On the Shooting Stars of August 9th and 10th, 1887. 179 
similar character seen on August 10th, 1838, in Worcestershire, at 
10 to 12. P. M., were cometic fragments?’ He refers to Mr. Lees’s 
paper on the Aurora in the Analyst, No. 1, p. 33, for August, 1834, 
which probably contains the particulars.* 
6. The next extract may perhaps have no bearing ‘on the point 
in question. It seems to be however proper to quote it, as it may 
lead to further disclosures from other witnesses. It is found in the 
meteorological observations for 1809, contained in the Edinburgh 
Annual Register for 1809, vol. ii. part 2, p. 508. 
“On the 10th of August, (1809,) during the night, there was a good deal of 
thunder, lightening and rain at London. During this storm, about half past one 
o’clock in the morning, the whole of the sky appeared to be covered with one un- 
broken mass of black pitchy cloud, in which no break was visible, even during 
the vivid flashes of lightening which seemed to come from an inferior region of 
the sky. Over, or rather below this dark surface were spread light and flocky 
clouds, broken into large fleeces, and apparently luminous throughout. They 
seemed full of little dazzling and dancing specks of light that sometimes shone as 
stars through a misty cloud. Some of those increased gradually, and then died 
away; but one of them increased to such a degree as to equal Venus in size and 
lustre. This luminous body moved with considerable rapidity round the edge of 
that mass in which it appeared. Another brilliant meteor of the same kind ap- 
peared in asimilar cloud ata considerable distance. It was distinctly observed 
by M. Staveley, to whom we are indebted for an account of the preceding phenom- 
ena, that no lightening broke from the luminous clouds, but they emitted a light 
of a pale phosphoric color.” 
7. The following notice, although brief and indefinite, seems to 
deserve a place here, as it may when fully developed prove impor- 
tant. It is copied from an account, (contained in the London Athe- 
neum of March 25, 1837,) of M. Von Hammer’s communication 
on falling stars, to the French Academy of Sciences. “In the his- 
tory of Cairo, by Soyorite, we find the following, ‘In this year, 
(1029 of our era,) in the month of Redjeb, (August,) many stars 
fell with a great noise-and brilliant light.’ ” 
The very interesting discovery made by Prof. Olmsted of the 
periodicity of the meteoric shower of November, shas invested these 
‘bodies with an importance unthought of in former times. ‘‘ A new 
* The following fact came to my notice too Jate for insertion in the text. Mr. 
J. P. Espy, in Jour. of Franklin Inst. vol. xv. 1835, p. 234, has recorded letters 
from Messrs. S. C: Walker, W. H. C. Riggs and John Black, which state that on 
the night of 7th-8th August, 1833, “numerous luminous bodies, on all sides, fall- 
ing quite thick,” were observed for a short time at Philadelphia. They were not 
in all points like shooting stars, but resembled them more nearly than they did any 
thing else. Further consideration of this case is unavoidably deferred. 
