Writers in all ages have mentioned instances of stony bodies having been seen to fall from the sky. The Chinese and Japanese carefully note down the most striking and remarkable phenomena of nature, believing them to have some connexion with public affairs; and the chronicles of these people are said to contain many notices of the fall of stony bodies from the sky. Until within the last fifty years, however, these accounts have been treated in Europe as idle superstitions; scientific men denying even the probability of such an occurrence. The first scientific man who was bold enough to support the popular opinion, that stones actually do fall from the sky, was Chladni, a German philosopher, who published a pamphlet on the subject in 1794. This did not excite much attention, until, two years afterwards, a stone weighing fifty-six pounds was exhibited in London, which was said to have fallen in Yorkshire in the December of the preceding year; but, although the fact was attested by several respectable persons, the possibility of such an occurrence was still doubted. It was remarked, however, by Sir Joseph Banks, that this stone was very similar in appearance to one which had been sent to him from Italy, with an account of its having fallen from the clouds. In the year 1799, a number of stones were received by the Royal Society, from Benares, in the East Indies, which were also said to have fallen from the atmosphere, with a minute account of the circumstances attending the fall, which will be presently noticed; and, as these stones appeared to be precisely similar to the Yorkshire stone already noticed, attention was fairly drawn to the subject. In 1802, Mr. Howard published an analysis of a variety of these stones collected from different places; and his researches led to the important conclusion, that they are all composed of the same substances, and in nearly the same proportions. In 1803, a notice was received at Paris, of a shower of stones at L’Aigle in Normandy; and the Institute of France deputed M. Biot, a well-known and excellent natural philosopher, to examine, on the spot, all the circumstances attending this remarkable event. His account will be noticed presently; but it may here be stated, that the stones he collected, on being analysed, gave results similar to those obtained by Mr. Howard.