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Mope, piatea, charta, etc., may be filmed at different reduction ratioa. Thoae too lerge to be entirely included in one expoeure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand comer, left to right and top to bottom, aa many framea aa required. The following diagrama liluatrate the method: Lee cartee, planchea, tableeux, etc., peuvent Atre fiimAe A doe taux da rAduetion diff Aranta. Loraque la document eat trop grand pour Atre reproduit en un aeul ciicliA, II eet fllmA A partir da I'angle aupArieur gauche, do gauclie A droite, et do haut en baa, ii prenant le nombre d'imegea nAceaaaire. Laa diagrammea auivanta iiiuatrent la mAthode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 Il/I'l i!,V'l ,^1 ^r.^ ^■ — *'*"■■■— *r ift^iM ^ j^^ iff' i 'l Wifrf»!i»m^P'^'' (H l^y. P I'i;". *, i''ili-l i, n, Hi-' h k 4 mm ■;w ,'0. -J u. 2^ a: ID o CO en ■ < 00 O Oi i* f.r».i^.: WANDEEIIfG TH0UaHTS/ OB .M-i^l SOLITARY HOUR.^. By P. TOCQUE. .i-ii "My yoang readers must excuse me for calling upon tfaem'to acquire, while their minds may be impressed with new images,- a love of innocent pleasures, and an ardqar for useful lmowledg«; to remember that a blighted sprfqg imkM a bamn year, and that the vernal flowers, however bi^attfUtai and gay, are only in> tended as preparatives for autumnal ftuits."— Johnson. fih'.M '•-■■,1 ■>* -^y^ ■.,'-• ^M . .--i' ■-■ t LONDON: THOMAS RICHARDSON AND SQN, 172, FLEET STREET; 9, CAFEL 8TBEET, DUBLIK; ASD DEBBT; AND ALL BOOKSEUiEBS IIT MEWTODNOLAM). ' ,. ~ % .. , _ M DCCC XUVI. • L» 'M 'mm fi*^- ^^^r ffi" ■f ■s * r^m MAJOR GENERAL SIR J. HARVEY, KNT. COMMANDER OF THE MOST HONOURABLE MILITARr OBDEB OP THE BATH, KNIGHT, COMMANDER OF THE ROYAL HANOVERIAN GUELPHIC OBDEB. w r'-v: GOVERNOR AND COMMANDER-IN-CHIEF IN AND OVER THBI ISLAND OF NEWFOUNDLAND AND ITS DEPENDENCIES. &0. &0. "WHOSE NAME IS SO MUCH BESPECTED IN TRANSATLANTIC BRITAIN." THIS WORK IS, WITH HIS EXCELLENCY'S PERMISSION. MOST RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED. BY HIS VERY FAITHFUL AND OBEDIENT SERVANT. :?!'^< ..«-* • j'j PHILIP TOCQUE. St. John's, Newfoundland, October 20fA, 1844. $M-^^ .V- ' »f I't PREFACE. t ■ The greater part of this small unambitious work was written during a short residence on the northern coast of Newfoundland, wheref in comparative solitude, the author spent his leisure hours in composing it. Part of the materials, as will be seen, have ' been drawn from authors of the most unques- tionable authority, whilst the remainder came under the writer's own personal observation and inquiry. The design of the author in the publication of this little book, is to afford instruction and entertainment to the youth of his native country, Newfoundland, and more especially to those classes whose means of information are somewhat limited, viz* the ^oung fisherman and mecharic. The author makes no pretensions to origmality, either in language or sentiment, his object being'^mply to convey information to the juvenile r^iier. ■;>^- ^ 'V •-■Tie m ,.: .-■ ■■■■)■ - 6 To direct the attention of youth to many subjects, which to them may appear novel and invested with interest, but which have become worn thread-bare and unprofitable to the scientific and philosophic reader, ought not to be a censurable undertaking; and should not the success of the author's eiForts be equal to the design of the work, the consciousness at least of having exercised his very humble talent with a view to the good of the youth of his country, -will be a source of gratification to his own mind. P. T. St. JohrCs, Newfoufidland, , October 20th, 1844. I / --.S-: '^^ %, THE PAST. :^ "Go view when sunset drinks the forest breeze, Where some grey abbey glimmers through tho trees, And on the turrets evening's pallid rays, Gleam like the glory of departed days; How soon the hallowing stillness of the spot Brings heaven around us till the world's foigdi) ' ■ Like age-worn sorrow in its dim decay, When fortune's summer pride has passed away, Yon flreckled pile in shattered greatness wanes, Where banners hung, and monarchs peai'd their strains. Sad retrospection draws the moral sigh. And buried centuries yawn upon the eye." R. Moin'OOMBRT. '^i^ The promontory of Cape Bonavista stretches itself about three miles into the waters of the great Western Ocean. It is a perfectly level strip of land, and well adapted for agricultural purposes. Here a lighthouse is being erected by the local government, to shed its ray over the rugged steep. The light is intended to burn at an elevation of 150 feet above the level of the sea, and to revolve at regulated intervals of two minutes, exhibiting alternately a red and white flash. Wandering to the edge of the cliff, I obtained a view of Gull Island, a barren rock, situated a short distance from the shore, and which was lately the soeiija.of f-f J-!-' ^m^^ 1( Iff. f'l.' if ..*. 8 the wreck of the schooner Joseph, which belonged to Mr. George Forward of Carbonear. She was engaged in that dangerous pursuit of the seal fishery a few springs ago, and unfortunately driven in here with the ice, having on board at the time 800 seals. The crew, seeing no chance of her escaping the rocks, abandoned her, leaving on board one man who was ill. They did not, however, leave the vessel without entreating the sick man to accompany them, offering to assist him over the ice, but he thankfully refused to go, preferring to remain where he was, rather than go on the ice to endanger the lives of others as well as his own, 9S there appeared hardly a probability of his reaching the 'shore alive, owing to a tremendous sea, and the ice being open. But this poor man sought the favour of God whilst in health, and nothing but the sustaining power of religion re- signed him to his fate in this trying hour. The crew with great difficulty reached the shore in safety, the vessel was seen to strike on the Gull Island thrice, and then passed round the Cape in the ice. She is supposed to have gone as far as the Flowers Point, and there to have sunk, as part of a chain and other articles were picked up there the following summer. Thus perished