58 
H. G. FORDHAM—THE METEORITE 
principal centres of sound-distribution. The first is approximate 
to the group of places in Bedfordshire which may be called the 
Ampthill group, Ampthill being the most central place; and I shall 
presently endeavour to associate with this locality the point at 
which our Hertford observer saw a portion of the meteorite detached. 
The second is at Thame; and the third in the neighbourhood of 
Abingdon, or between that place and Wantage. The explosion near 
Abingdon, or possibly a fourth and final subsidiary explosion, I 
identify with that which was observed from Solihull. 
With regard to the character of the sound, it ought perhaps to 
be remarked that the velocity of meteorites is usually so consider¬ 
able, that with the means at the disposal of ordinary observers the 
difference of time as regards the impact of sound-waves at various 
points would not be ascertainable or perhaps distinguishable, and 
thus, so far as aerial shock is concerned, no light is likely to be 
thrown on the time in which the meteorite passed over any given 
space. Nor, in any case, unless the reports of particular explosions 
could be identified, could any information as to the course or eleva¬ 
tion of a meteorite based upon the known velocity of sound be of 
any value. 
I ought perhaps to refer to the alleged tremor of the earth, and 
of buildings, reported from a good many places. The aerial shock 
was in many instances sufficient to shake windows, doors, and the 
slates of buildings; and it seems probable that this shock and its 
effects have, in many cases, been translated by an effort or impulse 
of imagination into a tremor of the earth. 
There is one other point,—the statement made by several persons 
that there were other shocks both prior to, and later than, that of 
8'20 a.m. These reports cannot be disregarded, although they can 
have no possible explanation in connection with the meteorite, the 
special subject of this paper. It is possible, of course, that other 
meteorites reached the earth on the morning of the 20th November, 
and some of them may have penetrated the atmosphere in the district 
from which our reports come. As we have no facts upon which to 
build such a theory, I do not propose to offer any definite explana¬ 
tion of these alleged earlier and later shocks. 
(5) Visual observations of the meteorite. 
I have only been able to find two persons who actually saw the 
meteorite, and their observations are naturally of great interest. 
The more important, that at Hertford, is very clear and detailed. 
I have personally visited the house from which the meteorite was 
seen, and have obtained Miss Dear’s account of what she saw from 
her own lips, observing and noting the points of the compass and 
angles of elevation as pointed out by her for the first appearance, etc., 
of the meteorite. The points of the compass as given below are 
corrected for the deviation of the magnetic needle from the true 
north. The first appearance was at about N.E., at an elevation 
of about 20°. A line N.E. from Hertford passes through Albury 
and Saffron Walden, near Bury St. Edmunds, and over EastHarling 
