I 'JDcpatcit 4o Ipolitics, literature, Agriculture, Science, iiloralitn, anb aural Sntclligencc. Tfjf NO.;'44. VOL 18. STROUDSBURG-, MONEOE COUNTY, PA. OCTOBER 21, 1858. to Enblisbcd by Theodore Sfihoch., Collars andf.a qu-.irtcr, half yearly anil if tiM pUid be- TERMS. Two dollars per annum in actvaice i wo - No paperj discontinued until all arrearages jre paid, fcxeepi at the option of the Editoi. ulf Advertisements oi tine simian; nun uira bne orUiree-iiifr-crtioiis, $1 00. Each addiiidul mscr- j tionTtli cents. Longer ones in proportion. T irrMr? rFf TPS w. "Having a general assortment of large, pin and or aamental Type, we ate prepared to excite every de scription of Sards, Circulars Hill Heads, Notes, lank Receipts, Justices. Legal and other Jll.inks, l'attlilcts. .to., prin tetPwith neatness and despatch, on oason.tble .terms III II I - - - - rmi-aWX: r Chess Problcn. i John and Julia's probVm, by Amator t John to move and mate n two moves . John moves his arm roundha. a neck : SKe moves one square arwhispers check; lie, nothing daunted, mt-s r.0ni &ir..iyu Ilia lips to hers, and cals out tliatC . " " SOLUON Poor Julia yields to lJes constraints; Sighs, blushes, palpitate anil faints. o rj From theyS Y. Mercury, TKELTJCiqHEPLY. A SKEfl u. ft, BY WILLIAM LMN TRIBALL. , In ail my mc i upm',1,,u "'have both, will endeavor to secure Vvc never known a more singular man thamNathan lswell former forty year., ago a merchjt. a banker, and .jjm peered Mr. Wiswell. a buccessful .-peculator! m tho city ofj .j lmve gomelime8 feared,' said Thad Jhurchen. m ' deus,' that the deprivations to which eve- Pampered in hb infai-y by his purse- 'ry poor w-fo i:. subjected, might proud pareuts aud thehparaMte, he had occa:;jon regrct or disappointment.' early acquired au iujlent manner a ,If yQU knew the dcptu of my lOVOf' manner always unpopuir. in-plied the warm-hcartud girl, you would During hi3 mtuoritjjt had reudered disQ)i:jS such idie fearsj. him au object of dislikimong his school- j ,j have ncvcr j jt my dear. fellows, and almost wblly deprived him And from tj,e zenith of afflueoce to of youthful associates-pe want of whom c uadjr o- p0Vcrt7 i3 a dangerous jour as a consequet'ce, hadtoured his temper. nej fun 0f p,t.fail3 aud precipices, and and increased his haumwicss. very 'few accompli.-h the descent without "When be attained manhood, and as-; broj.ea hearts aud shattered constitutions.' sumcd the re-ponMbips of buMiieas a .0hj Thaddeus! have done with your kind that made hiaimaauT u. - nrl fn1-ntS of Other h1' -U11.1 character- istic underwent but f tie modification, lie never bandicords -with those ie 10 his omploy, and onfi occaMous exiraLi-; t .It A A I ed the moat ousequM anccr aud violence pew no oouuaa wnen he was crossed or ditradicted. "But there wai h great redeeming trait in his charier, which must be particularly meutirid, as upon it lunges this very iucidentJ I allude to the Jden happy influence of the lucky replj which was, all things considered, the tut rcmarkablo feature of bis singular co; uct. rvu. w o noc! ritv wnicu uuiuu'u tu o- some nf fhfi mof distiuguistied men of former ages, arlany instances have j becn recorded bfhe biographer and his- Not only the k and hoerty of mdi-, viduals, but theroperity and perman-! ence of nations)ave been affected by it In a riwvt unexfjted manner. But no persoever lived more suscep tible to iu infipce thn Mr. Wis well. He bas becequently knowu to dis miss men froujH employ, for some real or supposed duce, aud reinstate them withiu an ho, afterwards, became of chance remar;probably uttered in an ger, which fucJ him at the moment. Marion, h'puly daughter, was seven- 1 . tit- 1 teen, grace' suuu 'uu",uoi anu L'OOd loottiug. auu 1 - i.r deeply iu lo The objepf lier attachment was a voting manJitb nothing to recommend but an uulmished character and OUsincss lap These oiA to nave oecn sumcicni, out Mr. Wiswewas not so easily as his seu- eible daugjr. TbaddeiMaguire was a elerk iu the bank, audlr. Wiswell was a ftockhold er. In ajcuniary .ense, therefore, the 1 . , if L.i differenceltween them was very con-id-. crable. But Tbdcus, like his devoted lady-jfoot . 