" In the different villages over which the stone took its direction, various were tne people who heard the noise of something passing through tile air, accurately and distinctly, though they could not imagine what was the cause of it; and in many of the provincial newspa pers, these accounts were published at the time from different persons.
" In fact, no circumstance of the kind had ever more concurrent testimonies; and the appearance of the stone itself, while it resembles in composition those which are supposed to have fallen in various other parts of the world, has no counterpart or resemblance in the natural stones of the country.
" The stone, in its fall, excavated a place of the depth before mentioned, and of something more than a yard in diameter. It had fixed itself so strongly in the chalk rock, that it required some labour to dig it out.
" On being brought home, it was weighed ; and the exact weight, at the time, was 56 pounds; which has been diminished in a small degree at present, by differ ent pieces being taken from it as presents to differ ent literati of the country. All the three witnesses who saw it fall, agree perfectly in this account of the manner of its fall, and that they saw a dark body passing through the air, and ultimately strike into the ground ; and though, from their situation and characters in life, they could have no possible object in detailing a false account of this transaction, I felt so desirous of giving this mat te• every degree of authenticity, that, as a magistrate, I took their accounts upon oath, immediately on my return into the country. I saw no reason to doubt any of their evidence, after the most minute investigation of it." Of a hundred and sixty•two parts of the composition of the Yorkshire stone, Mr. Howard found, M. de thee, we may add, found it to correspond ex actly, in aspect and character, with the meteoric frag ments from Benares and Villefianche, of which mention will be made in the sequel.
January 4, 1796. Stones fell near Belaia-Ferkua, in Russia. Gilb. An.—February 19, 1790 Toc ensuing relation is x.racted from Mr. Southey's Letters from Spain and Portugal.
"A phenomenon has occurred here within these few days, which we sometimes find mentioned in history, and always disbelieve. I shall make no comment on the account, but give you an authentic copy of the deposi tion of the witnesses before the magistrates.
" Elias Antonio, ordinary judge of the term of Evo rah Monte, and inhabitant of the parish of Friexo, in the Herdade of Gaycs, says, that, on the 19th day of Fe bruary, (1796.) between one and two o'clock in the af ternoon, he heard two reports, similar to those of the explosion of mines; after which he perceived a great rumbling noise, which lasted about two minutes. Look
ing up to the horizon, it was not obscured, neither was there any cloud or appearance from which he could con jecture the sound to have proceeded. He recollects, likewise, that the rumbling ran from north to east, the day being clear and serene.
" Gregorio Calado, labourer in the Herdade of Pazo, and term of Redondo, says, that he heard the above mentioned sound, and that a little while after, one of his servants, called Jose Fialho, brought him a stone of the colour of lead, weighing ten pounds, and irregular in its figure, which stone the said Jose Fialho had found in a meer of thc. Herdade called Pasquinha, in the term of Evora!) Monte ; for after the two reports and the rum bling sound, he heard some heavy body fall near him, and found this stone sunk in the ground, still warm, and the ground freshly moved. Four boys who were in the same part affirmed the same." The evidence here adduced is not very circumstantial ; yet, w hen taken in connection with similar cases, it tends to corroborate the general fact.
March 8 1796. After the fall of a fire-ball in Lu satia, there was found a viscid substance, having the con sistency, colour, and odour of a brown varnish. Chladni, who procured a small portion of it, in a very dried state, conceived that it was principally composed of sulphur and carbon.
March 12, 1798 Concerning the stone which is re ported to have fallen near Villefranche, in the depart ment of the Ri le, we are presented with a great va riety of details; but we shall notice only a few of the most important. When it was transmitted to M. Sage, Member of the National Institute, and Professor of the First School of Mines, he hastily considered it as only a pyritous and magnetical ore of iron, although it bore no resemblance to any known species of ore of that me tal, since it contained nickel, silica, magnesia, and na tive iron, which, when the stone was polished, shone like steel. It was of an ash-grey colour, granulated, and speckled with grey shining metallic points. Its surface was covered on one side, with a dingy black enamel, about a third of a line in thickness; and it acted very powerfully on the magnetic needle. When the Sena tor Chasset sent it to M. Sage, it was accompanied with a historical notice of similar import with that which M. Lelihre of Villefranche, who saw and described the phenomenon on the spot, had already commenicated.