210 Observations on Comet II. 



But I pause, for I fear the younger members of the party 

 who have so patiently listened to the tale of " enveloping nebu- 

 losity," " gravitation/' and " inertia/' may tire of the recital. 

 Shall we try a lighter strain, — a sort of short-hand or bird's-eye 

 view of the subject ? 



Here, let us say, is a comet. Let us take Halley's Comet ; 

 for although possibly some of our other celebrated comets have 

 come just as punctually, there were no Halleys or Newtons two 

 or three thousand years ago to predict them. Here, then, is a 

 comet which has obeyed the sun during seventy-five long years, 

 coming back at last, and showing becoming deference on its 

 way to Jupiter and Saturn, by lingering a little as it passed 

 them by ; here it comes, steadily and solemnly, when lo ! a jet 

 of light, apparently similar to itself, darts forward with force 

 sufficient to overcome the motion which it must have had as 

 a part of the comet's small, hard heart; strange enough, but 

 stranger still, it soon tends backward, in opposition to both its 

 original pace and its newly achieved outburst. Backward it 

 streams, with what enormous force, and to how extraordinary a 

 length ! A comet — I could give name and date — emitted a 

 tail sixty million miles long in two days; and the same 

 comet brandished said tail in the manner of a straight and rigid 

 rod, right round half a circle, in the space of two hours ! in 

 defiance of all received laws. It was seen to do it ; eyes were 

 not deceived, for the eyes of Newton saw it, and similar feats 

 have been recorded since his time on the part of successive 

 comets. 



So, as we gaze after little Comet II. and wish it a long fare- 

 well, we say to it, with half-admiring perplexity, ' ' You belong 

 to a strange family ; in part you obey our laws, and in part you 

 are influenced by quite a different code — shall we ever under- 

 stand you better ? " 



And not far from such thoughts are more solemn feelings, 

 of deepest reverence for Him unto whom all his works are 

 known, from the beginning of the world — who sees beautiful 

 order where our limited senses seem to behold confusion, and 

 who reigns supreme alike over the army of heaven and among 

 the inhabitants of the earth. 



I shall now trace the story of Comet II., so far as observa- 

 tions have hitherto been reported to me. Discovered first in 

 Europe, July 22nd, it appears to have been concealed from the 

 view of astronomers by adverse weather till near the end of the 

 month, when Mr. Romberg observed it at Leyton, near Lon- 

 don; its appearance through the telescope being that of a 

 round nebula, strongly condensed in the centre.* On August 

 1st he observed the tail; Mr. Crumplen also saw it at Euston 

 * Letters to the Times. 



