The Sun.
London, England, 1832-01-02 00:00:00

" Sia,-I have been so changeable in my state, that

sometimes I have not strength to hold a pen to thank you
for the very great kindness I have experienced at your
hands. The Doctor is very humane and attentive, for I
cannot forget what a wretched beggar I was for any of
you to notice. My breath will never recover, and I
firmly believe my lungs are decaying fast ; but 1 hope to
get round, and yet live a few years on Lord Redesdale's
munificence and my earthly saviour Mr. Green's care.
He said he would leave another sovereign, but I have no
extravagances to gratify—fruits and other light things are
all I require—paper, pens, &c. 1 wish to go as near the
mark as possible, as I place no faith in any future hopes.
The nurse is truly honest, and accounts to me for every
penny. Mr. Green, perhaps, mentioned to you, about
some clothes for me to sit up in, which I am sure would
hasten my recovery—he thought he had an old dressing-
gown. If you, Sir, can favour me with your assistance
on this great point, it will be an additional obligation
conferred on an improvident poor wretch, who had no
hope of twenty-four hours' life when you received him into
this benevolent asylum. I am, Sir,
" Your truly obliged and obedient humble scrvent.
" JOHN MITFORD.
" His remains were deposited in St. Giles's Church-
yard, on Friday last. The funeral waa of a most respect-
able description, and a considerable sum of money was
given by the Noble Lord to whom Mitford was related,
to the paupers of St. Giles's parish."

The following extract is curious Ho ,v
was our King JOHN forsaken of his Lordes when h,.
would have put a good and godly reformation in hi,
owne land ! flow was HENRY H. compassed in by
the manner of his owne Prelates, with the secrete con-
spiracle of some of his owne temporal Lordes with
them !"—TINDAL (the Reformer and Martyr), vol. i.,
p. 190, edit., 1573.

About the latter part of the year 1828 an impres,
slon generally prevailed that some baleful influence
was connected with a cornet then about to appear,
of which it had been affirmed that it was the most
likely of all others to come in contact with the
earth : this was the comet of Encke. The German
and French philosophers also predicted that the
comet of Beila would, in the year 18:32, breathe de-
solation on the human race, and by its zhock reduce
this beautiful world to its original chaos. In this
country notices appeared in the public prints relative
to a comet said to be visible, and those who pos-
sessed telescopes were directed to the place in the
heavens where the monster was to be found. Every
one who saw it wondered that it remained sta-
tionary; it would indeed have been a wonderful
phenomenon if it had moved, for this fancied comet
proved to be the nebula in the girdle of Andromeda,
the position of which in the heavens was as perma-
nent as that of any of the fixed stars. At length
the expected comet did appear, but only dimly seen
with the telescope. It passed the earth's orbit, crossed
the paths of Venus and Mercury, mingled its myste-
rious cloud-like form with the solar ray's' and disap-
peared. Both of these Comets—the comet of Encke,
and the comet of Biela— will returnthisyear,and cross
the earth's orbit ; the former in the spring, and the
latter in the autumn, and the only antidote to any
terror is an investigation of the nature of these bo-
dies, and the paths which they pursue. It is not
very probable that the comet of Encke will be satis-
factorily visible in this hemisphere during its return
in the present year : it will pass its perihelion the
early part of May. The comet of Biela will be
nearest to the earth on the 22d of October, when

its distance will be about fifty millions of miles. The
alarm which prevailed in Paris, and on the Conti-
nent, with respect to the danger of the return of this
comet in 1832, seems to have originated in some
supposed calculations made by the celebrated La-
londe, and the popular tumult at last increased to
such a height that the Government were compelled
to publish that celebrated astronomer's memoir in
order to appease it. It is known that the comet
of 1770 passed through the system of the planet
of Jupiter without, in the slightest degree, affect-
ing the motions of either the primary or his sa-
tellites, and• that it passed sufficiently near our
planet to have shortened the length of the year, had
its mass been equal to that of the earth. Most of the
calculations respecting the effect of the proximity
of a comet to our earth have proceeded on errone
ous principles—over-rating the quantity of matter in
comets, and losing sight of their great velocity
when in this part of the system. For a comet to
produce any direful effect, it ought to contain not
merely a great quantity of matter, but also to be
vertical and stationary to the earth's surface fo,
several hours; instead of which, we have reason
believe tha., though vast in volume, comets contain
but little matter in proportion ; consequently theh
attractive energy would be inconsiderable, whilt
their velocity would in a very short period carry
them beyond the limit of exerting any influence on
the waters of the globe. But the very circumstance
which, in case of proximity, would he the security
of our globe—namely, velocity, would, in the even.
of a contact, be attended with the direst• effects.
Should, the comet strike the earth obliquely, it woul•i
glance off, and the consequences would be partial.
If the point of collision were on a continent of the
globe, mountains would be hurled from their bases,
and new ones would elevate their ridges towards the
clouds. Were the place of meeting on either of the
great oceans, some regions would be inundated, by
the waters of the sea. But if the point of contact
were in the direction of the earth's centre—the meet •
ing would be terrific—the earth's period of revolu-
tion would be altered—a different inclination of the
axis might be given—there would be a consequent
change of seasons—and the vast continents of the
globe would be again covered with the ocean
which, deserting its bed, would rush to the new
equator. It must, however, be stated, that the pro-
bability of such an event is all but infinitely removed.
The most likely of any that is known to effect such
a consummation is the comet of Encke, which, it
has been calculated, would come in collision with
our earth after a lapse of two hundred and nineteen
millions of years. This calculations proceeds on the
soundest principles of reasoning, and proves not so
much the safety of our globe from cometary de-
struction (for some comet hitherto unseen by mortal
eyes may now be winging its flight directly towards
our globe) as the astonishing powers of the mind
of man, which can thus essay to penetrate the veil
of futurity, and read the delay of a world.—Compiled
from Times Telescope for• 1832.