49<> Met ears [Book V, 



fun itfelf. When this meteor was oblerved at Bruflels, 

 die moon appeared quite red, but when it was paffed, 

 recovered its natural light. This effect, the Doctor 

 remarks, muft have depended on the contrail of colour, 

 and Ihews how large a proportion of the blue rays 

 enters into that light which could even make thtfiher 

 moon appear to have an excefs of red. The body of 

 the fire-ball, even before it burft, did not appear of an 

 uniform brightnefs, but corvfifted of lucid and dull 

 parts, which were conftantly changing their refpective 

 pofitions, fo that the whole effect was to fome eyes 

 like an internal agitation or boiling of the matter. By 

 the beft accounts that could be procured concerning 

 the height of the meteor, it feems to have varied from 

 fifty-five to fixty miles. In thefe two laft particulars it 

 feems to have wonderfully correfponded with fome 

 other phenomena of the fame kind. 



A report was heard fome time after the meteor dif- 

 appeared, and this report was loudeft in Lineolnfhire 

 and the adjacent parts, and again in the eaftern parts of 

 Kent ; the report we may therefore fuppofe to be the 

 effect of the two explofions of the body, firft over 

 Lineolnfhire, and afterwards when it entered the con- 

 tinent ; a hiding found was faid alfo to have accom- 

 panied the progrefs of the meteor. Judging from the 

 height of the meteor, its bulk is conjectured to have 

 been not lefs than half a mile in diameter \ and when 

 we confider this bulk, its velocity cannot fail to aftonifh 

 us, which is fuppofed" to be at the rate of more than 

 forty miles in the feccnd. 



The other meteor, which appeared on the 4th of 

 October, at forty-three minutes pad fix in the evening, 

 was much fmaller than the former, and of a much 

 fhorter duration. It was firft perceived to the north- 

 ward, as a ftream of fire, like die common Ihooting 

 ftars, but large i but prefcntly burft out into that in- 

 8 tcnfely 



