On the Meteors of 13th November, 1883. 349 



must have lain in the spaces behind it, — unless the meteoric revolu- 

 tion was retrograde, or opposite to ihe earth's: in that case the relative 

 velocity of the meteors — being compounded of the earth's motion, 

 the meteors' proper motion and the motion generated by terrestrial 



gravitation — could not be less than about forty five miles a second ; 

 which is a velocity certainly greater than the meteors did exhibit. 

 The orbit was therefore interior to the orbit of the earth. The de- 

 termination of the meteors' velocity which has been attempted is not 

 however sufficiently precise to guide us in the enquiry whether the 

 revolution in this interior orbit must be supposed to have been direct, 

 or to have been retrograde. 



Fifth. — Hitherto we have reasoned from the know laws alone of 

 the solar system ; but the idea now forces itself upon every read- 

 er, that if these bodies had an orbit, they had also a period ; and 

 ought again to encounter the earth, at some future time, or even to 

 have encountered it in tfmes past, in the same part of its orbit — that 

 is, at the same time of the year. When, therefore, the startling con- 

 firmation of our theory springs up before us, that both the meteors of 

 1799, seen by Humboldt at Curnana, and by Ellicott in the vicin- 

 ity of the United States, and those of 1832, seen at Mocha and 

 in Switzerland, and on the Atlantic, appeared at the same annual 

 period with those of 1833 — that is, the 12th and the 13th of No- 

 vember, we begin to feel as if further doubt is irrational : — But there 

 is a condition which must be attended to, and which will be stated, 

 after giving certain observations upon the meteors of 1832, that 

 have not been published heretofore, nor publicly known. 



In making enquiries on ship-board in the port of New York, the 

 writer was so fortunate as to meet Capt. Briggs, of the ship Morrison, 

 from China. After stating that, at Canton, the whole month of No- 

 vember in 1833 was cloudless, both day and night; and that, from 

 particular circumstances, it is certain that a flight of meteors could not 

 have passed unnoticed, if such had occurred at that place, Capt. Briggs 

 remarked that in Nov. 1832, being then first mate of the ship Pres- 

 ident, he saw and minuted in the log book a remarkable flight of me- 

 teors, which he describes as follows. 



By reference to the log book, the minute appears under date of 

 Nov. 1 2th. nav tied time.— Capt. Briggs, then first mate, held the 

 watch on deck from 8 P. M. to 12 P. M., and again from 4 A. M. 

 to 8 A. M. The ship was in lat. 43° N., Ion. 40° W. During the 

 whole watch, from 8 o'clock to 12, meteors larger than common shoot- 



