Frend, Evening Amusements Astronomy)

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N THE CUSTODY Or THEBOSTON PUBLIC LIBRARY.

SHELR N


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EVENING AMUSEMENTS;oil, THE

BEAUTY OF THE HEAVENS- DISPLAYED,

IN WHICHSEVERAL STRIKING APPEARANCES,TO BE OBSEUVED ON VARIOUS EVENINGS IN THE

HEAVENS,DURING THE YEAR

1817,ARE DESCRIBED.

TO BE CONTINUED ANNUALLY.

By WILLIAM FREND, ESQ. M.A.ACTUARY TO THE ROCK LIFE ASSURANCE COMPANY, AND LATE FELLOW

OF JESUS COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE; AUTFIOR OF PRINCIPLESOF ALGEBRA, TANGIBLE ARITHMETIC, ESSAY

ON PATRIOTISM, ETC.

JDOCENDO DISCO.

LONDON:PRINTED FOR J. MAWxMAN, N 39, LUDGATE biREET.

1817.[Price 3s. boards.]


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ADAMS

Printed by C. WOOD,Foppin's Court, Pieet Street.


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ADVERTISEMENT.The kind solicitude for the success

of tins Work^ expressed by severalcorrespondents, some anonymous, de-mands this return of thanks from theauthor. In this volume, it will beseen, that he has not been inattentiveto their remarks ; and, if his opinionsshould be found in some points todiffer from theirs, they will be kindenough to consider, that, if everywriter was bound servilely to followthe traces of his predecessers, and toconsult popular opinions only, theprogress of human knowledge wouldbe greatly retarded. To differ in sen-timents from a Newton does not im-ply a want of deference to superiortalents, but the author will not give hisassistance to any delusion, though my-riads should deem him perverse.


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Digitized by the Internet Archivein 2011

http://www.archive.org/details/eveningamusementOOfren


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EVENING AMUSEMENTS;OH, THE

BEAUTY OF THE HEAVENSDISPLAYED.

TO THE READER,The intention of my little annual volumes isnot, as I have frequently mentioned, to makemy readers perfect astronomers, but to introduce,in a familiar manner, those, who are entirelyunacquainted with this branch of science, to theknowledge of the heavens, and to point out tothose, a very numerous body, who have studiedit only in books, what are the chief pointsworthy of being kept in their constant recollec-tion. This is done by giving them the paths ofthe Moon and planets in the heavens, with thepeculiarities of their respective motions, theirretrogra dations, their stationary points, thei

B


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Kodes, and the increase and decrease of their,latitudes. These things are taught in books;but the learner, when he is placed in an opertspace, with clear heavens above him, is not un-frequently as much at a loss as one, who hadnever read a syllable upon the subject. Thereal path of a planet in the heavens is to himperfectly unknown; and it is sometimes amusingto see hira^ when he is told a planet is in acertain sign then visible, loolc to the oppositequarter of the heavens to discover it.

Now, by a very small degree of attention, byfollowing the course of the Moon, for example,for one year only, all these things become fa-miliar to an observer. He sees at once, andwill keep in remembrance, why one season ofthe year is more favourable than another to theelevation of the Moon and planets above thehorizon at Sun-rise or Sun-set ; why a lunar day,if I may so express it, is so much longer at onetime than another; and why a planet emergesso much sooner from the solar rays at one timethan it does at another, though the distancefrom the Sun in both cases is the same.

As the instructers in astronomy have now


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3pretty generally adopted these books, I havetaken care, that, as circumstances occur, theyshould have an opportunity of trying the skillof their learners. As for example, when it issaid, that in the passage through the nodes bythe Moon there is not an eclipse for obvious rea-sons, those reasons will be asked ; or when thereis not an eclipse owing to the latitude, thenthe learner may shew the relative situations ofthe Sun and Moon to each other, which renderan eclipse in that situation impossible. In thesame manner, when an inferior planet passes theecliptick or is in its node, the reason why thereis not a transit will be obvious.

The positions of Venus and Mars afford in-structive questions on the degree of brightness ofthose planets; why the former should be visibleat certain times the greater part of the day, orshould have a very inferior degree of brightnessat the times, when it is declared in books ac-cording to theory to be the greatest. Thevariety in the appearances of Mars, who is forso much a longer time visible to us, is no lessapplicable to these questions. In fact, by leadingquestions of this kind, the mind is gradually iai-

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4proved, and accustomed to take into its con-sideration all the circumstances, in which theyare involved. For as, according to the maximsof B great nation unacquainted with the writings

Greece and Rome, one of the three bases ofgood government is attention to circumstances,so it is in science. A person, who is accustomedto reason from his books alone, will be in dangerf perpetual errour, when his knowledge iscalled forth into practice. The want of attentionto a minute circumstance renders his answerfutile; and thus the man of the world laughsfrequently, and with great reason, at the con-clusions of the man of the closet.

As globes are now very much used, and byoccasional amusement with them the chief points,to which I call my reader's attention, are easilyexplained, I could wish that teachers would notdisregard the hints, that I have throwrn out ; andat least, at the beginning of every month, wouldrectify, as 1 would call it, the celestial globe forthe appearances of that day, and thence to thecourse of the moving objects for the whole of themonth. I mean, that on the 1st of the monthihe places of the Moon and planets on that day


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should be marked by the little pieces of cards, ofvarious colours, to represent these objects. Ifthe globe is large enough, the Moon should berepresented by a small piece of card, as near ascan be to its apparent magnitude, in proportionto the degree on the globe. The smallness of theapparent diameters of the planets does not admitof the same thing with respect to them. Thecourse of each object should then be marked, bynoticing its greatest latitude in the month, andcarrying a thread from thence to its first place.The learner should be accustomed, from takingthe number of days between its place on the1st of the month and that of the greatest latitude,to calculate the diurnal motion of the object,which will not be far from the truth. Thus, onevery day, the positions of the cards for theMoon and planets may be changed, and thelength of their stay above the horizon madeknown, together with the time when each iiiupon the meridian.

I have given, in this volume, the time thatthe Sun enters into any sign. This may becompared with the time given on the woodenhorizon of the globe; and thus the learner, if


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his globe is of some age^ will be led to thequestion of the precession of the equinoxes.But we will now go to the consideration of theappearances in the heavens m the month of


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JANUARY, 1817.

THE latitude of the Moon is, on the 1st atnoon, fiftyseven minutes north, in the seven-teenth degree of the third sign ; and it increasesto the 7th, when it is at noon five degreesnine minutes in the eighth degree of the sixthsign. Thence it decreases to the 13th, passingthe ecliptick in its descending node, betweenfive and six in the afternoon, in the fifth de-gree of the ninth sign. Her southern latitudenow increases to the 20th, when it is at noonfive i3egrees five minutes, in the sixU) degree ofthe twelfth sign; and it decreases afterwards tothe 27th, when it passes the ecliptick in its as-cending node, between nine and ten at night, mthe fifth degree of the third sign. Her northernlatitude now increases, and is at midnight at theend of the month four degrees four minutes, inthe twenty eighth degree of the fourth sign. .