1 ? -v ittiit w..t4i lint fori tn ennh love, inoLi, ubiuvj nm, u.v,- k- . otfcer in ling, that his poverty ought not to bede the ground of objection. Mr. Wtell thought otherwise, and when be (covered the attachment, en joined hifaghter to haco no intercourse with her pniless lover, whom he dis missed wj angry reproaches. T3ut tlfdor of love is not otten cool ed by ojjitiou, instanceJ aud it was not in this In Mr 'is well' mansion there was a little baciarlor, with a single window, that look out upon the garden, and a tingle dcthat openei from the hall. It wal neat, lime, out-oi-iue waj, oUce, thuiet of which wu$ seldom di- i - . . .1 I . !.... 1 turbed s by tue ioveir, m0, on tuatj Qr wben tue surJ niuaiinates tbe oast. ccount,jted it for their sU'cu iuter-i b'e scream of the March wiud subai- views, . ided iuto a human tone. ' Abouiejcn y0c)c one eveniia; he Lord shall have hcr,, bcautifum;cr evemng-tbey sat; Iramt.diate! he ad(red, grinding his togethefoolllCf n window, engaged ; as .f t6oow hoff hi, ,ger 'ConvPatl0?: ... ....j 1 miaht have been 3y lirrT . 7, 1 ..1 L the umbrayof a luxurient lilac "llwrccd listcn ,1 ' .r ' sa 0, continuing ine tIu yo U Iho youtbj ''GlP. M.rioni be is worthj of you, J " and will mako you a good husband.' tXtl o aaugbtov carc for but! Mr. Wiswell picked up his cane, and -Vseff she continued, 'a hcQ be tces left the lovers, but he left his blessing WtfJl bappinesB deponL0 Q our un. with them. I 1 in sure be will cot , j Tho young rascal!' he muttered, as he Tif he will, Marion, rep"lhc youtb, Strode away. 'He took me by ' "orprisoj the very Ust person woujd ad- He had meat an advantage. But 1 11 ie nir elopement, which U to be puoish him for it. He shan't have but deprecated-'' .ten thousand to begin with,' 'Yet? said Marion, 'but suppose ' And tho savage old miser, fairly ehuck 'Oh; it is a course I 'ould not hesitate Jed over the punish meat he contemplated. to pursue.' replied the youth to her half Jlllcreu nil interrogatory, it there was no other that led to happiuea.s.' . ,Aud in that event I shall not falter! returned the ruaidnn. 'You are a brave girl Marion.' - vBuuI apprehend a different result!' she replied. 'I have, very grave doubts, myjovo. Father is passiouate,' she rcturued'but t unreasonable.' not 'That is decidedly rich,' muttered Mr. iswe through his shut teeth, but too low to be overheard. t 'At first he may object,' continued Ma rion, 'but finally he will consent.' - J muttered the parent, as before.' tJ. novertv will Drove an insu- L,ii"' i -:i 00:j '.ij.,., r J . 1 know that my father would prefer ( I a uahob for a son in-law,' replied Marion ; 'but I prefer a geutloman for a husband.' r 'So then, muttered tire liatencr again, pnfy daughter-thinks De Camb is not a J gentleman. Pretty well, that! pretty hvej!!' I 'I desire happiness more than luxury,' ! continued the maiden, 'and if I cannot the appr - hensions. I am full of hope and . bi,. ir r:i, ; ,u I love.' 'And besides our love.' replied the young man, hopefully, 'I have two thou- ' 4. "-iSanu dollars, witti wnicu to commence buiucsSi Mr. Wiswell heard no more. Gliding away unobserved, he hastened toward the little back parlor, crimson with passion. 'Two thousand dollars,' he muttered grinding his teeth. 4A pretty business auch a man would establish! And yet my daughter is to be supported off its profits!' I his thought fairly maddened him 'T.or htm nr jiq m np.h In iiia ' hi nrn- tiDued; aud 111 give him two 'thousand blows to help him carry out his good ln- tcntions.' By this time ho had reached the little back parlor, which he entered, with his bamboo staff raised above bis bead in a manner at once menacing and dangerous. Yet, sudden as was his appearance, Thaddeus was not unprepared, or in thc lcast disconcerted. 