Royal Society EL/A/31
From St George Ashe to Francis Aston, 16-09-1685
St George Ashe had left Dublin shortly after receiving a letter from Francis Aston,
occasioning a delay in his response.
- On the night of 13th/14th August and during the following day there had been heavy, continual rain in much of Ireland,
causing extensive flooding. (Ashe notes that the French Gazette reported a similar storm in Mecklenburg, North Germany, at
around the same time.) At Athlone the Shannon was observed to reverse its flow for a period of 24 hours and Ashe postulates a
topographical explanation for this.
- Description of the periodic squint experienced by Robert Edgeworth, a pupil at Trinity College
for 3 years before becoming a continual squint.
- Narcissus Marsh, bishop of Ferns and Leighlin, had submitted a design for a lamp to illuminate large spaces.
- Dr Mullen had conducted experiments injecting different liquids into the bloodstreams of dogs.
- Mr Keogh had invented a new alphabet, a sample of which could be sent to the Royal Society, if desired.
- Ashe had received a letter from Sir Richard Bulkeley reporting on a stream on his land that had forged
an underground passage and on 2 people, bitten by mad dogs, who had died without exhibiting the fear of water characteristic of rabies.
- Ashe would send separately a description of a girl with horns growing on her body, which he had promised to Mr Musgrave.
- The bearer of the letter was to be given the copy of the book by Hevelius, which the Royal
Society was sending to their Irish counterparts.