lOO BROWN : 



its utmost elongation. If, now, the centre of light which 

 casts the shadow, so to speak, were lowered the shadow would 

 be lengthened and go farther down the steps. 



Sir Thomas Bosanquet, an eminent and widely known 

 English banker who in a chapter on this subject has set forth 

 all these considerations originalh' and much better than I can 

 do it from mere memory, wrote to Sir George Airy ( 1 801-1892 ), 

 then Astronomer Royal, to ask whether at the time of the 

 invasion of Sennacherib ( the king of Assyria out of whose 

 hand King Hezekiah was to be delivered ) any eclipse of the 

 sun took place. To his surprise and delight he received 

 answer that in the year 712 B. C, toward the end of Decem- 

 ber, there occurred a partial eclipse of the sun, visible at 

 Jerusalem, and it was the sun's upper limb that was obscured. 



The latitude of Jerusalem is 31° 48' 43" North. Nearly 

 enough that of Savannah, Georgia. 



The facts and tables within reach did not enable Professor 

 Airy to fix the day and hour of the occurrence, but there was 

 no reason to doubt that, later on, should it be desirable, even 

 these details might be established. 



But to darken the upper half of the sun was to lower the 

 point of light and lengthen the shadow — it may be ten steps 

 — on the dial of Ahaz. That would depend somewhat upon 

 the steps. 



And surely the man can hardly be called weak who is 

 overcome by such temptation to believe that the going down 

 of the shadow on the dial of Ahaz was an bccunence entirely 

 natural, and the inspired comprehension of it by the prophet 

 was the miracle accorded. 



There are one or two morsels of circumstantial evidence 

 which may guide our belief a little. 



" For Isaiah had said, let them take a lump of figs and lay 

 it fc^r a plaister upon the boil and he shall recover." 



ISA. XXXVIII 21. 

 A lump of figs, dried and preserved for winter. 



Moreover it seems not altogether without purpose that it 