'Mr. Wiswell,' he said, anticipating the outburst of paseiou, 'L have a very great favor to ak of you that you will give me your daughter in marriage!' There was an audacity iu tho request that completely astoui?hed the banker, and greatly increased his indication. Suddenly his hand clutched the stick j with a tighter grasp, and raised it sever al inches overhead. His crimson face hecamc mimic, and t r r- i iiu uuiu vsi uia uiuuiu uawuuvu tuivuzu his parted hps, Iu a savage voice, resembling the howl of the march wind, more than human ut- ' terance, he shrieked iu the young man's j ifaCe 1 'What would you do with my daughter?' t And he followed the words with a ' CQWj of heavy brows, darker than the J summer storm-cloud and a stamp of his tbat ruujbied throughout the man- ! . 6ion. Thaddeus, though palo and spprchen jsive, stood up befere.the infuriated par eut, with his left arm outstretched oyer i the crouching form of tho frightened maiden: aud he replied, in a tone full of feeling l would love her, sir, with all my . lipart-' T. mfii;fluenaa of this tenderness, so - - f unlihe anything expected, touched the proud heart of the aristocrat, and m0Q of c jnstautly forsook h the de- tly forsook his prcs- i ence. Tho fingers relaxed their hold, and the j-tick fell clattering to the floor. fi;uc lowering brows went up like clouds . . . .... .. 'But, if you bad mentioned business or , ,fiUf' u, Jou: " . , T . hnvn 1 dollars; oh! if you had, jl. nvuiu ui bejifi-n von to a iellv!' - Then turning to his daughter, he con- The Elephant Fight. Of tho hundred and fifty elephants po-.; scssed by the King of Oude, thero was ka, 'he Florence (Nebraska) Courier bIo on record; and to it belongs the glo one with a broken tusk, that had been Saya a good many are going from that vi- ry f having come under the God-like victor iu a hundred lights. His name cinity. On the 2Gth, the following com-'gaze of Newton, and of having furnished was Malleer, and he was a great favor- pany Ie ft for the diggings : A. J. Smith, him with data for proving that tho move ite with the king. His tusk had been J. H. Dudley, James Cuinpton, Henry nieuta of comets depend upon tho same broken off bit by bit iu several encouu-, Springer. Hainan ChaDman. aud A. Grto- principles as control the planets iu their ters; the elephants rushing against each other with such force as sometimes to suap off a portion or the whole ot.a tusk. Malleer had lost his, as I have said, grad- ually. Ho was a formidable black fellow Ho was a formidable black fellow very terrible when in that excited state . y . . XX . I . . t ' called musv. inuring mo vjsii, ui tu ium- ! mander iu ohief it was determjuod that a J i a T . ii. .. .fit.. fitting antagonist should be found, for j Malleer, and that he should once more make his anDearance onthestage asa.glad-! t. . it. laior. ii was igrmuaa-ij luupiupi aca- son. iuuneer was vium, , auu auoiuer gi- j gautic elephant, also black, and of course in a similar state, was olected to be his j 1 antagonist. I At a signal given by the king, the two olophants advanced from opposite sides, each with bis mahout on his neck; Mal leer, with his one tusk, looking by no means so formidable as the hugo black antagonist whom he was to fiht, and who was well furnished with ivory, The mo meut they caugot sight of each other, the two elephants, as if with an instinctive perception of what was expected of them, put their truuks aud tails aloft, aud shuf fled up to each other with considerable speed, after their uuwield.ly fahion, trum peting loudly mutual defiance. This is the ordinary attitude of attack of tho ele phant. He puts his trunk up perpendic ularly, in order that it may be out of harm's way. His tail is similarly raised from excitement. His trumpeting con sists of a scries of quick blasts, between roars and grunting. Malleer and his foe rushed at each oth er impetuously. The