The Sun.
London, England, 1828-09-24 00:00:00

ATMOSPHERIC PHENOMENON.

A singularmeteoric phenomenon was observed
here on the evening of Monday the 15th. Between
seven and eight in the evening, a luminous ap-
pearance in the east was observed over the sea, of
very considerable brightness, bearing a close re-
semblance to the rising of the moon through a
slightly hazy atmosphere. This continued for a
considerable time without much change till about
half-past eight, when a luminous arch was
observed issuing apparently from it, and stretch-
ing fairly across the heavens like a common
rainbow. It had no diversity of colour,
but was of an uniform white, with a slight
yellowish tinge. It seemed quite stationary
and its light was regular and steady, and
nearly of the same intensity through the
whole of the arch. Its western extremity could
not be so distinctly observed, as it was seen
through the smoke of the town. About a quar-
ter before nine its vertex appeared exactly in the
zenith, or directly over the head of the spectator-;
and its breadth was nearly the same as that of a
common rainbow, which became a little more
dilated as it became less luminous. At a
quarter past nine it was observed to be exactly
at right angles to the magnetic meridian.—
Though at first sight it seemed to be quite sta-
tionary, yet by closer and longer continued ob-
servation, it appeared to have a slow and equable
motion towards the south, but this was particu-
larly evident at the crown of the arch, which
seemed to move southward at the rate of
4 or 5 degrees every fifteen minutes.. This
motion was not so equable at the eastern extre-
mity of the arch, which was when first seen a
continuous part of the circle, . but as the rest of
the arch moved south, this termination did not .
follow the general motion, but seemed to be at-
tracted by a small dark cloud which remained
stationary, and gave a banded appearance to its
eastern leg. Both extremities were terminated
by stratified clouds which retained their situa-
tions very nearly in the horizon, although the
wind, which was very gentle, was blowing from
the N. a little inclined to East. The arch re-
mained nearly of the same brilliancy for about an
hour ; there were no fleshings of light from any
part of it, and little variety in its general .appear-
ance, only its extremities were more imperfect and
less luminous than the superior parts. During
its continuance, the larger fixed stars were visible
through its most luminous parts, and those of
the second and third magnitude were also dis-
tinctly visible as its lustre began to fade. Th;s
took place about half-past nine, when it very
slowly and gradually became more diffused on
its western limb, patches less luminous began to
spread through its whole extent, and its light be-
came gradually fainter, till about half-past ten it
completely disappeared. Even to the last it re-
tained its curved shape with great exactness,
but its vertex had declined southward very
considerably. Two falling stars had been ob-
served during its appearance, in opposite parts
of the heavens, one before the arch was com-
plete, and the other after it had become distinctly
marked. The moon, before it set, had been
hidden by the stratified clouds connected with
the western limb of the arch, and when the moon
had actually set, it was only a few degrees south
of the western termination of the-arch. Previous
to the appearance of this luminous arch, and
during its whole continuance, an Aurora Borealis
was brilliant in the north. It was attended with
few corruscations, was limited to a small space
above the horizon, and there was no continua-
tion of light between the Aurora and the
arch. The intervening sky remained quite
clear and in a natural state. After the arch had
disappeared, the Aurora became brighter, but
o'
oe
nreo
it did not become more extensive, and corrusca-
tions of a very pure white
et oeawsaed,
rds
aits d
teasternhe oextremity.
observations
tio
NlvigeriAet nb woue longer a frequente quarter
before twelve, the flashing of the Aurora had
con-
tinued.
20
inches
4.hs during the appearance
n ue mercuryiot in the
Of
at
the arch, awl the thermometer stood at 440 of
Fahrenheit. The night was clear, and in the
northern hemisphere the sky was almost cloud-
less, but in the southern hemisphere there was a
considerable number of clouds, of no very dis-
tinct character, and generally low in the horizon.
—Aberdeen Chronicle.

.
A correspondent at Fintona writes—" Tile
oat crop in this country has been much injured by the
rains, and when gathered is found very deficient; oatmeal
experienced a rise here of 10s. a barrel last market day...
—Dublin Morning Post.

pair stair.
Onceclittern It. for •Itis a curious fact that pawnbrokers' shops
were first established in the Tyhurn-road, near to the pm,
lows. At the entrance of a small house, where the first
to trade regularly by sea between Bosgton„
slaasAmi _nse ePt si Ist:elPll4:road,fi; s:v4u:istneeaersbsbill oeelYufdossiltnieoyi pew unilal npi
go
r notice
s
i 1, yaa
Money lent upon pledges here;
her
alsora y voyages to respectivethe.' towns within the
A statement, pu
rpßoorsttiouna Faillniuvif
asnodl,L7nenh.,
of discussion
coropany of Millreholders, subscribin
renconti.e between
ivr:end'elCPf;oettaninagdthibseharb occasionally for towing vessels to
a certain Kansan Catholic Clergy man
011 T.---
6taezh.tete'a report of a
and ••----,. notoriety, and Captain J—itl,
which took 1
p aVe a few days since, i
of Casheartnan, has b
about two
charging two shots each_,ei:a received hy
tus.the
they suffered
themselves to be brOi'ir ;it fit
his stomach, which,without outnde.ff ,
u &Boyle Paper.
Carlow Mornin," :11.1 ground.—Boyle
$ post.
he states, originated from drinking
Thy impostor
kingdom, pretending that be nourishes a living animal in
gte neighbourhoodtilrough tli e
years since; his tale was then quite another sort of fiction ;
stagnant water in Lirwtcolinsoliiirse,
he there stated that, being a seaman, he was shipwrecked
on the African coast, and, under the most dreadful priva-
tion of thirst, drank from a pool, and soon afterwards was
alarmed by the movements of something o bieh he felt
tvriaVteediali
Lincolnrtl
was alive, which ultimately grew to the size at present ex-
hibited. In some instances, lie got very considerable sinus
from persons believing his story; but others, already sus-
pecting that the internal animal betrayed u very singular
relish for ale, dismissed him with a warning, which he
generally replied to with the usual canting phrase of ' tied
bless your honour, and may you never be in my state."—
Boston Gazette.