Jiery Meteor feen in Gafcony. 229 
the angles under which they were feen from different points, 
often 19 German miles, and even more; their velocity, for 
the moft part, feveral miles in a fecond; and their fize al- 
ways very great, often a quarter of a mile and even more in 
diameter. They were all feen to fall moftly in an oblique 
direction: not one of them ever proceeded upwards. All 
ef them have ‘appeared under the form of a globular mafs, 
fometimes a little extended in length and highly luminous ; 
having behind it a tail, which, according to every appear- 
ance, was compofed of flames and fmoke. All of them burft 
after they were feen to move through a large fpace, fome- 
times over feveral diftricts, with an explofion which fhook 
every thing around. In every inftance where there has been 
an opportunity of obferving the fragments that fell after they 
burft, and which fometimes have funk to the depth of fe- 
veral feet into the earth, they were found to confift of feo- 
rious maffes which contained iron in a metallic or calcined 
ftate, pure, or elfe mixed with different kinds of earth and 
fulphur. All the ancient and modern accounts, written 
partly by naturalifts and partly by others, are fo effentially 
fimilar, that the one feems to be only a repetition of the 
other. This conformity in accounts, the authors of which 
knew nothing of thofe given by others, and who could have 
no intereft in fabricating fimilar tales, can feareely have 
arifen from accident or fiction, and gives to the related facts, 
however inexplicable many of them may feem, every degree 
of credibility. In my eflay on the mafs of iron found by 
Profeflor Pallas in Siberia, and others of the like kind, and 
Several natural phenomena therewith connected *, I have 
collected the principal obfervations made on fire-balls and 
the falling of ferruginous fcorious maffes obferved at the fame 
time, and have given a kind of explanation, which, how- 
ever romantic it may feem, yet agrees better, in my opinion, 
with the facts hitherto obferved than any other, and is con- 
trary to no law of nature hitherto known. Some critics, as 
* Sce the Philofophical Magazine, Vol, 11. p. a. 
Q3 well 