sound of their huge heads coming iuto a violent collision might have beeu heard at a distance. The firt blow struck, both elephants now set them selves vigorously to push against each other with all their might. Mouth to mouth, tusk to tusk, both trunks still ele vated in tho air perpendicularly, their feet set firmly in massive solidity upon the ground, did they push and push, and shove and shovefuot with one resolute, long continued effort, but with repeated short strokes of their un wieldly forms. The heads were not separated for a mo ment; but the backs were curving slightly and then becoming straight again in reg ular succession, as each above and push was administered. The mahouts, seatod on the necks, were not idle tho while. They shouted, eucouraging each his own warrior, with hearty good will. At length the redoubted Malleer, one tusked though he wa-1, began to gain the advantage. The fore leg of his antago nist was raised as if uncertainly, one could not tell whether to advance or retreat, as be stilltoutly ehoved with all his might. But it was evident very soon that it was notto advance, butto retreatthathe log was so raised. It had hardly been set down again, when the other was similarly rais- led and lowered. The mahout of Malleer saw the movement, and knew well what lit indicated. He shouted moro frantical- y tuan ever. At this time they were only a few yards from the banks of the Goomty, a little to the left of our balcony. The retreating elephant gave way step by step, slowly drawing nearer to the. river as he did so. At length with a sudden leap backwards, he tore himself from bis antagonist, and threw his unwieldly form dowu the bauk into tho river. His mahout clung to the rope over his back, and was soon seen safe and sound on his neck, whiUt the elephant swam off to gain the opposite bauk. malleer was lunous at tuis escape of his antagonist. His mahout wanted him to follow, but ho would not take 'to the water. He glared round, wild with fury, to see what he could attack. His mahout, still urging him, with no gentle strokes and with wild shouts to pursue, at length lost his balance in his excite meut,as Malleer turned savagely about,and fell to the earth ! He fell right before the infuriated bea?t whom be had been rendering more and more wild and up governable We were not left in doubt as to his fate for a moment. We had just time to see that the man had fallen, aud was lying on his back, with his limbs dis ordered, one leg under him, and the oth- er stretched helpless out, whilst both arms were raised aloft, wheu we saw the hugo j foot of the elephant placed upon his chest, and heard tho boues crackliug. as tho whole body of the man was crushed into , , , rn. . ii n Klinnnli.;3 rnnss! I hum was hiirulv a shapeless tuassi mere was naruiy timo for a cry: the swaying of bis form on the elephant's neck his fall tho sound caused by his striking tho elastic turf the foot placed upon him, and tho horrid crushing which followed all was the work of an instant or two. But this did not sate the enraged animal. Still keeping his foot on the map's chest, he seized one arm with his trunk and tore it from the body. In another moment it was hurling high up in the air, the blood spirt in from it as it whirled. It was a hor rible sight. The other arm was then seized, and similarly dealt with. Scenes in India. -rt.