68 Intelligence and Miscellaneous Articles. 



2. Notice of a Comet seen from H.M. Brig Penguin off the Coast 

 of South Africa. 



" Sir, — I am not aware that it can be of any service, still I have 

 thought proper to write you, for the information of the Royal Society, 

 that on the 1st of May 1853, on board H.M. brig Penguin, in lat. 

 35° 0' S., long. 21° 52' E., at 6'^ 30" p.m. I observed a comet 

 bearing N.W. by W. iW., measuring from the centre star in the 

 belt of Orion 14° 30', the alritude of the comet being 26° 19'. its 

 length being about 5°. It went down at d^ 10"", bearing W. i N., 

 and from the altitude, time, and rate it appeared to move at, it must 

 have been the first evening of being seen. On first observing it, it 

 appeared to be making a retrograde motion, or tail first, and not 

 travelling as fast as the two small stars above it, as by the time it 

 set it had approached very close to them : the weather fine, warm, 

 and cloudy. On the 3rd of May a gale came on which lasted till 

 the 7th, after that time it became rather indistinct, not being seen 

 but when very clear, or by the aid of a glass. Having sailed on the 

 29th April from Simon's Bay, Cape of Good Hope, and not hearing 

 there, or seeing anything of a comet, in either the Nautical or Cape 

 Almanacs, I concluded it had not as yet been observed, and there- 

 fore have thought it my duty to forward a rough sketch of its 

 appearance on the days mentioned, and its positions, as near as 1 

 could place it with my left hand, my right unfortunately having been 

 partially smashed and disabled on the night the gale commenced, 

 and which also prevented me from measuring its distance from any 

 of the stars, &c. A copy of the latitude, longitude, and bearings is 

 from the ship's log. I found on our arrival at Quilemane that it had 

 been observed by the other two cruisers, but not till the 6th of May. 

 I must apologize for troubling )'ou with the above, but considering 

 it as a point of duty that I should do so, 1 have the honour to be, 

 " Sir, your very obedient Servant, 



" W. B. Edwards, 

 "Master H.M. Brig Penguin." 



XI. Intelligence and Miscellaneom Articles. 



ON THE PRODUCTS OF THE DECOMPOSITION OF ROCKS UNDER 

 THE INFLUENCE OF SULPHUROUS THERMAL WATERS. By 

 J. BOUIS. 



ALL the products analysed by the author were derived from the 

 strata whence issue the remarkable waters of Olette (Pyrenees 

 Orientales), particularly the source of the cascade, the temperature 

 of which rises to 181° F. Some alterations having led to the re- 

 moval of the blocks of stone which closed the opening of the spring, 

 the effects of the corrosive action of the water upon the rock became 

 observable. 



The rock is gray, veined witli white quartz ; its fracture is dull; 



