( 979 ) 
neither this, nor any of the other hitherto defcrihed, 
feem to come up in any Circumftance to this late Ap- 
pearance; of which I am in hopes to give a fatisfa* 
^ory Account, being enabled by the very many Re- 
lations thereof communicated to the Royal Society, from 
moft parrs of the Kingdom ; tho’ it was not my good 
Fortune to fee it my felf ; and tho’ very few of our 
Countrymen who befl; know the Stars, had better luck. 
Some of the moft perfed Defcriptions we have receiv’d 
are the following : 
/v>/, Our very worthy Vice-Prefident S\x Hans Sloans 
Baronet, being abroad at that time, happen'd to have 
his Eyes turned towards it, in its very firft hruption j 
and the next Day he was pleafed to give me in Writing 
what he had with great Exadnefs noted about it, in 
the Terms following : “ On Thurfr/ay, March 19. i7[|, 
“ pafting along Eaftward by the N E. Corner of Sou- 
“ thamfton-jireet in Bloowshury-Square, London, at about 
“ a Quarter after Eight at Night, I was furpriz’d to 
“ fee a fudden great Light, much beyond that of the 
“ Moon, which flione then very bright. 1 turn’d to 
the Weftward where the Light was ; which I appre- 
bended at firft to be artificial Fire-works or Rockets, 
The firft place I obferv’d it in, was about the Pld- 
** ades Northerly, whence it moved after the manner, 
“ but more flowly than a falling Star, in a Teeming 
“ dired Line, delcending a little beyond, and withal 
“below, the Stars in Orions Belt then in the S, W. 
“ The long Scream appear’d to me to be branched about 
“ the middle, and the Meteor in its way turn’d Pe^r- 
fafhion’d or tapering upwards. At the lower end it 
“ came at laft to be bigger and Spherical, tho’ it was 
“ not To big as the Full Moon. The Colour of it was 
“ whitifh, with an eye of Blue, of a moft vivid daz- 
“ ling Luftre, which Teem’d in Brightnefs very nearly 
, 7 M to 