The Moon is seen in the eastern hemisphereon the 1st before Sun-set, as she passes the me-


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S JANUARY, 1817.ridian at thirty-six minutes past ten at night,being then under the second of the Bull, andhaving the fine constellation of Orion directlyunder her, and being herself between the secondand sixth of the Bull, the former star to the west,the latter to the east of the meridian, a little be-fore midnight. On the 2d, she is on the me-ridian at thirty-one minutes past eleven, havingnear to her on the east the fifth of the Twins,and below her on the west the seventh andtwelfth of this constellation. At her first ap-pearance she is seen above but near to theselatter stars, her retreat from them and passageby the fifth is the chief feature of her progressduring this night.

On the 3d is full Moon, at forty-four minutes],>'ast noon ; but I'roai her too great northern la-titude ^vithout an eclipse. Her passage underthe two first stars of the Twins marks her course,and she is directly under them about midnight.On the 4th she travels through the Crab ; and, onthe 5th, rises under tiie small stars in the head ofthe Lion, but does not reach the first till hernext appearance. On the 6th, she rises betweenthe sevenih and first of the Lion, but near to theformer star, directing her course to the small


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JANUARY, 1817. 9stars in the head of the Virgin, passingthrough the body of the Lion on the 7th. Onthe 8th, she rises in the head of the Virgin, di-recting her course through the third and fourthof this constellation. On the 9th, she rises un-der the five stars in triangle of the Virgin, near-est to the third; and during the morning of the10th is seen to direct her course above the firstto the tenth and eleventh.

On the 11th, the Moon rises in the morningat some distance from the first of the Virgin nowto the west of her, and is soon followed by thetenth and eleventh of this constellation- On the12th, she rises nearly with the first of the Balance,passing it about three. On the 13th, she rises un-der the two first stats of the Balance, directingher course to the second of the Scorpion andJupiter. On the 14th, she rises under the secondof the Scorpion and Jupiter, being followed byMars, whom she passes before her next appear-ance. On the 17th is new Moon, at thirty-eightminutes after noon, but for obvious reasons with-out an eclipse.

On the 1 9tb, the crescent of the Moon is seen in,south-west-by-soutb, below but to the east of Sa-B5


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10 JANUARY, 1817.turn, who is between her and the four small starsin the tail of the Goat. On the 20Lh, she is inthe barren region under the four stars in square ;and on the 23d is on the meridian at thirty-fiveminutes past four in the afternoon, having aboveher to the west the four stars in square, and to theeast the three first stars of the Ram, at con-siderable distances, Saturn being near the horizonin the south-west.

On the 24th, the Moon is on the meridian atfourteen minutes past five after noon, havingabove her the three first stars of the Ram, thesmallest being also on the meridian, and thesmall stars in the head of the Whale near to herto the east. On the 25th, she is on the meridianat fifty five minutes past five, having above herthe three first stars in the Ram to the west, andthe small stars in the head of the Whale withMenkar below her to the east of it. On the 26th,she is on the meridian at thirty eight minutespast six, beins;in a line almost with the Pleiadesand Menkar, the former above her to the east,the latter below her to the west of it. On the27th, she passes the ecliptick in her ascendingliode, but for evident reasons without an eclipse,^he is tn the meridian at twenty-five minutes


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JANUARY, 1817. Itpast seven, having now the Pleiades above herto the west, and Aldebaran with the Hyadesbelow her to the east of it. On the 28th, she ison the meridian at a quarter past eight, being ina line nearly with the second of the Bull andAldebaran ; the former above and nearest to herto the east, the latter below her to the west ofit. On the 29th, she is on the meridian at eightminutes past nine, having to the west of her thetwo stars in the tips of the Bull's horns, andbelow and near to her to the east the seventh andtwelfth of the Twins. On the 30th, she is on themeridian at five minutes past ten, the two first ofthe Twins being above her to the east, and thethird below her to the west of it. The fifth andthe fourth are near to her, the former to the west,the latter to the east. On the 31st, she is on themeridian at three minutes past eleven, havingnow above her to the west the two first stars ofthe Twins, and to the east of her the two smallstars with the nebula of the Crab ; which latterstars she will have passed before her next ap-.pearance.

Mercury is an evening star. His latitude onthe 1st is two degrees six minutes south, m theeighteenth degree of the tenth signj and it de-


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12 JANUARY, 1817.creases to the 24th, when he passes the ecliptickin his ascending node, in the twenty-third degreeof the eleventh sign. His northern latitude thenincreases, and at the end of the month is onedegree fifty-six minutes north, in the twenty-seventh degree of the eleventh sign. His great-est elongation is on the 24th, when he presentshimself favourably to those, who have a clearhorizon in the south-west, as he will at an hourafter Sun-set be ten degrees above the horizon.Saturn is our guide to him, as they are within adegree and a half of each other. A few da3'sbefore and after his elongation he will be viewed,if the weather is fine, by many astronomers.The Moon passes him on the 19th.Venus is an evening star. Her latitude on the

1st is one degree forty-nine minutes south, inthe nineteenth degree of the eleventh sign ; andit decreases during the whole month, endingwith a latitude of twenty-three minutes, in thetwenty-fourth degree of the twelfth sign. Hevmotion is direct through about thirty-seven de-grees. She is first ser:n under Saturn, and nearto the small stars in the tail of the Goat, andher progress by this planet will amuse the spec-tator for several evenings. Being south of the


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JANUARY, 1817. 13ecHptick, her course is through the barren spaceunder the four stars in triangle of the Water-bearer, passing the eleventh of this constellationon the 18th, and the twenty-first on the 23d.The Moon passes her on the 21st.

Mars is a morning star. His latitude on the1st is ten minutes south, in the fourteenth degreeof the ninth sign ; and it increases to the end ofthe month, ending at nearly thirty-two minutes,in the sixth degree of the tenth sign. His pio-tion is direct through nearly twenty-two degreesand a half; and on the 1st be is a good guide toHerschel, from whom he is distant little morethan a quarter of a degree ; but at Sun-rise theyare only about eleven degrees above the horizon,so that an observer must have a good view of itnear south-east-by-south to take advantage ofthis proximity. His progress is from the westernedge of the western branch of the Milky-way tothe eastern extremity of the eastern branch,passing between the eleventh and twelfth of theArcher> but under the latter star on the 25tb, andabove the former star on the 28th. The Moonpasses him on the 14th.

Jupiter is a morning star. His latitude on the


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U JANUARY, 1817.1st is forty-eight minutes north, in the seconddegree of the ninth sign ; and it is increased bynot quite two minutes- His motion is directthrough five degrees and a quarter, from a pointnear to the second of the Scorpion. He passesunder the twenty-third of this constellation, andends his course a little above the twenty-fourth,Jupiter, Antares, and Mars, enliven the lowerregion before Sun-rise to the south of south-east-*The Moon passes Jupiter on the 13th.

