456 



The November Shooting Stars. 



times of a hundred per minute, then only fifty, then a-hundred, 

 and so on.* 



The reflection will probably occur to our readers, were the 

 meteors really like that, a dark, formal stream ? How much 

 more beautiful was their actual aspect as seen by us ! Truly 

 it was so, as indicated by Mr. Herschel's heartfelt words, 

 describing how they travelled to all parts of the sky cc with a 

 swift and stately motion most beautiful to behold, if not almost 



IDEAL REPRESENTATION OE THE EARTH'S PASSAGE THROUGH THE STEEAM Oi? 



METEORS. 



too wonderful and too surprising to describe/' f I w as roused 

 from sleep to look at them. My informant told me that an 

 old railway porter had just said, " God has sent us fire-works 

 to-night ;" and I appreciated the remark when I saw them. 

 My thoughts had, on that day, been unavoidably fixed on the 

 concerns of this earthly ball, rather to the neglect of the 

 affairs of space ; and I shall long remember how much I was 

 cheered and uplifted by the sight of the November meteors, 

 and how I felt that they were indeed given by Him who gives 

 us richly all things to enjoy. 



I intended to have attempted a sort of resume of the ob- 

 servations of others, but will leave the task to abler hands, 



* The attempt to introduce this circumstance into my drawing was suggested 

 to me by the Rev. P. Howlett, F.R.A.S. 



t Letter to the Times, November 17, 1866. 



