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Halo.-Falling or Shooting Star

a kind of glory, consisting of three or four small concentric crowns, of a very lively colour, each exhibiting all the varieties of the primary rainbow, and having the circle of red on the outside. The intervals between these circles continued equal, though the diameters of them all were constantly changing. The last of them was very faint; and at a considerable distance was another great white circle, which surounded the whole. This phenomenon never appeared but in a cloud consisting of frozen particles, and never in drops of rain like the rainbow. When the sun was not in the horizon, only part of he white circle was visible, as M. Bouquer frequently observed afterwards. Similar to this curious appearance, was one seen by Dr. M'Fait in Scotland; who observed a rainbow round his shadow in the mist, when he was upon an eminence above it. In this situation the whole country round seemed buried under a vast deluge, and nothing but the tops of distant hills appeared here and there above the flood. In those upper regions, the air, he says, is at that time very pure and agreeable. At another time he observed a double range of colours round his shadow. The colours of the outermost range were broad and very distinct, and every where about two feet distant from the shadow. Then there was a darkish interval, and after that another narrower range of colours, closely surrounding the shadow, which was very much contracted. He thinks that these ranges of colours are caused by the inflection of the rays of light, the same that occasions the ring of light which surrounds the shadow of all bodies, observed by M. Maraldi, and others.

We next proceed to the phenomenon generally called FALLING OR SHOOTING STAR. - This is a luminous meteor, darting rapidly through the air, and resembling a star falling from the heavens. The explication of this phenomenon had puzzled all philosophers, till the modern discoveries in electricity led to the most probable account of it. Signior Beccari makes it pretty evident, that it is an electrical appearance, and recites the following fact in proof of his opinion. About an hour after sunset, he, and some friends that were with him, observed a falling star directing its course towards them, and apparently growing larger and larger, but it disappeared it disappeared not far from them. When it vanished, it left their faces, hands, and clothes, with the earth, and all the neigh bouring objects, suddenly illuminated with a diffused and lambent light, but not attended with any noise. During their surprise at this appearance, a servant informed them, that he had seen a light shine suddenly in the garden, and especially upon the streams which he was throwing to water it. All these appearances were evidently electrical; and Beccari was 4 R confirmed in his conjecture, that electricity was the cause of them, by the quantity of electric matter which he had seen gradually advancing towards a kite he had elevated, which had very much the appearance of a falling star. Sometimes, also, he saw a kind of glory round the kite, which followed it when it changed its place, but left some light, for a small space of time, in the place it had quitted.

Captain Bagnold says, whilst passing through the straits of Bahama, in the autumn of 1799, he witnessed the following singular atmospheric phenomenon. "It was a fine star-light morning, about two o'clock, the atmosphere remarkably clear, with a light air from the northeast; the sky to windward, from north-north-east to southsouth-east, was illuminated by a profusion of those meteors, vulgarly denominated falling stars, but of a description far more vivid than those usually seen in the higher latitudes; the head of each was an oblong ignited mass, followed by a long luminous tail, which, after three or four seconds, gradually vanished. They were formed, to all appearance, in the air, at an elevation of from thirty-five to sixty-four degrees, none being observed in the zenith, and few to commence nearer the horizon than the first-mentioned angles. At the mean of these elevations, the greatest numbers were seen darting in different directions, forming portions of a large curve, all slightly inclined to the horizon. Multitudes were constantly visible at the same moment, and they succeeded each other so rapidly, that the eye of the spectator was kept in motion between the above points of the compass. about ten minutes they became less frequent, and at length ceased altogether.

In "The apparent distance of this phenomenon would, by a seaman, be estimated at fifteen or twenty miles; and if it really was what I have always considered it, namely, a nocturnal shower of meteoric stones, it was perhaps fortunate for all on board, that we were not within the sphere of its action: whatever it was, never shall I forget the splendour of the spectacle." -See Humboldt's Personal Narrative, volume III. page 331, 335.

We close this chapter with AN ACCOUNT OF THREE VOL CANOES IN THE MOON; by Dr. Herschel. "It will be necessary to say a few words by way of introduction to the account I have to give of some appearances upon the moon. The phenomena of nature, especially those that fall under the inspection of the astronomer, are to be viewed, not only with the usual attention to facts as they occur, but with the eye of reason and experience. In this we are however, not allowed to depart from plain appearances