2g4 Notice respecting a Ma^s of Iron 



3. Notice respecting a Mass of Iron which fell in the Mo^ul 

 Territories. Communicated , by Ji/r. Greville to the Royal 

 Society of London. 



All the masses of iron of unknown origin, such as those 

 found in Siberia, America, &c. contain nickel, and have be- 

 sides characters analogous to those of the stones which hav^ 

 fallen from the clouds. These circumstances induced Mr. 

 Howard and Count de Bournou to conclude that these sub^ 

 stances might have had the same origin. The following fact 

 tends to confirm this opinion. Mr. Grcville, who commu- 

 nicated it to the Royal Socictv, extracted it verbatim from 

 the Memoirs of Jehangire emperor of the Moguls, written 

 in Persian by himself, and translated by colonel William 

 Kirkpatrick, 



" A. H. 1030, or the I6ih of the reign^ The following 

 is amonff the extraordinary occurrences of the period. 



" Early on the 30th of Furverdeen of the present year *, 

 and in the eastern quarter (of the heavens), there arose in 

 one of the villages of the purgunnah f of Jalindher such 

 a great and tremendous noise as had nearly, by its dreadful 

 nature, deprived the inhabitants of the place of their senses. 

 During this noise a luminous body (was observed) to fall 

 from above on the earth, suggesting to the beholders the 

 idea that the firmament was raining fire. In a short time, 

 the noise having subsided, and the inhabitants having re-: 

 covered from their alarm, a courier ^\•as dispatched (by them) 

 to Mahomed Syeed, the aumil J of the aforesaid purgunnah, 

 to advertise him of this event. Tne aumil instantly mount-? 

 .ig (his hor.-c) proceeded to the spot (where the luminous 

 ody had fallen). Here he perceived the earth, to the extent 

 of ten or twelve guz § in length and breadth, to be burnt to 

 such a degree, that not the least trace of verdure, or a blade 

 of grass, remained ; nor had the heat (which had been com- 

 numicated to it) yet subsided entirely. 



" Mahomed S\ecd hereupon directed the aforesaid space of 

 ground to be dug up ; w hen the deeper it was dug the greater 

 was the heat found to be. At length a lump of iron made it? 



■'■■ The first of Furveruccn of this year ( A.H. lojo) corresponded with 

 Saiunlay t'r.e i;'tli of R'.ibbi ul Akhir; conscqiicntlv the lotli of Furver* 

 dtun fell on the 26rli of Jummiul ui Onwul, or A.D. i6io. 



f A purgunnah is a territorial division of arbitrary extent. The pur- 

 gvinnahof Jalindri-r is aituattdin thcPunjaub, and about loo miles suutt^r 

 east of Lalior. 



I Aumil i? a mannger or fiscal sCiptrintendant of a diitrict. 



§ A guz i:; ratliLr kss than a yard. 



appearance. 



i 



