132 



NATURE 



[December 12, 1895 



magnitude, proves the body to have been at least of 

 magnitude - i, and at the time of greatest brilHancy this 

 s probably an under-estimatc. 



PHOTOGRAPH or A METEOPv. 



It begins very faintly, showing the initial contact with 

 the atmosphere, and, gradually increasing in brilliancy 

 until it has travelled about i^° ; it is evident that about 

 this time an explosion occurred, the de- 

 tails of which are well recorded on the 

 photograph. The products of the deto- 

 nation are seen spread out in all directions 

 round the central mass, but the main 

 portion again takes a definite path ; not, 

 however, in the original direction of tlic 

 meteor's flight, as can be readily seen on 

 reference to the photograph. 



This is probably due to the body being 

 of such a nature as to resist disruption in 

 some directions more than others, and so 

 the resultant of the initial velocity and 

 the new velocity, due to the recoil of the 

 main mass, might lie in some other direc- 

 tion than that of the original path. This 

 has been the case here. If, as an ap- 

 proximation, we take its first appearance 

 to have been at a height of sixty miles, 

 the extreme diameter of the area occu- 

 pied by the matter e.xpelled during the 

 explosion would be a little more than a 

 niile. The brightest portion of the streak 

 is about 3.3° long, but the fainter trail 

 may be traced for a considerable distance 

 beyond, becoming at last too faint to affect 

 the sensitive plate. 



THE RO YAL CITY OF ZENOBIA> 

 T IKE all ancient cities of the East 

 ■•— ' that have once been centres of trade 

 and culture, but are now only marked by 

 piles of ruins and a few squalid huts. 

 Palmyra has a strange fascination. 

 Though on the edge of the Syrian 

 •desert, the site of this ancient city is but 

 five days' journey from Damascus, so 

 that her ruins have been thoroughly 

 explored, her inscriptions copied, and all 

 facts that might be of interest to the man 



1 "An Account of Palmyra and Zenobfa, with 

 Travels and Adventures in Bashan and the Desert." 

 By Dr. William Wright. (London : Thomas Nelson 

 and Sons, 1893.) 



of science, the archaeologist, or the historian, have beea 

 obtained from her. On opening Dr. William Wright's- 

 " Palmyra and Zenobia," therefore, we did not look to- 

 find anything very startling or original. 



From internal evidence of his work, we gather that Dr. 

 William Wright, who must not be confused with the late 

 Prof William Wright of Cambridge, is connected with a 

 Protestant missionary society, and from his preface we 

 learn that he was resident in Syria for nine years. It 

 was, perhaps, in consequence of his duties at Damascus 

 that he was unable during this period to break fresh 

 ground in his excursions from that city, and had to be con- 

 tent to follow the more beaten tourist track. His book, in 

 fact, contains an account of two visits to Palmyra, one in 

 1872, the other in 1874 ; and as neither of these was of 

 very long duration, we must congratulate him on the pro- 

 duction of the present work. The lattCF part of the book 

 records a trip to the south of Damascus as far as Bosra. 



His account of his experiences on the I'oad is amusingly 

 told, and to many will be novel, for Syria is not yet so 

 well known as Switzerland; but what Dr. Wright regards 

 as " adventures," would perhaps appear to the veteran 

 explorer as somewhat ordinary incidents of travel. His 

 description of the ruins, however, and his sketch of the 

 history of Palmyra, though a little superficial and want- 

 ing in arrangement, is in the main trustworthy and will, 

 no doubt, prove attractive to many readers. On one 

 occasion the author drops his role of gossipy narrator,, 

 and inserts on p. 124/i two Palmyrene inscriptions, to- 



COLONNADE OF THK TEMPLE OF THE SUX. 



NO. 1363, VOL. y^'\ 



