514 Atmospheric Phvenomenon. 
To John Christophers, of New Broad-street, London, mer- 
chant, for certain improvements on or a substitute or substitutes 
for anchors.—1!&th Oct.—6 months. 
To Owen Griffith, of Tryfan, in the county of Carnarvon, gen- 
tleman, for an improvement in the principle and construction of 
manufacturing or making of trusses for the cure of rupture or 
hernia, in whatever part or parts of ag body it may be situated. 
—18th Oct.—6 months. 
ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON. 
[Extract from a pvivate letter.] 
Letterkenny, August 31, 1821. 
The phenomena apparent here last Friday were the most awful 
and extraordinary ever witnessed by the oldest inhabitant of the 
vicinity. I have not met with any individual who could say 
that he had seen, read, or heard of, such an appearance in any 
latitude. About eleveli A. M. there was a weak breeze from the 
south-west, the barometer at ‘ changeable,’ with an appearance of 
heavy rain, which began to fall about forty minutes after eleven, 
and continued until twelve, at which time there was a dead calm, 
and the rain ceased entirely. The sun had not shone out during 
the morning, but a few minutes after twelve the darkness began 
to increase in the most extraordinary manner ; at one there was 
not light sufficient to transact business in the common offices and 
shops; merchants were obliged to light candles ; the dismay and 
terror of the lower classes of people were excessive in the extreme, 
every one crying out that the last day was come; all the do- 
mestic fowl went to roost; not a wild bird to be seen, or a 
twitter heard; mechanics and labourers quitted their work, ex- 
claiming § The day of judgment is arrived.’ At this moment nei- 
ther barometer nor thermometer was a line changed from what 
they had been at ten o’clock. There was a dead calm. The 
chimney smokes shot up in perpendicular columns, till lost in~ 
masses of dark clouds, with which the concave surface of the hea- 
vens was entirely covered. The appearance of those clouds was 
most astonishingly awful—they were something like those dark 
blue volumes of smoke which arise from an explosion of gun- 
powder, and piled on each other, tier above tier, from the hori- 
zon to the zenith, where they concentrated, so as to form the 
vertex of a Gothic arch.—Through small interstices, where those 
gigantic masses appeared to lap over each other, appeared to 
issue a faint gleam of sulphureous light. . 
At this moment, about one o’clock, the appearance of objects 
was wonderfully changed. Meadows of a light green, appeared 
dark green—objects of a dark green seemed quite a dark bottle- 
green, 
