which he lights up, rotates upon his axis, and that the period of his rotation is about twenty-five and a half of our days. The apparent interval between the departure and return of a particular spot is rather more than twenty-seven days, because the motion of the earth in its orbit causes a difference in the apparent return of the same spot. We are thus enabled to know that the sun is of a certain size, that he is at a certain distance, and that he rotates upon his axis in a period of about twenty-five and a half days. These are facts which are not difficult to discover, the instruments now in use being sufficient for their accurate determination. When, however, we consider some other of his characteristics, we have to speculate; and thus his source of heat, of light, what are his spots, and what are numerous other phenomena connected with him, have been subjects of theory from the earliest ages down to the present time. If the sun be merely examined by the unaided eye, it will present usually a brilliant, clear surface, without wrinkle, flaw, or spot. When, however, the telescope is brought to bear, his dark portions become visible, and either singly, or, as is more commonly the case, in groups, are seen those spots of which mention has been already made. Galileo first discovered these spots in April, 1611; he announced the fact, and stated that they had a motion across the sun's disc, that they were confined to a small portion of the body of sun on each side of his equator, and that they were very irregular in their form. Scheiner, a German, and another person, a friend of Kepler's, observed the spots at about the same time. It frequently happens that there is a spot upon the sun of sufficient size to be observed without a telescope, provided that a dark glass be used, and the sun steadily gazed at for about a minute. Such was the case early in September of the present year, two spots being visible at the same time. In the year 1779, a spot also appeared, of a very large size. Many older writers, amongst whom we may quote Plutarch, Abulferagius, Kepler, and others, speak of the sun's light having been strangely diminished for several weeks, a fact which was most probably owing to the accumulation of spots upon his surface. There have also been intervals when the sun has been free from spots; this was the case from 1650 to 1670, and again in 1724. Thus, he appears to have his spotty and clear phases, but these do not return at any regular intervals. Latterly, the disk has been more frequently covered with spots than it was in former times. Some observers have seen a spot burst in pieces, as though it were some brittle substance thrown upon a hard surface. The size of the spots is sometimes as much as fifty thousand miles in diameter. Their usual appearance is that of a very dark nucleus, surrounded by a lighter portion, as though a solid body with a very dense atmosphere were resting upon the brilliant surface of the sun. Many individuals have been of the opinion that the heat and climate are affected by the spots on the sun. A coïncidence of a few hot days and a large spot, and a few cold ones and no spots, has been considered a proof that the spots were increasing the heat of the earth. There have not been a sufficient number of observations yet made on this subject to warrant any conclusions; for lately, when great heat was expected to result from a number of spots on the sun, it suddenly turned out to be much colder than before they appeared. Conjecture has been very busy in endeavoring to account for these spots upon the sun, for it has been justly concluded that they are intimately connected with his physical condition. When the fact became known that they were occasionally to be seen, the ancient philosophers at once decided that they must be the fuel which supplied the fire of the sun, for they had no ideas of heat or light other than those of fire-light and fire-heat; and so tenaciously did they cling to the belief that the sun was a great ball of fire, that they actually considered that the spots thereon were additional proof of fuel being heaped upon the flame. Others, again, believed that the spots were the thick smoke arising from the burning furnace. Then, and even in late years, it was supposed that the spots were holes in the atmosphere of the sun, or in the luminous matter surrounding him; but if his atmosphere be in any manner similar to the atmosphere or gas with which we are acquainted, to form a permanent hole is a matter simply impossible. If, also, the cause of spots be because there is an opening in the luminous matter round the sun, we must at once take for granted that the sun is surrounded by a luminous solid matter, or a hole would no more Great is the remain in its matter than it does in water. I melted by the summer sun. mystery of sun-light and sun-heat, and we The cause of the heat of the sun is also a mystery. How this orb can, at the distance of ninety-five millions of miles, give as much heat as he does, is a problem full of interest to every inquirer. The first impression amongst the heathens was, that he must be the locality of the evil spirits. A very small amount of reason would have shown these ancients that the heat of the sun is dependent upon many other matters besides distance, for even within tropical regions, when the sun is