S74 Account of a Showor of Slon^. 



at first fruitless ; but on the lOih, De Vaux's son, in cross- 

 ing the vineyard, perceived, at tlie distance of about thirty 

 paces fi-oni the house, a large hole nevviv made between two 

 TOWS of vuies, whish denoted the place where the substance 

 must have fallen. He was confirmed in this opinion when 

 ■he perceived that some sn>aH pebbles at the mouth of the 

 hole were ground to powder.- He then dug, and foimd an 

 extremely hard stone weighing seven pounds six ounces, 

 and could no- longer doubt that this was the substance the 

 iiall of which had so alarmed the neighbourhood. 



" On the rumour of these facts, I, the sub-prefect of 

 Apt, having sent for the stone, which had been given to 

 citizen Joseph Brun, merchant of the town of Apt, by Ds 

 Vaux's- son, proceeded, in company with several of the 

 public functionaries, on the 1 8th of September, to De Vaux's 

 country-house, and having examined the place from which 

 the stone was dug up, we showed the stone to De Vaux's 

 son, who instantly knew it to be that which he had disco- 

 vered and dug up as above mentioned, it being buried in the 

 earth to the depth of ten inches ; which stone he had stated 

 to us he had given to citizea Joseph Brun. We also took 

 down the statements of the persona before mentioned, as aU 

 ready given-: in- consequence whereof we have drawn up this 

 present prooes verbal, which we send to the prefect of the 

 department of Vaucluse, together with the said stone, upon 

 ■which wc have placed our seal, to the end that he may make 

 the above circumstances public, if he shall think proper to 

 do so, that an explanation may, if possible, be obtained ct' 

 this phaenomenon. 



*■' Done at Apt, on the lyth of September 1803: 



" The Sub-prefect of Apt, (Signed) Terras. 

 " P.-S. It is to be observed, that in citizen De. Vaux's 

 vineyard thers is no stone of this species, nor any stone of 

 equal size. The persons accustomed to traverse both the 

 mountains and the valliea of the district of Apt, do not re- 

 member ever to have seen, in any part of it, a stone of thitj 

 kind. 



" True copy. (Signed) The Prefect of Vaucluse, 



" C. A. Bourdon. 

 " True copy. (Signed) The Minister of the Interior, 



" Chaptal." . 



XLVII. An 



