140 



zodiacal light. 2ndly, That there was on that morning a 

 flux and reflux of the light. I cannot attempt to account for 

 the former; but 1 suspect that the latter appearance arose 

 from a rising and sinking of the imperceptible terrestrial 

 vapour. 



" Edward J. Cooper. 



" To the Secretary of 

 " The Royal Irish Academy, 8fc. ^c." 



Mr. William Hogan read the following notice of the storm 

 of Sunday, 6th July, 1845 ; 



" I was in Leamington at the time, and, though it did not 

 rage there, I had an opportunity of witnessing the atmos- 

 pheric phenomena, as the thunder-cloud passed at a small dis- 

 tance to the north, and I observed its course for an hour and a 

 half. 



" To shew what its aspect was to those over whom it passed, 

 I extract the following particulars of its history twenty miles 

 to the north of Leamington, from the published account of 

 Mr. Onion, of the Philosophic Institution at Birmingham. 

 After alluding to a violent storm of the preceding Thursday, 

 he says : ' Birmingham has again been visited by a thunder- 

 storm more terrible, and in its consequences more disastrous, 

 than the former. On Saturday afternoon the thermometer 

 varied at different times from 70° to 78° ; not a breath of 

 air stirring, the barometer being moderately high. About 

 eight o'clock, p. m., a few heavy drops of rain fell, which were 

 shortly afterwards followed by a complete deluge of water; the 

 lightning was grand and awful in the highest degree, flash 

 succeeding flash in rapid succession, and of that beautiful 

 purple tint which betokens a large quantity of free electricity 

 in the atmosphere. The thunder in the mean time rolled in 

 nearly one continued peal; the wind, which had been varying 

 from S. E. to E., suddenly shifted to S., and about the middle 



