The Sun.
London, England, 1850-02-14 00:00:00

A BRILLIANT METEOR.

On Monday evening, about a quarter before eleven
o'clock, a brilliant meteor, according to all ac-
counts intense beyond any on record in modern
time., was seen throughout the metropolis. The
direction in which it travelled appears to have been from
W. to E., and it is described by observers as having
been remarkable for the beauty and variety of its co-
lours, the intensity cf the light proceeding from it, and
the length of time during which it was visible. The
body when first seen resembled a large ball of fire of a
deep red colour, and the coarse traversed by it seemed
to be a curve, in its passage over which it gradually ac-
quired the appearance of a broad stream of fire of vari-
ous hues—green, crimson, purple, violet, lice. The light
evolved was so vivid as to approach that of noonday,
and cast very strong shadows on the ground. Immedi-
ately before it disappeared, its light seemed to be con-
centrated, when it burst like a rocket, producing an ex-
plosion the echoes of which resembled distant thunder.
One of the most remarkable circumstances attending the
phenomenon was its long continuance, which extended
to five or six seconds. It was simultaneously observed
in various parts of the kingdom.
The following letters have been addressed to
the editor of a morning contemporary :
Sir,—Yesterday evening, at about half-past tin o'clock,
I was observing the peculiar clearness of the atmos-
phere, the weather having rapidly changed from stormy
rain, which had prevailed throughout the day, to that
brilliancy of sky which usually betokens, at this season,
frost; when, suddenly, I was almost bereft of sight by
the appearance of a magnificent meteor which made its
appearance in a westerly direction, and passing rapidly
across the zenith, exploded in the east, about 15 deg.
above the horizon. It was followed by a luminous tail
of extraordinary length and brilliance, and the disk of
its neuclus appeared to be nearly half the diameter of the
moon when full. Fire balls of a bluish colour fell from

the tail in profusion.
Some idea may be formed of the intense light cast
from it when I state that I could discern nothing
whatever for several minutes after ; indeed, many
families in the neighbourhood sitting in vs ell-
lighted rooms, where there were apertures or
crevices through the shutters, were alarmed,
and went out completely terrified. Pheasants com-
menced crowing on their roosts, and dogs were barking;
in fact, all living creatures out of doors were evidently
disturbed by it. The wind which had been blowing
boisterously nearly the whole day from the south-
west was, at the time, west by south-west, and mode-
rately brisk.
The explosion of this brilliant specimen of an eccen-
tric and, I believe, unexplained Teri( ty of aerial phe-
nomena was not, as is sometimes the case, audible, and
I conclude, thert fore, that, although doubtless within
our atmosphere, its distance from the sutface of the
earth must have been very great; hence, probably, it
was observed in other parts of the country by indivi-
duals far more scientific than myself, who may, perhaps,
furnish you with a better description t f it.
In the absence ( f such you may possibly deem ac-
ceptable the humble communication ( f; Sir, your most
obedient servan,, _ _ G. THOMPSON, Jun.

Prest wood, Stourbridge,eb. 12.
Sir,—At a quarter before eley(n o'clock last night,
heir g in conversation with Mr. John Liner, in trout ( f
his house, which dirt ct!y faces the north, lie called my
attention to a falling star. Wien I first observed it it
was coming from the north-west, and did not appear
much larger tha❑ falling stars usually are, but it con.•
tinued its course, every moment increasing in brightness,
and exhibiting a tail of a blue colour and remarkably
vivid, until it had reached the east, when it exploded
into thousands of brilliant coruscations and disappeared.
After an interval of about 90 seconds it was followed by
a loud clap of thunder, of a very peculiar crackling na-
ture, of long duration, which passed off into the north-
east. Yours,