Saturn is an evening star. His latitude on th$1st is one degree sixteen minutes south, in thetwenty-second degree of the eleventh sign ; andit remains nearly the same during the month.His motion is direct through a little more thanthree degrees and a half. Near to but below himat first are the four small stars in the tail of theGoat, the nearest being the fourth of this con-stellation ; and from them he slowly recedestowards the east. The passage of Venus byhim and these stars in the first part of the firstweek will be a pleasing feature of the lowerregions in the south-west after Sun-set. TheMoon passes Saturn on the 19th.

Herschel is a morning star. His latitude on the


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3.ANUARY, 1817. 151st is one minute north, in the fourteenth degreeof the ninth sign, and continues the same withscarcely any variation. His motion is directthrough one degree and a half, within the westernbranch of the Milky-way, near the western edge.His place being best discovered by Mars on the1st. The Moon passes him on the 14th.The Sun's apparent diameter on the 4th is

thirty-two minutes thirty-five seconds, and onthe 18th thirty-two minutes thirty-four seconds.The Moon's apparent diameter on the 1st atnoon is thirty minutes thirty-six seconds, andincreases to the 9th, being then at midnightthirty-two minutes eighteen seconds. It thendecreases, but scarcely perceptibly at first, tothe 23d at midnight, when it is twenty-nineminutes thirty-six seconds, increasing afterwardsto the end of the month, closing it at midnightat thirt3''-one minutes fifty seconds. The Sunenters the eleventh sign at fifty-six minutes pastseven in the morning of the 20th,

The places of the fixed stars will be knownfor any hour of the night by consulting thevolume for 1806, according to the followingtable ; -


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10 JANUARY, 1817.TABLE OF POSITIONS.

!iiewhat farther fromhim to the east. The Moon passes him on the2Gth.

Saturn is a morning star, being on the meri-dian about six in the morning of the 1st, and ata quarter past four on the 26th, He rises aboutmidnight on the 12th, His latitude on the 1stis one degree thirty-three minutes south, in thesixth degree of the twelfth sign ; and it is in-creased about seven minutes, his motion beingdirect to the 16th, when he is stationary, in theseventh degree of the twelfth sign, and he retro-grades afterwards into the sixth degree of thissign. His place therefore, under and at somedistance from the four stars in triangle of theWater-urn, is little changed during the wholemonth. The Moon passes him on the 5th.


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84 JUNE, 1817.Herschel is on the meridian at midnight on

the 5th, and at three quarters past ten on the22d. His latitude on the 1st is one minute south,in the fourteenth degree of the ninth sign, re-maining the same the whole month ; his motionbeing retrograde through nearly a degree and aquarter. He is travelling therefore out of thewestern branch of the Milky-way, but will notreach to its western border this month. Whenon the meridian the seventh of the Water-beareris above him to the east. The Moon passes himon the 27th.

The apparent diameter of the Sun on the 2d isthirty-one minutes thirty-five seconds, and onthe 26th thirty-one minutes thirty-one seconds.The apparent diameter of the Moon on the 1st atnoon is thirty-two minutes and a half; and it de-creases to the 10th, when it is twenty-nine mi-nutes and a half: it then increases to the 25th,being at midnight thirty-two minutes fifty se-conds ; and it then decreases to the end of themonth, finishing with a magnitude of thirty-oneminutes forty seconds. The Sun enters thefourth sign at half past eight in the evening ofthe 21st.


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JUNE, 1817. 85For the positions of the fixed stars at any hour

of the night consult the volume for 1806, accord"ing to the following table :

TABLE OF POSITIONS.

Pos. 1h. m.6

h. rn.15

h. m.\

23h. m.

V. 8 55 8 26 7 57VI.VII.VIII.

10 51 10 22 9 5311 53

9 2011 20

25156 2

2227 I 58 1 25IX. 4- 59 4 30 4. I 3 28X. 6 25 5 56 5 23


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86

JULY, 1817.

A small party of soldiers was, some yearsago, passing along a road, when they weresuddenly struck wnth the agitation and exclama-tions of one of their comrades. It was a fine stillevening, the Moon shining bright and high inthe heavens ; but the thick foliage of the trees,not yet stripped off by the autumn, cast a gloomon the place in which they were. On a suddenone of the party fixed his haggard eyes on a par-ticular spot, and exclaimed, '' Do you not seehim ? He is there ! He is there ! '* But beingpushed on by his serjeant, he recovered himself,and attributed what had happened to fits, towhich he had been subjected, and which werealways worse as the Moon was nearer the full.With this explanation the party went on to theirquarters for the night, seemingly well satisfied,and the man did not betray symptoms of anything more than might be expected from the


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JULY, 1817. 87cause, to which his preceding agitation had beenattributed.

The Serjeant was however a shrewd fellow,who did not believe at all in lunar influences, andthought there might be something at the bottomof this matter, which might be discovered with-out being a conjurer, or consulting the Moon.He gave a charge therefore to two of his partyto keep a close eye upon the object of his sus-picion, and went himself into the village, wherehe soon gotacquainted with its oldest inhabitants.From them he learned, that a great many yearsback a murder had been committed on that veryspot, but not a single trace couid be discoveredto lead to the perpetraters of the crime. TheSerjeant collected all the facts he could respect-ing the deceased person, and the mode in whichhis body was discovered ; and the next morning,marching his party back to the spot where themurder bad been committed, on the instant theywere at it, proclaimed the names of the murderedand the murderer. The agitation of the latterleft little room to doubt of his guilt. He wasseized, confessed his crime, and expiated it bybis death.


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8S JULY, 1817.The discovery of this horrid crime was natural

and happy it is for mankind, that such causesexist, which superstition frequently attributes toinvisible beings, but which really are to betraced to the formation of the mind itself Anatrocious deed is scarcely ever perpetrated with-out affecting the imagination in a very powerfulmanner. However a man may disguise his feel-ings from his fellow creatures, yet his thoughtswill frequently recur to the events of his pastlife. Images v/ill arise in his mind, which arealmost as strong as the realities, that once tookplace : and they are excited either by the inwardthoughts of the heart, or by some circumstance,which unexpectedly connects the present mo-ment with that, in which a guilty person hadcommitted the horrid deed. At that moment heis no longer master of himself The guard,which he had placed on his actions, is removed.He feels himself as it were a spectator of thecrime committed, acted over again in all itsglaring colours; and the secrets of his heart aremade manifest.

