184 REPORT—1852., 
seeing the road before me suddenly illuminated by a beautiful blue light, much 
resembling the effect of lightning, and scarcely longer in its duration ; such 
indeed for a moment I supposed it to be. I looked up, and saw, at a height 
of about 60° as I guessed, in the N.E., the luminous track of a meteor. The 
sky for a great extent in this quarter was overcast with a thin irregular veil, 
interspersed with darker masses ; but a few stars were visible here and there, 
and as it soon became clear, I found that the phenomenon must have oc- 
curred in or near the Galaxy between Cassiopeia and the tail of Cygnus. The 
track was about 3° or 4° long, considerably bright and very narrow, if not in- 
terrupted in places. Its form and appearance were exactly that of the summit 
of a dense cloud illuminated from behind, which, indeed, for a moment I 
thought it had been; its light was reddish. It continued visible by estima- 
tion for 2 or 3 minutes, gradually decreasing in brightness and appearing 
more unconnected and like a series of insulated patches. The following may 
give a faint and inadequate idea of its form. 
PO Ay Lae 
eo aoe 
1835. Aug. 4.—The forenoon had been very warm and nearly cloudless. 
Towards 3° or 4" clouds began to form in the W. horizon, which rapidly in- 
creased. Their great darkness indicated considerable density, but they exhi- 
bited no towering summits, or hard and defined edges, such as would lead to 
any apprehension of thunder. They gradually rose and spread to a consider- 
able height, and it appeared likely that showers would ensue towards even- 
ing, which proved to be the case, but they did not seem dense enough for 
tempest. About 4" 30™, being in my bedroom at Tretire (in the South of Here- 
fordshire), I was surprised by a distant explosion, dull and heavy, like that of 
a cannon, and by no means loud, yet causing a vibration in the house, which 
is very strongly built, and the window distinctly rattled from it. I should 
have supposed it a cannon fired at Goodrich Court (about 5 miles distant), or 
the blasting of a quarry, had it not been followed by a long low rumble of 
some duration. I immediately exclaimed almost involuntarily two or three 
times, that I never heard anything like it. A servant in the kitchen heard 
the cellar door so jar from it, that she thought some person had gone down 
there. Our man, who had the fairest opportunity of hearing it, being out of 
doors, was greatly surprised at it, and thought it had been the blasting of a 
quarry, only it seemed at some height in the air towards the E., and the suc- 
ceeding rumble travelled towards the N. [also referred it to an E, direction. 
The sky on that side was nearly free from clouds, and of a fine serene appear- 
ance. My own impression decidedly was that it was not thunder, but the ex- 
plosion of some meteor. ; 
Extract from Hereford Journal, referring to the last notice :— 
“On Tuesday the 4th inst. a most extraordinary concussion in the air was 
perceived by several persons in different parts of the kingdom, and at the same 
moment, about 40 minutes past 4 in the afternoon. It is described as a re- 
port as of heavy ordnance, and followed by a reverberating heavy sound for 
some seconds. A great peculiarity attending it, aud most strongly showing the 
immensity of its distance, is the impression it made on all those who heard it, 
as if it was immediately in their own vicinity.” 
(J find here a reference to the Analyst, No. XIII. p. 175, which I am at 
present unable to verify.) 
1835. Aug. 28.—About 9" 15™, a falling star, brighter than Venus, was 
seen at a moderate elevation in the E. descending with a straight course. 
1836. March 8.—A beautiful falling star appeared in the S. to the left of 
No report was heard. 