the shipy one of the noblest inventions of man; and thus perished the man, the noblest work of God — the one never to assume its form again, the other destined to awake with the slum- bering dead, and appear in a more glorious form of existence. The seal fishery is not only a dangerous and hazardous enterprise; it not only t " orm um. brm y a 3nly <,%t'.v 'm causes the sighing of the widow and orphan, buf it is moreover, in too many instances, a sink of' iniquity, where every principle of morality is laid prostrate, and the heart shrivelled up to the nar- row dimensions of gain. The love of gain is en- grafted on the heart of the seal hunter, and thit feeling predominates over every other, regardless of the unhallowed means by which it is gratified. The sanctity of the sabbath is disregarded with but few exceptions. How carefully are the vessels insured that are engaged in the seal fisher]^ which are only the inventions of mechanism, des- y^^^^j tined to float a short time on the ocean wave; '>^f\)^^ and then sink into annihilation ! Not so the im- l^v. i^ mortal spirits who are engaged in this voyage; they will live through the revolving periods of eternity. But, alas! we fear few apply to the Insurance OfRce of Heaven before they proceed to the perilous and icy ocean. Every vessel bound to the northern part of Newfoundland must pass Cape Bonavista. While I was standing there, I saw a sail heave in sights which proved to be Her Majesty's ship Spartan, conveying his Excellency Sir John Harvey on a visit to the northern parts of the island. I watched this vessel until she became lost to my view in the verge of the distant horizon, when I sat myself down to indulge my musings. The quietness of solitude reigned around, save now and then the scream of the sea-fowl, and the hoarse murmuring of the waves as they were dashed to foam beneath my feet, fell upon my ear. I involuntarily exclainMfd, And am I now sitting upon the very sppt that t.%7 10 viu' John Cabot and his son Sebastian first saw when they discovered this island, on the 24th of June, 1497, under a commission granted by Henry VII. and to which they gave the name of Terra Primum Vista (the land first seen), because this was the place that first met their eyes in looking from the sea! The statement that Newfoundland was discovered in the year 1001, by the Norwe- gians, appears to be nothing but fable. The fol- lowing is recorded in the "Edinburgh Cabinet Library:" — "The alleged discovery of North America, under the name of Vinland, by the -Scan- dinavians, in the year 1002, is not worthy of cre- dence. The error appears to have been the work of some designing interpolator of the old Icelandic MS. Chronicles." In 1534, the celebrated French navigator Jacques Cartier visited Cape Bonavista, bearing a commission to form a colony; and in 1760, the immortal navigator Capt. James Cook surveyed this beautiful cape. But where are they now, and all the mighty men who figured 4m the theatre of the world at that period? They have passed away, while the land on which the great navigators then gazed with such inconceivable de- light, still sleeps above the storm, with the ma- jestic continuity of inanimate existence. It is true that the names of these celebrated men are written on th^ annals of Europe; but on the waves of time a"'>'Voije sounds, "Their glory is shrouded in oblivion ibr ever." Such, then, is short- lived man. Another generation will come after me, and pass over the same spot, and perhaps in- dulge in the same train of thought, and then, like . k 11 me, disappear from the fleeting scenes of this mortal life. I now bent my steps towards home. Saunter- ing along the sea shore, I arrived at two very compact beaps of istones, each about a quarter of a mile long and fifteen yards broad, said to have been placed there by the French, during the time they held possession of the island, for the pur> pose of curing fish upon them. It is now about 60 years since the French relinquished the light of fishing along this shore. They still, however, - retain the right of fishing along the coast from Cape St. John northward, though they are not allowed to make any fortifications, or any per. manent erections, nor are they permitted to re- main in the island longer than^the time necessary to cure their fish. The French carry on an ex- tensive fishery on the western shore. On the small island of St. Pierre a governor resides, as also a small detachment of military.* The resident FrencH^ population is estimated at about 12,000. From the period of its discovery till the treaty of Paris, in June, 1814, Newfoundland was a scene of contention between the English and French. This was not only on account of her vast impor- 'M like • The quantity of fish exported from St. Peter's by the French, according to a return just published in the "Morning Post," was as follows:— To Guadtdoupe and Martinique, two of the French West-India Islands, In '. V • 'i ' Qnintala. 1840 v:v.:;.^;'> 56,945 1841 .......c„ 71,785 1842 50,549 1843 72,873 ■^■«? r 12 ^\i tance, as being a nursery for seamen, as well as in consideration of her fisheries, the most abun- dant in the world; but also on account of her geographical position, being about half way be- tween the old and new world; and situated at the mouth of the St. Lawrence. She is the key of the Canadas, and could command a great part of the continent of America. Newfoundland lies between the latitudes of 46° 40' and 5P 37' north, and between the longitudes 52° 25' and 59° 15' west, and approaches to a triangular form. The surface of the island comprises an area of 36,000 square miles, which is nearly as large as England, and 9,000 square miles larger than Ireland. Walking on, I ((ame to several graves, where rest the ashes of a number of Frenchmen. Ah ! thought I, what mighty revolutions have arisen and passed away in France since these men were laid in their silent bed; even the great Napoleon, who aspired to be the conqueror of the world, has been conveyed by the conqueror Death to his final home, and his dust, after having been transferred from St. Helena, now reposes almost forgotten in the