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Georgium Sidus will be in opposition at a quarter part 8 in the morning of the 2d. Mercury will be stationary on the 5th, and Venus will be in conjunction with a, in Leo, on the 6th, when the planet will be 57' north of the star. Mercury will also attain his greatest elongation on the 16th. On the following day, Jupiter and Mars will be in conjunction, the former planet being 45' south of the latter. The Moon will likewise be in conjunction with a, in Scorpio, at 50 m. after 5 in the afternoon of the 18th, and with Georgium Sidus at 37 m. past 9 in the morning of the 21st.

The eclipses of the Sun and Moon, which happen on the 8th and 23d, have already been described. Eclipses were, in antient times, always regarded as calamitous omens; and this superstition is frequently alluded to by the poets: it forms the foundation of one of the finest similes in Paradise Lost :—

As when the Sun, new risen,

Looks through the horizontal misty air,
Shorn of his beams, or from behind the Moon,

In dim eclipse, disastrous twilight sheds
On half the nations, and with fear of change
Perplexes monarchs; darkened so, yet shone
Above them all th' archangel.

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For the amusement of our poetical readers, we shall insert in this place Mr. WORDSWORTH's beautiful poem on the annular Eclipse of the Sun which took place in September 1820:

High on her speculative tow'r

Stood Science, waiting for the hour
When Sol was destined to endure
That dark'ning of his radiant face
Which Superstition strove to chase,
Erewhile, with rites impure.

Afloat beneath Italian skies,
Through regions fair as Paradise,
We gaily passed, till Nature wrought
A silent and unlooked-for change,
That checked the desultory range
Of joy and sprightly thought.
Where'er was dipped the toiling oar,
The waves danced round us as before,
As lightly, though of altered hue;
'Mid recent coolness, such as falls
At noontide from umbrageous walls
That screen the morning dew.

No vapour stretched its wings; no cloud

Cast far or near a murky shroud;

The sky an azure field displayed;

'Twas sun-light sheathed and gently charmed,
Of all its sparkling rays disarmed,

And as in slumber laid:

Or something night and day between,
Like moonshine-but the hue was green;
Still moonshine, without shadow, spread
On jutting rock, and curved shore,
Where gazed the peasant from his door,
And on the mountain's head.

It tinged the Julian steeps-it lay
Upon Lugano's ample bay;
The solemnizing veil was drawn
O'er villas, terraces, and tow'rs,
To Albogasio's olive bow'rs,
Porlezza's verdant lawn.

But Fancy, with the speed of fire,
Hath fled to Milan's loftiest spire,
And there alights 'mid that aerial host
Of figures, human and divine,
White as the snows of Apennine
Indurated by frost.

Awe-stricken, she beholds th' array

That guards the Temple night and day;

Angels she sees that might from heav'n have flown ;

And virgin saints-who not in vain

Have striv'n by purity to gain

The beatific crown;

Far-stretching files concentric rings,
Each narrowing above each; the wings,
The uplifted palms, the silent marble lips,
The starry zone of sov'reign height,
All steeped in this portentous light!
All suff'ring dim eclipse!

Thus after man had fall'n (if aught
These perishable spheres have wrought
May with that issue be compared)
Throngs of celestial visages,
Dark'ning like water in the breeze,
A holy sadness shared.

See! while I speak, the lab'ring Sun
His glad deliv'rance has begun :
The cypress waves its sombre plume
More cheerily; and town and tow'r,
The vineyard and the olive bow'r,
Their lustre re-assume!

Oh, ye who guard and grace my home,
While in far-distant lands we roam,
Enquiring thoughts are turned to you;
Does a clear ether meet your eyes?
Or have black vapours hid the skies
And mountains from your view?
I ask in vain-and know far less
If sickness, sorrow, or distress,
Have spared my dwelling to this hour:
Sad blindness! but ordained to prove
Our faith in heav'n's unfailing love
And all-controlling pow'r.

REFLECTIONS ON THE STARRY HEAVENS.

The Starry Heavens indisputably present one of the most stupendous and magnificent displays of Creative Power; and have, in all ages, equally arrested the attention of the thoughtless, and fixed the admiration of the philosopher. Could it be otherwise, when infinite power, infinite wisdom, and infinite goodness, are displayed in characters so conspicuous, so attractive, and so brilliant? Here the admirer of splendour may gaze, unrestrained and unsatiated! Here the contemplative mind may range unfettered by system, and unconfined by space! Here the lover of order is more than gratified-is delighted-by the harmony the heavens present! While the devout mind rises above the wonders that are seen, and, in reference to the Great First Cause, exclaims with the enraptured Milton,

Yet these declare

Thy goodness beyond thought, and pow'r divine!

In contemplating those gems of the azure canopy, we shall merely present such observations as, we trust, are calculated to interest and instruct our youthful readers. While we thus attempt to lead them from the frivolities of the passing hour to contemplate the scene where the celestial orbs for ever shine in unborrowed lustre, may the mind, expanded by the subject, imbibe more exalted ideas of Infinite Wisdom and Goodness, and then it will sink into itself with corrected views of its own importance. Nothing is more common than for the uninstructed to regard this nocturnal display of matchless power and unparalleled skill as merely designed to light their wandering feet across this speck of earth; but let such reflect, that they are thus cherishing their own vanity, by entertaining debasing views of the Ineffable Creator! To these the poet presents an instructive but a humbling lesson:

And canst thou think, poor worm"! these orbs of light,
In size immense, in number infinite,

Were made for thee alone-to twinkle in thy sight?
Presumptuous mortal! can thy nerves descry
How far from thee they roll, from thee how high?
With all thy boasted knowledge, canst thou see
Their various beauty, order, harmony?

If not then sure they were not made for thee.

BAKER.

When, on a bright evening, we survey the heavens, and see these sparkling luminaries above and around us, they at first appear to be merely fixed points; but when the observation is continued for a short period, they are successively seen in various places. As their relative distances remain the same, and they all advance towards the west, we soon perceive that their motions are of the same kind as those of the Sun and the Moon. They are seen to rise successively one after another, in a determinate order; to pass over the sky; and then set, each in its order and in its peculiar position. Some of the stars, however, never reach the horizon, but continually describe circles round the pole. This phenomenon depends upon the position of the observer; for when he is at the equator, they all appear to rise and set; and, were he situated at either of the poles of the earth, he would see them all describing circles completely round him, parallel to the horizon, and consequently never descending below it. At every position between these points, some of the stars constantly rise and set, others as uniformly complete their revolutions with quitting the visible hemisphere. When we are supposed to be at the equator, the poles of the heavens are situated in the horizon; but as we advance into either hemisphere, the pole which we approach becomes more and more elevated, and its altitude is always equal to the latitude of the place of observation. To an inhabitant of London, for instance, the elevation of this point, which is the North Pole, is 51° 31'; and numbers of stars are consequently to be seen which never reach the horizon.

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