but more particularly the outside coat or crust, which appearet almost wholly attracted by it.

"As two of the more perfect stones which I had obtained, as well as parts of some others, have been examined by several gentlemen well versed in mineralogy and chemistry, I shall not attempt any further description of their constituent parts; nor shall I offer any conjecture respecting the formation of such singular productions, or even record those which I have heard of others, but leave the world to draw their own inferences from the facts above related. I shall only observe, that it is well known there are no volcanos on the continent of India; and, as far as I can learn, no stones have been met with, in that part of the world, which bear the smallest resemblance to those above described."

The president having favoured Mr. Haward with specimens of the Yorkshire and Italian stones, and Mr. Williams with specimens of that from Benares; he likewise obtained a specimen of a stone from Bohemia, and being thus possessed of four substances, to all of which the same origin had been attributed, the necessity of describing them mineralogically, did not fail to present itself. This was executed by the count de Bournon, who presented Mr. Haward with an accurate and scientific description of them. As we have not room to insert the whole of this description, we shall only observe, that there is a singular coincidence not merely in the general history of the stones, but also in their general external characters; since, whatever may be their size, they are covered over the whole extent of their surface with a thin crust of a deep black colour: They have not the slightest gloss; and their surface is sprinkled over with small asperites. When broken, they are of a greyish ash colour, and evidently appear to be composed of four different substances, viz.

1. Small globular or elliptical bodies, from the size of a small pin's head to that of a pea, and sometimes even larger. 2. Martial pyrites, of an indeterminate form, and of a reddish yellow colour. 3. Small particles of iron, in a perfectly metallic and malleable state. 4. A grayish white earthy substance, which serves as a kind of cement to the others.

Mr. Haward adds, "They all exhibit a striking conformity of character common to each of these stones: and I doubt not but the similarity of component parts, especially of the malleable alloy, together with the near approach of the constituent proportions of the earths contained in each of the four stones, the immediate subject of this paper, will establish very strong evidence in favour of the assertion, that they have fallen on our globe. They have been found at places very remote from each other, and at periods also sufficiently distant. The mineralogists

who have examined them, agree that they have no resemblance to mineral substances, properly so called; nor have they been described by mineralogical authors. I would further urge the authenticity of accounts of fallen stones, and the similarity of circumstances attendant on such phenomena; but, to the impartial it would be superfluous, and, to those who disbelieve whatever they cannot explain, it would be fruitless. Attempts to reconcile occurrences of this nature with known principles in philosophy, it is true, are already abundant; but (as the Earl of Bristol has well expressed,) they leave us a choice of difficulties equally perplexing. It is however remarkable, that Dr. Chladni, who seems to have indulged in these speculations with most success, should have connected the descent of fallen stones with meteors; and that, in the narrative of Mr. Williams, the descent of the stones near Benares, should have been immediately accompanied with a meteor.

"No luminous appearance having been perceived during the day on which the stone fell in Yorkshire, it must be admitted, rather militates against the idea, that these stones are the substances which produce or convey the light of a meteor, or that a meteor must necessarily accompany them. Yet the stones from Sienna fell amidst what was imagined lightning, but what might in reality have been a meteor. Stones were also found, after the meteor seen in Gascony, in July, 1790.

I ought not perhaps to suppress, that in endeavouring to form an artificial black coating on the interior surface of one of the stones from Benares, by sending over it the electrical charge of about 37 square feet of glass, it was observed to become luminous, in the dark, for nearly a quarter of an hour and that the tract of the electrical fluid was rendered black. I by no means wish to lay any stress upon this circumstance; for I am well aware, that many substances become luminous by electricity.

But, should it ever be discovered that fallen stones are actually the bodies of meteors, it would not appear so problematical, that such masses as these stones are sometimes represented, do not penetrate further into the earth: For meteors move in a horizontal rather than in a perpendicular direction; and we are as absolutely unacquainted with the force which impels the meteor, as with the origin of the fallen stone.

"Before I close this subject, I may be particularly expected to notice the meteor which, a few months ago, traversed the country of Suffolk. It was said, that part of it fell near St. Edmundsbury, and even that it set fire to a cottage in that vicinity. It appeared from enquiries made on the spot, that something seemingly from the meteor, was, with a degree of reason, believed

to have fallen in the adjacent meadows; but the time of the combustion of the house did not correspond with the moment of the meteor's transition. A phenomenon much more worthy of attention, has since been described in the Philosophical Magazine. On the night of the 5th of April, 1800, a body wholly luminous was seen, in America, to move with prodigious velocity. Its apparent size was that of a large house, 70 feet long; and its elevation above the surface of the earth, about 200 yards. The light produced effects little short of sun beams; and a considerable degree of heat was felt by those who saw it, but no electric sensation. Immediately after it disappeared in the northwest, a violent rushing noise was heard, as if the phenomenon were bearing down the forest before it ; and, in a few seconds after, there was a tremendous crash, causing a very sensible earthquake. Search being afterwards made in the place where the burning body fell, every vegetable was found burnt, or greatly scorched, and a considerable portion of the surface of the earth broken up. We have to lament, that the authors of this account did not search deeper than the surface of the ground.Such an immense body, though moving in a horizontal direction, could not but be hurried to a considerable depth. Should it have been more than the semblance of a body of a peculiar nature, the lapse of ages may perhaps effect what has now been neglected; and its magnitude and solitary situation become the astonishment of future philosophers.