vertical, the tops of the mountains are covered with snow, whilst places situated at a distance of some sixteen thousand feet below these, and consequently further from the sun, are at the same time overpowered with the heat. Thus, it ought to have been known that the sun's heat is derived from the state of the medium through which his rays are passed. Thus, if the atmosphere be dense, the heat evolved would be great, whilst, if the atmosphere be like that upon the mountain-top, there is far less heat. Again, we may now, by the aid of our telescopes, observe the northern regions of our cousin Mars covered with snow; and when these regions are exposed to the summer rays of the sun, the snows rapidly disappear, a fact which could not happen were there not some other law to regulate heat besides distance, for Mars would, if the sun were like a fire, be too far from the "fireplace" to have his snow Amongst the other phenomena connected with the sun, eclipses may be considered the most striking; these, from the most ancient times, have occupied the attention of all philosophers. It is stated that Protagoras and Anaxagoras were the one exiled, and the other imprisoned, because they stated that the moon's becoming darkened was owing to the shadow of the earth, and that when the sun became darkened, it was owing to the intervention of the moon. It is stated that the Chaldæans had records of eclipses for many centuries before Egypt became famous; and it is narrated by Simplicius that after the conquest of Babylon by Alexander, Calisthenes sent to Aristotle a catalogue of eclipses said to have been observed at that place during a period of nineteen hundred and three years previously. Although ignorant of the fact that the earth moved round the sun, still it is asserted that the Chaldæans could calculate the eclipses which were to take place. This is by no means improbable, for the facts of astronomy and the periodical return of the sun or moon to a particular part of the heavens, are mere matters of observation, and a very close approximation might be made to the time at which an eclipse would occur, although we might be ignorant whether the sun moved round the earth, or the earth round the sun. The following will be the eclipses of the sun visible in this country for the next ten years: July 18, 1860, at 2 P.M.; December 31, 1861, at 2 P.M.; May 17, 1863, at 6 P.M.; October 19, 1865, at 4 P.M.; October 8, 1866, at 5 P.M.; March 6, 1867, at 8 A.M.; February 23, 1868, at 3 P.M.; December 22, 1870, at 11 A.M. Eclipses serve as excellent aids to chronology; for given the eclipse, and the locality from which the eclipse was visible, and the astronomer can read off by the clock of the universe when the event occurred. The greatest number of eclipses which can occur in a year is five, and the least number is two. The most rare eclipse is that called an annular eclipse. This phenomenon takes place when the moon passes directly across the sun, and in consequence of appearing a little small er than the sun, she allows a ring of the latter to appear. There was an annular eclipse of the sun on the 9th of October, 1847, and also in March, 1858. The total eclipse of the sun in 1715 has been ably described by Halley, who received the account from a correspondent who witness ed the phenomenon from Salisbury Plain. Another striking phenomenon connected with the sun is, that when seen near the horizon, he appears sometimes of a red color and of a very large size. This appearance is very remarkable, because, instrumentally, he is not found to be increased in diameter. Often, at sea and near equatorial regions, the sun presents this appearance, but it is more frequently seen when the sun is setting than when he is rising. This phenomenon is connected with the state of the atmosphere, and also with a most important law of optics. It is from the same cause that distant objects will sometimes appear as clear and welldefined to the unaided eye as when seen with a telescope. This cause, when it becomes better understood, may probably lead to an improvement in telescopes, by which the range of our vision will be considerably extended. It is somewhat singular that the ancient astronomers-such as Alhazen in the ninth century, Roger Bacon, Descartes, etc.-were contented to consider that this large size of the sun, although only occasionally seen, was due to the comparison which resulted from terrestrial objects. They supposed that when the sun was high in the heavens, we could not form an idea of its size; but that when we saw it beside terrestrial objects, then we exaggerated his dimensions. It is evident that these old philosophers had never reasoned upon this explanation; for if the fact had resulted from any comparison with terrestrial objects, every time that the earth was so compared the sun would so appear, whereas it is a rare occurrence to see him of that large size. Also, if in mid-day we had happened to bring the sun in comparison with any object, such as a steeple, then we should have been deluded into the belief that the sun had increased in size; and finally, when the sun set in the sea, and no terrestrial objects intervened, then the apparent fact of the sun's increase in size, which is so common an occurrence in equatorial regions, would require some second cause. Thus, it is evident how weak was this accepted explanation, and, as Kepler used to remark of theories, "how easily it could be hunted down." It was, however, a most common characteristic of the past race of astronomers to follow the "book," and rarely to reason: this was very quaintly shown in the time of Galileo, when his jealous opponents endeavored to prove that he was wrong, because that which he stated was unknown to Aristotle, and had not been mentioned in his books. 