V 



120 



REMARKS 



O N 



T H E 



FIERY 

 METEORS 



iioife which could be heard, feemed to be a loud hiffing, fimilar to that 



4 + 



h 



caufed by oakum when i^t on fire. After its burning, feveral bright 



/parks H 



as 



wer 



from it: the lowermoft of which had 



Though 



\ 



fliape of a pear, and could be traced by a blueifh light it left behind. 

 We were then becalmed, but as, according to the obfervation of feve- 

 ral intelligent perfons, the appearance of a fiery globe, has been 



r 



the forerunner of a frefli gale, I expected one j and it was really veri- 

 fied that very night by fuch a gale, with fqualls and rain. 

 I am far from afferting that this, and perhaps a few more inftances 

 are fufficient to make this rule general, I think however that if 



■ 



thefe phenomena and the following weather, were by future obferv- 



Si 



ers more carefully noticed, experience might lead us to fome more 



■ 



■general and more certain conclufions. 



r 



Thirdly, the appearance of Northe:rn Lights (Aurora 



BorealisJ in the higher latitudes of our hemifphere 



pref( 



L 



very common pha^nomenon; and the inhabitants of Sweden, Nor- 

 way, Ice-Land and Ruffia, have the fight of this meteor in the win- 

 ter, almoft every clear night -, but I never heard or read of any one 

 who had feen the Southern Lights (Aurora Aiijlralis) before 



and though we fpent three different feafons 



or near the an- 



tardic circle, we however obferved them the firfb time only in the 



year 1773* ©n feven different nights. 



We were at that time from 



J 8" to 60" South latitude, and the thermometer at eight o'Clock in 



6 



the 