B. VICARS, Jan.
Padbury, Buckingham, Feb. 12.

TIOITON RAGGED SCHOOL —A tea festival, fol-
lowed by a public meeting, :took place at seven o'clock
last evening, at the Hoxton Academy Chapel School, for
the purpose of receiving subscriptions to liquidate the
debt incurred by the erection of the Hoxton Ragged
School. The meeting was principally composed of re-
spectable females, with a few clergymen and gentlemen
interested in the success of tf e iustitutioe. The chair
having been taken by Joseph Bateman, Esq., the even-
ing's proceedings were opened with a prayer and a hymn.
Subscriptions and donations were handed in to the
amount of about 121, after which Mr. Benjamin Cobden
proceeded to lay before the meeting the re-
port of the committee, from which it appeared
that the total cost of the building amounted to
6501.; the donations and subscriptions received to 2201.,
leaving a sum of 4301. to he paid off. The course ofin-
atruction which it was intended should be carried on in
the school, would be for infants daily; for grown-up boys
and girls, three nights in each week; and for parents
and old persons, two nights in each week, with constant
Sunday-school instruction. It was also intended, as
soon as sufficient funds had been raised, to open indus-
trial classes, so as to fit those of the pupils who might
wish to emigrate to the colonies to become useful and
industrious citizens. The meeting was subsequently
addressed in brief terms by the Rev. Messrs. Johnson,
Rotheray, and Addison, as also by Mr. Joseph Payne,
who forcibly pointed out the necessity that existed fur
establishing and upholding such useful institutions, as,
by their agency, thousands were saved from perdition,
and taught, by a superior discipline to that which st as
practised in gaols and penitentiaries—the discipline of
Christian love and of the Gospel—to become useful, intel-
ligent, and respectable members of society. The meet-
ing, at half-past nine o'clock, was closed with an appro-
priate prayer and hymn.
DEATH PROM SHAMEFUL NEGLECT.—On Friday
an inquest was held at Bradley, on the body of Thomas
Cox, a boy about nine years of age, whose death re-
sulted from the reprehensible though common practice
of leaving old coal pits without any fence around or any
covering over them. The deceased, who lived at Bred-
ley, laft home on Wednesday morning, with his father,
for the purpose of going to work in a coal pit, near
Darleston. When they got into Mr. Loxdale's field,
near Potter's-bridge, the deceased's hat was blown off,
and they both ran atter it a short distance. It began to
rain, and deceased's father desired him to go into a
hovel close by, whilst he (the father) looked for tee bat.
As the morning was dark and windy, he could not find
the hat; and in going to the hovel to meet his son, he
had, using his own words, "a very narrow escape of his
life, in not falling into an old pit, which was exposed
without any fence round or over it." Ile could not find his
son, and it then occurred to him that he had fallen down
the pit. Some tackling was obtained, and the de-
deceased brought up, with his head fractured, both his
legs broken, and otherwise dreadfully crushed, quite
dead. " The pit in question," the boy's father said, "is
an old coal pit, situate in the Old Squirrel field, near
Bilston, the property of Mr. Loxdale, and in the occu-
pation of Mr. William Baldwin, of Bilston, coal and iron
master. A public road passes within twenty yards of
the pit in question, and there is no f ace against either
' the road or the pit. The pit is about 35 yards deep.
There are two or three other pits near the one in title,
tion, in an equally dangerous state." The jury returned
a verdict of" Accidental death;" expressing an opinion
that ' there had been great want of proper attention,,r
in
care on the part of the occupier of the pit in cui,e,s ti
rot having seen that it was properly protecteu. It
ver/iampton Chronicle.
thier.f)Tl.louw,.iongi
auntsopt,
theoyrrhfacTiear.reaCchnedartuGsf—S.—namWeley,gtivhaet
Mr.
VictuallingG o s
Victualling
of h
- )t : aer d ,
p
shtaosr ealLe storekeeper
of the Navy, vice Meek (paymaster at.:d
pp et
er d ot
fhe thoeffi Cc
e i aor f e nComptroller e
purser), retired; and that Assistant-Paymaster-General
Anderson will succeed that respected veteran officer Mr.
Briggs, as Accountant-General of the Navy, stud not
Mr. Bromley, who, a short time since, jumped from a
second-class Admiralty clerk to be secretary to the
Audit Commissioners. It is said that the latter is to
have a superior appointment at the War-office.—Herald.
THE SINITIItT CONDITION OF BRISTOL. The
Town Council of Bristol having forwarded a memorial
to the General Board of Health, Mr. George F. Clarke,
one of the superintending inspectors, commenced a public
inquiry as to the sanitary state of the borough yeaterdil
(Wednesday)? in 029.01414411. Bristol.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE. ,
CHESTER RACES.
Acceptances for the Chester Cup.
Yre. et lbl - - Yrs. at lb
Collingwood
Cossack
I),,ep-o%day-80y.., ti 9 o,Gsu by Verulam..• 4 6 7
Yatcatcher 5 8 8i Melbourina 4 6 r
Dough 5 8 5 Keieshe
John Comer .5 8 5 Sunnyside
Ellerdale ............ 6 8 3 Melody
Lady Evelyn
Ha1t0n............... 5 8 &Primrose 5 6 &
Inneritress ......... a 7 10 Gaffer Green a6 8
The Horn debase 6 7. 10 Caurire
Hotspur ............ 4. 7 10 Yardarm a 6 0
Sylvan ............... 5 7 9'Fleur de Seine
E.rclarius .... ..... 4 7 9 Fern 5 6 0
T 1 v Baroness(lriah)4 7 6 Fitzpatrick ...
Vesta
Clermon, 6 7 5 Mariln
Chatterer 4 7 b Wild Rose
I:e'us
G !mica
Dulcet a- 7. 3 13e by Gladiator... 4 3 10
\Voila ich
Ellerslie
Westovr
.... . ...... 4 5 8
a w Ily
Idlebov, by Dark- liolaod ............. .. 4 5 8
5 7., ( General Sale
...... 4 5 6
.
Quiz (late Rah- - b' by Vulcan ...... 4 6 8
thorpt)
Fogleman
Loop garou 4 7 0 Countess of A 16. -
Pt ]ham . -
4 7 0 wide

