80 COSMOS. 



heavens open during the night, and the lights (rar^Xoi) 

 appear in the midst of the opening ; Herrick in Silliman's 

 Amer. Journal, vol. xxxvii. 1839, p. 337; and Quetelet 

 in the Nbuv. Mem. de VAcad. de Eruxelles, torn. xv. 

 p. 9.) 



October : the 19th and the days about the 26th ; 

 Quetelet, Boguslawski in the " Arleiten der scTilet, 

 Gesellsclwft fur vaterl Cultw." 1843, p. 178; and 

 Ileis, p. 83. The latter instituted observations on the 

 21st of October, 1766, 18th October, 1838, 17th October, 

 1841, 24th of October, 1845, llth-12th October, 1847, 

 and 20th-26th October, 1848. (See remarks upon three 

 October phenomena, in the years 902, 1202 and 1366, 

 Cosmos, vol. i. p. 116, and note.) The conjecture of 

 Boguslawski, that the Chinese swarms of meteors, of the 

 18th and 27th of July, and the fall of shooting stars of 

 the 21st of October (O.S.) 1366, may be the now ad- 

 vanced, August and November periods, loses much of its 

 weight after the recent experience of 1 838-1 848. 20 



10 An entirely similar fall of shooting stars as that which 

 the younger Boguslawski found for October 21st, 1366, 

 (o.s.), in Benesse de Horovic, Chronicon Ecclesi& Pragensis 

 (Cosmos, vol. i. p. 116), is fully described in the famous 

 historical work of Duarte Nunez do Lifco (Chronicas dos Rei& 

 de Portugal reformados, pt. i. Lisb. 1600, f. 187), but placed in 

 the right of the 22nd to 23rd of October (o.s.) Were 

 there two streams seen in Bohemia, and on the Tagus, or has 

 one of the chroniclers erred in a day ? The following are the 

 words of the Portuguese historian : " Vindo o anno de 1366 

 sendo andados xxii. dias do mes de Octubro, tres meses antes 

 do fallecimento del Rei D. Pedro (de Portugal), se fez no 

 ceo hum movimento de estrellas, qual os homees nao virao nem 

 ouvirio. E foi que desda mea noite por diante correrao 

 todalas strellas do Levante para o Ponente, e acabado de 

 serein juntas comearao a correr humas para hunia parte e 