- io ihn A'mnn- tcWn bnnn.l has a wooden leg, as be will bavo but one ttockiDg to knit, . The Kansas Gold Mines. ,. . s'ize of a balf-riioob,' though having a pale . Nabraskians off for Pike's. Peak. and-dismaL light.. In 1(563 another ap The gold mines at Pike's Peak, some pcared, most brilliant iu the south of Eu 700 miles west of Leavenworth City, are rope and iu Brazil. drawing scores from Kansas aud Nebras- nir scores from Kansas aud Nebras-I ter. They have two wagons, three yoke of oxen and a span of horses. They .go weH prepared with provisions to last them fr0a, &is to eight months, arms and am- munition, nioks. nans shovels and other munition, pioks, pans shovels and tools necessary to o into the rninin"-bus- . J O ioes3. "The above are. all good citizens, the Courier says. It also says that S. D.!arc grounds for supposing this tobeiden Kasserman, in company with two other itf?aJ witQ tuat of 1843- nersons. whosft nftm- ;f. aa i.flrn . . t . also startea tne same morning (the iiadj a company Irom Uresccut Uity passed through Florence en route for the gold reioo. This company is composed of A. J.v"illiams, Charles Blake, T. McGlash-1 en, M A. Avery, E. A. V illou.'hby, W. y J ' . Smith, and Wetzell. They are all young men. ne uouricr also says tbat ill r . another oarty came down from some of tho towns above, a few days since, for the purpose of getting an outfit They willjcometot it511 was rcmarkablo lor ttie leave in a few days. From Council Bluffs length of time it remained visible. That and Omaha large parties have already cone, and others are preparing to follow ' 1 ' a IU1I r.v. -. in CSobraska tbat will not havo its repre- sentatives at the mines this winter. The; news from the gold region still comes in cheering, and tho wildest excitemeut pre vans all along the river. Direct Eoute to the Gold Dm aiNGS. The gold fever is raging here on accont of the recent discoveries of old mediately. There is scarcely a town oie in uosogna, itany, at noon, two ui- . merge from the depths ot :space, are notu Nobraska that will not havo its repre-' ameters of the sun's di-c east of the sun, jUg but mere specs of uebuiosity, which is deposits at Pike's Peak, near Cherry t tfao sun allowed it to bo visible after sun- 0f the euu's rays through the nebulosity Creek, in Nebraska. One party leaves set, it presented an appearance of extra-1 0f the head, producing an effect similar to-day, with sis months provisions, for ' ordinary magnificence, especially in trop- to what is seen when a beam of the sun that point, and from what I oan Iearu,(ica latitudes. Some astronomers have pours through an aperture into a darken several more will soon follow. From re-i computed it to have a period of 3,767 ed room. The 5arte?ian school referred liable reports, gold has been found there quite abundant, and persons with axes and tin pans alone havo beeu able to re alize on an average from five to eight dol lars per day, and Iump3 have this early been found weighiwg from twelve to twen ty dollars. The opening of these gold mines will be of vaat benefit to tho early settlement of Nebraska south of the Plat te River. The location of the mines from Plattsmouth, at the mouth of the Platte, is about as much south of west a3 Fort Laramie is north of west, and distance about five huudred and fifty miles, accor ding to Stanbury's lleport. Taking Chi cago as a central point, the shortest and onJfVpsf rnntP is hv milroad tn TinrHno - - ton, iu this State, thence by railroad to Fairfield, which is twenty-five miles fur ther west than auy other railroad ia now constructed in Iowa; then by the West ern Stage Company's coaches, which run only on this line daily across the State to Pacific City and Plattsmouth. Time from Chicago to the Missouri river four days. From the Missouri river, atPlatts moutltake the Emigrant Boad to Salt Creek Ford, thence to Fort Kearney, 200 miles; thence following up the valley of the Platte" and its South Fork 350 miles, we come to Cherry Creek, and a short dis tance up tho valley of this stream will bring us to Pike's Peak, and the "gold digingc." Teams can be fitted out from Pacific City aud Plattsmouth, containing supplier, that can average thirty miles travel per day, so that the time from Pa cific City to the "diggings" cannot be more than eighteen or twenty days, or about twenty-five days from Chicago, 1050 miles n mf mf of 270 is by railroad, 230 by stage, and 550 by wagons. racijic (Jay Herald. Comets: Their Histoiy and Habits. Now that the memorable Comet of 1858 is