Remarks Concerning Stones Said to Have Fallen from the Clouds, Both in These Days, and in Antient TimesKing, Edward
History
Remarks Concerning Stones Said to Have Fallen from the Clouds, Both in These Days, and in Antient Times
King, Edward
Meteorites
According to their accounts; about six o'clock, in the afternoon of the
day just mentioned, there was seen towards the east, a kind of fiery
ball; which, after it had burst into two parts, with a great report,
exceeding that of a cannon, fell from the sky, in the form, and
appearance of _two chains_ entangled in one another:--and also with a
loud noise, as of a great number of carriages rolled along. And after
this a black smoke appeared; and a part of the ball seemed to fall in an
arable field of one _Michael Koturnass_; on the fall of which to the
ground a still greater noise was heard; and a shock perceived, something
like an earthquake.
This piece was afterwards soon dug out of the ground; which had been
particularly noted to be plain and level, and ploughed just before; but
where it was now found to have made a great fissure, or cleft, an ell
wide, whilst it singed the earth on the sides.
The other piece, which fell in a meadow, was also dug up; and weighed
sixteen pounds.
And it is fairly observed, that the unadorned manner in which the whole
account from _Agram_ is written; the agreement of the different
witnesses, who had no reason to accord in a lie; and the similarity of
this history to that of the _Eichstedt_ stone; makes it at least very
probable, that there was indeed something real, and worth notice, in the
account.
The _Eichstedt_ stone (somewhat like that said to have fallen so lately
in Yorkshire) is described as having been composed of ash-grey sand
stone, with fine grains intermixed all through it, partly of real native
iron, and partly of yellowish brown ochre of iron: and as being about as
hard as building stone.--It is said not to effervesce with acids, and
evidently to consist of small particles of siliceous stone and iron.--It
had also a solid malleable coat of native iron, as was supposed, quite
free from sulphur, and about two lines thick; which quite covered its
surface; resembling a blackish glazing. And the whole mass exhibited
evident marks of having been exposed to fire.
A plain testimony of the falling of this was affirmed to be, produced as
follows; that a labourer, at a brick-kiln, in winter, when the earth was
covered with snow, saw it fall down out of the air immediately after a
violent clap of thunder;--and that he instantly ran up to take it out of
the snow; but found he could not do so, on account of its heat; and was
obliged therefore to wait, to let it cool. That it was about half a foot
in diameter; and was entirely covered with a black coat like iron.[FF]
And I must now add that there is a record;[GG] that stones, to the
number of some hundreds, did once fall in the neighbourhood of a place
called _Abdua_; which were very large and heavy;--of the colour of rusty
iron;--smooth, and hard;--and of a sulphureous smell:--and which were
observed to fall from a vehement whirlwind; that appeared (like that in
Tuscany) as an atmosphere of fire.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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