_was smoke. 
1811.]; 
an hour in collecting, floating over the 
place where it was first seen, and that 
when all its parts had united, it appeared 
all at once as « very considerable globe of 
fire, taking a northerly diréction; it 
Spread terror amongst the inhabitants of 
+ village, who believed the houses 
would be burnt, and they themselves pe- 
rish.. This globe was accompanied by a 
frightful noise, which was heard at the 
distance of more than a league and a 
half, and sometimes resembled the rolling 
of arapid chariot; at others, the noise of 
train very violently driven by the wind. 
It was followed by a very thick fog, and 
carried up from the ground every thing 
it met inits passage. In crossing a river 
it absorbed water, which soon afterwards 
fellin rain, It wandered for some time 
near the village. It was accompanied 
and followed by abundant rain, much 
lightning, and loud claps of thunder. 
“anes in the same direction, it sud- 
denly turned into a column of fire, which, 
with the fog, rose towards the heavens, 
This made many persons believe the fog 
It remained abouta quarter 
of an hour in this state, a quarter of a 
league to the north of the village, and at 
» ashort distance from the forest of Beau- 
wy 
lieu. This column now sunk a little, and 
at last it suddenly disappeared, leaving a 
oe fog which had no smell, It lasted 
three quarters of an hour, 
SPAIN. 
The Cortes in their sitting of the 
79th November, decreed the erection of 
a superb national monument in bonour 
of his Britannic Majesiy George III. 
; GERMANY. 
- The number of German works which 
appeared at the fairof Leipsic, amounted 
to between 1,000 and 1,1000, which, for 
_ the most part, were either compilations 
Or insignificant books. 
NORWAY. 
Tn Norway horse-flesh now forms a 
common article of food. Since the vear 
1808, there have been killed at Christiana 
400 horses for the consumption of that 
town. 
/ RUSSIA. 
Since Buonaparte has lost the oppor- 
“tunity of sending those who were dis- 
agreeable to him to Cayenne, he has ob- 
tained permission of Alexander to for- 
~ ward them to Siberia; and it is afirmed 
»» that in the course of fifteen months, more 
thau sixty French refurmers have been 
gent towards Kamtschatka. 
AMERICA. 
~ On Tuesday, the 30th of January last, 
Literary and Philosophical Intelligence. 
59 
y. 
at two o’clock P.M. there was a fall of meq 
teoric stones in Caswell county, NéwCon- 
necticut. Their descent was seen for a cons 
siderable distance round, and two reports 
‘distinctly heard at Hillsborough, a distance 
of thirty miles. A fragment weighing a 
pound and three quarters struck a tree in 
the new ground ofa Mr. Taylor,near where 
some woodcutters were at~ work, who, 
apprehending the fate of Sodom and Gos 
morrah, ran home witbout once looking 
behindthem. Encouraged, however, by 
a woman, whose curiosity was superior 
to her fears, they returied with her to 
the place, and brought away the stone, 
which wasstillhot. Itisof adark browa 
colour, porous, and contains irom 
The rivers and lakes of the lower pros 
vinces of Venezuela and Cara¢cas are full 
of the electrical eels, called Tremblados 
by the Spaniards, and Anguilles Trem4 
blantes by ‘the French colonists of Guts 
ana. They are also found in the smaller 
lakes which are scattered at intervals in 
the vast plains that lie between the rivers 
Oronoco and Apura. The ancient road 
which led near Urittica +has been aban+ 
doned, on account of the dangers run by 
those who crossed the waters, in which 
the mules were suddenly struck with an 
invisible commotion, rendered paralytic, 
and often drowned. Very often the 
fisherman received an electric shock, the 
conductor of which was his line. The 
electrical eel is six feet long. “The In- 
dians have so great a dread of this crea~ 
ture, and such repugnance to approach 
it while living, that M. de Humboldt had 
the utmost difficulty to obtain subjects 
for his experiments. He waited several 
days for this purpose in the little town of 
Calabozo, having Jearned that here they 
abounded. The owner of tle house 
where he lodged exerted himself to pro- 
cure some, but in vain. At length he 
resolved to repair to the spot where these 
eels were met with. Here occurred 4 
spectacle of the newest description and 
most extraordinary kind. About thirty 
mules and horses had been quickly driven 
together from the beighbouring savan« 
nahs, where they live almost in a wild 
state, and are so numerous that the pricé 
of any one is but seven’ shillings, when 
the proprietor can be ascertained... The 
‘Indians, by driving them on all sides, 
ferced them to seek refuge in thé water, 
where they kept them by presenting har~ 
poans fixed at the end of long canes, and 
y violent shoutings. The electrical 
éels, roused by this tumult, rose to the 
surface of the water, and swimining wn 
‘ h ~ 