making such a magnificent spectacle in tho heavens, and will soen disappear, a brief account of some of tho most famous of these apparitions, and the theories of distinguished philosophers respecting them will, perhaps, be interesting. . In 1106 there appeared a splendid comet, visible in tho daytime all over Europe. It presented the appearance of a fiery beam, stretching from the west toward tho northeast regions of tho hea vens. The comet of 1264, noticed alike : J , A . , 4 popularly ueiieveu iu ituuuuucu iuu uuam of Pope Urban 17., which reajly happeu- n.l nnfndur Villrvtvlnrr h .1 I n t nil vvllil'll stretched across more than half the visi- h'i-ible through it w.tnou u e s.igntest, ap ble heavens! It is supposed to have !preciab!e'diminut.on ot light though, ac been identical with tbutof 1556, and iwjeording to ller.bel. the thickness of this return is now confidently looked for by'metic matter, in the comet of 1811, astronomers. Iu 1402 were eeen two o(' was 15,000,000 miles ! a , u:n: i r i, ! The tails of comet vary in length as , fn;i sproad, after sunset, a magnificent tail . . ' ' . .. . . 00 long. Both were visible by day. in, "T ' , 7 P, I MM, tho people of Europe WL Lo.uTyt into consternation bv the anpoarance oi n ,nnf : Himnlinnnmislv wilh the fall of : n ,o:.vi,v nfnn .n furl? flu met 'and Turk were deprecated together, and and against the twain was launched the; n ) r. ., It C&uiuncu u iuii i.:k;.i .;i ...... of 1 264 . ha vin? at ono time a'tail which ! measured IO40 One appeared in L652, J which Hevelius describes as being of tho 60 long. To this comef, on its third euurmwu, , " tr"n subsequent reappearance in 1682, Halley mated by Prof . Pierce to 1 avc a t a n gave his name, by being the first to com- breaming out 800,000 010 m , s into pute its elements. Its period ol orbilatPoe, or onceand a half he distance of revolution is some 75 years. The 17th the sun from the earth! and all this term century presents a, fertile record of com- M S0Iue t,r!e0 weeks 1 otic phenomena. It, 161.8, .appeared a The incalculable subtlety of the diffus, stranger which surpassed in its train that ed enmetic matter may be iuferred frqui. JLo lbol) came one of the most remark- orbits. This body passed, within 150,000 ' ,u"'es of the sun, and at a speed of 880,- uuu nines per hour! then swept off into space again toward its farther goal, 80,- 000,000,000, or, according to other cal culations, 400 000,000 000 utiles di-tant ! I r , r- r. . ... 1 In 1059 a comet shone wnicu urcw a train of light G8 degrees long. There The eicbtecnth century waV distin !.L.j V . ' e ' guum;u two comets oi remarhauio as- p-'ci. iu 1 1 ti, came into view ono oi toe recorded to have been seen in full ' sunshine. On the l&t of February, it was more brilliant than Siriu; on the 8th it c- 11 IT . 1 - n r t i quaiiea jupiter;on tne 1st oi lUarcn, at l .11 n r. . -II- , 0 clock p. m., five hours after its perihelion ' - - I. !'.:t 1 ia-., n iaiuiu iu uan t-c. - Another in 17GD spauned the heavens spauned the heavens 1 w,th an immense tram of light. Ihe nrst o: i0'i0 13 regaraea as one 01 I wonderful of modern times. It the most wa visi- .11 T- 1 t 11 . i in.. I1 T.-lt i . .11 i;ia ui iul- nun a ui-u easi ui mu ouu, wb,le passing its perihelion, being then 0U,J 96,000 miles distaut from that lumi- nary, and its speed zoo miles per second, or 1,317500 per hour; so, tbat in twelve minutes it must have passed over a space equal to the distance between the earth . - a 1 anU lts moon! When its distance Irom years 1 In July, 1844, one appeared, the effect to the refraction of light, in its which has been estimated to have a peri- pa9,age from the comet to the eye of the od of 100,000 years ! In 1846, Biela'a observer, through the celestial ether dis comet, which is one of the class of "com- ' seminated through space. If this theory ets of short period," revolving in about be true, it has been significantly asked, 6-"years, startled