239 



12th of November, between the hours of six and 

 seven in the morning, when it was half after 

 two at Cumana, some falling* stars which shed 

 a very white light. " Soon after, toward the 

 south and south-west, luminous rays appeared 

 from four to six feet long ; they were reddish, 

 and resembled the luminous track of a sky- 

 rocket. During the morning twilight between 

 the hours of seven and eight, the south-west 

 part of the sky was seen from time to time 

 strongly illuminated by white lightning, which 

 ran in serpentine lines along the horizon. At 

 night the cold increased, and the barometer 

 had risen." It is very probable, that the me- 

 teor might have been observed more to the 

 east, in Poland and in Russia *. If Mr. Ritter 

 had not taken a particular account of them 

 from the Vicar of Itterstadt's papers, we should 

 have supposed, that the bolides had not been 

 visible beyond the limits of the New Conti- 

 nent. 



The distance from Weimar to the Rio Negro 

 is 1800 sea leagues ; and from Rio Negro to 

 Herrenhut in Greenland, 1300 leagues. Admit- 



* At Paris and London the sky was cloudy. At Carls- 

 ruh Mr. Backmann saw before dawn lightning at the same 

 time in the north-west and south-east. On the 13th of 

 November a particular glare of light was seen at the same 

 place in the south-east. (On the bolides seen at Hof, see 

 Helfrecht, Fichh, vol. ii, p. 205.) 



z 2 



