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