nation where he was once so proudly hailed by the populace, "Vive 1' Empereur!" "Where are the mighty thunderbolts of war, " ^» The Roman Caesars, and the Grecian chiefs. The boast of story? Where the hot-brain'd youth, Who the tiara at his pleasure tore From kings of all the then discover'd globe, And cried, forsooth, because his arm was hamper'd, And had not room enough to do its work ? Alas! how slim, dishonourably slim. And cramm'd into a space we blush to name!" 13 I now arrived at Mock Baggar, the eastern part of Bonavista Harbour, where a peat bog is situated, and from which human skeletons, at various periods, have been dug, and relics of ar- ticles known to have been used by the primitive natives of the country, the Red Indians; At what time these bodies were deposited there is unknown. If they belonged to the Boeothicks or aborigines of the country, they must have been there a period of upwards of 200 years. It is well known, however, that human skeletons have been dug out of bogs after remaining there seve- ral hundred years. During Cabot's visit to the island he held intercourse with the Red Indians, who were dressed in skins, and painted with red ochre, and who, no doubt, beheld his approach to the shore with as much astonishment as did the inhabitants of the Bahamas when Columbus discovered the West Indies, who supposed the ship in which he crossed the ocean to have mov- ed upon the water with wing$, and to have made a noise resembling thunder. He was regarded as an inhabitant of the sun, who had descended to visit them. In like manner, wVien Captain Cook visited the South ''■'■'( ^■■. ):H-^' 18 'iP "Affection still by kind Remembrance led, Shall wander in the autumn of the past, And seek for days whose loveliness is fled, ^ . Like leaves which died and vanished in the blast" What numberless revolutions of the wheel of vicissitude! Our circumstances have changed, we are not in the same condition as we were in days that are past; we are either richer or poorer, more happy or more miserable. In the short space of a few fleeting years we often see those who en- joyed affluence and every comfort this world could bestow, surrounded by a host of sycophants and flatterers, suddenly fall from the pinnacle of pros- perity into a state of poverty and misery, and during the, residue of their lives move through the world unnoticed, unpitied, and forgotten; their former friends hardly deigning to recognize them, and holding out, not the warm hand of friendship, but that of cold formality, the wintry touch of which makes them shrink and sigh. Others we behold as rapidly emerge from the shades of ob- scurity, and bask in the sunbeams of prosperity ; and like undiscovered stars long hid in the im- mensity of space and just now appearing to view, gather around them a number of observers to describe their greatness and surpassing brightness. What a train of prosperous circumstances follow some ! Whatever they embark in is successful ; while mi^; with superior merit and greater abilities, have to contend against a host of obstructions, and to endure a constant succession of disappoint- ments; every enterprise, every plan, however well devised, is unsuccessful. The cause of this lies in one of the unrevealed mysteries of eternity. e ei blast" wheel of inged, we •e in days )rer, more space of who en- rld could lants and of pros- lery, and through en; their ze them, iendship, touch of :hers we s of ob- )sperity ; the im- to ?iew, •vers to B^htness. » follow 1 ; while abilities, uctions, ippoint- ^er well I lies in r. 19 What hidden things will a review of the pMt exhibit to the dying man, who has arrived at the end of life, unprepared fox the joys of heaven! The gloom gathers thick around his spirit, and a sting of remorse pierces his heart, when he thinks of the crimes he has perpetrated on the stage and behind the scenes of life ; his state is dreary and cheerless, and the horizon of his futurity is en- veloped in blackness, gilded by no ray of heavenly light to chase away the gathering storm of God*8 indignation. What a different review the past affords those who have the lamp of conscience burning brightly ! They view with adoring grati- tude the goodness of God in providence and grace ; and as they look into futurity, the sublime enjoyments of eternity burst upon their view to enlighten their passage over the river of death. No past event do I remember more distinctly than when passing over the Broad Quay of Bristol one evening in company with an intimate friend. We saw a number of persons assembled on the deck of a vessel ; curiosity prompted us to go wid see what was going on. We found it to be a prayer meeting, at which we remained until the close, when one of the persons whe had be«|N engiaged in prayer, approached us, extending his hand and repeating these lines: * * "Would Jesus have the sinner die? Why hangs he then on yonder tree? What means that strange expiring cry? Sinners, he prays for you and me." He invited us to his house, whither we accom- panied him; but before we left he summoned his .£•"«■ _..*s«i»*1 ,»i t 'W' wv,- ■J»,- 30 and the gaiety of summer is followed f by the dreariness of winter. To each of them the hea- vens present as varied and magnificent a spec- tacle ; and this earth, the encompassing of which would require the labour of years from one of its puny inhabitants, is but one of the lesser lights which sparkle in their firmament." It lends a delightful confirmation to the argu- ment, when, from the growing perfection of our instruments, we can discover a new point of resemblance between our earth and the other bodies of the planetary system. p It is now ascertained not merely that all of Ihem have tneir day and night, and that all of them have their vicissitudes of seasons, and that some of them have their moons to rule their night and alleviate the darkness cl it; we can see of one that its surface rises into inequalities, that it swells into mountains, and stretches into valleys. Of another, that it is surrounded by an atmosphere which may support the respiration of animals. Of a third, that clouds are formed and suspended over