Osterlcy
Clarissa
11iAs Ann
Lady Superior
Valox
The Darter 5 6 12
Woodlark
Rhesus 4 6 11
Sir Richard ...... 4 612
Tarn Wadlia
Cockermouth 5 6 10'
(Edipus
Abbot of Meaux 4 6 10
Kissaway .. 4 6 10
Priestess
The Flea 4 6 10
Chantrey 4 6 10
Doc de Brabant
Irnperatrix
Mounseer
Giselle a 6 S
Lismabago
The Knout
Testator
Era 4 6 8
Teflis

RACES

IrEER

Lincoln Spring _.
21

Doncaster Spring

Catterick Bridge
Northampton Sr Pytch-
ley Hunt 3
Ctoxton Park 9

Chester Spring
Newm. Second Spring l4
Shrewsbury ... 15

Newton
Ascot
Hampton l9

Newmarket 2
Liverpool lO

tahaldrstone 3 5 (:),
i3apiain Grant 3 5
Emma 3 5 0
St ignor of Holder-
Dm 3 t
'Mark Tapley
Modesty
3 5 0
Mulgrave 3 4 12
Laura ...
Gleam
Damask
Witchcraft
lanthe
Eye-the-Boys 3 4 10
C by Lanorcost, cut
of Concertina 3 4 10
Equira 3 4 8
Augean
Michael Brunton 3 4 6
Baroness
St. George
Br f by Gladiator,
oat of Sprite
Wallace
Greenwich

'0 COME.

JARY.
Liverpool.
;cu.

Warwick
.19

Epson' Spring
Newmarket Craven
Bath
I Newinkt. First Spring 29
LAY.

Manchester
Epsom Summer 2B
Edinburgh

Newcastle
Bibury 26
Stockbridge 27

Nottingham l6
Stamford l7
AUG

Salisbury lB
Winchester
Goodwood • 3O

Ripon
Brighton 7
Wolverhampton l2
Eglinton Park ... 13 or 14

Reading
York 2l
Stirling

Warwick
3
Lichfield

IBER.

Doncaster
Manchester Autumn 26
IBSL

- ----
Newmkt. First October 1 I
Chester Autumn 8

Newmkt. Second Oct—. 14
Newmarket Houghton.. 28

FUNERAL OR TER LATE MRS. WADDINGTON,--
On Saturday last the remains of Mrs. Waddington, of
Llanover, were consigned to the grave. Her funeral
was conducted in the strictest conformity with her wishes,
and while nothing was expended in mere show, plain
mourning was given to all those who had more particu-
larly served her, and to whom it would be most useful. She
had long since chosen the spot in the churchyard at Liam-
over where she was to bo laid, desiring that she might
not be placed in a vault, or in a lead coffin, but " that
the earth should cuter her, and that the green turf
should grow over her deep grave." The place se-
lected by her adjoins the vault in which other mem-
ber& of the family are buried, and over which, w ith
honeysuckles and other flowers, grows a pine, reared
by herself, from seed she had brought from Italy
thirty -three years age. At twelve o'clock the tine
Welsh hymn ettl!ed " Gorphenwyd" was solemnly
sung as the procession left the house on foot.
Ater the coffin was lowered on the large stone which
had been prepared for its reception, the pal'-bearers
dropped the snowdrops and other flowers which they
carritd, upon it; and a bystaneer (who remained long
aft, r tho funeral was over) remarked that all those
there employed seemed to touch the light soil,
with which the grave was being filled, with 'rave-
renee—that all rough stones were n.moved from
it, and it was droppt d gently in almost by handfuls;
nor was the grave abandoned till after dark. The
next morning u green tur e l grave was seen covered with
flowers, and the road to trio church was strewed with
snovv:trops, and sprigs of sew, and other evergreens. Sir
Benjamin Hall was turbidden by his medical advisers ho
leave Loudon, as he had intended,
.the state of his eyes
Icing so very critical that exposure to cold would have
been attended with great danger. Ths deceased lady
was the immediate descendant, in the fifth generation,
of the celebrated Sir Bevil Granville, who was killed at
the battle of Lansdown in 1643, and was great niece and
adopted child of Mary Granville, so well known as the
admirable Mrs. Delany.— Welsh Paper.
GLASGOW HARBOUR.—We have much pleasure ih
noticing that the magnificent first-class steamer Asia,
which was recently launched at Greenock, arrived in
our harbour yesterday, having been tugged up from
the former port. She has been placed alongside of the
Simooat frigate at Lancetield quay, preparatory to get-
ting in her engines, &a., which have been constructed by
the Messrs. Napier. No time will be lost in getting this
fine vessel ready for sea. Her machinery, we under-
stand, is all ready, and it may be confidently -predicted,
from the celebrity of both builder and engineer, that the
Asia will prove another triumphant instance of the
superiority of Clyde-built ocean-going steamers. The
same tide that brought up the Asia floated along with
it the largest trading-vessel which, we have authority
for saying, has yet et tered our harbour. This was the
American- built ship Huguenot, Captain W. Gardner,
freighted with a cargo of cotton, from Savannah, from
whence she made an excellent passage. Notwithstand-
ing her great size, measuring, we believe, nearly 1,000
tons register, her draught of water was not so great es
that of many vessels of inferior tonasge which have got
alongside our wharfs, Leing only sixteen and a half feet.
This is accounted for by the circumstance of her cargo
being entirely cotton, of which she has no fewer than
3,500 bales on board—the largest cargo of this de-
scription which has era r teen landed at Glasgow. Now
that the capabilities of the river are becoming better
known, we may calcult,te upon seeing more frequently,
as large, if not larger ships in our basin.—North British
Mail.