66 A very remarkable and unusual phenomenon is that known by the name of parhelion"—that is, one or more mocksuns seen in the neighborhood of the true sun. Several of the ancient writers make mention of mock-suns being seen-Aristotle, Pliny, Scheiner, and others whilst Hevelius states that seven suns were seen by him at Danzig. They are most common in high latitudes, and the cause has not yet received a clear explanation. The zodiacal light is another rare but beautiful sight. This is a cone of bright light, which extends obliquely upwards from the horizon. It usually appears about sunrise or sunset, and is seen only in equatorial regions. It has been supposed that this light does not appear when the sun is free from spots. If this be a fact, it is not improbable that as the magnetic and electric needles are usually deflected when there is an aurora, the zodiacal light and the spots upon the sun may have some connection with the electric and magnetic conditions of the earth, and also with the cause of heat and light, and with many of those other mysterious facts, such as earth-currents, etc., which have lately been found to traverse various portions of the globe. The sun is not, as is popularly supposed, the regulator of our time; he is far too variable in his apparent movements to serve as the time-keeper. Each little twinkling star is a hand of the great clock by which our time is governed, whilst the sun rules the day and regulates the seasons. Owing to the fact that the sun does not always appear to move with the same velocity, it has been found necessary to suppose an imaginary sun to move round the earth, and then to measure time by this theoretical sun, which is, therefore, sometimes before, and sometimes after the real sun; the clock is then said to be "before the sun" or "after the sun," the clock being represented by the mean sun. Although the length of our day and night become known to philosophers whose fathers are yet unborn. The principal room in the Greenwich Observatory is the Transit Room. It is from this room that observations are made with regard to the passage of stars, is 24 hours, still we rotate on our axis in 23 hours 56 minutes and 4 seconds; but owing to the fact of our moving round the sun, we see each celestial body that is outside of our orbit once oftener than we do a body that is inside, as is the sun. Thus, the solar day, as it is called, is long-planets, sun, and moon. Each day the er than a sidereal day. In consequence of the day being divided into 24 hours, and 12 o'clock being that time when the sun is to our south, it follows that the time of sunrise added to sunset will make 12 or very nearly 12. Thus, if we know that the sun rises at 5 A.M., then we may know that he sets at 7 P.M. If the sun rose at 8 A.M., then would he set at 4 P.M; and so on. We must, while writing on the regulation of time, take a glance at the establishment in which time is regulated and given out to the nation. The Observatory of Greenwich is the finest institution in the world for the exactitude of its astronomical tables. It is here that time is kept, and it is by means of the observations here made that every ship, whether mercantile or warlike, regulates its chronometers, by means of which it is enabled to discover its longitude when at sea. Greenwich Observatory was built by the command of Charles II.; its site was sclected by Wren, and its first astronomer was Flamstead. It is a building entirely devoted to business, its object being to give such an account of the positions of the various planets and stars as may serve as a guide to the surveyor, the navigator, and the man of science. In addition to the purely astronomical portion, there is also a part of the observatory devoted to magnetic investigations. It is here that those curious facts are observed which escape common observation, and have hitherto defied the investigation of all those who have sought for their causesthe magnetic currents which traverse the earth, the variation of the compass, and dip of the needle, the amount of rain which daily and annually falls, and the amount and direction of the wind. These, from the very fact of their subtlety, may be the most important agents in the working of that vast machinery which turns the earth upon its axis, moves it round the sun, and causes rain, wind, storm, heat, and cold, with an apparent irregularty which has defeated prediction, and which may yet work with regularity, and be obedient to certain laws which may VOL. L.