it, which may minister to it all the bloom and luxuriance of vegetation. And of a fourth, that a white colour spreads over its northern regions, as its winter advances, and that on the approach of summer this whiteness is dissipated, giving room to suppose, that the. element of water abounds in it; that it rises by evaporation into its atmosphere ; that it freezes upon the application of cold ; that it is precipitated in the form of snow; that it covers the ground with a fleecy mantle, which melts away from the 31 heat of a more vertical sun; and that other worlds hear a resemhiance to our own, in the same yearly round of beneficent and interesting changes. We are naturally led to ask in our own minds, What are the modes of existence of the inhabi- tants of the other worlds ? Are they of a higher or lower order of intelligences than we? Are they spiritual or material beings? Are their shape and form like ours, or different ? Are they living in a state of innocence, or sin ? Are they governed by a code of moral laws like us ? Do they partake of the benefits of the death of Christ, and sing the song of redemption? Or are they as our first parents were in the garden of Eden, living in spotless innocence, and holding constant intercourse with God ? To all these inquiries, no astronomer has as yet been able to give any satisfactory reply. All is hid in mystery, which the curiosity of the human mind will never be able to reveal. That the planets are inhabited we may in some measure be led to infer from a survey of creation. If we examine the works of God, as displayed in the mineral, the vegetable, and the animal kingdoms of nature, we see a chain of gradation extending through the whole, the links of which rise one above the other, till we arrive at man. Do'es this chain of gradation stop here? or are the links still extended to other orders of created beings? There is a wide space between man and his Creator; whereas, the distance between man and the other animals is very small. If then the tr"' chain of being rises by such a gradual progress, from the lowest order to man, it is reasonable to suppose that it still proceeds, filling up the space between man and the Deity with diiferent. orders of intellectual beings. Addison says, " The whole chasm of nature, from a plant to a man, is filled up with divers kinds of creatures, rising one over another, by such a gentle and easy ascent, that the little transitions and deviations from one species to another are almost insens!ble. This intermediate space is so well husbanded and managed, that there is scarcely a degree of per- ception, which does not appear in some one part of the world of life. Now if the scale of being rises by such a regular progress so high as man, we may, by a parity of reason, suppose that it still proceeds gradually through those beings which are of a superior nature to him; leaving still, however, an infinite gap or chasm between the highest created being, and the power which produced him." ''So far as we are able to trace the works of God,'' says Brunton, ''we remark in them a gra- dation leading up from the lowest order to man — the mineral by slow degrees approaches to the plant — the plant by shades still more imperceptible, touches the confines of animal life — the animals in many a various degree possess the faculties of strength, activity, and intellect — until, at last, we arrive at man, in whom shine still the traces of his Maker's image. But, alas ' how faint are those traces become — how infinite the distance which divides hira now from the Creator! When 33 we look, therefore, on the one hand, to the narrow bound which separates man from the other works, of God — inhabitants like himself of this world — and, on the other, to the awful chasm that pre- sents itself between him and the great Creator ; the analogy of providence leads us to suppose, that in this interval beings will be found of intelligence and endowments more valuable far than ours, though removed still at a distance, which created' beings cannot pass, from the glory of the eternal God." Whilst we were gazing and conversing on the stupendous picture of the firmament, and con- templating the greatness and goodness of the all-creating God, the whole hemisphere became brilliantly illuminated, painted with the most beautiful colours we ever beheld by the "rosy fingers" of the Aurora Borealis. "High qnivVing in the air, as shadows fly, The northern lights adorn the azure sky; Dimm'd by superior blaze the stars retbre. And heaven's vast concave gleams with sportive fire." Vast columns of purple, pink, green, orange, red, &c. (all of which were as imperceptibly blend- ed as in the rainbow) sported about the heavens, sometimes radiating, sometimes streaming, and then resembling swelling waves. This magnifi- cent display lasted for about ten minutes, and then nearly disappeared, when another part sent forth a more beautiful appearance ; all the light, collecting in the zenith, sent forth rays of diver* sified colours, having the appearance of the open« ing and shutting of a fan. After assuming various .;''» 34 and fantastic shapes, all gradually died away. As none of us had ever before seen a coloured Aurora, we observed it very attentively, but could not detect the slightest sound, though I have been informed by several individuals at Carbonear, and of undoubted veracity, that whilst prosecuting the fishery at the Labrador during the summer season, they have heard a very distinct sound accompanying the Aurora, resembling the distant flapping of a boat's sails in the wind. It is stated in the ^'Edinburgh Cabinet Library" that during Hearn's jountey to the Arctic Sea, " these northern meteors were distinctly heard to make a rushing and crackling noise, like the waving of a large flag in a fresh gale of wind." At Western Bay, in Conception Bay, a few years since, a crimson- coloured Aurora appeared just before the time of commencing the seal fishery; the colour was re- flected from the surface of the sndw beneath, which had the appearance of blood. Several of the inhabitants were terrified at its presence, sup- posing it to be the harbinger