388 Meteoric Shower of November, 1837. 
York, being favored with a clear sky, while it was here partially or 
wholly covered with clouds. During the latter part of the night, 
after the aurora had disappeared, Mr. B. gave his attention to the 
shooting stars. . He observes, “ I watched steadily for an hour and 
a quarter, and saw only ¢hree trifling ones. I had seen one before, 
early in the evening.” 
On the morning of the 5th of December, when the moonlight 
was gone, and the sky was in all respects favorable, 1 kept up a 
strict watch of the eastern part of the heavens from 3h. 20. to 4h. 
20m., during which time I counted 21 meteors. I kept my record 
in two columns, placing such as appeared as bright as stars of the 
third magnitude, and which might have been seen on the morning 
of the 13th Noy. in one column, and such as were feebler than stars 
of the third- magnitude in another column. The footing of the col- 
umns was respectively 7 and 14, indicating that two thirds of the 
whole number would not have been visible in full moonlight. Mr. 
Fitch observed on the same morning, and made a similar estimate 
entirely independent of mine, but with precisely the same result. 
Messrs. Herrick and Haile express the opinion, that of those meteors 
observed by them on dark nights, three fourths would have been 
invisible on the morning of the 13th November. Indeed, the most 
they could ever see in an hour in full moonlight were only eight, 
while in a corresponding hour in the absence of the moon, they 
counted 30. ‘The meteors seen by me on this occasion, nearly all 
proceeded from around the lower part of the constellation Leo. 
But the region of divergence, instead of being as on the 13th a defi- 
nite point, was a circular space of more than twenty degrees diam- 
eter. The directions of the meteors were such also as frequently 
to cross each other’s paths. Such too, I am authorized to say, have 
been the appearances as observed by Messrs. Herrick and Haile. 
With the foregoing facts in view, we proceed to the inquiry, 
Whether on the morning of the 18th of November, of the year 
1837, there was or was not an extraordinary exhibition of shooting 
stars, analogous to the ‘‘ Meteoric Shower,” which had occurred at 
the corresponding periods for six years before ? 
The peculiar characteristics by which this phenomenon has been 
attended, have been heretofore enumerated as follows ;—(1.) a num= 
_ ber greater than usual—(2.) a radiation of nearly all from one cen= 
ter, situated in the constellation Leo—(3.) trains more frequent and 