Thus it was with the wretched man in the caseabove mentioned. He was not perhaps thinking


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JULY, 1817. 89of bis crime, till the very instant, when thegloom of the road and the trees around himbrought before his mind the horrid scene, inwhich he had so many years before been engaged.Then the figurewith the wounds ofthe deceased pre-sented itself as it were before his eyes. He couldnot contain himself. His exclamations arose natu-rally from the scene before him. On this formationof our minds is grounded the finely painted sceneof our poet, when Richard the Third seems tohave present before his eyes the unhappy victimsof his cruelty : and the bt d of Louis the Four-teenth, of France, was probably no less disturbed,when the cries of his tortured protestant sub-jects resounded in his ears, and their mangledlimbs were present before his eyes. The downybed, the nectar draft, the physician's balm,the confesser's pliant soothings, in vain ad-minister relief to the mind diseased. Guilt willnot thus be expelled ; and when the wretchedmonarch wakes, the knee of the courtier maysalute majesty, but the homage of mortals can-not compensate for the stings of a wounded con-science.

This subject would lead us forward to severalimportant remarks, and many prejudices might beremoved, which arise from the tales of pretended


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^2 JULY, 1817.to the east. On the 2d, she rises under Saturn, stillto the east of her. On the 3d, he is to the west ofher. On the 4th, she rises under the four stars insquare, nearest to the two eastern of them ; and onthe 6th, near midnight, in the barren space abovethe fifteenth of the Fishes ; and, on the morning ofthe 7 th, she is seen to direct her course under Mars.

On the 8th, the Moon rises in the morningtinder the three first stars of the Ram and Mars.On the 9th, she rises nearly with the Pleiades,the three first stars of the Ram and Mars beingabove her now to the west. On the 10th, sherises under the Pleiades; and, on the 11th, hasthem at her rising to the west of her, but fromthe slowness of her motion at no great distance.On the 12th, she rises under and near to thesecond of the Bull, or tip of the northern horn ;and on the 14th is new Moon, at seventeen mi-nutes past ten in the morning, but from hergreat latitude without an eclipse.

On the 16th, the crescent of the Moon is seenin the evening soon after Sun-set in the west,under but near to the seventh of the Lion,which she passes about Moon-set. On the 17th,she is seen under the eighth, fourth, and second


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JULY, 1817. 93of this conslellation, directing her course to thesmall stars in the head of the Virgin. On the18th, she is seen near to the small stars in thehead of the Virgin, being nearest to the thir-teenth. Above her is the second of the Lion, andbelow her the second of the Virgin, betweenwhich stars she passes about Moon-set. On the19th, she is seen in the space included by thefive stars in triangle of the Virgin, being at firstnearly between the seventh and fourth, theformer below, the latter above her ; but she isnearest to the former star, and directs her coursebetween the fourth and third. On the 20th, sheis considerably to the east of the five stars intriangle of the Virgin, having below her to theeast the first of this constellation. On the 21st,she is under the tenth and eleventh of the Virgin,between which stars she passes before Moon-set:she is directing her course to Jupiter, at a con-siderable distance from her to the east. On the22d, she is between the first of the Balance andJupiter, but much the nearest to the star.

On the 23d, the Moon is on the meridian atforty-six minutes past seven in the evening, be-ing then under Jupiter and the second of theScorpion, and her recess from them will form an


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JXJLY, 1817. 95rises under the small stars in the tail of the Goatto the west, and Saturn to the east of her, butshe will evidently have passed the planet beforeher next appearance. On the SOth, she risesunder Saturn now to the west of her; and, on the31st, she rises under the four stars in square,nearest to the two western, Saturn being at somedistance to the west of her.

Mercury is a morning star, at his greatestelongation on the 6th, being then about nine de-grees above the horizon at Sun-rise, in east-north-east. His latitude on the 1st is three degreesforty-three minutes south, in the nineteenth de-gree of the third sign; and it decreases to the19th, when he passes the ecliptick in his as-cending node, in the twelfth degree of the fourthsign, but for obvious reasons without a transit.His northern latitude now increases, and be-comes on the last day one degree thirty-eightminutes, in the seventh degree of the fifth sign.The Moon passes him on the J 2th.

Venus is a morning star. Her latitude on the1st is three degrees fif y-seven minutes south, inthe twenty-ninth degree of the second sign ; and itincreases to the 5th, when it is four degrees five


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98 JULY, 1817.Herschel is on the meridian at three minute*

past ten at night on the 1st, and at three quar-ters past eight on the 20th. His latitude on the1st is one minute south, in the thirteenth degreeof the ninth sign, and it continues nearly the same,his motion being retrograde through nearly fiftyminutes. He will thus be seen, when on themeridian, having the seventh of the Serpent-bearer above him to the east, and Antares belowhim to the west, the planet being near the edgeof the western border of the western branch ofthe Milky-way. The Moon passes him on the24.th.

The Sun's apparent diameter on the 1st isthirty-one minutes thirty-one seconds, and on the22d thirty-one minutes thirty-three seconds.The Moon's apparent diameter on the 1st atnoon is thirty-one minutes twenty-eight seconds;and it decreases to the 8th, when it is at noontwenty-nine minutes thirty-four seconds : it thenincreases to the 23d, being at noon thirty-twominutes twenty-six seconds, decreasing afterwardsto the end of the month, being on the 29th at

.

midnight thirty-one minutes, and on the 31st atthe same time thirty minutes eighteen seconds.


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AUGUST, 1817. 101^nd what is so finely said by the holy writer," Who by searching can find out God/^ thcau-thor of nature, may also be applied to the worksof his almighty power.

The astrologer and the astronomer then are notto be confounded together. The former narrowsthe mind, and enfeebles it by vain conceits: thelatter expands the mind, and by the contempla-tion of nature in its grandest features leads to theawful veneration of him, whom no eye hathseen or can see. If the first fruit of our science is the fear of that God, who is so mighty in hisoperations, we might naturally conclude, that noone could be divested of it, who applied himself tosuch a study. An un.levout astronomer, it issaid, is mad, and greater folly cannot be than toentertain the wicked conception, that there is noGod. Yet this madness, and this folly, cot -curred in one of the greatest astronomers ofwhom Europe can boast; and ttiey prove to us,that the modern system of the world may be'contemplated as a piece of slender mechanism,without impressing on the mind one single idea,which such a work is calculated to produce. Aworld, according to these people, is easily formedby certain attractive powers, attributed to par-


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104 AUGUST, 1817.of such an accumulation would be total darkness,and the dtstiuction of atiirnal and vegetable life.

If then, it may be said, the covering of theSun entirely by opake matter may produce suchan effect, why may not a partial obscurationaffect our Earth ? This is a fair question, butthen the enquirer wiil reflect, that at all timesthe Sun is partially covered by spots. Thesewere first made known to us by the teLescope,and the last summer had not a greater accu-mulation of them than has frequejitiy occurredwithout the least surmise of the season's beingaffected by it. Besides, the greatest accumula-tion of these spots ever known covers but avery small part of the Sui-s's disc, in propor-tion to the whole of its surface; and the dif-ference between the heat from the Sun, whenthe accuniulation in spots is the greatest, andthat when it is the least, is not equal to athousandth part of its average heat. It is ab-surd therefore to look to the spots of the Sunas the cause of any variation in our seasonsfrom the ordinary course.