of some direful calamity; a few individuals declined prosecuting their intended voyage to the seal fishery, appalled at the streaming glories of this splendid phenom- enon. It is said the northern lights are the origin of the battles seen in the air, which various histori- ans record as having been seen by the ancients, and which were regarded by them with super- stitious awe and terror. Various opinions have been given by philosophers as to the origin of the Aurora Borealis. Some suppose it is caused by a combination of different gases in a peculiar state of the atmosphere; others that it is produced by crystals of frozen vapour or snow in the upper regions of the air; but the commonly-received opinion is, that it is caused by electricity or magnetism; for it has been observed, that during a ''bright display of the northern lights, the magnetic needle has been considerably disturbed. From observations made by Captain Winn, he found that the Aurora Borealis fs constantly succeeded by hard southerly or south-west winds, attended with hazy weather and small rain; that in twenty-three instances he founda gale gene- rally commenced between twenty-four and thirty hours after tl.e Aurora. He is of opinion, that the strength of the succeeding gale is proportion* ate to the splendour and vivacity of the Aurora. In a paper communicated to the Royal Astro- nomical Society of London, Robert Snow, Esq. records his observations of this interesting phe- nomenon made at Ashurt and Dulwich, from the autumn of the year 1834 to the autumn of 1839, within which period several remarkable Auroras appeared. The author deduces from his observa- tions the following invariable circumstances of the phenomenon. That the Aurora may be expected at any season of the year; that it assumes nearly every variety of colour; that it resembles, both in shape and motion, every variety of ordinary cloud; that its appearances are in the course of the same evening, and without any determinate order, un- dulating, radiating, and streaming with other ca- pricious forms not easly expressible; that the >-•■] 36 length of time during which it is visible is very uncertain; that it apppears to the eye (geometrical considerations apart) as if it existed at various distances from the earth's surface; that although for the most part it is not influenced by the pre- sence of clouds, it occasionally tinges them with its own prevailing colours; that this has been noticed only when the clouds are low; that there are also certain lofty cirrus clouds which have the appearance of arranging themselves in peculiar bands of strata, as if in connexion with the Aurora; that these strata are visible during day- light, when the visibility of the dark portion of the arch has sometimes been strongly suspected ; that the stars are seen both well and ill defined through the auroral darkness; that it is by no means confined to the northern regions of the sky, though originating about the magnetic north ; that, with the exception of a diminution of its general effect, it is uninfluenced by moonlight ; that its appearance generally accompanies weather the reverse to frost, such as heavy wind and rain ; and lastly, that it is wholly inaudible. The author concludes by warning the spectators of this phenomenon against the false impressions to which the senses are liable, especially with regard to the sensation of heat and the notion of sound as attending phenomena in which our idea of either of these qualities has been predominantly awakened. We arrived at Bonavista about nii." o'clock, where, after remaining a short time, we re:urned home again to Bird Island Cove. During our walk back, we observed a star shoot across the 37 heavens, emitting fiery Hparks similar to a sky- rocket, and it then disapueared. Various causes have been assigned for the appearance of these meteors. Some attribute their origin to electricity, or the igniting of a quantity of hydrogen gas in the atmosphere. That great philosopher, Sir Humphrey Davy, attributes their appearance to falling stones ; but the true cause and nature of falling stars appears to be as yet not fully ascertain- ed. Their height has been calculated at 500 miles, and their velocity thirty-six miles in a lecond. A very remarkable phenomenon wailoberved on the 14th of April, 1843, by Mr. William Parsons of Harbour Grace, and his crew, whilst prosecu- ting a sealing voyage, the account of which we copy from the "Weekly Herald." On the evening of Good Friday (14th inst.) Baccalieu bearing W. by S. by compass, distant between 30 and 40 miles, the wind blowing a stiff breeze from W. N. W. the sky being very clear, and the full moon from 10 to 15 degrees above the horizon, and partially obscured by a small cloud, we observed a large ball of fire slowly issuing from behind the cloud, of a diameter equaling apparently four times that of the moon itself, of a bright flame colour, and producing for the space of a minute a light almost equal to the light of day. After moving in a southerly direc- tion for 40 or 50 seconds, it made a curvature towards the sea, and having reached the .sirface dashed into a thousand luminous fragments, which were immediately extinguisl^i^d, leaving us in com- parative darkness. Thejiye being directed to 38 the point of the heavens in which it appeared to originate, our astonishment was increased on be- holding another globe of a less size and of a paler hue proceeding from the same place, taking a similar round range and curvature, and ultimately falling, so far as we could judge, on the very spot whereon the former one was extinguished. There was no eound of explosion, nor any other effect that we could perceive." There is no doubt but that the above appear- ances were what is termed meteoric stones, and must have been > bodies of immense size. Mrs. Somerville says, "The fall of meteoric stones is much more frequent than is generally believed. Hardly a year passes without some known in- stances occurring; and if it be considered that only a small part of the earth is inhabited, it may be presumed that numbers fall into the ocean, or on the uninhabited part of the