114 



December, and, to judge by the number of true falls of aero. 

 lites enumerated by Capocci, also between the 27th and 29th 

 of November, or about the 1 7th of July. 



Although the phenomena hitherto observed appear to have 

 been independent of the distance from the pole, the tempera- 

 ture of the air, and other climatic relations, there is, however, 

 one perhaps accidentally coincident phenomenon which must 

 not be wholly disregarded. The Northern Light, the Aurora 

 Borealis, was unusually brilliant on the occurrence of the 

 splendid fall of meteors of the 12th and 13th November, 1833, 

 described by Olmsted. It was also observed at Bremen in 

 1838, where the periodic meteoric fall was, however, less 

 remarkable than at Richmond near London. I have mentioned 

 in another work the singular fact observed by Admiral 

 Wrangel, and frequently confirmed to me by himself,* that 

 when he was on the Siberian coast of the Polar sea, he observed 



hitherto observed, the following epochs seem especially worthy of 

 remark :- - 



22nd to the 25th of April. 



17th of July, (17th to the 26th of July?) (Quet., Corr., 1837, p. 4350 



10th of August. 



12th to the 14th of November. 



27th to the 29th of November. 



6th to the 12th of December. 



When we consider that the regions of space must be occupied by 

 myriads of comets, we are led by analogy, notwithstanding the dif- 

 ferences existing between isolated comets and rings filled with asteroids, 

 to regard the frequency of these meteoric streams with less astonish- 

 ment than the first consideration of the phenomenon would be likely 

 to excite. 



* Ferd. v. Wrangel, Reise Idngs der Nordkuste von Sibirien in 

 den Jaliren 1820-1824, th. ii. s. 259. Eegarding the recurrence of 

 the denser swarm of the November stream after an interval of 33 

 years, see Olbers, in Jahrb., 1837, s. 280. I was informed in Cumana 

 that shortly before the fearful earthquake of 1766, and consequently 

 33 years (the same interval) before the great fall of stars on the llth 

 arid 12th of November, 1799, a similar fiery manifestation had been 

 observed in the heavens. But it was on the 21st of October, 1766, 

 and not in the beginning of November, that the earthquake occurred. 

 Possibly some traveller in Quito may yet be able to ascertain the 

 day on which the volcano of Cayambe, which is situated there, waa 

 for the space of an hour enveloped in falling stars, so that the in- 

 habitants endeavoured to appease heaven by religious procession* 

 iRelat. Hist., t. i. chap. iv. p. 307 ; chap. z. p. 520 and 527.) 



