62 



SCENERY OF THE HEAVENS. 



the circumstances of it with as much precision as now." The eclipse of September 7th, 

 1820, the most remarkable that had happened for half a century, excited extraordinary 

 interest in the south of Europe, where it was annular, and though not so here, the 

 House of Lords was left almost deserted to observe it at the time when the solicitor- 

 general was summing up the charges against Queen Caroline. The eclipse on Sunday, 

 May 15th, 1836, was also of considerable magnitude; and though its effect was greater 

 on the temperature than on the light, Venus was distinctly visible to the naked eye. 

 The last total eclipse in southern France and northern Italy, that of July 8th, 1842, 

 which led Schumacher to Vienna, Arago to Perpignan, and Airy to Turin, is described 

 as having been a singularly striking and solemn spectacle. " Yet a moment," wrote an 

 observer, " and on a sudden, an effect took place unexpected and sublime. The whole 

 aspect of heaven and earth underwent a change, with regard to light, shade, colouring, 

 and everything ; and the instant that preceded the total eclipse resembled in nothing, 

 and gave no idea of that which followed it." The number of stars which then appeared 

 at Perpignan, according to Arago, was ten, but a greater number was observed at Mont- 

 pelier and Milan. The effect produced upon some animals was remarkable. Oxen 

 formed into a circle, with their horns thrust forward, as if to repel an enemy. Bats and 

 owls appeared sheep lay down as if for the night and horses in the fields were in terror. 

 M. Fraisse, a naturalist, relates, that a swarm of ants in full march stopped short at 

 the moment of occultation. There will be no full solar eclipse visible in England till 

 February 3, 1916. The last was in 1715, coeval with the first rebellion in behalf of the 

 Stuarts. Its predecessor, in 1140, was contemporaneous with the second Crusade. The 

 retrospect leads to the anticipation of change in the future, in the condition of nations, 

 yet change which we have stronger warranty than our fathers had to believe will be in 

 harmony with beneficial PROGRESS. 



A delicately luminous cone is sometimes seen accompanying the sun, extending from 

 the horizon obliquely upwards in the direction of the zodiac, and, therefore, called the 

 Zodiacal Light. It appears before sunrise and after sunset, but is never seen by us so well 

 defined as in the equatorial regions, though it may frequently be discerned after the evening 

 twilight in March and April, and before the morning twilight in October. The zodiacal 



light resembles in appearance the 

 tail of a comet. The faintest stars 

 shine through it. Its colour 

 varies according to the state of 

 the atmosphere, but it is generally 

 of a pure rose tint. The bright- 

 ness also varies, and some years 

 it has never been seen at all. This 

 has been the case during those 

 years in which the solar surface 

 has been most free from spots. 

 Keppler appears to have been the 

 first who noticed this phenome- 

 non. Afterwards Cassini observed 

 it, and when Humboldt was tra- 

 velling in South America, he had 

 several distinct views of it at Ca- 

 raccas. Its extent from the sun, 

 Zodiacal Light. situated at its base to the vertex. 



varies from forty-five to one hundred and twenty degrees. It has been conjectured that 