land, unseen by man. Tl^ey are sometimes of great magnitude; the volumef'Of several has exceeded that of a body of seventy miles in diameter. One, which passed within twenty-five miles of us, was estimated to weigh about 600,000 tons, and to move with a velocity of about twenty miles in a second. A fragment of it alone reached the earth. The ob> liquity of the descent of meteorites, the peculiar substances they are composed of, and the explo- sion accompanying their fall, show that they are foreign to our system." I have read accounts of meteoric phenomena in the following works : Dick's " Celestial Scenery," the ** London Encyclopedia," " Pandelodium," ^' Vf^ 39 " Penny Cyclopedia," Dick's " Sidereal Heavens/' the " Encyclopedia Britannica/' and several other minor works. For the information of the youth- ful reader, who may not have had access to any of the above works, I abridge the fgllowing accounts from Dick's " Sidereal Heavens " and " Celestial Scenery." * * "The most striking and remarkable form in which shooting stars have appeared is that of "meteoric showers,'' when thousands of those bodies have appeared to sweep along at once, and in continued succession for several hours, so that almost the whole visible canopy of the sky seemed to be in a blaze. As this phenomenon has re- cently excited considerable attention among phi- losophers, and as it is now generally considered as connected with some moving bodies in the heavens, I shall, in the first place, give a detail of some of the more remarkable circumstances with which it has been attended, as described by those who were eye-witnesses of the scene. One of the most remarkable displays of the phenomenon to which we allude is that which was seen on the evening of the 12th and the morning of the 13th of November, 1833, in the United States of America. The following account of it is abridged from the New York Commercial Advertiser, of November 13, 1833: " The sky was remarkably clear on the night of this remarkable phenomenon. Some time before twelve o'clock, the meteors so frequently seen on summer evenings, called shooting stars, were ob- served to fall with uilbsual frequency and splen- '%, 40 dour. They continued from that hour to flash athwart the skies more and more^ until they were eclipsed by the glories of the rising sun. This morning, from four to six they were most numer- ous and refulgent. Within the scope that the eye could contain, more than twenty could be seen at a time, shooting (save upward) in every direc- tion. Not a cloud obscured the broad expanse, and millions of meteors sped their way across it on every point of the compass. Were it possible to enumerate them in the swiftness of their arrowy haste, we might venture to say that for the space of two hours, intervening between four and six, more than a thousand per minute might have been counted. Their coruscations were bright, gleamy, and incessant, and they fell thick as the flakes in the early snows of December. In one instance we distinctly heard the explosion of a meteor that shot across to the north-west, leaving a broad and luminous track ; and witnessed another which left a path of light that was clearly discernible for more than ten minutes after the ball, if such it was, had exploded. Its length was gradually shortened, widening in the centre, and apparently consisted of separate and distinct globules of light, drawing around a common centre, glimmer- ing less and less vividly, until they finally faded in the distance. Compared with the splendour of this celestial exhibition, the most brilliant rockets and fireworks of art bore less relation than the twinkling of the mos^ tiny star to the broad glare of the sun. The whole heavens seemed in motion, and never before has it fallen to our lot -t ii -to observe a phenomenon so inagnifi<;ent and sub- lime." Various similar accounts of the same phenomenon were given in the Philadelphia, Hartford, Boston, and other newspapers of the same date. A gen- tleman in South Carolina thus describes the effect of the phenomenon of 1833 upon his negi s : — " I was suddenly awakened by th most dis- tressing cries that ever fell on my ears. Shrieks of horror and cries of mercy I could hear from most of the negroes on three plantations, amounting in all to about six or eight hundred. While earnestly listening for the cause, I heard a faint voice near the door calling my name. I arose, and taking my sword, stood at the door. At this moment I heard the same voice still beseeching me to rise, and saying, ' Oh, my God ! the world is on fire ! ' I then opened the doer, and it is diffi- cult to say, which excited me most — the awfulness of the scene, or the distressed cries of the negroes. Upwards of one hundred lay prostrate on the ground; some speechless, and some uttering the bitterest cries, but most with their hands raised, imploring God to save the world and them. The scene was truly awful: for never did rain fall much thicker than the meteors fell towards the earth — east, west, north, and south, it was the same." Meteoric phenomena, nearly resembling what has been now described, have occurred at several former periods. It is a circumstance worthy of particular notice, that these meteoric showers have taken place chiefly on the 12th. and I3th of 4 «!•., November, and, hence, they are now distinguished by the name of the November Meteors. Flights of shooting stars, more or less numerous, have been seen in different places, both in Europe and America, at the same period — Tiamely, the 13th of November, in the years 1834, 1835, 1836, and 1837, so that they are now considered as a regular periodical phenomenon." In the "American Journal of Science," for April, 1834, Dr. Olmsted, professor of mathematics and natural philosophy in Yale College, New-Haven, has entered into an elaborate investigation of this subject, in a communication which occupies about forty- two pages. The whole of this paper is well worthy of the attentive perusal of the philosophic inquirer ; but the limits to which I am necessarily confined in this chapter, will permit me to state only the general results of the professor's inves- tigations, all of which appear to be deduced from the phenomena with great acuteness and in- genuity of reasoning. These results are, 1. That the meteors of November 13th had their origin beyond the limits of our atmosphere; for the source of the meteors did not partake of the earth's motion, which was demonstrable from a variety of circumstances. * 2. That the height of the place whence the meteors emanated, above the surface of the earth, was about 2,238 miles. This was ascertained from a comparison of different observations made in different places, and from trigonometrical cal- culations founded upon them. 3. The meteors fell towards the earth, being 43 attracted to it by the force of gravity. It seemed unnecessary to assign any other cause, since gravity is adequate to produce the effect. 