50 ROBERT POCOCK. 



made my wife laugh (a very singular thing) at the 

 humour there related in a paragraph styled the ' Times/ 

 I hope this humorous writer will continue Mr. Urban's 

 constant correspondent. 



" Saturday, October bth. This evening at eight 

 my neighbour, the mechanical turner, &c., ran in 

 and wished me to see the comet that instant, as it 

 was in more splendour than ever; its tail lengthened 

 to the square of the Little Bear ; the stars about it 

 unusually bright for a few moments : and its tail 

 embraced two stars of fourth or fifth magnitude, whilst 

 a star of about third magnitude was below it. Several 

 meteors or shooting stars seen in less than ten minutes. 

 They were noticed as if flying with the wind. Ob- 

 served a circular haze the size of the moon round 

 Lyra, which continued five minutes. Thi$ appearance 

 was so singular that I was on the eve of calling out 

 ' Another comet/ 



"October llth. " A Painted Lady Cardinal" flew 

 from my grape-vine. Read a small pamphlet on comets 

 by Mr. Rivers, wherein he gives an erroneous list of 

 comets, omitting that which appeared in October and 

 November, 1807, and likewise one which I remember 

 seeing about forty-three years ago, nearly of a similar 

 appearance to the present. 



" Wednesday, October IQth. A flight of birds (star- 

 lings) flew over the town to the westward. This I 

 have observed several years. Read this day a pam- 

 phlet on comets printed at Stamford, which gives a 

 much better account than that of Mr. Rivers. My 

 friend Mr. Crafter called, and says it is not the hottest 

 day of the year, as on one day it was ten degrees hotter. 

 Read a letter from my son, wherein he appears to be 