-NO 3 sun is examined, to discover if he is in order and regularity; and more true to his time than ever was ardent lover, he at the appointed second shows himself at the correct portion of the heavens. Each night an observer is appointed to watch the passage and to keep a register of the stars. The telescopic instrument is a ponderous-looking affair of iron, made of the strongest materials, and not very dissimilar to an iron cannon. It is regulated every week, troughs of mercury and hairwires being employed for this purpose. A clock, worked by electricity, faces the instrument, so that an observer can see the time by this clock whilst he is ready to look through the telescope. A very high-magnifying power is not required for an instrument of this description, light being the great desideratum, which is obtained by means of a wide field of view. Next the Transit Room is the Computer's Room, in which the various computers correct and reduce into order the observations of the previous night. Above the Computer's Room is the Chronometer Room, in which about three hundred chronometers are tested and proved at various degrees of heat. Electricity performs an important office in the building, It sends the clock-time to various parts of England; and by its means the transits of stars are indicated, a register being kept on a revolving wheel, which shows upon itself a number of marks, each indicative of the passage of some particular star, the directions being sent "by message" from the observer. In conclusion, we may remark that the study of the movements of the celestial bodies, the knowledge of their size, arrangement, and beautiful construction, and a general investigation of those things which are in the heavens above, are things which must tend to elevate the mind, and teach it the grandeur of that Power which created and regulates these vast orbs. Round its orbit of upwards of five hundred millions of miles the earth proceeds as quietly and regularly as though it were merely moving as many inches. The sun itself, with the whole 21 solar system, is moving in space as though it were merely a planet revolving round another sun, and carrying with it its family of satellites in the shape of planets. When we reflect that our own solar system is but as a dot in the universe, and that each twinkling star is a vast sun, with probably its primary and secondary planets, and that those which we can see must be few compared with those which we can not, we become lost amidst endless space, and awed at the mighty fabric round us. But our wonder is even more excited when we hear that there are men who claim to know all nature's laws, who draw definite bounds between the possible and the impossible, and who even go so far as to doubt whether any special Providence is ruling or has created the worlds. From the Cornhill Magazine. THE LEGENDARY PORTENT. [As the sole return which I have it in my power to make for a friendship and a skill which have greatly alleviated my sufferings, I accede to the request of Dr. to commit to writing one or two passages in a history which has had more than the ordinary share of the marvelous in its composition. I write them with reluctance, yet with the feeling that I owe him the narration. It will serve, it may be, if not to explain, yet to account for some of the anomalies which he confesses have perplexed him in the treatment of my case. I leave it entirely to him to direct, by will or otherwise, what is to be the fate of these papers, after his and my decease.] EXCEPT a few acres of arable land at its [ crowded together, like the slain where foot, a bare hill formed almost the whole the battle was fiercest; there parting of my father's possessions. The sheep ate over it, and found it good for food; I raced and bounded over it, and thought it a kingdom. In the still autumn morning, the wide moor lay outstretched in its stillness, high uplifted towards the heaven. The dew hung on every stalk in tiny drops, which, as the sun arose, sparkled and burned with all the hues shared by the whole family of gems. Here and there a bird gave a cry: all else was silence. It is strange, but I never see the statue of the Roman youth, praying with outstretched arms, and open, empty, level palms, as if waiting to receive and hold the blessing of the gods, but that outstretched barren heath rises before me, as if it meant the same thing as the statue or were, at least, the fit room in the middle space of which to set the praying and expectant youth. There was one spot upon the hill, half-way between the valley and the moorland above, which was my favorite haunt. This part of the hill was covered with great blocks of stone, of all shapes and sizes here asunder from a space covered with the delicate_green of the sweetest, softest grass. In the center of one of these green spots, on a steep part of the hill, were three huge rocks-two projecting out of the hill, rather than standing up from it, and one, likewise projecting from the hill, but lying across the tops of the two others, so as to form a little cave, the back of which was the side of the hill. This was my refuge, my home within a home, my study, and, in the hot noons, often my sleeping-chamber, and my house of dreams. If the wind blew cold on the hill-side, a hollow of lulling warmth was there, scooped as it were out of the body of the blast, which swept around, and whistled keen and thin through the cracks and crannies of the great rocky chaos that lay all about, and in which the wind plunged, and flowed, and eddied and withdrew, as the sea-waves on the cliffy shores or the unknown rugged bottoms. When I lifted my eyes, before me lay, but at some miles distance, behind another hill, which on the opposite side |