COMETARY INFLUENCES. 



was regarded by the Romans as the soul of Julius Csesar (who was 

 then recently murdered), transferred to the heavens. 



A comet which appeared at the epoch of the birth of Mithridates, 

 and another which was seen immediately before the birth of 

 Mohammed, were each regarded as the portents of these historical 

 celebrities. 



A comet, supposed to have signalised the birth of Christ, was 

 said to have appeared during an interval of twenty-four days, 

 .producing a light surpassing that of the sun (!), and with a magni- 

 tude which extended over a fourth part of the firmament, so as to 

 occupy four hours in rising and setting. 



The exaggeration of such statements must become glaringly 

 apparent when it is considered that comets like planets and the 

 moon derive all their light from the sun. 



A comet appeared in March, 1402, the splendour of which is 

 stated to have been so great, that it was visible at noon. A 

 second appeared in the same year in June, which was so brilliant as 

 to be visible for some hours before sunset. This comet was said 

 to presage the death of John Gale"as Yisconti. That prince, being 

 a believer in astrology, had consulted the charlatans of the day, 

 and the fright produced by the appearance of the comet no doubt 

 contributed to the fulfilment of the prediction. 



Another conspicuous comet appeared in 1532, which was also- 

 stated to be visible before sunset. It produced much excitement 

 in Northern Italy, where it was considered to presage the death of 

 Sforza II. 



1 1 . It has been conjectured, not without some show of probability, 

 that the great dry fogs which spread over a large portion of the 

 surface of the earth in 1783 and 1831, were produced by the 

 passage of the tail of a comet over the earth or over a part of it. 



The great fog of 1783 had several characters which would 

 entitle it to serious consideration in relation to this question. 

 It commenced nearly on the same day (the 18th of June), at 

 places very distant from each other, such as Paris, Avignon, 

 Turin, and Padua. It covered a part of the earth's surface, 

 extending north and south from Africa to Sweden. It prevailed 

 on the North American as well as upon the European continent. 

 It can scarcely, therefore, be denominated a local phenomenon in 

 the ordinary use of that term. 



It lasted for a month. That the atmosphere did not convey it 

 over the regions in which it prevailed was proved by the fact that 

 its position was not affected by the winds. Whatever direction the 

 wind took, the position of the fog remained the same. It pre- 

 vailed equally at all accessible heights above the surface. It was as. 

 dense upon the summits of the Alps as upon the plains of France. 

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