OF THE 20TH OF NOVEMBER, 1887. 
59 
in Norfolk. This line would cut the extension of the suggested 
Barrington-Wantage track at EastHarling, at a distance from Hert¬ 
ford of 62 miles, giving an elevation for the meteorite at that point 
of 23 miles. Allowing for error in fixing the angle of observation, 
which may perhaps be hardly large enough, it is possible that the 
meteor may have been first seen at a height above the earth as 
great as 30 miles over a point in the south of the county of Norfolk. 
A line from Hertford due N. W., the point which Miss Dear identifies 
as that at which a portion of the meteorite was detached, passes 
through Ampthill at a distance of 24 miles, cutting the Barrington— 
Wantage line at a point on the borders of Hertfordshire and Bed¬ 
fordshire between Pirton and Barton, 18 miles from Hertford. 
Thus we have a close association of what was no doubt an explosion 
breaking off part of the crust of the meteorite, with a group of 
places round Ampthill at which the shock of an explosion was 
seriously felt, and to which point there is a singular convergence 
of lines of direction of sound from a number of places to the west¬ 
ward. According to the Hertford observation the meteorite was 
last seen on its westward course at W.N.W. This point would, on 
the Barrington-Wantage track, be about 3 miles N. of Dunstable, 
21 miles distant from Hertford. The estimated angle of elevation 
being for this point but 13°, we should have a vertical height above 
the earth’s surface of only 5 miles. This seems far too low an 
elevation to be consistent with the passage of the meteorite 44 
miles further to the westward to an assumed point of final explosion 
near Wantage. These two assumed terminal points of the Hertford 
observation (East Harling and Dunstable) are about 71 miles apart, 
and a comparison of the assumed elevation (23 and 5 miles) would 
give a course inclined to the earth’s surface at an angle of 14°, and 
which would reach the earth 20 miles beyond Dunstable, i.e. two 
miles short of Thame. It is impossible therefore to assume so low 
an elevation in the neighbourhood of Dunstable. If double the 
height is allowed to be possible, consistently with some consider¬ 
able error in the angle of elevation, and if some latitude is allowed 
in fixing the point of the compass at which the meteorite was last 
seen—making it further W.—the meteorite may have been last seen 
from Hertford as far W. as Aylesbury and at an elevation of 10 
miles. Taking the whole course at the greatest elevation that can 
reasonably be assumed, at all consistently with the greatest allow¬ 
ance of error in the Hertford observations {i.e. 30 miles at East 
Harling, and 10 miles at Aylesbury, nearly W. of and 31 miles 
distant from Hertford,—these points being 85 miles apart), the 
angle of inclination of the course of the meteorite to the surface 
of the earth would be a little more than 13°, which would give 
an elevation at Wantage, 30 miles W. of Aylesbury, of 3 miles. 
This, or even a slightly lower course throughout, is not improbable, 
and there would be nothing to urge against its probability, were 
it not for the Solihull observation. As to this I have not been 
able to verify the direction (given as S.), and I have no informa¬ 
tion as to the angle of elevation. Assuming that the explosion— 