Besides, it did not strike the persons, vi ho' carried us to the Sun for the cause of our ex-


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112 AUGUST, 1817.ing thus direct through abovit eighteen decrees.At first he is seevi under the small s^ars in thetail of the Ra.n, being about three degrees fromthe fourih of this consttliation ; he passes thePleiades atsome distance uuder them on the 18th,and in the last week his passage above the Hya-des and Aldebaran will be the chief feature inhis course : the superioritv in the splendour ofMars, though much diminished, above that ofAldebaran is wortiiy of notice. The Moon passesnear to him on the 5th near ten at night.

Jupiter is an evening star, being on the me-ridian on the 1st at ten minutes past seven, andever}^ evening earlier. His latitude on the Ist isforty minutes north, in the first degree of theninth sign, deci easing about seven minutes. Hismotion is direct through about one degree fortyminutes The chief ft;ature of his^ course is hispassage under the second of the Scorpion, whichhe passes on the tenth, the star being twenty-three minute and a half north of him. In ourevenina: waiks we shall compare his solendourwith that of Antares. The Moon passes him onthe 20lh.

Saturn rises at Sun-set about the end of the


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AUGUST, 1817. 113month, and is on the meridian at midnight onthe 26th. His latitude on the 1st is one degreeforty-six minutes south, in the fifth degree of thetwelfth sign ; and it increases about three mi-nutes, his motion being retrograde through abouttwo degrees and a quarter, under the eighth ofthe Water-bearer. The Moon passes him onthe 26ih.

Herschel is on the meridian at fifty-six mi-nutes past seven in ttie evening on the 1st, andevery succeeding evening earlier. His latitudeon the 1st is one minute south, in the twelfth de-gree of the ninth sign, increasing to nearly twominutes. His motion is retrograde through aboutten minutes to the 26th, when he is stationary. Hisplace will be found by drawing lines from An-tares to the eighth and seventeenth of the Ser-pent-bearer, as he is between them, near thewestern border of the western branch of theMiiky-way, and near to the latter line. TheMoon passes him on the 20th.

The apparent diameter of the Sun on the 1stis tbirty-one minutes thirty-five secojids, and onthe IQth thjrty-f^ne minutes forty one >


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114 AUGUST, 1817.the 1st is half a degree, and it decreases to the4th, when it is in the afternoan twenty-nine mi-nutes thirty-six seconds. It becomes half a de-gree at midnight on the 7 th, and continues to in-crease till the 17th, when it is thirty-two minutestwenty-six seconds. It then decreases to theend of the month, when it is at midnight twenty-nine minutes thirty-six seconds. The Sun entersthe sixth sign at fifty minutes past one after-noon on the 23d.

For the positions of the fixed stars at any hourof the night consult the volume for 1806, by thefollowing table :

TABLE OF POSITIONS.

Pos.]

h.I

m.8

h. m.16

h. m.25

h. m.VILVIII.IX.

X.XLXII.

810

4247

810

1520

7 459 50

11 53

7 129 17

11 20

24

50

4546 24

23

1819 1 483 495 55

1 153 165 22


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116 SEPTEMBER, 1817.influence of the Moon. Thus, last year, theMoon was repeatedly looked to, but change suc-ceeded change, and the rain poured down inspite of repeated prognostications to the con-trary.

What effect then has the Moon on the wea-ther ? If it has any, it must be by some means,which may be traced to the Moon ; or at anyrate some plausible reason should be given to in-duce us to suppose that the Moon can producethis effect. What is evident to our senses ismerely this, that when the Moon is above ourhorizon, and the Sun is absent, the rays of theSun, reflected by the Moon on our Earth, giveus light. It is not supposed, that the lunar rayproduces any other effect; but as a power ofdraw-ing to it-elf any objf^ct, affirmed to be manifest inthe tides, is altrihued to the Moon, it may be,that some changes will be produced in our at-mosphere in consequence of this attractivepower.

Now, if tins argument were true, we mightexpect, that the~e variations in the weaHier wouldbe subjrctto some uniform law; and they mightbe piognosiicated with the same facility as takes


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SEPTEMBER, 1817. 119and the Moon may be freed from praise or blamewhatever is the result.

As the diaries convince us, that all these sur-mises, respecting the Moon's influence on theweather, are fallacious, so I am inclined to be-lieve the same will be discovered to be the caseon its pretended influence on the tides. Tidetables may be made for every place on the seaside : but let the height of the tides only be takeafor one year, in fifty different places, which Icould easily point out, and the number of co-incidences with the height by table and theheight by experience be compared with the num-ber of failures, and then I apprehend, that thewhole doctrine of the influence of the Moon, onthe tides will share the same fate with that of itspretended influence on the weather. This workmay fall into the hands of some persons, whohave the opportunitj^ of making the trial : andone year's observation only, at the Cape of GoodHope, St. Helena, Sierra Leone, Madeira, andBermuda, would go a great way towards the set-tling of this question. We will now attend tothe Moon's progress in the heavens, which isbrought to a better calculation.


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SEPTEMBER, 1817. 125meridian at thirty-nine minutes past eight, thetwo first stars in the head of the Goat being aboveher to the west, and Saturn at a considerable dis-tance from her to the east. She is directing hercourse under this planet. On the 2 1st, she is onthe meridian at thirty-two minutes past nine, thesmall stars in the tail of the Goat being aboveand near to her to the east, Saturn aboveher also to the east at some distance. On the^2d, she is on the meridian at twenty-one mi-nutes past ten, Saturn beingj now almost directlyabove her, but rather to the west of it, and con-siderably above her are the four small stars in tri-angle in the urn of the Water-bearer. On the 23d,she is on the meridian at six minutes past eleven,Saturn being now at some distance from her tothe west, and the four stars in square above herat a considerable distance, the two western beingnear to the meridian on the west. On the 24th,she is on the meridian at forty-nine minutes pasteleven, the four stars in square being above her,the two eastern near to the meridian on the east.

On the 25th is full Moon at forty-seven mi-nutes past nine in the morning, but without aneclipse, as her latitude is nearly three degrees.She rises in the evening in the east, under theG2


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SEPTEMBER, 1817. 12?nutes past eleven at night on the 1st, and at tenon the 26th. His latitude on the 1st is one de-gree forty-nine minutes south, in the third degreeof the twelfth sign ; and it remains nearly thesame the whole month, his motion being retro-grade through nearly two degrees. When firston the meridian, the four stars in triangle of theurn of the Water-bearer are directly above him,and at the last the eisfhth of this constellationnearly. The Moon passes him on the 22d.

Herschel is on the meridian at fifty-nine mi-nutes past five in the afternoon of the 1st, and atthree quarters past four on the 22d. His la-titude at first is two minutes south, in the twelfthdegree of the ninth sign, and it remains nearlythe same the whole month, his motion being di-rect through nearly forty minutes. The twenty-fourth of the Scorpion is nearly midwaj' betweenhim and the second, and a line drawn throughthis latter star and Jupiter passes near to him atthe end of the month. The Moon passes him onthe 17 th.

