Account of a Fall of Meteoric Stones. 45 



William Prince's in Weston, distant about five miles, 

 in a southerly direction, from Mr. Burr's. Mr. Prince 

 and family were still in bed, when they heard a noise 

 like the fall of a very heavy body, immediately after the 

 explosions. They formed various unsatisfactory con- 

 jectures concerning the cause ; nor did even a fresh 

 hole made through the turf in the door-yard, about 

 twenty- five feet from the house, lead to any conception 

 of the cause, or induce any other enquiry than why a 

 new post-hole should have been dug where there was 

 no use for it. So far were this family from conceiving 

 of the possibility of such an event as stones falling from 

 the clouds. They had, indeed, formed a vague conjec- 

 ture that the hole might have been made by lightning, 

 but would probably have paid no further attention to the 

 circumstance, had they not heard, in the course of the 

 day, that stones had fallen that morning, in other parts 

 of the town. This induced them, towards evening, to 

 search the hole in the yard, where they found a stone 

 buried in the loose earth which had fallen in upon it. 

 It was two feet from the surface ; the hole was about 

 twelve inches in diameter, and as the earth was soft and 

 nearly free from stones, the mass had sustained little in- 

 jury, only a few small fragments having been detached 

 by the shock. The weight of this stone was about 

 thirty-five pounds. From the descriptions which we 

 have heard, it must have been a noble specimen, and 

 men of science will not cease to deplore that so rare a 

 treasure should have been immediately broken in pieces. 

 All that remained unbroken of this noble mass, was a 

 piece of twelve pounds weight, since purchased by Isaac 



