To Thomas Jefferson from Charles Meriwether, 24 September 1825

Dear Sir

Meriville Sepr 24th 1825—

This will be handed to you by my Nephew Mr Edward Barker and my two oldest sons Charles & William, they are on a visit to their relations in your part of the country and I could not resist the desire I felt to introduce them to your attention. they are young and virtuous, and will I hope in time possess accomplishments usefull to their country any notice of them by you, will be thankfully acknowledged by yours &ca

Charles Meriwether

[GRAPHIC IN MANUSCRIPT]A phenomenon was seen on the 19th & 26 of August last so strange that I take the liberty of presenting you a diagram of it. Figure 1 is the sun, 2 is a prismatic circle, 3 the zenith, 4 a circle of bright light passing through the sun, 5 two sections of circles intersecting the circle 4 at a point [op][ ]t the sun, 6 an interior prismatic oval seen on the 26th, the circles were all so bright that they could not be viewed with the naked eye the sky was covered with a thick haze, and the dist[ance] which I have heard from in which they have been seen is about 300 miles from south west to north east is it probable, that the cross seen by Constantine was a similar phenomenon on the 19th they were seen from eight oclock to eleven, on the 26 they were seen from nine oclock untill one in the afternoon

DLC: Papers of Thomas Jefferson.

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