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en 
On the Shooting Stars of August 9th and 10th, 1837. 179 
similar character seen on August 10th, 1833, in Worcestershire, at 
10 to 12 P. M., were cometic fragments?” | He refers to Mr. Lees’s 
paper on the Aurora in the Analyst, nie , p- 33, for Anette 
which probably contains the particulars. 
6. The next extract may perhaps ve no bearing on the point 
in question. It seems to be however proper to quote it, as it may 
lead to further disclosures from other witnesses. It is found in the 
meteorological observations for 1809, contained in the Eanes 
Annual Register for 1809, vol. ii. part 2, p. 508. ve 
~ “On the 10th of August, Mos during the night, there was a good deal of 
thunder, lightening and rain at uring this storm, about half past one 
o’clock in the morning, the whole of the sky appeared to be covered with one un- 
broken mass of black pitchy cloud, in which no break was visible, even during 
the vivid flashes of lightening which seemed to come from an inferior region of 
clouds, broken into large fleeces, and apparently luminous throughout. They 
seemed full of little dazzling and peg specks of light that sometimes shone as 
stars through a misty cloud. Some of those increased gradually, and then died 
away; but one of them increased to a a degree as to equal Venus in size and 
lustre. This luminous body moved with considerable rapidity round the edge of 
that mass in which it appeared. Another brilliant meteor of the same kind ap- 
peared in a similar cloud ata considerable distance. It was distinctly observed : 
by M. Staveley, to whom we are indebted for an account of the preceding phenom- 
ena, that no lightening broke from the luminous clouds, but they emitted alight 
ef a pale paoaphoric color.” 
1. The following notice, although brief ical indefinite, seems to 
deserve a place here, as it may when fully developed prove impor- 
tant. It is copied from an account, (contained in the London Athe- 
neum of March 25, 1837,) of M. Von Hammer’s communication 
on falling stars, to the French Academy of Sciences. “In the his- 
tory of Cairo, by Soyorite, we find the following, ‘In this year, 
{1029 of our era,) in the month of Redjeb, (August,)* many, ad 
fell with a great noise and brilliant light.’ ” ie 
The very interesting discovery made by Prof. Olmsted ‘of the 
periodicity of the meteoric shower of November, has invested these 
bodies we an importance aie of in former Gane “A new 
* The following fact came to my notice too Jate for insertion in the text. Mr. 
a pred in Jour. of Franklin Inst. vol. xv. 1835, p. 234, has recorded letters 
‘ om 80, ars . H. C. Riggs and John Black, which state that on 
the night rae 7th-8th August, 1833, “ numerous luminous bodies, on all sides, fall- 
ing quite thick,” hate observed for a short time at Philadelphia. They were not 
in all points like shooting stars, but resembled them more nearly than they did any 
fhing else. Further consideration of this case is unavoidably deferred, 
