Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1856-05-15

Metcors.
On the evaning of the seventh of December
last, at about a quarter before five O'Clock,
while the sky was cloudless, and when twilight
had commenced, beautiful ball of fire, with
vivid tail of streaming vapors, was seen to de-
scend and to give out occasionally dazzling
showers of sparks. When the head Ind disap-
peared, tho TAIL which had the aspect of an
illuminated cloud, gradually twisted into the
form of Hogarths line of beauty, and thus
continued in sight for twenty ming sess In this
country, the fire ball sseiasd III a$ssssr or
sight when near. the horizon; but. at Havre,
persons are said to have heard a loud explosion
as it nearcd the earth. 1t was seen far and
wide; it was striking object at Rouen /; and
Mr. Webster, of Meath, in South Wales, says
it was the same there MIR. r. j Mann writes
from Ventnor, in the Isle of Wight, that it
burst upon him like flash of lightning and a
spectator at Great Grimshy, in Lincolnshire,
declares that little boys there mstoom it for
the moon falling down No doubt it was seen
at more distant places than these, and must
bayc been very high above the ground when
first visible. 1t would appear, from COMPARE
son of all observations, to have fallen from out
Mt sea-. One of its biosraphers has estimated
that it exploded at least fifty miles high in the
air !; and he has frightened the susceptible by
assuring us that its weight was above FIVE mill
ion tons
In periods and places lacking the light of
knowledge, much alarm has been created by
these sudden appearances One meteor, which
fell with great noise at the village of Door
allah in the Sikh country not long since, was
Immediately conveyed with much respect to the
village, and subscription forthwith commenced
to build II temple over it; the devout consider
ing it not inferior to y flesh incarnation of del
ty, The r"rh, however, eyed it politically
and fearing that it meant evil to his dynasty,
gladly listened to the rques of British officer,
who begged it of his hishncss; who ordered it
to be escorted by IL guardof honor of Brahmins
and Sikh horse but with express order that it
should not be brought near the place of his res
idence. Another meteor which burst over a
town in Malacca, SO affected Chnaman WHO
was i'll Mt the time, that he fell down in ct
and expired. In our straightforward times, we
shall not be inclined to look upon such phe-
nonomena as other than freaks Of nature ; aud
few will be prepared to join the old lady who
said ;, on hearing about tie metcorof December,
thut, if we marked her, we should hear of some
thing serious about the war Something seri-
rus has been heard und tho elderly prophecies
will no doubt be tempted to gay she " told us
So" since we have heard what /. is to be sim
cerely good.
Many of these extraordinary bodies have been
recorded, especially within the last few years;
but more have probably found their way to
earth uesecn. History speaks of lamp of
mceoric iron which descended into the river ut
Narni, in the Papal States. in the year nine
hundred and thirty before our era, us so
large that it stood four feet above the level of
the water Another at Kgos Potamos was said
to have been cqaal in size to two large mill
stones. Modern times have not seen such big
things, though not less interesting In Nor
mandy, at midday, fifty years ago, it rained hot
stones over q surface of twenty square miles
and some Of the stones weighed twenty pounds
A little more than two years ago IL magnificent
meteor shone out over the North of England -
1t was, to look at, equal in size to the sun, and
was pronounced to be a comet. 1t fell towards
the East, burning with a noise like thunder
scattering portions of its substance over Han
over. All the fragments of these aerollties are
found to possess nearly similor constitution
= half, or more, metallic (that mostly iron or
nickel, y and the rest earthly. The stony consti.
tuents predominant rarely; which leads to the
unquestonable inference, that such masses rs
that found in II plain northwest of Buenos
:, Ayres, supposed to weigh thirteen tons, AND
surrounded by nothing which would explain its
presence or claim its affinity; another discover
ed by Russian traveller on mountain of SLATE
in Siberia, fourteen hundred pounds in weight
and many Others in equally unaccountable po
sitions, were once fiery meteors finishing thei
: wondering existence by a rapid plunge into oul
: earth.
What arc they before we see them, and where
do they come from Solne-and learned men
: too-have supposed them to come from volca
; noes in the moon Others have suggested tha
: these solid bodies are formed in the air, manu-
featured out of gas but the lapse of time anc
the learning of valuable experiences has pon
ted out source quite satisfactory; and ha
. lifted the curtain before panorama of a mos
wonderful character.
Who has not felt an interest in watching. OF
' a clear night the Irregular Fittings of thos,
pretty stars which appear to be in search of
suitable lodgment in the skyl Some are faint
0 and their journey is short; others take Ion!
u sweeps and are bright, while few become brill
Q liant us the planet Venues, and sometimes leav,
n streaks of cloudy light behind them. Album
dant evidence has proved that these shootiu.
10 stars,
Gliding the night
With sweeping glories aai long trains of light,
r are none other than small bodies or Jumps O
Of stony substance which, in floating about il
St vast space, happen to graze or fly through th
in earth's thin atmosphere, and become shinin,
of hot by reason of the resistance it offers to tho
e violent motion This effect is nothing extraol
Sc binary, as it is well known that tinder may b
= ignted in q small tube, the dir in which is sud
OF denly compressed by means of plunger; ii
is deed, so much heat may bc raised in this wal
le that. if thirtytwo pound shot could be drive
be- through the air at the rate of ten miles De