EXPECTED METEOR SHOWER. 123 



thousands of small meteors were seen. In England between 

 40,000 and 50,000 were counted. In Italy the meteors 

 were so numerous that at one time there seemed to be a 

 cloud of light around the region near the feet of Andromeda 

 whence all the meteor-tracks seemed to radiate. The 

 meteors were unmistakably travelling on the track of Biela's 

 comet. They overtook the earth on a path slanting down- 

 wards somewhat from the north precisely in the direction 

 in which Biela's comet would itself have descended upon the 

 earth if at any time the earth had chanced to reach the part 

 'of her path crossed by the comet's when the comet was 

 passing that way. 



Strangely enough, a German astronomer, Klinkerfues, 

 seems to have regarded the meteoric display of November 

 27, 1872, as an actual visit from Biela's comet. He 

 telegraphed to Pogson, Government Astronomer at Madras, 

 ' Biela touched earth on November 27, look out for it near 

 Theta Centauri;' which, being interpreted, means, Biela's 

 comet then grazed the earth, coming from the feet of 

 Andromeda, look for it where it is travelling onwards in 

 the opposite direction that is towards the shoulder of the 

 Centaur. As Biela's comet had in reality passed that way 

 twelve weeks earlier, the instructions of Klinkerfues were 

 somewhat wide of the mark. However, Pogson followed them, 

 and near the spot indicated he saw two faint cloudlike 

 objects, slowly moving athwart the heavens. These he 

 supposed to be the two comets into which the missing 

 comet had divided. It so happens, strangely enough, that 

 these objects, though moving parallel to the track of the 

 missing comets, were neither those comets themselves, nor 

 the meteor flight through which the earth .had passed a few 

 hours before. They were probably somewhat richer meteor 

 clouds, fragments (like the cloud through which our earth 

 had passed) of this most mysterious of all known comets. 



To-night, or perhaps to-morrow or next night (for the 

 position of the meteor flights is not certainly known) we shall 

 probably see meteors travelling in advance of the main body. 



