On the Meteors of 13th JYovember. 399 



respondent, Mr. A. C. Twining, dated Dec. 16, communicating the 

 result of his inquiries among the vessels of New York harbor which 

 had arrived from distant places, since the 13th of November. The 

 results of this investigation are too valuable to be omitted, and we ac- 

 cordingly subjoin as many of them as our limits will permit. 



" Since my last, I have visited New York, and from my inquiries 

 on board of fifteen ships, I glean a few facts worthy of record. 



Five ships on the Atlantic, between latitudes 40° N. and 50° N. 

 and longitudes 30° W. and 50° W. experienced powerful gales and 

 heavy weather, on the 13th of November, and some days preceding, 

 and following. One, about lat. 45° N. and 40° W, experienced on 

 the 11th from W. N. W. a gale of terrible violence. Not one ship 

 could be found on the European passage homeward, that saw any" 

 thing of the phenomenon on the morning of the 13lh, within the lim- 

 it named. This was probably the result of cloudy and windy weath- 

 er obscuring the heavens. 



The ship St. George from Liverpool, in lat 51p N. Lon. 20° W. 

 with clear skies on the morning of the 13th, at a time corresponding 

 to that of the appearance of the meteors in this country, was not in 

 sight of the phenomenon ; at least it was not noticed by either watch 

 nor by any one on board. Wind the preceding day squally from the 

 west ; on the 13th at 5 A. M., calm ; at 6 41° W. had clear skies 

 hut no meteors were seen. 



The ship Douglas, from Rio Janeiro, in Lat. 2° N. Lon. 41° W., 

 had clear skies, but no meteors were seen. 



The brig Francia, from Amsterdam, in Lat. 36° N. Lon. 61° W., 

 ■experienced on the morning of the 13th, winds from the W. S. W. 

 and N. W., blowing a severe gale. The skies being clear; the mate 

 saw towards the morning an unusual number of meteors or falling 

 stars. From the mate's account, it is certain that they were com- 

 paratively (ew in number — not more perhaps than four or five in 

 a minute — at all events, a number that might easily have been 

 counted. 



The ship Junior, Capt. Gideon Parker, from Mobile for New 

 York, was in the Gulf of Mexico, Lat. 26° N., Lon. 85i W. Capt. 

 Parker being on deck a little before three o'clock, on the morning of 

 Nov. 13th, noticed several meteors, but not more than he had often 

 seen before. Heavy dark clouds hung low in the N. E., from which 

 the second mate (who held the watch before Capt. P. came on deck) 

 said that the first meteors he saw seemed to break like lightning. 

 Above the clouds, which were from 15° to 25° high, the sky was 

 clear, and the stars bright as usual. About three o'clock, Capt. P. 

 first noticed the unusual number of falling stars, and began to count 

 their number, but was forced to desist, by their rapid increase. For 



