ny 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.

Here I intended to have concluded all my observations. But a recent
publication, which I knew not of, when these sheets were written,
obliges me to add a few more pages.

In a very singular tract, published in 1794, at Riga, by Dr. _Chladni_,
concerning the supposed origin of the mass of iron found by Dr. Pallas
in Siberia; which the Tartars still affirm to be _an holy thing_, and,
_to have fallen from heaven_; and concerning what have been supposed, by
him, to be similar phaenomena; some circumstances are also mentioned,
which it would be an unjust omission not to take notice of shortly, on
the present occasion.

With the author's hypothesis I do not presume to interfere; but surely
his facts, which he affirms in support of his ideas, deserve much
attention; and ought to be inserted, before I conclude these
observations: and the rather, as they were adduced to maintain
conclusions very different from these now offered to the consideration
of the curious.

On the 21st of May, 1676, a fire ball was seen to come from
Dalmatia,[HH] proceeding over the Adriatic sea; it passed obliquely over
Italy; where an hissing noise was heard; it burst SSW from Leghorn, with
a terrible report; _and the pieces are said to have fallen into the
sea_, with the same sort of noise, as when red hot iron is quenched or
extinguished in water. Its height was computed to be not less than
thirty-eight Italian miles; and it is said to have moved with immense
velocity. Its form was oblong, at least as the luminous appearance
seemed in its passage.

_Avicenna_ mentions, (Averrhoes