183 
Meteorology. 
Meteors and Lightning accompanying the Fall of the Ba- 
rometer on the %Bth December 18S1.— The extraordinary fall of 
the barometer above described, (See also this Journal^ Vol. VI 
p. 883.) was accompanied with igneous meteors and lightning 
in many places. At Bamberg and at Frankfort^ an igneous 
meteor was seen on the ^4th December, at 7^ P. M. It had 
the shape and apparent size of the full moon ; moved in a north- 
easterly direction, dnd disappeared with an explosion as loud as 
that of a cannon. At Vienne in France, the heavens appeared 
all on fire, and the thunder and lightning continued nearly an 
hour. At Clermond-Ferrand^ on the 24th, at 9^ P. M. there 
was a dreadful storm of thunder, lightning, and rain. Near 
Dijon, the thunder was so alarming in the rural commune of the 
Cote d’Or, that the inhabitants were driven from the church ; 
and about 10^ P. M. of the 24th, the whole horizon seemed on 
fire with the lightning. — Bibl. Univers. Jan. 1822. 
25. Storm at Genoa on the ^Mh December — The follow- 
ing extract of a letter from Genoa is given by Mr Hailstone in 
the Cambridge Memoirs : ‘‘ The inhabitants of Genoa have 
often witnessed ravages occasioned by tempests, but not one so 
dreadful and prolonged as that which we experienced during 
the night of the 24tli instant. It will ever be memorable in the 
annals of our state. During several days previously, the air 
was charged with thick vapours, which vented themselves in 
torrents of rain : the wind was S.E. ; on the 24th, at 6^ P. M. 
it settled in the south, and blew with intense violence ; at ten 
o’clock it had reached its utmost force. The sea rose progres- 
sively. At 11^ the vehement conflicts betwixt the two elements 
had the full character of a hurricane, and, in the language of 
the country, a terremoto ' di marel'^ Other accounts from 
Genoa state, that the loss of merchant ships was incalculable, 
the crew and cargo of some of them having perished in the very 
harbour. This storm seems to have been limited to the south 
by the parallels of Tuscany and Romagna, 
26. Devastations in the Canton of Appenzel. — The damage 
done by the dreadful storm of the 24th December seems to have 
been enormous in the Canton of Appenzell. The oldest inha- 
bitant never witnessed such a scene of devastation and terror. 