4. They fell towards the earth in straight lines, and in directions which, within considerable distances, were nearly parallel with each other. The courses are inferred to have been straight lines, because no others could have appeared to spectators in different situations to have described arcs of great circles. 5. They entered the earth's atmosphere with a velocity equal to about four miles per second, or more than ten times greater than the maximum velocity of a cannon ball, and about nineteen times that of sound. This was inferred from the laws of falling bodies. 6. The meteors consisted of combustible matter, and took fire and were consumed in traversing the atmosphere. They were seen glowing with intense light and heat, increasing in size and splendour as they approached the earth. They were seen extinguished in a manner in all respects resembling € combustible body like a sky-rocket, and in the case of the larger, a cloud of luminous vapour was seen as the product of combustion. That they took fire in the atmosphere is inferred from the fact, that they were not luminous in their original situation in space, otherwise the body from which they emanated would have been visi- ble. ' 7. Some of the larger meteors must have been bodies of great size. Some of them appeared larger than the full moon rising. Such a body 44 seen at a 110 miles' distance, behoved to have been one mile in diameter; at 55 miles, one- half mile; at 22 miles, one-fifth of a mile; at 5^ miles, one-twentieth of a mile, or 2G4 feet. 8. The meteors were constituted of light and transparent materials. They were of light ma- terials, otherwise their momentum would have been sufficient to enable them to make their way through the atmosphere, to the surface of the earth. They w-^re transparent bodies, otherwise we cannot conceive how they could have existed together in their original state without being visible by reflected light. 9. The next, and one of the principal subjects of inquiry was, What relations did the body which afforded the meteoric shower sustain to the earth ? Was it of the nature of a satellite, that revolves around the earth as its centre of motion? Was it a collection of nebulous matter which the earth encountered in its annual mo- tion ? Or was it a comet which chanced at this time to be pursuing its path along with the earth, around their common centre of motioli ? It could not have been a satellite, because it remained so long stationary with respect to the earth ; nor was it a nebula, either stationary or wandering lawlessly through space. Such a collection of mat- ter could not remain stationary within the solar system; and had it been in motion in any other direction than that in which the earth was mov- ing, it would soon have been separated from the earth, since during the eight hours while the meteoric shower lasted, the earth moved in its m • ail of tter mo- this •th, ould orbit through the space of .'540,000 miles. The conclusion to which Professor Olmsted arrives, after a due consideration of all circumstances, is the following: — That the meteors of November 13th, consisted of portions of the extreme parts of a nebulous body, which revolves around the sun in an orbit interior to that of the earth, but little inclined to the plane of the ecliptic, hav- ing its aphelion near to the earth's path, and having a periodic time of 182 days nearly. Few things have puzzled philosophers more than to account for large fragments of compact rocks proceeding from regions beyond the clouds, and falling to the earth with great velocity. These stones sometimes fall during a cloudy, and sometimes during a clear and serene atmosphere. They are sometimes accompanied with explosions, and sometimes not. The following statements, selected from respectable authorities, will convey some idea of the phenomena peculiar to the^e bodies. On the 13th of December, 1795, a stone weighing fifty-six pounds fell near Wold Cottage, in Yorkshire, at three o'clock, p. m. It penetrated through twelve inches of soil and six inches of solid chalk rock, and in burying itself had thrown up an immense quantity of earth to a great dis- tance. As it fell, a number of explosions were heard, as loud as pistols. In the adjacent villages the sounds were heard as of great guns at sea, but at two adjoining villages the sounds were so dis- tinct of something passing through the air to the residence of Mr. Topham, that five or six people came up to see if anything extraordinary had ."