A Brilliant Meteor

ON Sunday, the 8th inst., at 8.23 p.m., a very brilliant meteor was seen here by a party of four persons, of whom I was one. When I first saw it, it was almost in the zenith, and appeared considerably larger and more luminous than Venus (which had been visible for some time), though of much the same colour. It crossed the sky in a north-westerly direction, and became invisible about 17° above the horizon. As it travelled, a brilliant trail of red light appeared behind it, which increased in length and brightness as it descended, being fully three times longer than the head, when it attained its greatest length.