it is divided into a multitude of partial
masses, a sort of flakes of excessive lightness,
lying more or less apart from one another,
and having nothing in common but
the simultaneousness of their movements
in directions, and with velocities which
scarcely differ from each other.

When the earth, in her travels through
space, meets with one of these streams or
bands, a great number of the vapoury flakes
composing it penetrate our atmosphere.
The great velocity with which this penetration
takes place, gives rise to a sudden
and considerable compression of the masses
of air lying in the path of these ethereal
projectiles; whence a great development of
heat, and perhaps inflammation of the
matter of the projectiles themselves, if that
matter be of a nature to combine with one
of the elements of our atmospheric air.
Hence also, those rapid luminous trains
beheld in the sky, which cease when the
temperature produced is sufficiently lowered,
either by the slackening of these little
gaseous masses arrested in their course by
the earth's atmosphere, or by the cessation
of their combustion in the midst of that
same atmosphere.

If, in any portion of the primitive nebulous
mass and of the stream into which it
is transformed, there exist a greater
concentration of matter, so that, by the mutual
attraction of its molecules, that matter
resists dispersion into isolated flakes, this
nebulous nucleus (so to call it) will pursue
the same path in space as the other
material portions in the midst of which it was
originally situated. And if it can be perceived
in space at great distances from our
earth, it will constitute for us a comet
forming part of the meteoric stream
originating from the rest of the matter of the
primitive mass. We have seen that observation
has already allowed us to ascertain
the occurrence of several such instances.

A meteoric stream which crosses the
earth's orbit at one point of its circuit, and
whose different portions take several years
to pass this point of meeting, ought to be
traversed by the earth every year at the
same epoch. Hence the periodical flushes
of shooting stars which annually occur
with variable intensity, according to the
varying closeness to each other of the
nebulous flakes in the different portions of
the stream which the earth successively
encounters. As to the shooting stars called
"sporadic," they may be the result, either
of nebulous flakes arriving singly from
the depths of space, or rather of the portions
of meteoric streams which have been
closely approached by different planets,
but still without being absorbed into their
atmospheres, and which have consequently
been dispersed in all directions by the
powerful attractions which they have
momentarily experienced from those planetary
masses.

The resistance which the air opposes to
the movement of the little wandering masses
which appear to us in the shape of shooting
stars, usually produces no more than a
rapid decrease of their velocity; but
exceptions to the absolute regularity of that
resistance may occasionally occur, causing
those changes of direction by virtue of
which shooting stairs sometimes appear to
dart in a serpentine, or even an abruptly
altered path. As to the action of atmo-
spheric currents or winds, to which the
eccentric motions of a few shooting stars
have been attributed, it is evidently incapable
of producing any sensible effect, in
consequence of the exceedingly great
difference between the feeble speed of those
atmospheric currents and the enormous
velocity of the little nebulous masses which
traverse them.

The FOURTH VOLUME will be commenced on Saturday,
June 4, with a New Serial Story, entitled,

THE DOCTOR'S MIXTURE,

Which, will be continued from week to week until
completed.

A Short Serial Story will also be commenced in the First
Number of the New Volume, entitled,

IN THAT STATE OF LIFE.

And will be continued from week to week until
completed.

MR. DICKENS'S NEW WORK.

Just Published, PRICE ONE SHILLING,

PART TWO OF

THE MYSTERY OF EDWIN DROOD

BY CHARLES DICKENS.

WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY S. L. FILDES.

To be Completed in TWELVE MONTHLY Numbers,
uniform with the Original Editions of " PICKWICK"
and " COPPERPIELD."
London: CHAPMAN AND HALL, 193, Piccadilly.