50 The Planet Saturn. 



controverted by Professor Kaiser of Leyden that it may not be 

 necessary to refer to them at greater length. We may, how- 

 ever, make the passing remark, the justice of which will be 

 evident on more than one occasion, that the almost unap- 

 proachable mystery of the whole subject permits a latitude of 

 speculation much more extensive than would be accorded in 

 questions of a less obscure and perplexing character. 



The want of symmetry which has led to these remarks is, 

 as might be anticipated, not less evident during the lateral 

 presentation of the rings. From an early period we meet with 

 observations of anomalous appearances at these epochs, com- 

 prising not merely differences in the relative visibility of the 

 two ansas, but also other variations of aspect, all bearing 

 similar testimony. As far back as Dec, 1671, the two 

 Cassinis had seen Saturn attended by the blunted remainder 

 of only a single ansa, and this not always on the same side. — 

 1714, Oct. 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, Maraldi found the E. ansa rather the 

 broader and more visible, while each, evidently from want of 

 optical power, seemed reduced to one-half its usual length; 

 12, only W. was visible; 14, disappearance complete. — 1715, 

 March 22, a trace of W. only. — 1743, Nov. 29, Heinsius 

 found B. shorter than W — 1773, Sept. 24 to Oct. 4, Yarelaz 

 at Cadiz with three telescopes, one a 5-ft. reflector by Short, 

 saw distinctly W. constantly brighter than E. ansa; he also 

 remarked some more luminous points at the extremities ; the 

 first notice, it is believed, of an appearance frequently recorded 

 in more modern times. Similar irregularities are stated to 

 have been seen this year by Messier, who inferred much 

 inequality of surface. Oct. 5, 6, W. only seen at Madrid. — 

 1774, Jj[ is stated to have seen only one ansa for some time. 

 Jan. 11, Messier observed E. longer than W. Previous to its 

 disappearance W. was seen the longer and brighter for four 

 weeks at Mannheim; at its reappearance, Wollaston thought 

 he detected W. June 30 ; July 2, he was certain of the whole, 

 but W. was the larger. — 1789, August 30, Ussher at Dublin 

 found E. the more visible; Oct. 1, E. only. At Cork, E. only 

 latterly to Oct. 5. Schroter perceived only a few luminous 

 points till after Oct.; but 1790, Feb., in frequent observations 

 incomparably more of them, in part at least not satellites. 

 During twenty days he and another saw W. much brighter 

 than E., which was far more irregular, and had on it the last 

 two days a fixed point of light. Hence he concluded, as 

 Messier and others had done fifteen and thirty years before, 

 that the S. was by far the more uneven surface. [We have 

 already mentioned that the fixed points or knots of light, 

 which will now repeatedly be mentioned, though supposed by 

 Schr. to be mountains, one between 400 and 500 miles high, 



