156 WHITE 



About nine an appearance very unusual began to demand 

 our attention, a shower of cobwebs falling from very elevated 

 regions, and continuing, without any interruption, till the close 

 of the day. These webs were not single filmy threads, floating 

 in the air in all directions, but perfect flakes or rags ; some 

 near an inch broad, and five or six long, which fell with a degree 

 of velocity that showed they were considerably heavier than the 

 atmosphere. 



On every side as the observer turned his eyes might he 

 behold a continual succession of fresh flakes falling into his 

 sight, and twinkling like stars as they turned their sides tow- 

 ards the sun. 



How far this wonderful shower extended would be difficult 

 to say ; but we know that it reached Bradley, Selborne, and 

 Alresford, three places which lie in a sort of a triangle, the 

 shortest of whose sides is about eight miles in extent. 



At the second of those places there was a gentleman (for 

 whose veracity and intelligent turn we have the greatest venera- 

 tion) who observed it the moment he got abroad ; but concluded 

 that, as soon as he came upon the hill above his house, where 

 he took his morning rides, he should be higher than this meteor, 

 which he imagined might have been blown, like thistle-down, 

 from the common above ; but, to his great astonishment, when 

 he rode to the most elevated part of the down, three hundred 

 feet above his fields, he found the webs in appearance still as 

 much above him as before; still descending into sight in a con- 

 stant succession, and twinkling in the sun, so as to draw the 

 attention of the most incurious. 



Neither before nor after was any such fall observed ; but on 

 this day the flakes hung in the trees and hedges so thick that 

 a diligent person sent out might have gathered baskets full. 



The remark that I shall make on these cobweb-like appear- 

 ances, called gossamer, is, that, strange and superstitious as 

 the notions about them were formerly, nobody in these days 

 doubts but that they are the real production of small spiders, 

 which swarm in the fields in fine weather in autumn, and have 

 a power of shooting out webs from their tails, so as to render 

 themselves buoyant, and lighter than air. But why these apte- 

 rous insects should that day take such a wonderful aerial excur- 



