In France, on the 13th of July in the year 1788;--of which it is well known there has been a printed account: and concerning which it is said, and has been confirmed, on good authority, that some of the stones weighed three pounds: whilst others have been said to weigh even five pounds. And in England, on the 20th of October, 1791, in Cornwall. Of one of the hail-stones of this latter, minor storm, I have had an opportunity of obtaining, by the favour of a friend, an exact model in glass; whereof I now add an engraving. This stone fell, with thousands of others of the same kind, near _Menabilly_, the seat of _Philip Rashleigh_, Esq.; well known for his science, and attention to whatever is curious; who having great copper works, and many ingenious miners, and workmen, on his estate, and directly under his eye; caused it to be instantly picked up: and having then, himself, first traced both its top, and bottom, upon paper; and having measured its thickness in every part, with a pair of compasses; caused a very exact mould to be formed: and afterwards, in that mould, had this model cast in glass: wherein, also, the appearances of the imbedded, common, small, roundish hail-stones, are seen transparently; just as they appeared in the great hail-stone itself originally. Fig. 1, is a representation of the flat bottom of the stone. Fig. 2, is a representation of the top of the stone. And fig. 3, shews the whole solid appearance sideways. Whilst Mr. Rashleigh was taking the measures, it melted so fast, that he could not, in the end, take the _exact weight_, as he fully intended to have done. But as this model in glass weighs exactly 1 ounce, 16 pennyweights, 23 grains, we may fairly conclude, that the hail-stone itself weighed much above half an ounce. For it is well known, that the specific gravity of common glass, of which sort this model is made, is to that of water, as 2.620 to 1.000. And the specific gravity of common water, is to ice, as 8 to 7.[CC]--And computing according to this standard, I make the exact weight of the hail-stone to have been 295 grains. From the singular manner in which the small, prior, common hail-stones appear to have been imbedded in this larger one, whilst they were falling to the earth; there is reason to be convinced, that it was formed in the atmosphere, by a sudden extraordinary congelation _almost instantaneously_, out of rain suddenly condensed, which was mingled with the common hail. And it was very remarkable, that its dissolution, and melting, also, was much more rapid than that of the common small white hail-stones: as was the case, in like manner, with the other numerous large ones. Perhaps it ought to be here added:--that on the 18th of May, in the year 1680, some hail-stones are recorded to have fallen in London, near _Gresham college_, which were seen and examined by the celebrated _Dr. Hooke_; and were some of them not less than two inches over, and others three inches.