"This leads me to speak of the solitary mass of what has been called native iron, which was discovered in South America, and has been described by Don Rubin de Celis. Its weight was about 15 tons. The same author mentions another insulated mass of the same nature."

Mr. Haward concludes, "it will appear, from a collected view of the preceding pages and authorities, that a number of stones asserted to have fallen under similar circumstances, have precisely the same characters. The stones from Benares, the stone from Yorkshire, that from Sienna, and a fragment of one from Bohemia, have a relation to each other not to be questioned.

1st. They have all pyrites of a peculiar character. 2dly. They have all a coating of black oxide of iron. 3dly. They all contain an alloy of iron and nickel. And 4thly. The earths which serve to them as a sort of connecting medium, correspond in their nature, and nearly in their proportions.

"Moreover, in the stones from Benares, pyrites and globular bodies are exceedingly distinct. In the others they are more or less definite; and that from Sienna had one of its globules transparent. Meteors, or lightning attended the descent of the

stones at Benares, and at Sienna. Such coincidence of circumstances, and the unquestionable authorities I have adduced, must, I imagine, remove all doubt as to the descent of these stony substances; for, to disbelieve on the mere ground of incomprehensibility, would be to dispute most of the works of

nature.

"Respecting the kinds of iron called native, they all contain nickel. The mass in South America is hollow, has concavities, and appears to have been in a soft or welding state, because it has received various impressions. The Siberian iron has globular concavities, in part filled with a transparent substance, which, the proportional quantity of oxide of iron excepted, has nearly the composition of the globules in the stone from Benares. The iron from Bohemia adheres to earthy matter studded with globular bodies. The Senegal iron had been completely mutilated before it came under my examination."

PHENOMENON OF THE SUN'S STANDING STILL

The following is the opinion of the learned Rev. Doct. Adam Clarke, LL. D. F. R. S. upon the marvellous subject of the Sun's being arrested in his going down beyond the mount of Gibeon, and remaining in that position about the space of one whole day.

Then spake Joshua to the Lord. Though Joshua saw that the enemies of his people were put to flight, yet he well knew that all which escaped would rally again; and that he should be obliged to meet them once more in the field of battle if permitted now to escape; finding that the day was drawing towards a close, he feared that he should not have time sufficient to complete the destruction of the confederate armies: In this moment being suddenly inspired with Divine confidence, he requested the Lord to perform the most stupendous miracle that had ever been wrought, which was no less than to arrest the sun in its course, and prolong the day till the destruction of his enemies had been completed!

Sun, stand thou still upon Gibeon; and thou Moon, in the valley of Ajelon. To account for this miracle, and to ascertain the manner in which it was wrought, has employed the pens of the ablest divines and astronomers, especially of the two last centuries. By their learned labours many difficulties have been removed from the account in general; but the very different and contradictory method pursued by several, in their endeav

ours to explain the whole, and make the relation concord with the present acknowledged system of the universe, and the phenomena of nature, tend greatly to puzzle the plain unphilosophical reader. The subject cannot be well explained without a dissertation; and a dissertation is not consistent with the nature of short notes, or a commentary on scripture. It is however necessary to attempt an explanation; and to bring that as much as possible within the apprehension of common readers : ein order to this, I must beg leave to introduce a few preliminary observations, or what the reader may call propositions, if he please.

1. I take it for granted that a miracle was wrought as nearly as circumstances could admit, in a manner in which it is here a recorded. I shall not, therefore, seek for any allegorical or metaphorical interpretations: the miracle is recorded as a fact; and as a fact I take it up.

2. I consider the present accredited system of the universe, called sometimes, the Pythagorean, Copernican, or Newtonian system, to be genuine; and also to be the system of the universe, laid down in the Mosaic writings-that the SUN is in the centre of what is called the solar system; and that the earth and all the other planets, whether primary or secondary, move round him in certain periodical times, according to the quantity of their matter, and distance from him, their centre.

3. I consider the sun to have no revolution round any orbit, but to revolve round his own axis, and round the common centre of gravity in the planetary system, which centre of gravity is included within his own surface, and in all other respects I consider him to be at rest in the system.

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4. I consider the earth, not only as revolving round the sun, in 365 days, 5 hours, 48 minutes, and 48 seconds, but as revolving round its own axis, and making this revolution in 23 hours, 56 minutes, and 4 seconds that in the course of 24 hours complete, every part of its surface is alternately turned to the sun; and that this revolution constitutes our day and night, as the former does our year: that it is day to all those parts which have the sun above the horizon; and night to those which have the sun below it: and that this diurnal revolution of the earth, or revolving round its own axis, in a direction from west to east, occasions what is commonly called the rising and setting of the sun, which appearance is occasioned, not by any motion in the sun himself, but by this motion of the earth; which may be illustrated by a ball or globe appended to a thread, and caused to turn round. If this be held opposite to a candle, it will appear half enlightened and half dark; but the dark parts will be seen to come successively into the light, and the en