The Sun's apparent diameter on the 4th isthirty-one minutes forty-seven seconds, and onthe 25th thirty-one minutes fifty-nine seconds.


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128 SEPTEMBER, 1817.The Moon's apparent diameter on the 1st istwenty-nine minutes thirty-four seconds, and itincreases to tlie 13th, when it is thirty-two mi-nutes fifiy-two seconds ', and it decreases to the29th, when it is twenty-nine minutes and a half.The Sun enters the seventh sign at twenty-eightminutes past ten in the morning of the 23d.

For the appearances of the fixed stars, at anyhour of the night, consult the volume for 1806,according to the following table :

TABLE OF POSITIONS.

Pos. 1h. m.8

h. m.16

h. m.24

h. m.VII. 6 46 6 21 5 52VIII. 8 51 8 26 7 57 7 23IX.X.XT.

10 54 10 29 1011 55

9 31

11 262

4950 2

2425 1 56 1 27

XII. 4 50 4 31 4 2 3 33I. 6 46 6 21 5 52 5 23


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130 ocTor3E0, 1817.not granted to us, and probably never may inour present state of existence, to be acquaintedwith the structure of either our own or the otherglobes, that revolve around the Sun. Enough ismanifest to us to give us the persuasion, thatwherever creative power has beeu exerted everything is to be found suitable to the wise and be-nevolent purposes of the Greater.

I have given, at the end of each month, theapparent diameter of the Moon for certain days,from which its apparent diameter on the inter-vening days may be pretty nearly ascertained.This cannot be done accurately, as the apparent"diameter does not increase or decrease uniformly :but it increases with an increasing incrementfrom its lowest magnitude till it is about a meanbetween its greatest and least magnitude, andthen it increases with a decreasing increment tillit comes to its greatest magnitude. It then de-creases with an increasing decrement till it comesto about a mean between the greatest and leastmagnitude, and then decreases with a decreasingdecrement till it comes to its least magnitude,and so on continually.

The nature of these increments and decrement*


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OCTOBER, 1817. 13322d of December ; its variation on eaeh side ofthese days will for some time be small.

I have suggested the propriety of attending tothis circumstance in varying magnitudes, in myPrinciples of Taxation, where it is shew^n to beof consequence in the common concerns of life.A government lays on a tax upon certain articles,which produces a certain sum for some years.Encouraged by this gain it increases the tax,and finds, as it supposes, a corresponding increasein its receipts. It goes on increasing the tax,without attending to the nature of its increments,but it may be to the decrease of its revenue ;for if, in increasing the tax, it has passed themaximum, which it can produce, the necessaryconsequence is a diminution in its receipts. ThisI believe is no uncommon case, though to theintelligent a sufficient warning is held out by thenature of the increment of revenue, on each in-crement of taxation : but this is not to be ex-pected, unless the finances are kept in a muchbetter manner than they are in most nations. Indespotical countries the rulers seldom make useof iheir reason ; and in many others, what is soimportant a part of the business of the nation isleast of all attended to. It is not considered.


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OCTOBER, 1817. 137small stars in the head of the Archer to thewest of it. On the 17th, she is on the me-ridian at forty-three minutes past six, being di-rectly under the two first stars of the Goat. Sheis directing her course under Saturn, at a consi-derable distance from her. On the 18th, she ison the meridian at thirty-seven minutes past* se-ven, having the small stars in the tail of the Goatalcove her to the east, and it is evident she vvillnot have passed Saturn before her next appear-ance. On the 19th, she is on the meridian attwenty-six minutes past eight, Saturn beingabove her and near to the meridian to the east,but she does not pass him till after Moon-set.On the 20th, she is on the meridian at twelveminutes past nine, being almost directly underthe two western of the four stars in square ; Sa-turn is now at some distance from her to the west.On the 21st, she is on the meridian at fifiy-fiveminutes past nine, being now in the barrenspace under the four stars in square, the twoeastern being the nearest to the meridian to theeast. On the 22d, she is on the meridian atthirty. six minutes past ten, the four stars insquare being above her, tlie two eastern nearto it to the west. On the 23d, she is on the me-ridian at seventeen minutes past eleven, being


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140 OCTOBER, 1817.Venus is a morning star. Her latitude on the

1st is thirty-six minutes north, in the first degreeof the sixth sign; and it increases to somewhatmore than a degree and a half, in the seventhdegree of the seventh sign, her motion being di-rect through nearly thirty-six degrees and a half.She is seen at first under and a!;out three degreesfrom the first of the Lion, and she directs hercourse to the seventh of the Virgin, passing un-der the twenty-second of the Lion on the 1 llh,above the second of the Virgin on the 22d, andabove the seventh of this constellation on the28th, finishing her course within about a degreeof the third to the east of her. The Moon passesher on the 7th.

Mars is on the meridian at three quarters pastfour in the morning on the 3d, and at four onthe IQih. His latitude on the 1st is half a degreesouth, in the twenty-first degree of the thirdsign; and it decreases to the 16th, when hepasses the ecliptick in his ascending node, in thetwenty-fifih degree of the third sign. Hisnorthern latitude then increases to the end of themonth to nearly forty minutes north, in thetwenty-sixth degree of the third sign. At firsthe is seen between the two stars the second and


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NOVEMBER, 1817. 14?three minutes twenty-eight seconds. If the de-lineation is made under this apparent magnitude,it will not be easy to correct it by subsequentobserrations; for, if the full Moon at the end ofMay might be thought suited to the purpose, cer-tainly that would not be the case by any fullMoon that followed it.

Hence, in all globes and maps of the Moon,it is necessary, that it should be known underwhat apparent diameter the delineation wasmade ; and he, who expects to see an appear-ance in the Moon similar to that in his plate,must not be surprised at his disappointment, ifhe views the Moon under circumstances verydifferent from those under which the delineationwas made. If, for example, the plate was takenwhen the apparent diameter of the Moon wasupward of thirty-three minutes, how can it beexpected to be an exact representation of theMoon when her diameter is under thirty minutes?W hatever are the inequalities in the surface ofthe Moon, which give it a peculiar appearanceat one time, these, when its orb is considerablyvaried, must from the nature of projection andthe reflection of the rays of the Sun produce analteration in its appearance.

H 3


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148 NOVEMBER, 1817.The apparent surface of the Moon would, if

we were acquainted with the real nature of thedark and light spots upon it, give us the sameidea of the Moon^s real surface, as a map of onehemisphere of the Earth does of the real situationon the Earth of the places marked in the map.In the map every thing almost is distorted, andso it is in the apparent surface of the Moon. Tohave an idea of the real figure of a black spot onthe Moon, we must take its outline correctly,and the distances of several points in it from aline, which we may call the Moon's equator.Thus we may obtain what may be called thelongitude and latitude of every point in it weplease. Having done all this by observation, wecan tranr/er our longitudes and latitudes of pointson the flat surface to corresponding longitudesand latitudes on a globe of any dimensions weplease, and thus we have a globe of the Moon.But there is one tiff^r^nce between the globe thusmade to represent the lunar surface and thosein common use to represent the Earth. Weknow by our globe, what parts are earth, whatparts sea, what are mountainous, and what areplane ; but all that the lunar globe can representto us is merely, that in such a longitude andlatitude the spot is dark, or in another it is light;


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NOVEMBER, 1817. 149whether it is land or sea, high or low, we knownothing, and the globe can be of use only togive imperfect delineations of the dark and lu-minous surfaces in the orb of the Moon.

