Meteor seen at Martinique in 1822. 293 



tinique ; relating the passage of a meteor over the island, at 

 eight in the evening of the 1st of September in that year. 

 When this took place, the sky was covered with clouds in 

 rapid motion : the meteor was of considerable magnitude, and 

 having been seen advancing over the Caribbean sea for several 

 minutes, proceeded with extraordinary velocity from west to 

 east, towards the coast of the island. It is stated to have pro- 

 duced, during its passage, a noise resembling the rolling of 

 thunder ; and to have exploded, at the instant which preceded 

 its disappearance, with an extremely violent detonation. The 

 terror it caused among the inhabitants was so great, that some 

 of them swooned away, and others were seized with illness*. 

 M. Moreau de Jonnes observes, at the conclusion of the no- 

 tice, " It is to be wished that this phaenomenon had been ob- 

 served at other places, in a more precise manner : it must how- 

 ever be remarked, that, supposing it to have been the fall of 

 an aerolite, of which we have yet no instance in the American 

 islands, there is but little hope of obtaining decisive evidence 

 to that effect, in an island deeply penetrated by inlets of the 

 sea, and more than half covered with forestsf ." 



I may here remark, that a paper in vol. xxx of the Philoso- 

 phical Transactions, by Mr. Henry Barham, F.R.S., affords 

 distinct evidence of the fall of a shower of meteorites near St. 

 Jago de la Vega, in Jamaica, about the year 1700; although the 

 writer was not aware of the fact ; the observers not having had 

 the curiosity to dig up the stones, though they endeavoured 

 to probe the deep holes in the ground which had been pro- 

 duced by their fall. 



Mr. Davenport has published a notice of a Fire-ball seen by 

 him, whilst travelling northward on the Hastings road, on the 

 28th of October 1822. He was slowly ascending Silver Hill, 

 which is about forty-eight miles south-east of London, by 

 road measurement, at about half-past five in the afternoon : 

 the sky being clear, the moon nearly full, and shining bright, 

 the sun below the horizon, but the twilight still strong; when 

 he beheld the meteor in the north-east, and at the altitude of 

 about 22°, by estimation. It was fully equal to one-third of 

 the apparent diameter of the moon when at full; and gave a 

 remarkably bright and white light. It passed towards the west 

 in a horizontal direction, the length of its path while it con- 

 tinued visible being above 20°, which it occupied about eight 

 seconds in traversing. It disappeared from Mr. D. by passing 



• Ma)' we infer from there circumstances that the meteor was very near 

 the island at the time of its explosion; so that the report and concussion 

 of tin atmosphere were experienced in an intense decree by the parties 

 t lins ejected? f Remte Encyclopidiqw, vol. xvii. p. 191. 



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