this Memoir, must have been struck by the fre- 

 quent allusions made to the rainy state of the weather during 

 the occurrence of the principal shocks in October 1839, and 

 for some weeks previously. The Rev. Mr Walker of Com- 

 rie says, that the flood in the river Erne on the 15th Sep- 

 tember 1839, was greater than any which had occurred for 

 30 years ;* and the author has now before him reports by other 

 inhabitants of the district, to the same eff'ect. 



Knowing, however, that in matters of this kind there is 

 much risk of mistake, the author has been at pains to ob- 

 tain accurate information as to the quantity of rain which 

 actually fell in diff'erent parts of Great Britain in 1839, and 

 particularly in August, September, and October of that year, 

 and also as to the quantity usual in the same places, shewn by 

 the fall in previous and subsequent years. 



For this purpose, he obtained extracts from above twenty 

 meteorological registers kept in the south of Scotland and 

 north of England, and with these he has compiled a table, 

 shewing the average quantity of rain which fell in each year 

 between 1835 and 1842, inclusive. The following is the 

 quantityt for each year, in inches : — 



* See vol. xxxii., p. 123. 

 . t 1'lie table shewing these results is omitted from want of room.^-Eoit. 