But the observers of the present day havegreat advantages over the famed philosopherEndymion, who passed his cheerless nights onthe summit of some lofty mountain to gain afancied advantage in a nearer approach to theobject of his curiosity and admiration. Withwhat delight would he have anticipated the dis-coveries of our telescope, which however, inbringing us so much nearer to the glorious orb ofnight, has hitherto only tantalized us with re-spect to the grand points, which most excitshuman curiosity. What may be hereafter at-tained by the noble aims of lord Stanhope to ex-tend the power of the telescope time will discoverbut I hope that it will be in my power to con-gratulate my readers next year on some usefuladditions to the knowledge of the heavens,through the labours of an English nobleman towhom science is already under so many obliga-tions! We will now examine the appearance?of the heavens in this month.

The Moon's latitude north at midnight on the


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150 NOVEMBER, 1817.^d is five degrees seventeen minutCvS, in the nine-teenth degree of the fifth sign ; and it decreasesto the 9th, when she passes the ecliptick in herdescending node, between four and five in themorning, in the seventeenth degree of the eighthsign. Her southern latitude now increases to the15th, when it is at noon five degrees seventeen mi-nutes, in the nineteenth degree ofthe eleventh signthence decreasing to the 22d, when she passesthe ecliptick in her ascending node, about sevenat night, in the eighieenth degree of the secondsign. Her northern latitude now increases tothe 29th, being at midnight five degrees fifteenminutes, in the sixteenth degree of the fifthsign.

The Moon rises at night on the 1st abouta quarter past ten, and is soon followedby the two small stars and nebula in theCrab, above which she passes about mid-night. On the 2d, she rises under and near tothe small stars in the head of the Lion ; andduring the^morning of the 3d is seen to directher course to the seventh of this constellation,which she does not reach till some time afterSun-rise.

On the 4th, the Moon rises in the morning


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NOVEMBER, 1817. 151under the first and third of the Lion^ and is seenafterwards to direct her course to the saiall starsin the head of the Virgin, beyond which Venuswill be noticed. On the 5ih, she rises nearlywith the second of the Lion, but does not reachthe small stars in the head of the Virgin til! afterSun-rise. On the 6th, she rises under the smallstars in the head of the Virgin, and is soon fol-lowed by the seventh : she will be seen to directher course between the third and loarth, andnearest to the former star, to pass Venus aboutthe time of her next appearance. On the 7th,she rises under the five stars in triangle of theVirgin and soon after Venus, and her recessfrom the planet is the chief feature of her pro-gress. On the 9th is new Moon, at eight minutespast two in the n)orning, when there will be aneclipse of the Sun, of course to us invisible j but itwill take place centrally on the meridian, atfour minutes past two, in longitude one hun-dred and forty-eight degrees forty-nine minuteseast, and latitude eight degrees eight minutessouth.

On the 10th, the crescent of the Moon willbe seen for a short time after Sun-set near thehorizon and under Jupiter, in the south-west.


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152 NOVEMBER, 1817.On the nth, she is seen under the twelfth andeleventh of the Archer, directing her courseunder the latter star. On the 12th, she is seenunder the small stars in the head of the Archer,being near to hut under the eighteenth, the starin his shoulder.

On the 1 3th, the Moon is on the meridial^at thirty.four minutes past four in the after-noon, and will be soon seen under the two firststars of the Goat to the east of her, directingher coarse under Saturn at a considerable dis-tance to the east of her. On the 14th, she ison the meridian at thirty-one minutes past five,the two first stars of the Goat being now aboveher to the west, and the small stars in its tailto the east. On the 15th, she is on the me-ridian at twenty-three minutes past six, thesmall stars in the tail of the Goat being nearto her to the west, and Saturn, whom she willhave passed before her next appearance, aboveher to the east. On the 16th, she is on the me-ridian at ten minutes past seven, having belovrand near to her to the east the fourth of the Wa-ter-bearer, and above her to the west Saturn. Onthe 17 ih, she is on the meridian at fifty- fourminutes past seven, being directly under the four


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156 NOVEMBER, ISly.1st is one degree forty minutes north, in theeighth degree of the seventh sign; and it in-creases to the 10th; when it is one degree forty-three minutes, in the nineteenth degree of thisjBign. It then decreases till it becomes, at the endof the month, nearly a degree and a half, in thefourteenth degree of the eighth sign, her motionbeing direct through about thirty-seven degrees.She is first seen near to but to the east of theIhird of the Virgin, from which star she directslier course between the tenth and eleventh of thisconstellation, passing the first on the 12th, andbeing under the tenth on the 21st, and passingabove and near to the eleventh on the 23d ; andshe passes near to the first of the Balance at theend of the month, finishing her course near toit to the east. The Moon passes her on the 7 th,

Mars rises about seven in the evening on the1st, and every succeeding evening earlier. Heis on the meridian at a quarter past three in themorning of the 2d, and a quarter past one on themorning of the 26th. His latitude on the 1st isforty minutes north, in the twenty-seventh de-gree of the third sign ; and it increases to some-what more than two degrees, in the nineteenthdegree of the third sign, his motion being re-


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NOVEMBER, 1817. 157trograde through about seven degrees. He isfirst seen between the seventh and twelfth of theTwins and the horns of the Bull, about midway,and he slowly moves towards the horns, passingabove the sixth, or tip of the southern horn, onthe 24th, and finishing his course under the se-cond of the Bull, or tip of the northern horn.The Moon passes him on the 25 th.

Jupiter is an evening star, setting about halfpast six on the 1st, and every evening earlier.They, who have a clear horizon towards thefiouth-west, will find the advantage of it on the9th, as he passes Herschel on that day, the latterplanet being somewhat more than twenty-fourminutes to the south of him. For the first ten ortwelve days, he will therefore be a good guideto Herschel, as far as the other circumstancespermit. His latitude on the 1st is twenty-fourminutes north, in the thirteenth degree of theninth sign; and it decreases to nearly twentyminutes north, in the nineteenth degree of thissign, his motion being direct through about sixdegrees. Thus he traverses nearly the wholebreadth of the western branch of the Milky-way, passing under the seventeenth of the Water-


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158 NOVEMBER, 1817.bearer on the 25th. The Moon passes him onthe 10th.

