72 BOOK OF THE DAMNED 



Lyell's Principles and Darwin's Origin, this account is from 

 hearsay something fell from the sky, near Allport, England. It 

 fell luminously, with a loud report, and scattered in a field. A 

 fragment that was seen by Dr. Smith, is described by him as having 

 "the appearance of a piece of common wood charcoal. " Neverthe- 

 less, the reassured feeling of the faithful, upon reading this, is bur- 

 dened with data of differences: the substance was so uncommonly 

 heavy that it seemed as if it had iron in it; also there was "a 

 sprinkling of sulphur." This material is said, by Prof. Baden- 

 Powell, to be "totally unlike that of any other meteorite." Greg, 

 in his catalogue (Kept. Brit. Assoc., 1860-73) calls it "a more 

 than doubtful substance" but again, against reassurance, that is 

 not doubt of authenticity. Greg says that it is like compact char- 

 coal, with particles of sulphur and iron pyrites embedded. 



Reassurance rises again: 



Prof. Baden-Powell says: "It contains also charcoal, which might 

 perhaps be acquired from matter among which it fell." 



This is a common reflex with the exclusionists: that substances 

 not "truly meteoritic" did not fall from the sky, but were picked 

 up by "truly meteoritic" things, of course only on their surfaces, by 

 impact with this earth. 



Rhythm of reassurances and their declines: 



According to Dr. Smith, this substance was not merely coated 

 with charcoal; his analysis gives 43.59 per cent carbon. 



Our acceptance that coal has fallen from the sky will be via 

 data of resinous substances and bituminous substances, which merge 

 so that they can not be told apart. 



Resinous substance said to have fallen at Kaba, Hungary, April 

 15, 1887 (Kept. Brit. Assoc., 1860-94). 



A resinous substance that fell after a fireball? at Neuhaus, Bohe- 

 mia, Dec. 17, 1824 (Kept. Brit. Assoc., 1860-70). 



Fall, July 28, 1885, at Luchon, during a storm, of a brownish 

 substance; very friable, carbonaceous matter; when burned it gave 

 out a resinous odor (Comptes Rendus, 103-837). 



Substance that fell, Feb. 17, 18, 19, 1841, at Genoa, Italy, said 

 to have been resinous; said by Arago ((Euvres, 12-469) to have 

 been bituminous matter and sand. 



Fall during a thunderstorm July, 1681, near Cape Cod, upon 

 the deck of an English vessel, the Albemarle, of "burning, bitu- 

 minous matter" (Edin. New Phil. Jour., 26-86); a fall, at Chris- 

 tiania, Norway, June 13, 1822, of bituminous matter, listed by Greg 