The Earl Fitzhardinge has left town for Berkeley
Castle, where the Noble Earl will reside until the close
of the hunting season.
FALL OF A PORTION OF THE CHURCHYARD WALL
AT e the Eth hist , port ton of the
wallwhich surrounds
Dsiti —rro un I l id
ay,
of the church, and
i abutting into Church-street, suddenly fell, and fur a
time obstructed the street; about ten yards in length of
the wall came down. It ha., for some time been yielding
to the pressure of t arch abuvo, and it is soppo,ed that
the effect of the late severe frost had z,o loosened the
inwetials as to cause it to give %ay.. The sudac, of the
)ard at this place is about ten feet above that of the street,
and when the wall tell it exposed to view tiers ot c.
near the surface. A wolinin passing at die timer arre iy
e.caped being buried in the ruins. Fortunately there
Was no person hurt.

ANOTHER " CASE" FOR THE PROTECTIONISTS.-.-We
read the other day, ILL one of those amusing miscellanies,
a " City article," that pepper way getting up, and wo
foresaw at once that the Protectionists would have a
good cry directly they set their eyes on pepper. They
will of course bewail the additional difficulty of gifting
their rents in those cases where the rent is a pepper-
corn, and, with a frantic shout of "Look at pepper,"
they will declare they are being ground down worse than
ever. There is no fear that the article will maintain
for pepper is about the last thing that
tpeoplet)ohigwhilal
pay for through the nose very readily.—Punch.
AUSTRIAN IMEUDENCE.—The Vienna paper tha
Llo:vdj,ripofn:hies.u3: i nos:
RAILWAY
At
Tha t Aan Austrian
iejuisisottlirh:i,esi Is:e.rarotticoi
Larni
preparing to sail for Ggerenecerealtomoepeptoitslegtofha pthreocleeiadsitnegs of
Sir W. Parker and the English squadron.
CChOallPcAelsol-EjsiTstAhtelda, it was resohc-e(dutphuaita
of costs under tahicidJoutisnotliSctiotocrks,
tors,
nm3d.
in cases
tAh cot sA, theast
Masters
principleare at
toefupditeydmievn payment
obuy
their fees shall be
ntheoLurl w lugl"
regulated upon the sane principle as it' the proceedings
tbo9odkisprleagcaeridnedthe Court of Chancery, and that in taxing
costs as between party and party, no costs of counsel
b:ffifocriaoi
DathßenaMgears:er shall be allowed
unless
specially
ordered, and with respect to the costs of solicitors and
, the Masters are to give any special ,
directions they may think fit.
A Superintendent of Police has absconded from
Wellingtor, Shropshire. His name is Baxter, and he
was suddenly missed on the 23d uli., and his where-
abouts . •
has not yet been discovered, although hand-bills ,
have been circulated throughout the kingdom with a
view to his apprehension. It is reported that his dsfal-,...
cations are heavy.— Wolverhampton Chronicle.
FUNERALS IN THE ORKNEYS.—Tbi Scotch pager,
announced that a hearse has recently been introduvtd!
into the Orkneys for the first time.
CHESTER AND HOLYHEAD RAILWAY.--ThfliC for
the Week ended Feb. 10, 1004—C. and 11, Main Line)
1,093/. 10s. id.; Mold, 351. 105. 9U,1 intiot-beau, PO4
' 709 91-.4944 42191,