ON METEORITES, OR CELESTIAL STONES 93
magic power because of the celestial origin of the material employed.41
Michele Mercato48
(d. 1593) gives a vivid description of the fall of a meteor which was
observed near Castrovi-larii, in Calabria, January 10,1583. Some men in
a meadow observed a black, whirling cloud rushing through the air, and
saw it descend to the earth not far from where they were standing. The
noise accompanying the descent of the meteorite was so deafening that
it was heard far and wide, and the poor men fell to the ground almost
unconscious from terror. People from the neighborhood hastened to the
spot and, after restoring the terrified witnesses of the phenomena,
discovered a mass of iron weighing thirty-three pounds at the spot
where the black cloud had touched the earth.
The
startling phenomenon of a rain of stones from the sky which took place
under rather queer circumstances is reported by the Jesuit priest
Alvarus as having occurred in China in 1622. The Taoist priests of that
land enjoyed the repute of being able to bring down rain from the sky
by their magic or religious rites, and when, during the year mentioned,
China was visited by a drought of unexampled severity, the aid of these
rain-makers was invoked. Yielding, perhaps not unwillingly, to the
popular entreaty, a group of priests ascended a hill and proceeded to
pronounce their invocations. To the joy of the onlookers the sky
became darkened and a rushing sound was heard, at first mistaken for
an oncoming rain-storm, but to the dismay of all an immense shower of
stones of all sizes fell upon the earth, destroying what remained of
the parched fruits and
β
Ε. F. F. Chladni, " Neues Verzeichnisa der herabgefallenen Stein· und
Eigenmassen," p. 17; Gilbert's Annalen der Physik, vol. 1. (From copy
having MS. notes and emendations by the author.)
"Metallotheca Vaticana, Rome, 1710, p. 248.