«;■' .,-«•■:■>>■■■■■ 46 happened at his house. When the stone was extracted, it was warm, smoked, and smelt very strong of sulphur. The day was mild and hazy, but there was no thunder nor lightning the whole day. No such stones are known in the country, and there is no volcano nearer than Vesuvius or Hecla. The constituent parts of this stone were found exactly the same as those of the stones of Benares, which fell December, 1798. On the 26th of April, 1803, an extraordinary shower of stones happened* at L'Aigle, in Nor- mandy. About one o'clock, the sky being almost serene, a rolling noise like that of thunder was heard, and a fiery globe of uncommon splendour was seen, which moved through the atmosphere with great rapidity. Some moments after, there was heard at L'Aigle, and for thirty leagues round in every direction, a violent explosion, which lasted five or six minutes, after which was heard a dreadful rumbling, like the beating of a drum. In the whole district there was heard a hissing noise, like that of a stone discharged from a sling, and a great many mineral masses, exactly similar to those distinguished by the name of meteor stones, were seen to fall. The largest of these stones weighed seventeen pounds and a half. They all contain silica, magnesia, oxyd of iron, nickel, and sulphur in various proportions. Their specific gravity is about 3^ or 3| times heavier than water. In 1492, November 7th, a stone of 206 pounds fell at Ensisheim, in Alsace. It is now in the library of Colniar, and has been re- duced to 150 lbs. in consequence of the abstrac- 47 tion of fragments. The famous Gassendi relates, that a stone of a black metallic colour fell on Mount Vaision in Provence, November 29th, 1637. It weighed 54 lbs. and had the size and shape of the human head. Its specific gravity was 3| times that of water. 1G.54, March 30th, a small stone fell at Milan, and killed a Francis- can. 1706, June 7th, a stone of 72 lbs. fell at Larissa, in Macedonia; it smelled of sulphur, and was like the scum of iron. 1751, May 26th, two masses of iron, of 71 lbs. and 16 lbs. fell in the district of Agran, the capital of Croatia, the larg- est of these is now in Vienna. July, 1810, a large ball of fire fell from the clouds at Shaha- bad, which burned five villages, destroyed the crops, and killed several men and women. 1818, July, 29th, O. S. a stone of 7 lbs. weight fell at the village of Slobadka, in Russia, and penetrated nearly sixteen inches into the ground. It had a brown crust, with metallic spots. 1825, 10th February, a meteoric stone weighing 16 lbs. 7 oz. fell from the air at Na;ijemoy, Maryland. It was taken from the ground about half an hour after its fall, was sensibly warm, and had a sulphureous smell. ... Several hundreds of instances similar to the above might be produced, of large masses of stones having fallen from the upper regions upon the earth. These stones, although they have not the smallest analogy with any of the mineral substan- ces already known, either of a volcanic or any other nature, have a very peculiar and striking analogy with each other. They have been found m at places very remote from each other, and at very distant periods. The mineralogists who have examined them agree, that they have no resem- blance to mineral substances, properly so called, nor have they been described by mineralogical authors. They have, in short, a peculiar aspect, and peculiar characters, which belong to no native rocks or stones with which we are acquainted. They appear to have fallen from various points of the heavens, at all periods, in all seasons of the year, at all hours, both of the day and night, in all countries in the world, on mountains and on plains, and in places the most remote from any volcano. The luminous meteor which gen- erally precedes their fall is carried along in no fixed or invariable direction, and as their descent usually takes place in a calm and serene sky, and frequently in cloudless weather, their origin cannot be traced to the causes which operate in the production of rain, thunder-storms, or tornadoes. From a consideration of these and many other circumstances, it appears highly probable, if not absolutely certain, that these substances proceed from regions far beyond the limits of our globe. That such solid substances in large masses could be generated in the higher regions of the atmos- phere is an opinion altogether untenable, and is now generally discarded, even by most of those philosophers who formerly gave it their support. That they have been projected from volcanoes is a hypothesis equally destitute of support. On the supposition that the bursting of a large planet was the origin of the small planets, Vesta, Juno, m Ceres, and Pallas, we may trace a source whence meteoric stones probably originate. When the cohesion of the planet was overcome by the action of the explosive force, a number of little frag- ments, detached along with the greater masses, would, on account of their smallness, be projected with great velocity, and being thrown beyond the attraction of the greater fragments, might fall to- wards the earth when Mars happened to be in the remote part of his orbit. When the portions which are thus detached arrive within the sphere of the earth's attraction, they may revolve around that body at different distances, and may fall upon its surface in consequence of a diminution of their centrifugal forco ; or, being struck by the electric fluid, they may be precipitated upon the earth, and exhibit all those phenomena which usually accompany the descent of meteoric stones. This opinion appears to have been first broached by Sir David Brewster, and is stated and illus- trated in the ''Edinburgh Encyclopaedia," art. Astronomi/, and in vol. ii. of his edition of " Fer- guson's Astronomy." Though not unattended with difficulties, it is perhaps the most plausible hy- pothesis which has yet been formed, to account for the extraordinary phenomena of heavy sub- stances falling with velocity upon the earth, through the higher regions of the atmosphere. On this subject I would consider it as pre- mature to hazard any decisive opinion. I have laid the above facts before the reader, that he may be enabled to exercise his own judgment, and form his own conclusion. I have bc».:;d them partic- 5 .^1 ularly with this view, that they may afford a subject of investigation and reflection. For all the works and dispensations of the Almighty, both in the physical and moral world, are worthy of our contemplation and research, and may ul- timately lead both to important discoveries and to moral instruction. Though ''the ways of God" are in many instances "past finding out," yet it is our duty to investigate them in so far as our knowledge and limited powers will permit. For as we are told on the highest authority, that '' the works of the Lord are great and marvellous," so it is declared, that ''they will be sought out," or investigated, "by all those who have pleasure therein." . . '