CHRONICLE. 
ward, andthe other steering to the 
westward, close along shore; in 
consequence of which, I direéted 
capt. Dundas to tack, and endea- 
your to cut off the former, the 
Elephant being the weathermost 
ship, and pursued the other with 
the two frigates; the Theseus and 
Vanguard, being to leeward in the 
first of the squall, did not join me 
till about 12 o’clock at night; at 
daylight we were within gun-shot 
of the chace. On hearing a heavy 
cannionading to the eastward, I made 
the Theseus signal to chase east, 
haying been unfortunately unable to 
make a similar disposition during 
the night; and at half past 3 P. M. 
on the 25th, we came up with, and, 
after exchanging several bow and 
stern chacers with the Vanguard 
and Tartar, who were the headmost 
ships, she struck her colours, and 
proves to be the Duquesne, of 74 
guns, commanded by monsieur Ker- 
rangel capitaine de vaisseau, from 
Cape Francois, bound to Europe. 
1 am sorry to.say one man was 
killed, and another wounded on 
‘board the Vanguard; none on board 
the enemy’s ship. In passing be- 
tween the two islands of. St. Do- 
mingo and Tortuga, near Port-au- 
Paix, we took the French national 
schooner.Oiseau, of 16 guns and GO 
men, commanded by monsieur Dru- 
 ault, lieutenant de vaisseau, which 
I have ordered, with the Duquesne, 
to Port Royal, under charge of the 
Vanguard and Tartar. 
«+ I have the honour to be, &c. 
*¢ John Loring.” 
13th. <A most beautiful vivid - 
meteor descended this evening, about 
8 o’clock ; taking a south-west di- 
rection, and the whole atmosphere, 
_ for the instant, appeared illumined 
with a vivid flame of blue light. Its 
457 
appearance was exactly that of 2 
firework, called’ a Bengal light, of 
a bright blue flame ; it was not so 
large as has been stated, nor was its 
appearance accompanied by any heat 
or noise. ‘This phenomenon is not 
calculated to excite that terror and 
dread which, in the dark ages of 
superstition, the designing were wont 
to raise. A comparison of well- 
authenticated faéts authorises a con- 
clusion, that similar events are by 
no means uncommon; but by hap- 
pening in the day-time, or after the 
inhabitants have, in general, retired 
to rest, they are observed but by 
few ; and the relation, if made, dis- 
regarded ; and it is, perhaps, as 
much owing to the time of the even- 
ing in which this meteor appeared, 
as to its magnitude and bDrilliancy, 
that it has excited so much curio- 
sity. From the circumstance of its 
appearance at Dover, Cranbrook, 
Chelmsford, Lewes, Brightelmstone, 
and Southampton, compared with 
its appearance in London, it seems 
that the body which occasioned this 
light was moving with incredible 
swiftness at a vast height above the 
earth, in a direction nearly W. or 
S. W. and ina line passing to the 
southward of the coast of Essex. 
Accordingly we expect, in due 
course of time, to hear that it was 
seen in France, and, probably, fur- 
ther in a §. W. direétion, and in the 
contrary direétion across England, 
Wales, and perhaps Ireland. It 
was observed near the Horse-guards, 
in Westminster, to- pass about 28 
or 30 degrees to the southward of 
the zenith, and about 28 or 29 mi- 
nutes, after eight by that clock, 
which is well and constantly regu- 
lated to true or near time; the whole 
time which the light occasioned by 
the meteor lasted, was not estimated 
, to 
