METEORS. 343 



which was found in Louisiana ; its weight exceeds 3000 

 pounds. It contains nickel, and probably a little carbon, 

 and is less easily oxidated than purified iron. Several 

 large masses have recently been found in the valley of 

 the Mississippi. Mr Sowerby, an English mineralogist, 

 presented the Emperor Alexander a sword 2 feet long 

 and 1| inches wide, hammered at a red heat from a 

 mass of meteoric iron found in Africa. He received in 

 return a ring set with diamonds, and inclosing an eme- 

 rald in the centre. The descent of these bodies is indeed 

 a wonderful phenomenon ; and there is no theory pre- 

 sented the public as yet, which satisfactorily accounts 

 for all the like appearances attending them. Says Prof. 

 Cleaveland, ' The similarity of aspect and composition 

 in almost all meteoric stones, hitherto examined, indi- 

 cates a common origin. But this origin is yet unknown. 

 It is impossible to say when, or in what manner, meteoric 

 stones have been formed. We can do no more than to 

 state the four principal conjectures upon this subject, 

 namely 1. Meteoric stones are formed in the atmos- 

 phere. 2. They are projected from terrestrial volcanos. 

 3. They proceed from lunar volcanos. 4. They are 

 fragments detached from terrestrial cornets.' 



The following well authenticated instances of stones 

 falling from the air will interest the reader. 



November 27, 1627, the sky being quite clear, Gassen- 

 di, a celebrated astronomer, saw a burning stone fall on 

 mount Vaisir, in the southeast extremity of France, near 

 the city of Nice, on the coast of the Mediterranean sea. 

 While in the air it seemed to be about 4 feet in diameter ; 

 it was inclosed in a luminous circle of colors like a rain- 

 bow ; and in its fall it produced a sound like the discharge 

 of cannon. It weighed 59 Ibs. was very hard, of a dull 

 metallic color, and in specific gravity considerably more 

 than that of marble. 



Prior to this is another remarkable instance in the stone 

 that fell near Ensisheim, a considerable town in Alsace, 

 the northeast point of France, near the upper Rhine, a 

 little north of Brazil. This was in 1492. November 7, 

 between eleven and twelve, before noon, when a dreadful 

 thunder clap was heard at Ensisheim, a child saw a large 

 stone fall on a field lately sowed with wheat. On the 



