Miscellanies. 167 



society lessen the calamities of war, and throw around its horrors 

 something of humanity. 



Civilization and intercourse go hand in hand. The light of 

 science and the revelations of truth, blending their rays, and 

 beaming upon barbarism, will soften down its character, and 

 hasten the advent of more glorious times. 



MISCELLANIES. 



1. Report on the Shooting Stars of the 9th and lOth of August , 1838 ; 

 by Edward C. Herrick. 



It was expected that an unusual display of shooting stars would be 

 witnessed on or about the night of the 9th of August, 1838.* The arrival 

 of this period was awaited with no ordinary interest, inasmuch as there 

 was reason to hope that observations might then be made, which would 

 remove some of the uncertainties which had hitherto rested upon the ori- 

 gin of this beautiful phenomenon. In this part of the country, observers 

 were unfortunately deprived, by unfavorable weather, of any satisfactory 

 view of the heavens during the season of the expected visitation. The 

 accounts of observations which I have hitherto received from distant 

 places, where the sky was clear, although not in every particular so com- 

 plete as could be wished, are yet amply sufficient to show that the mete- 

 oric shower of August did not disappoint the expectations of those who 

 looked for its recurrence during the present year. 



I. Observations made at New Haven. 



In order to obtain a thorough knowledge of the phases of this mete- 

 oric shower, it seemed necessary to observe on the nights of the 8th and 

 11th, as well as on those of the 9th and 10th. Accordingly, on the eve- 

 ning of the 8th, I kept a look out, and saw in half an hour, ending at 9h. 

 15m. Jive meteors, one of them more brilliant than Venus, with a splendid 

 train. This number is not much above the average. At later periods of 

 the night, the view was so much interrupted by clouds, that no regular 

 observation was kept up. During" the night of the 9th, the sky was en- 

 tirely overcast. On the evening of the 10th, at the end of twilight, the 

 sky was clear. Being myself occupied at that hour, Mr. M. D. Bagg 

 kindly offered his assistance. Taking his station at 9h. and directing his 

 attention towards the S. at an elevation of 80°, he saw in an hour 28 me- 

 teors : a lad, standing by, counted, during the same period, in the North, 



* See this Journal, Vol. 33, p. 402. 



