Herald of the times. [volume] (Newport, R.I.) 1830-1846, 1841-09-09

story is going the rounds,
of a shower apparently offiesh and blood
recently falling in Wilson county, near
Lebanon, Tenn, and that the fields
were covered to a considerable extent.
II appears to be we'll authenticated, md
is consequently calculated to excite the
fears of many persons not
accustomed TO account for such phe-
nomena upon scientific principles.
The National Intelfigeneer Of Satur-
day last. contains tho following eluci-
dation of that phenomenon from the
Principal of that excellent institution,
the Alexandria Boarding School.
ALEXANDRIA BOARDING SCHOOL,
9 mo. Cd, l84l
Friends Gales g. Seaton: / notice in
the Intslligencer Of to-day, under the
head Of "Atmospherical Phenosenon,"
an article from the Nashville Banner,
describing what is stated to have been
a "shower Of flesh and blood, in the
vicinity Of Lebanon, Tennessee. The
same account, or a similar one, has
also been published in several other
papers. There are many persons of
that peculiar temperament that is unfa-
vorably affected by intelligence Of SO
unusual an awful character; to such
il may be relief to learn that the phc-
nomenen alluded to finds its ready ex-
planation in u well asceraincd fact in
the economy Of insects. In the inter-
esting and instructive work of Kirby 4
Spence, on the "Natural History of In
sects," are the following remarks, which
explain the whole subject:
"Many species Of LEPIDoPTERA, But
terHies when they emerge from the pupa
or chrysalis state, discharge a reddish
fluid, which, in some instances, where
their numbers have been considerable,
has produced the appearance Of shower
Of blood; and by shis natural fact, all
those bloody showers recorded by his
,orisns as preternatural, and regarded,
where they happened, as fearful prognos-
tics Of impending evils, arc stripped Of
their tcrrors, and reduced to the class Of
events that happen in the common course
of Nature. That insects are the cause
Of these supposed showers is no recent
discovery; for Sleidan relates that, in
the wear 1853, a vast multitude OF butter
flies swarmed through great part Of
Germany, and sprnkled plants, leaves,
buildings, clothes, and men, with bloody
drops, as if it had rained blood. But
the most interesting account OF an event
of this kind is given by Reaumur, from
whom we learn that, in the beginning Of
July, 1903, the suburbs Of AK, and u
C considerable extent Of country around II,
were covered with what appeared to bo
a shower of blood. We mny conceive
The amazeme ut and stupor ofihe populhce
Upon such discovery, the alarm OF the
citizens, the grave reusonings Of the
learned. All agreed, however, in at
tributing the appearance to the powers
Of darkness, and in regarding it as the
prog nostic and precursor of some dreful
misfortune about to befall them. Fear
and prejudice would have taken deep
root upon this occasion, and might have
produced fatal effects upon some week
minds, had not nj Peirese, a celebrated
philosopher of that place paid attention
TO insects. A chry which he pre-
served in his cabinet, let him into the
secret of this mysterious shower Hear
ing q Guttering, which informed him his
insect was arrived at its perfect state, he
opened the box in which he kept 1t; the
animal flew out, and left behind it a red
spot. lie compared this with the spots
Of the bIoody shower, and found they
were alike. AT the same time he obser-
we'd there was prodigious Tinntily Of
butterflies flying about, and that tho
drops of the miraculous rain were not to
be found upon the tiles, nor even upon
The upper sur(ace Of the stones, but
chiefly in cavities and places where rain
could not easily come. Thus did this
udicious observer dispri the ignorant
fears and terror which natural phenom-
cnon had caused."-Vol. /, page 50.
Those wishing further information on
the subject " i'll find il in Comstock's Ply
siology, and in no. LXXIV. OF Harpsr's
Family Library,
The instance mentioned in the Nash
vile account, of flesh appearing with tho
blood, no doubt was the result Of the
insect having perished in the process Of
Transformation.
BENJAMIN HALLOWELL.
II .-------------------------