THE EARTH. 325 



passed away to sea, towards Corsica, it was heard 

 at last to go off with a most violent explosion, 

 much louder than that of a cannon ; and imme- 

 diately after, another noise was heard, like the 

 rattling of a great cart upon a stony pavement ; 

 which was probably nothing more than the echo 

 of the former sound. Its magnitude, when at 

 Bononia, appeared twice as long as the moon, 

 one way, and as broad the other ; so that, consi- 

 dering its height, it could not have been less than 

 a mile long, and about half a mile broad. From 

 the height at which this was seen, and there being 

 no volcano on that quarter of the world from 

 whence it came, it is more than probable that this 

 terrible globe was kindled on some part of the 

 contrary side of the globe, in those regions of 

 vapours which we have been just describing; 

 and thus, rising above the air, and passing in a 

 course opposite to that of the earth's motion, in.. 

 this manner it acquired its amazing rapidity. 



To these meteors, common enough southward, 

 we will add one more of a very uncommon kind, 

 which was seen by Ulloa at Quito, in Peru ; the 

 beauty of which will, in some measure, serve to 

 relieve us, after the description of those hideous 

 ones preceding. " At day-break," says he, " the 

 whole mountain of Pambamarca, where we then 

 resided, was encompassed with very thick clouds ; 

 which the rising of the sun dispersed so far as to 

 leave only some vapours, too fine to be seen. On 

 the side opposite to the rising sun, and about ten 

 fathoms distant from the place where we were 

 standing, we saw, as in a looking-glass, each his 



