56 Account of a Fall of Meteoric Stones. 



Within fifteen years past the falling of similar bodies, 

 under similar circumstances, has happened in Portugal, 

 Bohemia, France, Great- Britain, India, and South- Ame- 

 rica. 



To account for the existence of these stones, various 

 theories have been formed by philosophers. Some 

 have supposed them to be only common stones struck 

 with lightning, and partly melted. But this theory has 

 now no advocates. A less fanciful hypothesis is, that 

 they are masses of matter thrown from volcanoes. But 

 to this there are serious objections* No such bodies 

 are found near the craters of volcanoes, or are known to 

 be projected from them ; and, in many instances, these 

 bodies have fallen several hundred, and even several 

 thousand, miles from any known volcano. Mr. Ed- 

 ward King has varied this theory, and supposes that 

 these substances are thrown from volcanoes, not in solid 

 masses, but in the state of ashes or dust. He supposes 

 that these ashes, descending in a cloud, become conden- 

 sed, take fire, and produce numerous explosions. Ac- 

 cording to him, the pyritical, metallic, and argillaceous 

 particles melt, are suddenly chrystalized and consoli- 

 dated, and fall in masses to the ground. This explana- 

 tion evidently involves as great difficulties as those 

 which it is intended to obviate. Some philosophers have 

 supposed, that these stones are thrown from terrestrial 

 comets. Not to mention any other objection to this hy- 

 pothesis, it will by no means account for such a pheno- 

 menon as appeared at Sienna, in 1794, when stones de- 

 scended, not from a moving meteor, but from a lumi- 

 nous cloud. Other philosophers, ascribing to these 



