n-htch fell from the Clouds 7iear Fille-Franche. 219 



fjuainted with the fact, and who ap|>carcd nmst capable of 

 relating all the circunistancce?of it witli simplicity, and lice 

 t'roni that air of the marvellous from which minds not di- 

 rected by a knowledge of the principles of philosopliy can 

 scarcely be preserved. I proceeded with tlieni towards the 

 house of Crepicr, and it was t]:;ere on the spot wliere the 

 stone buri'jci itself in the earth that I received every inform- 

 ation rcjpecting it, and even obtained the last specimen of 

 this stone which Crepicr had remaining. 



'* The following are all the circumstances I collected ia 

 regard to this singular phcenonicnon, omitting die useless 

 reasoning in regard to its authenLicit)' : 



" On the 12th of March 179S, about six in the evening, 

 tlie weather being calm and serene, a luminous globe of an 

 extraordinary appearance attracted towards the east the eves 

 of the inhabitants of the conmiune of Sales and of the neiiih- 

 bouring \illages, as thev were returning from their labour; 

 and its rapid approach and horrid hunnning noise, like that 

 produced by an irregular and hollow body traversing the 

 atmosphere w ith rapidity, threw all the inhabitants of that 

 comnmne into the greatest terror, especiallv when they saw 

 it pass over their heads at a verv little elevation. Accord- 

 ing to their report this ball left behind it a long train of 

 light, and emitted, with an almost continual crackling noise, 

 small blue sparks of lire similar to small stars. 



" Its fall was then observed by three workmen who were 

 not more than fifty paces from it. One of them, named 

 Montillard, a young man who was nearest to it, w as struck 

 with terror, and dropped his coat and a billet of wood which 

 he was carrying, iu order that he might escape as fast as he 

 could. The other two, named Chardon and Lapous, were 

 uo less frightened, and fled to Sales, where a general alarm 

 prevailed. These three witnesses agree in staling that this 

 body moved with astcmishing rapidity, and that after its 

 fall they still heard a kind of hissing noise proceeding from 

 the place where it buried itself. 



*' In regard to Crepicr, he was at home ; w here he was so 

 much frightened with the hissing of the body in the air, and 

 the noise of its fall, which took place within less than twenty- 

 paces of liis h.ibiiation, that at first he shut himself up with 

 his fainily iu the cellar, and then in his bed-chamlier; where 

 icAv prevailing over cunoi-itv, he spent the night without 

 daiirig to go out to examine what liad happened. 



" Next mortai>g he was called out by Chardon and La- 

 pous, who had carried with them M. Bloudel, adjunct of 

 Ihe comuiuue of bales, and several other persons, and thc\r 



ad 



