OF INFINITE SPACE. 77 



through the remoter parts of its orbit. In computing the 

 periodic time of the comet of 1811, Lemaur assigned 775 

 years to the half of the ellipse nearest the sun, and 3462 to 

 the more distant half. The appearance of this comet was 

 strikingly ornamental to the evening sky. Many a reaper 

 late in the harvest field stayed his hand, and many a peas- 

 ant homeward-bound stopped in the way, to gaze upon the 

 celestial novelty as it grew into distinctness with the de- 

 clining day. The Ettrick shepherd has left a memorial of 

 his impressions in the well-known lines : 



44 Stranger of heaven, I bid thee hail ! 



Shred from the pall of glory riven, 

 That flashest iu celestial gale 

 Broad pennon of the King of Heaven 



44 Whate'er portends thy front of fire, 



And streaming locks so lovely pale ; 

 Or peace to man, or judgments dire, 

 Stranger of heaven, I bid thee hail !" 



NEBULJE. Far more astonishing than any of the details 

 upon which we have hitherto dwelt, are those relating to 

 the class of celestial objects we have now to consider, the in- 

 vestigation of which is at present the ^ghest branch of 

 practical astronomy. In directing our attention to Nebulae, 

 we leave what may comparatively be called home regions, 

 strange as the phrase appears, when we recollect the distance 

 intervening between us and the nearest of the stars. But 

 such language is strictly appropriate with reference to the 

 stars visible to the naked eye, and reached by ordinary tel- 

 escopic aid. They form our firmament or cluster, near the 

 centre of which the solar system is supposed to be situate, 

 the Milky Way being apparently its outward boundary. Yet 

 besides this province with which we are connected, incalcu- 

 lably vast as it is, perfectly inestimable both in length, 

 breadth, depth, and height, there are other provinces within 

 view, equally as capacious, distinct firmaments of clusters, 



