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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. 1 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.

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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. Edmundsburg, 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 buried 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.

stand still, which they grant, would have been the most accurate and philosophical mode of command on this occasion." But with due deference both to the objectors and defenders, I must assert that such a form of speech, on such an occasion, would have been utterly unphilosophic; and that the expressions found in the Hebrew text, are such as Sir Isaac Newton himself might have denominated, every thing considered, elegant, correct, and sublime. Nor does it at all appear, that the prejudices of the vulgar were consulted on this occasion; nor is there a word here, when properly understood, that is inconsistent with the purest axiom of the soundest philosophy; and certainly nothing that implies any contradiction. I grant, that when the people have to do with astronomical and philosophical matters, then the terms of the science may be accommodated to their apprehensions: it is on this ground that Sir Isaac Newton himself speaks of the rising and of the setting of the sun; though all genuine philosophers know, that these appearances are produced by the rotation of the earth on its own axis, from west to east. But when matters of this kind are to be transacted between GoD and his prophets, as in the above case, then subjects relative to philosophy, are conceived in their proper terms, and expressed according to their own nature. At the conclusion of the 13th verse, a different expression is used when it is said, So the sun stood still, it is not dom, but amad; vaiyaâmod ha-shemesh, which expression, thus varying from that in the command of Joshua, may be considered as implying that in order to restrain his influence, which I have assumed to be the cause, of the earth's motion, the sun himself became inactive, that is, ceased to revolve around his own axis; which revolution is probably one cause, not only of the revolution of the earth, but of all the other planetary bodies in our system, and might have affected all the planets at the time in question; but this neither could, nor did, produce any disorder in nature; and the delay of a few hours in the whole planetary motions, dwindles away into an imperceptible point in the thousands of years of their revolutions. I need scarcely add, that the command of Joshua to the sun, is to be understood as a prayer to God (from whom the sun derived his being and his continuance) that the effect might be what is expressed in the command; and therefore it is said, ver. 14. that the LORD HEARKENED UNTO THE VOICE OF A MAN, for the Lord fought for Israel.

I have thus gone through the different parts of this astonishing miracle, and have endeavoured to account for the whole in as plain and simple a manner as possible. It is not pretended that this account should satisfy every reader; and that every difficulty is solved: it would be impossible to do this in such a compass as that by which I am necessarily circumscribed; and I have

heen obliged, for the sake of brevity, to throw into the form of propositions or observations, several points which may appear to demand illustration and proof-for such, I must refer the reader to Astronomical Treatises. Calmet, Scheuchzer, and Saurin, with several of our own countrymen, have spoken largely on this difficult subject; but in such a way, as I am obliged to confess, has given me very little satisfaction; and which appears to me, to leave the main difficulties unremoved. Conscious of the difficulties of this subject, I beg leave to address every candid reader, in the often quoted words of an eminent author.

Vive, vale! si quid novisti rectius istis,
Candidus imperti; si non. his utere mecum.

Hor. Epist. 1. i. E. vi. ver. 67.

Farewell! and if a better system's thine,
Impart it frankly, or make use of mine.

FRANCIS.

THE WORKS OF GOD DISPLAYED.

An account of a monstrous species of Eagle, which inhabits South America.

THE Contur or Condur, is a native of South America: and is of the eagle kind. Captain Strong, (as Sir Hans Sloane informs us, in the Philosophical Transactions, No. 208) shot one of them on the coast of Chili, not far from Mocha, an island in the Soath Sea. It was shot, sitting on a cliff, by the sea side; and was sixteen feet from wing to wing extended. He gave Sir Hans one of the feathers, (which is now in the British Museum) and is two feet, four inches long; the quill part, five inches and three quarters long, and one inch and a half about in the largest part. It weighed then, (says he) three drams, seventeen grains and a half, and is of a dark brown colour.

To this account, Sir Hans Sloane adds the testimony of Garcilasio de la Vaga, who declares, "That several of the fow is have been killed by the Spaniards, and measured from end to end of their wings extended, fifteen or sixteen feet. Nature, he observes, to temper and allay their fierceness, hath denied them the talons which are given to the eagle; their feet being tipped with claws like a hen; however, their beak is strong enough to tear off the hide, and rip up the bowels of an ox! Two of them will attempt a cow or a bull, and will devour him and it hath often happened that one of them hath assaulted boys of ten or twelve years of age; and hath eaten them." The Spanish inhabitants on the coast of Chili told Capt. Strong,

it will appear half enlightened and half dark; but the dark parts will be seen to come successively into the light, and the enlightened parts into the shade; while the candle itself which gives the light, is fixed, not changing its position.

5. I consider the solar influence to be the cause both of the annual and diurnal motion of the earth; and that while that influence continues to act upon it, according to the law which God originally impressed on both the earth and the sun, the annual and diurnal motions of the earth must continue; and that no power, but the unlimited power of God, can alter this influence, change or suspend the operation of this law; but that He is such an infinitely FREE AGENT, that He can, when his unerring wisdom sees good, alter, suspend, or even annihilate all secondary causes and their effects; for it would be degrading to the perfections of his nature to suppose, that he had so bound himself by the laws which he has given for the preservation and direction of universal nature, that he could not change them, alter their effects, or suspend their operations, when greater and better effects, in a certain time or place, might be produced by such temporary change or suspension.

6. I consider, that the miracle wrought on this occasion, served greatly to confirm the Israelites, not only in the belief of the being and perfections of God, but also in the doctrine of an especial providence, and in the nullity of the whole system of idolatry and superstition.

7. That no evil was done by this miraculous interference, nor any law or property of nature ultimately changed; on the contrary, a most important good was produced, which probably, to this people, could not have been brought about any other way; and that, therefore, the miracle wrought on this occasion, was highly worthy of the wisdom and power of God.

8 I consider, that the terms in the text employed to describe this miracle, are not when rightly understood, contrary to the well established notions of the true system of the universe; and are not spoken, as some have contended, ad captum vulgi, to the prejudices of the common people, much less do they favour the Ptolemic or any other hypothesis, that places the earth in the centre of the solar system.

Having laid down these preliminaries, some short observations on the words of the text may be sufficient.

And the sun stood still in the midst of heaven, and hasted not to go down about a whole day.

It seems necessary here to answer the question, At what time of the day did this miracle take place? The expression bechatsi hashamayim, in the midst of heaven, seems to intimate, that the sun was at that time on the meridian of Gibeon, and consequently had one half of its course to run; and this sense

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