Saturn is on the meridian at forty-two minutespast seven in the evening of the 1st, and at halfpast six on the 19th. His latitude on the 1st isone degree forty-six minutes south, in the thir-tieth degree of the eleventh sign; and it di-minishes about six minutes, his motion being di-rect through about forty minutes. He will there-fore be seen when on the meridian near the samespot under the eighth of the Water-bearer.The Moon passes him on the 16th.

Herschel is an evening star. His latitude onthe 1st is two minutes south, in the fourteenthdegree of the ninth sign, and it remains nearlythe same the whole month, his motion being di-rect through nearly a degree and three quarters,Jupiter is our guide to him. The Moon passe*him on the 10th.

The apparent diameter of the Sun on the 1stis thirty-three minutes nineteen seconds, and onthe 19th thirty-three minutes twenty-seven se-conds. The apparent diameter of the Moon on


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NOVEMBER, 1817. 159the 1st is thirty minutes twenty-six seconds, andit increases to the 8ih, being then at midnightthirty-three minutes and a half. It decreasesthen to the 22d, being at midnight twenty-nineminutes twenty-six seconds; and it afterwardsincreases to the end of the month, being on thelast midnight thirty-one minutes. ^ The Sun en-ters the ninth sign at fifty- four minutes past twoin the afternoon on the 22d.

For the appearances of the fixed stars, at anyhour of the night, consult the volume for 1806,according to the following table :

TABLE OF POSITIONS.Pos. ]h.

[

m.8

h. m.16

h. m.24

h. ra.

VIII. 5 6 4 39 4 7IX. 7 9 6 42 6 10 5 3dX. 9 4 8 37 8 5 7 31XI.XII.I.

11 5 10 38 10 6 9 3211 38

3

11

1 24434

12

2 2 1 28II. 5 4 4 37 4 5 3 31III. 6 53 6 2(5 5 54 5 20


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DECEMBER, 1817. 1^1bounding the crescents, being accurately drawn,will vary very considerably if there is only afew hours' difference in the age of the Moons,

This ought not to discourage persons fromtaking accurate delineations of the Moon, underits different phases, but on the contrary shouldexcite them to continued attention to this object;for, by the comparison of the figures drawn atvarious times, they may at last discover, whatis the shape of those objects, which appearunder such different forms ; and thus, after agreat number of observations, they may at las^arrive at what they aim at, the giving of a goodrepresentation of the Moon on a globe of anydiameter they please. The perfection of theirart would then be seen, in drawing from theglobe thus made a representation of the Moonunder any of its phases. There is, however, inthe execution of this plan, much care required,owing to the librations of the Moon. Butwhat is not man capable of doing by perse-verance !

I hinted, in the observations on the last month,at the fable of the antients respecting Endymion,which I am inclined to believe took its rise from


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166 DECEMBER, 181?.it is at noon five degrees twelve minutes, in thefifteenth degree of the eleventh sign ; and it thendecreases to the 20th, passing the ecliptick inher ascending node very soon after midnight ofthe 19th, in the eighteenth degree of the secondsign. Her northern latitude now increases, andbecomes on the 27th at noon five degrees sevenminutes, in the nineteenth degree of the fifthsign ; and it then decreases to the end of themonth, being, on the last midnight, two degreestwenty-three minutes, in the nineteenth degreeof the seventh sign.

The Moon rises on the 1st under and near tothe eighth of the Lion, and is seen, during themorning of the 2d, to direct its course to thesmall stars in the head of the Virgin.

On the 3d, the Moon rises in the morningunder and near to the small stars in the head ofthe Virgin, and is seen afterward to direct hercourse above the third of this constellation. Onthe 4-1 h, she rises under and near to the third ofthe Virgin, and directs her course at some dis-tance above the first to the tenth and eleventh,under which she rises on the 6th, being soonfollowed by the first of the Balance; and on the


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170 DECEMBER, 1817.of the Lion towards the small stars in the head ofthe Virgin. On the 29th, she rises nearly withthe small stars in the head of the Virgin, as shepasses the thirteenth soon after midnight. Onthe SOth, she rises under the seventh, and issoon followed by the third of the Virgin, whichshe will be seen to pass during the morning ofthe 31st.

Mercury is an evening star. His latitude onthe 1st is fifty-six minutes south, in the tenth de-gree of the ninth sign; and it increases to the22d, when it is nearly two degrees and a qoar-ter, in the thirteenth degree of the tenth sign.It then decreases to theend of the month, beingon the last day one degree fifty-one minutes, inthe twenty-seventh degree of the tenth sign.For the greater part of the month he will be lostin the splendour of the Sun's rays, and on thelast day he is only between eight and nine de-grees above the horizon, in scuth-west-by-south,at Sun- set. The Moon passes him on the 8th.

Venus is a morning star. Her latitude on the1st is one degree twenty- nine minutes north, inthe fifteenth degree of the eighth sign ; and itdecreases to the end of the month, being about


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DECEMBER, 1817. 173fore under the eighth of the Water-bearer, slowlyapproaching to the eighteenth. The Moon passeshim on the 13th.

Herschel is in conjunction on the 8th, Mer-cury passing him on the 5th^ at the distance ofseventy-six minutes to the south of him; butthis passage will, from their nearness to the Sun,be lost to us, and when Herschel becomes amorning star, he will be too near the horizon atSun-rise at the end of the month to be detectedbut by very keen observers. His latitude on the1st is two minutes south, in the sixteenth degreeof the ninth sign ; and it continues nearly thesame the whole monih, his motion being directthrough about a degree and three quarters. TheMoon passes him on the Sih.

The apparent diameter of the Sun on the 1st isthirty-two minutes thirty-one secondtJ, and onthe 21st thirty-two minutes thirty-five seconds.The Moon's apparent diameter on the 1st isthirty-one minutes fourteen seconds, and it in-creases to the Ytb, when it is thirty-three mi-nutes twenty-six seconds. It then decreases tothe -20th, not varying a miiiure durms; this andthe preceding day, being, during the whole of

I 3


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2. EVENING AMUSEMENTS, for the years1805, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and1816. 3s. each, boards.

3. TANGIBLE ARITHMETIC ; or, the Artof Numbering made Easy, by means of anArithmetical Toy, which will express any num-ber up to 16,666,665, and with which, by mov-ing a few balls, a great variety of operations inArithmetic may be performed. Intended to as-sist Mothers and Teachers in the Instruction ofChildren. 7s. 6d., boards.

4. PATRIOTISxM ; or, the Love of ourCountry ; an Essay, illustrated by Examplesfrom Ancient and Modern History : dedicated tothe Volunteers of the United Kingdom. 8vo,7s., boards.

5. PRINCIPLES of TAXATION; or, Con-tribution according to Means. In which it isshown, that, if every man pays in proporlion tothe stake he has in the Country, the presentruinous and oppressive system of Taxation, theCustom House, and the Excise Office, may beabolished, and the National Debt gradually andeasily paid off. Is. Od., stitched.


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Frend, Evening Amusements Astronomy)

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