204 Miscellaneous Intelligence. 



While in the suite of C. T. Metcalfe, Embassador to Lahore, 

 from the Honourable East India Company, the accompanying 

 Meteorological Journal was kept. 



On Wednesday, 11th January, 1809, at half-past six o'clock 

 in the morning, the thermometer fell to 26° Farenheit's ; at this 

 time it was exposed on an open plain, ahd the sun's rays were 

 darting through the atmosphere. This, I have somewhere seen 

 considered as the reason why it is generally so much colder in 

 India, at or about the time of sun-rise, than at other times. 



The village of Moody, near which the above low temperature 



was observed, is about 15 miles east of Lahore, and in north 



latitude 31° 30'. 



Benjamin Blake, 



Captain in the Bengal Army. 



^Falling Stars. — Sir, Whilst passing through the Straits 

 of Bahama, in the autumn of 1799, I witnessed the following 

 smgular atmospheric phenomenon. Should a short notice of 

 it be worth recording, it may possibly find a place in your 

 Journal. 



It was a fine star-light morning, about two o'clock, the atmo- 

 sphere remarkably clear, with a light air from the N.E., the sky 

 to windward from N.N.E. to S.S.E. was illuminated by a pro- 

 fusion of those meteors, vulgarly denominated falling stars, but 

 of a description far more vivid than those usually seen in the 

 higher latitudes ; the head of each was an oblong ignited mass, 

 followed by a long lummous tail, which, after three or four 

 seconds, gradually vanished. They were formed, to all ap- 

 pearance in the air at an elevation of from 35 to 64°, none being 

 observed in the zenith, and few to commence nearer the horizon 

 than the first-mentioned angles. At the mean of these eleva- 

 tions the greatest number were seen darting in different direc- 

 tions, forming portions of a large curve all slightly inclined to 

 the horizon. Multitudes were constantly visible at the same 

 moment, and they succeeded each other so rapidly that the eye 

 of the spectator was kept in motion between the above points 

 tf the compass. In about ten minutes they became less fre- 

 quent, and at length ceased altogether. 