observers by dividing why have the planets and fixed btars, no itself in two, and so passing on its path uuu ui ?i"uii: a ui; u.uiujuiuu uuiuuui ui f r . ,M 'PI,,. : ....... I. F comets of which we have account, is up- ward of 600, nearly all of which aro tel - escopic, and have no tails,' though some have appeared with as many as sixl The fewness of their visits and the far- ness between, the enormous extent of the orbits of some of them, stretching, per- baps, far beyond the limits of our solar ! system, coming up irom the uniainouieu dePths of sPace loS,eara a few brief days in our sky, and then diving down again out of telescopic sight on their long but swift journey, it may be to other planeta- beat to the contiguous particles of ctheri ry systems, never to be beheld again by ' al fluid composing the sun's atmo.-pbere. the denizens of our earth, the wonderful These particles so heated (by reflection, tenuity of their substaucc, and the varic- as it were), suffer a corresponding dimi ty of the hypotheses which different phi- nution of deusity, and arc repelled from losophers have offered to account for the ! the sun, carrying with them the moro phenomena they preseut, make them an volatile particles of the cometary body,- object of sublime interest to the astrouo- mer. Comets move, commonly, in elliptical orbits of great eccentricity those of "short period" having their orbits within that of Neptune. The star-gazer is ever on the lookout for these erratic fctrongers, poring over the open page, whose letters are worlds, peering, with his far-searching lenses, ev erywhere between the twinkling, constant little stars, too happy if somo wayward little body couie dancing iuto the field of bis instrument, and make him its firnt dis covercr. It grows rapiuiy sailing out 01 -r. 1 f one constellation into another, and grad - ually assumes, as it ncars tho sun, a sort of ncbulou hood. Thi enveloping hood soon lcugthens out behind it, forming a train of thin light, which is largest and brighter a little after the passage of tho perihelion. This train is always on the side of the comet which is oppoite to tho sun a ganeralization not made by Eu ropean observers till the time of Appian, 1531, though understood among the Chi nese as early a 871. The nucleus or head of a comet when viewed through a pow-j can scarcely bo supposed that matter can crful glass has the appearance' of an irre- i ba subjected to such a degree of heat witll solvable nebula, or patch of fog, tho lens ! out having its structure destroyed. Ea h.ivinr the effect to diffuse rather thau ' nlaco availed himself of Black's beautiful define its outline. The tail has the name hazv character and is of inconceivable te- nuity, the smallest telescopic star being 1 seen from different p aces. Thatof lOsO . r t...,l n frnm (ill iln.t Inrwr nj fnonsnred at " ...... .r bcr. 0VCr 4S dcS at London, no deg. at Paris, 60 d at the Isle ot Bourbon, and 75deg.at Teneriffe--sl.owing that tl o length of the tail depends upon the state nl tlih atmospuere. iueiengiu is utiuu - nnnmt nt ISJ.i linintr flStl- the fact that they UaVa.,boen sometimes known to pass withing clodo proximity to planetary bodies without deranging the motions of the latter in the least percep tible degree. Bxell's comet of 1770"' dashed into the midst of the system of Ju piter's satclitcs without at all affecting their movements. A curious calculation' is recorded of Sir Isaac Newton, that if a globe of common atmospheric air, due" inch in diameter, were, expanded so ai to have an equal degree of rarity with the air situated at elevation of 4,000 miles' above the earth's surface, "it wold fill tho whole planetary regions a9 far as the sphere of Saturn, and would extend a great deal further." Now, if this enor mous extent of attenuated matter caribe" conceived to be endowed with luminous ' rroperties I . whether front reflecting the sun s rays, or irom its own mucreut pnys ical constitution, wc oan form proximate ly, some sort of a realizing sense of tho nature of tho magnificent feather which c ! - now adorns the starry heavens. On this- ! -nit- 1 , P t.1n:nnlinre' urn at point mo fpccuiauuua i p.lUJU1mv. interesting. Before the time of the Jycho Urahe European observers had not ventured to refer comctic aparitions to regions beyoneT w tue moon's orbit, and and supposed them ... . . 