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; and it was verified by _Wolfgang Kukulyewich, Spiritual vicar of Francis Baron Clobuschiczky, Bishop of Agram_, who caused seven eye witnesses to be examined, concerning the actual falling of these stones on the 26th of May, 1751;--which witnesses were ready to testify all they affirmed, upon oath,--and one of them was Mr. George Marsich, Curate, as we should call him, of the parish.
According to their accounts; about six o'clock, in the afternoon of the day just mentioned, there was seen towards the east, a kind of fiery ball; which, after it had burst into two parts, with a great report, exceeding that of a cannon, fell from the sky, in the form, and appearance of _two chains_ entangled in one another:--and also with a loud noise, as of a great number of carriages rolled along. And after this a black smoke appeared; and a part of the ball seemed to fall in an arable field of one _Michael Koturnass_; on the fall of which to the ground a still greater noise was heard; and a shock perceived, something like an earthquake.
This piece was afterwards soon dug out of the ground; which had been particularly noted to be plain and level, and ploughed just before; but where it was now found to have made a great fissure, or cleft, an ell wide, whilst it singed the earth on the sides.
The other piece, which fell in a meadow, was also dug up; and weighed sixteen pounds.
And it is fairly observed, that the unadorned manner in which the whole account from _Agram_ is written; the agreement of the different witnesses, who had no reason to accord in a lie; and the similarity of this history to that of the _Eichstedt_ stone; makes it at least very probable, that there was indeed something real, and worth notice, in the account.
The _Eichstedt_ stone (somewhat like that said to have fallen so lately in Yorkshire) is described as having been composed of ash-grey sand stone, with fine grains intermixed all through it, partly of real native iron, and partly of yellowish brown ochre of iron: and as being about as hard as building stone.--It is said not to effervesce with acids, and evidently to consist of small particles of siliceous stone and iron.--It had also a solid malleable coat of native iron, as was supposed, quite free from sulphur, and about two lines thick; which quite covered its surface; resembling a blackish glazing. And the whole mass exhibited evident marks of having been exposed to fire.