86 
• POPULAR SCIENCE REYIEW. 
singular result would follow (as Professor Herscliel has reminded me) from 
the theory here considered. Comets expelled from Jupiter, partaking of his 
rapid motion of advance, would be found to travel for the most part in the 
same direction as the planet. Comets expelled from the much more slowly 
moving Neptune would be as likely to travel in either direction. This 
agrees with observation.” 
Prohahle Early Appearances of Comet 1 . 1866 (the Comet of the JSovemher 
Meteors). — Mr. Hind supplies an interesting paper to the Monthly Notices of 
the Astronomical Society on the subject of the early history of the Novem- 
ber meteors. Some ten years since,” he says, “ 1 calculated three or four 
orbits for the comet, observed by the Chinese during the last week in 
October, 1366, somewhat varying in each case the interpretation of the path 
described in their annals as it is presented by M. Edouard Biot in the 
appendix to the “ Connaissance des Temps” for 1846. The orbits bore a suffi- 
cient general resemblance to indicate the possibility of arriving at a correct 
idea of the elements, though one point in the interpretation there remained 
a doubt. When the similarity of the orbit of the November meteors, with 
that of the first comet of 1866, discovered by M. Tempel, was pointed out 
by Dr. Peters, I remarked that it also presented considerable resemblance to 
the orbits I had deduced for the comet of 1366, and the probability that this 
was an early appearance of Tempel’s comet immediately occurred to me. 
Under these circumstances I applied to our Assistant-Secretary, Mr. 
Williams (whose extensive acquaintance with the Chinese language and 
Chinese astronomy is well known to the Fellows of this Society), requesting 
his aid in clearing up the doubt I have alluded to ; and I am indebted to Mr. 
Williams for enabling me to state, with what I conceive a high degree of 
probability, that the comet of 1366 (which does not appear to have been 
remarked in Europe) was the one now known to be associated with the 
November meteor stream. Now, in October 1366, we have recorded a most 
imposing shower of meteors, one of the November series, discovered by 
Professor Newton. It was observed on the banks of the Tagus, and also in 
Bohemia. Humboldt gives us a description from a Portuguese Chronicle, 
which is thus translated in one of our editions of Cosmos : “ In the year 
1366, and xxii. days of the month of October being past, three months 
before the death of the King, Dom Pedro, there was in the heaven a move- 
ment of stars, such as men never before saw or heard of. At midnight, and 
for some time after, all the stars moved from the east to the west ; and after 
being collected together, they began to move, some in one direction and 
others in another. And afterwards they fell from the sky in such numbers, 
and so thickly together, that as they descended low in the air, they seemed 
large and fiery, and the sky and the air seemed to be in flames, and even the 
earth appeared as if ready to take Are. That portion of the sky whore there 
were no stars, seemed to be divided into many parts, and this lasted for a 
long time.’ Then follows a reference to the ^ great fear and dismay ’ which 
this phenomenon occasioned. We have here, I do not doubt, a description 
of the appearances in the heavens occasioned by the proximity of a comet, 
for it is certain that the comet observed in China was close upon the earth 
at the time of this memorable display, and, as I have stated, it appears 
highly probable that this was the comet in the track of which these swarms 
