276 



NA TURE 



\_yan. 



1 886 



meadow at the back and to the right of the house, 

 but quite visible from the windows. The Lions' House, 

 as will be seen, is a raised mound of earth. The earth 

 rests upon an arched structure, which, at the time of my 

 last visit, was in excellent condition, although ever since 

 Hunter's time it has been a cow-house, and has done 

 nearly a century of useful service. At the top of the 

 mound there is a little wall, of a circular shape, inclosing 

 a small open space. The third sketch illustrates the 

 famous copper in which the Irish giant was boiled to a 

 skeleton. The space above the copper up to the flue 

 from the roof is covered in, but two doors open in front 

 above the mouth of the copper. The whole of this struc- 

 ture has remained in good preservation. 



The sketches are selected for N.-^TURE from views 

 which Bertram Richardson has taken during the last 

 autumn, as part of a scries of homes and birthplaces of 

 illustrious men. B. W. RICHARDSON 



THE METEOR SHO WER A T THE MA URITIUS 



ON the evening of Friday, the 27th of November last, 

 a great shower of meteors was observed at 

 Mauritius. 



The weather was cloudy and the sky often overcast, but 

 from the accounts which I have received from different 

 parts of th? island it would appear that the shower lasted 

 from at least 7 p.m. till midnight. 



At Reduit, about 900 feet above the sea-level, where the 

 sky was clearer than at the Observatory, His Excellency 

 Sir J. Pope Hennessey, saw many bright meteors, which 

 at first appeared to travel from N.W. to S.W., and a 

 crackling noise was heard. 



Looking on from 8 to 8.30 p.m. at Beau Bassin, Col. 

 Stewart, R. E., saw about twenty meteors per minute, 

 apparently travelling from N.W. to S.W. 



About 7 p.m. several members of the Rev. Mr. 

 Mclrvine's family, happening to turn their faces towards 

 the north, immediately observed a number of bright 

 meteors, and in a short time they counted 200. Later on, 

 Mr. Mclrvine and two other observers counted 700 in 

 three-quarters of an hour, although the sky was much 

 overcast to the west and north and slightly to the east. 

 Between 8.45 and 9 p.m. Mr. Mclrvine and Mr. Hollway 

 counted 150 passing along a narrow clear space just above 

 Orion. From 9 till midnight the sky was several times 

 quite overcast, and as the clouds cleared away the meteors 

 could be seen faintly through the mist, gliding along 

 ghost-like. Between 11.34 and 11.50 Mr. Mclrvine 

 counted 160, which appeared in an unclouded space be- 

 tween Orion and the zenith. The sky was clouded towards 

 the north the whole evening, and the meteors seemed to 

 come from under that cloud, and, with few exceptions, 

 they all travelled towards the south. Occasionally, a 

 small one, needle-like, darted now towards the S.E., now 

 towards the S.W. , but none were seen going back, or 

 even so far aside as east or west. Most of the meteors 

 were small and needle-like, of a whitish colour, with paths 

 extending from 5° to 40°, although some seemed to appear 

 and vanish instantly without perceptible movement. The 

 meteors moved quickly, not unlike arrows approaching 

 the target in an archery competition. The very largest 

 travelled slowly across 30- to 50°, and some of them were 

 blue, some white, some red. Many of them looked like 

 comets, and every now and then it was noticed that the 

 head — which was very distinct — suddenly vanished, while 

 the double-winged train (20° to 40°, or more, in length) 

 still moved on. 



At Vacoas, at an altitude of nearly 1300 feet, the Hon. 

 Mr. Elliott first saw the meteors at 7.15, and he counted 

 791 from 8.35 to 9.15. The principal direction seemed 

 to be from N.N.E. to S.S.W. The most brilliant passed 

 near Venus, 



In the same part of the island, Mr. Freeland observed 



a great many meteors between 10.15 -^nd 1130. The 

 shower was not constant, but at short intervals, and the 

 meteors travelled from north to south. 



At the Observatory, in the northern part of the island, 

 the weather was cloud)', and the sky generally entirely 

 overcast. At S.20 p.m. several meteors were seen coming 

 from the northward. Between 9.1 and 9.9 Mr. Bell and 

 myself, with two other observers, counted not less than 

 204, though the greater part of the sky was overcast, and 

 not less than 173 between 9.9 and 9.16. Between 9.26 and 

 10.40, the sky was completely overcast. Frc^ 10.40 to 

 10.50 glimpses of Aries, Taurus, and Orion were got, and 

 in that interval six large meteors with long trains passed 

 towards the south-eastward between a Arietis and the 

 Pleiades, and three more between 0.30 and 0.40 a.m. The 

 sky then began to clear up towards the N.W. and north, 

 and I kept up watch till 1.15 a.m., but no more meteors 

 were seen. 



I did not see the similar shower that was observed here 

 in 1872 ; but from what I saw between 9.1 and 9.16 p.m 

 on the 27th of November last, during which time Andro- 

 meda, Aries, Taurus, Orion, &c., were visible, it is certain 

 that the radiant-point was near y Andromeds, or that 

 there was a radiant-space around that star. 



The meteors shot to the southward, south-eastward, 

 and south-westward, some of the largest with trains of 

 20° to 40' in length, disappearing to the southward behind 

 the Port Louis and Pieterboth mountains, and others 

 bursting with great brilliancy near Venus, Fomalhaut, 

 a Gruis, &c. 



On referring to the account given of the shower of 

 Novehiber 27, 1872, by Mr. C. Bruce and Mr. Ed. 

 Newton, it would appear that the radiant-point was the 

 same on both occasions, or very nearly so, but that the 

 maximum intensity of the shower was earlier this year 

 than in 1S72. C, Meldrum 



Mauritius, December 22, 1885 



NOTES 



The meeting of the British Association to be held at Birming- 

 ham, beginning on Wednesday, September i, will derive more 

 than usual interest and importance from the exhibition of 

 local manufactures which is to be held in connection with it. 

 The Exhibition will be on a very much larger scale and of a 

 much more popular and attractive character than has ever been 

 attempted before. It is to be an Exhibition illustrative of pro- 

 ducts and processes connected with the manufacturing districts 

 of Birmingham and the surrounding district within a radius of 

 fifteen miles, which will include the whole of the Black Country, 

 the nail district, and other towns where manufactures are carried 

 on. The Exhibition will be on a very complete scale, and will 

 embrace as nearly as possible all the industries of the district, 

 which will include the following : — Engineering, hardware, 

 heating and lighting, arms and ammunition, jewelry, glass and 

 pottery, stationery, leather, furniture and decoration, and a 

 miscellaneous class, including scientific and musical instruments. 

 The special feature of the undertaking will be that in every trade 

 represented processes will be either completely shown or fully 

 indicated. Workmen will be seen engaged in carrying out most 

 interesting or difficult operations connected with various in- 

 dustries. The Exhibition will be opened on August 26, and 

 close on October i, three weeks after the termination of the 

 visit of the Association. 



A PROJECT has been started in Berlin to establish there an 

 Anthropological Exhibition, which will do with regard to the 

 races of men what zoological gardens do with regard to animals. 

 In the Exhibition or garden it is intended that representatives of 

 various races shall permanently reside, while of such races as 

 cannot stand the cold of the climate representatives will be 

 brought to Germany to reside there during the sumnier. An 



