Edward King

“ It is also well known, that a mixture of pyrites of almost any kind, beaten small, and mixed with iron filings and water, when buried in the ground will take fire; and produce a sort of artificial volcano. And, surely then, wherever a vast quantity of such kind of matter should at any time become mixed together, as flying dust, or ashes; and be by any means condensed together, or compressed, the same effect might be produced, even in the atmosphere and air. ”

“ And, as I shall add my own conclusions without reserve; because the whole of the phænomenon tends greatly to confirm some ideas which I had previously been led to form, many years ago, concerning the consolidation of certain species of stone; it may open a door for further curious investigation.
And it may at least amuse, if not instruct; whilst I add a short detail of uncommon facts, recorded in antient history, and tending to shew clearly, that we are not without precedents of similar events having happened, in the early ages of antiquity. ”

“ Professor Soldani saw another stone, said to have fallen from the cloud, which had the figure of a parallelopiped, blunted at the angles; and was as it were varnished, on the outside, with a black crust; and quite unlike any stones whatever of the soil of the country where it had fallen.
Two ladies being at Cozone, about 20 miles from Siena, saw a number of stones fall, with a great noise, in a neighbouring meadow: one of which, being soon after taken up by a young woman, burnt her hand: another burnt a countryman's hat: and a third was said to strike off the branch of a mulberry tree ”

“ Sir William Hamilton himself formed somewhat this sort of conclusion, on receiving the first intimation of this shower of stones from the Earl of Bristol. [F]
I cannot therefore but allow my own conclusion to carry conviction with it to my own mind; and to send it forth into the world; as a ground, at least, for speculation, and reflection, to the minds of others. ”

“ For first; the fall of four stones is precisely ascertained: one of which was of an irregular figure, with a point like that of a diamond;—weighed five pounds and an half;—and had a vitriolic smell.—And another weighed three pounds and an half;—was black on the outside, as if from smoke;—and, internally, seemed composed of matter of the colour of ashes;—in which were perceived small spots of metals, of gold and silver. ”

“ And much more should we be led to do so; when, to these observations, and testimonies, concerning showers of hot burning stones, is added the consideration; that within the short period of our own lives, incredibly large real hail-stones, formed of consolidated ice;—of ice consolidated in the atmosphere, have fallen both in France, and in England. ”

“ If, in the Eichstedt specimen, the effects of fire appear tolerably evident; they are, in this, not to be mistaken.—Its surface is full of spherical impressions, like the mass of iron, which the celebrated Pallas found on the Jenisei river; except that here the impressions are larger, and less deep; and it [24] wants both the yellow glass, which fills up the hollows of the Siberian iron; and the sand stone, which is found in the Eichstedt specimen; the whole mass being solid, compact, and black, like hammered iron. ”

“ I have long been convinced, that stones in general, and strata of rocks, of all kinds, have been formed by two very different operations of those elements, which the wisdom, and omnipotent hand of God, has ordained, and created. ”

“ It is hard to conceive how mankind should ever have been led to so accursed an abomination, as the worship of stocks, and stones, at all: but, as far as any thing so horrid is to be ac [16] counted for, there is no way so likely of rendering a possible account; as that of concluding, that some of these pyramidal stones, at least, like the image of Diana, actually did fall, in the earliest ages, from the clouds; in the same manner as these pyramidal stones fell, in 1794, in Tuscany. ”

“ From the singular manner in which the small, prior, common hail-stones appear to have been imbedded in this larger one, whilst they were falling to the earth; there is reason to be convinced, that it was formed in the atmosphere, by a sudden extraordinary congelation almost instantaneously, out of rain suddenly condensed, which was mingled with the common hail. ”

“ The conclusion which Professor Soldani evidently forms, is; that the stones were generated in the air, by a combination of mineral substances, which had risen somewhere or other, as exhalations, [8] from the earth: but, as he seems to think, not from Vesuvius.
The names of many persons, besides those already referred to, are mentioned; who were eye witnesses to the fall of the stones. And several depositions were made, in a regular juridical manner, to ascertain the truth of the facts.
The space of ground, within which the stones fell, was from three to four miles. ”

“ Lightning is an electrical stroke on a large scale.—If then the reduction of iron can be obtained, by the discharge of an electrical machine; why should not this be accomplished as well, and with much greater effect by the very powerful discharge of the lightning of the clouds?"
The substance of the account of the fall of stones, in Hungary, as given by him, after the most accurate inquiries, is what I shall now add in the following abridged detail ”

“ Who casteth forth his ice like morsels; [Z] and should be led to consider "fire and hail, snow and vapours, wind and storm as fulfilling his word;" [AA] we should also be led to perceive, that the objections to Holy Writ, founded on a supposed impossibility of the truth of what is written in the book of Joshua, [BB] concerning the stones that fell from heaven, on the army of the Canaanites; are only founded in ignorance, and error. ”

“ The well known, and celebrated Cardan, in his book, De Varietate Rerum, lib. 14. cap. 72. tells us, that he himself, in the year 1510, had seen one hundred and twenty stones fall [28] from heaven; among which one weighed one hundred and twenty; and another sixty pounds. That they were mostly of an iron colour, and very hard, and smelt of brimstone. He remarks, moreover, that about three o'clock, a great fire was to be seen in the heavens; and that about five o'clock the stones fell down with a rushing noise. ”

“ That ashes, and sand, and pyritical and sulphureous dust, mixed with metallic particles from volcanoes; fit for the in [13] stantaneous crystallization, and consolidation of such bodies as we have been describing, are often actually floating in the atmosphere, at incredible distances from volcanoes, and more frequently than the world are at all aware of, is manifest from several well attested facts.
On the 26th of December, 1631, Captain Badily, being in the Gulph of Volo, in the Archipelago, riding at anchor, about ten o'clock at night, it began to rain sand and ashes ”

“ Of one of the hail-stones of this latter, minor storm, I have had an opportunity of obtaining, by the favour of a friend, an exact model in glass; whereof I now add an engraving.
This stone fell, with thousands of others of the same kind, near Menabilly, the seat of Philip Rashleigh, Esq.; well known for his science, and attention to whatever is curious; who having great copper works, and many ingenious miners, and workmen, on his estate, and directly under his eye ”

“ Amongst other stones that fell; was one weighing two pounds, and two ounces; which was also an oblong parallelopiped, with blunted angles, (as they are called, but which I think meant plainly prismatical terminations, and are said to have been about an inch in height;) and this was most remarkable for having, a small circle, or sort of belt round it, in one part; wherein the black crust appeared more smooth; and shining like glass ”

“ And our truest wisdom, and best improvement of knowledge, consist in searching out, and in attending diligently, [32] to what he has actually done: ever bearing in mind those words of the holy Psalmist. [PP]
"The works of The Lord are great: sought out of all them that have pleasure therein.
"The Lord hath so done his marvellous works, that they ought to be had in remembrance."
POSTSCRIPT. Since these sheets were printed, I have received from Sir Charles Blagden, a present of one of the very small stones mentioned, p. 7, that are affirmed to have fallen in Tuscany ”