41. indeed, to be substances genera ted with- ' . . " fill lu t.uo cartu s atmospnere. xu The Danish j astronomer, however, from observations . up0n the comet of 1577, proved that these j bodies move in orbits beyond tho earth a 1 satellite, and were therefore of permanent ' structure: and indeneudcut of the earth. ! From observing that comet, as they e- . v . .1 ,. . , .. JUg out mere specs 'gradually prolonged into a train as they approach the tun, it was inferred that" 1"" . comet are, in the normal condition, ; spherical masses, like plannets, and that their tails are due, in some unknown way, to the sun. Some early observors sup- p0Sed the tail was owiug to the passsage tails? Marion thought the effect procce- j-i r .1. qcu irom tue aaiuu cuusu as umi which produces the aurora boreaiis. j The illustrious astronomer, Kepler, who flourished early in the seventeeth 1 century, was the first to offer a rational explanation of this phenomenon. Ho upposcd that the constituent matter 0? the comet is broken by the action of the solar rays, and the lighter particles im- polled to immense distances. iNewton' conjectured that, as the nebulous parti- cles of the comet become heated by tho sun, they communicate a portion of their j just as an upward currant of air causes smoke to ascend. liut au must be vague where there few well-ascertained data. hypothesis are are so The great discoveries made of late in electrical forces promise to throw new light upon this pro toundly interesting subject. The close approach of some comefs to the sun in their perihelion passags, as for example, in the case of the great comet of 1843, before meutioncd, and the im mense distances to which they sometimes recede from him in their apbclia, immeas urably beyond the utmost known limits of our solar system, have led a.stronomers 1 to infer that comets are subjected, in (he course of their orbital revolution, to aa'a- mazing degree of heat and cold. " Newton calculated that the comet of 1680 was subjected, at its perihelion dis tance of 150,000 miles, to a degree , of boat 2,000 times that of red-hot iron! While, according to Herschel, the comet of 1843, which passed within- 96,000' miles of tho sun, received, at its periheli on, an amount of heat equivalent to tbafi of 47.000 suns blazing iu our sky! It discovery of latent heat to avoid j his; dif ficulty, and taught that when a body 1 passing from a liquid to a gaseous state, its particles, as they become successively volatilized, abstract from the body largo quantities of caloric, aud so serve to mod! cratc the temperature of the conden-ed portion; and, couversely, that this latent caloric is given back by the volatilized matter iu the course of its return tov il liquid state. So that a comet, whether swinging in its orbit a few thousands of miles from its local source of. heat and at traction, or many thousands of aillions of miles distant, may preserve an :pp rox imato constancy of temperature under flW operation of this beautiful law of ctfmpeu--sation. . ... 0 Astronomers often differ widely in their calculations of a comet upon its fir.-t ap--pearanoe; and as, according to Prof. Nor ton, not moro thau one half of all thu comets whioh are recorded.sto: have ap peared during the last two thousnndiyqars have returned twico to their, peuhejia, mut be admitted that the amount of well digested knowledge of their mntTdus1 aud physical coOitiiulion can be but Small: ' This much, however, scorns to be conec
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers