A RECENT STAR SHOWER. 189 



very remarkable relation which associates meteors with 

 comets. 



Since it chances, also, that a new and somewhat 

 startling* theory of the origin of certain meteor systems- 

 has recently been propounded, and is apparently 

 supported by evidence of considerable weight, I think 

 that this is a favourable opportunity for again touching 

 on a subject which in November, 1871, I discussed 

 (see preceding essay) at some length. In the paper re- 

 ferred to, entitled Meteors Seed-bearing and other- 

 wise,' I showed reasons for believing that some mete- 

 oric masses which fall on our earth have been expelled 

 either from the sun or from one or other of his fellow- 

 suns, the stars. I shall now show how similar evidence 

 must (it would seem) be interpreted in the case of 

 meteor-systems which certainly have not come from 

 the sun, while a stellar origin is almost as certainly 

 out of the question. The meteoric system which pro- 

 duced the falling-stars seen on November 27, 1872,. 

 belongs to this category. 



But it may be asked in the first place how we can be 

 sure that those shooting-stars were not Leonides. The 

 answer is not far to seek. 



In the first place every shower of falling stars comes 

 as certainly from a definite direction as a shower of rain 

 falling when a strong and steady wind is blowing^ 

 and apart from all question of date, a star-shower 

 falling in one direction cannot well be mistaken for 

 one falling in another direction. Now the contrast 

 which exists in this respect between the so-called 



