The Massachusetts spy, and Worcester County advertiser. [volume] ([Worcester, Mass.]) 1825-1831, 1828-09-24

referred just now, was always observed to
shoot ill, because he shot carelessly, after
one of his dispiriting omens.
| Hal. have in life met with few things
which found it impossible to explain, either
! by chance condolences, or by natural con-
nexlons; and have known minds of a very
superior cast affected by them,-persons in
the habit ofreasoning deeply and profoundly.
Phys. In my opinion, profound minds are
the most likely to think lightly of the re-
sources OF human reason; and it is the pert,
superficial thinker who is generally strong
est in every kind of unbeief The deep
philosopher sees chains of causes and effects
SO wonderfully and strangely linked togeth-
er, that he is usually the last person to de-
eide upon the impossibility of any two series
OF events being independent of each other !;
and In science, so many natural miracles, as
1t were, have been brought to light,-such
| as the fall of stones from meteors in the at
mosphere, the dlsarmlng thunder cloud by
metallic point, the production of fire from
I ice by metal as white as silver, and refer
ring certain laws of motion of the sea to the
moon,-that the physical inquirer is seldom
disposed to assert, confidently, on any alb
struse subjects belonging to the order of
natural things, and still less so in those re-
lating to the more mysterious relations of
moral events and intellectual natures.
! COMETS. The following extracts are
| taken from the celebrated ASTRONOMERS of
! Brlnkley and Vince, and the great work of
La Place from which it will appear that
| the Comet alluded toby the German astron-
omer, is not expected till the year 1884, and
| its return then is doubtful. 1t will also ap-
pear by an extract from La Place., that
there need be no apprehension from its
near approach to the earth.
The Comet which DR.. HALEY predicted
with degree of confidence, returned in
! 1853. 1t had been previously observed with
accuracy, in 1852 and 1907, and had also
been noticed in 1881; 1456, and 1905. Its
return was anxiously looked for by astrono-
mers. With what satisfaction it was re-
ceived by the scientific part of mankind
may easily be conceived, and how striking
| ly contrasted with the reception of the same
Comet in 1456, when all Europe beheld it
with fear and amazement. The Turks
were then engaged in the successful war in
which they destroyed the Greek Empire !;
and Christians in general thought their
destruction portended by its appearance.
We may be nearly certain that this Comet
will re-appear again in 1884.
A Comet appeared in 177O very remark
able from the result of the computation of
Lexell, which indicated period of only 81
years it has not been observed since.
There can be no doubt that the periodic
time of the orbit, which it described in ITO,
was justly determined; for, Mr.. Burckhardt
has since, with great care, re-computed the
observations, and his result gives periodic
time of 81 years. This Comet was also re-
markable for having approached nearer the
earth than any other Comet that has been
I observed: and by that approach having en-
abled us to obtain a limit of its mass or
( quantity of matter. La Place has comput-
ed that if it had been equal to the earth, it
would have shortened the length of our
year by 18th of day. Now it has been
[ perfectly ascertained by the computations
| of Delambre on the Greenwich observations
of the sun, that the length of the year has
not been changed in consequence of the
approach of that Comet by any sensible
quantity, and thence La Place has conclud-
ed the mass of that Comet is less than
| $4,000 of the mass of the earth. The small
ness of its mass is also shown by its having
traversed the orbits of the satellites of Ju-
piter, without having occasioned an altera-
| ton in their motions. From these and 9TH
er circumstances, it seems probable that
! the masses of the Comets are in general
very inconsiderable and therefore that
astronomers need not he under apprehen-
sions of having their tables deranged in
consequence of the near approach of a
Comet to the earth or moon, or to any bod
les of the system.
LIGHTNING. The following singular cir
cumstance is noticed in the Richmond En-
qurer: A house occupied as gig makers
shop, was struck with lightning it was
built of wood, and covered with pine slabs,
and the raiters composed of oak and cedar.
A cedar and oaken ratter are jointed at top,
a cedar piece and an oaken piece making
one rafter; and, in putting them up, the
cedar and oaken parts of the rafters are
placed alternately on each of the sides of
the framing. When the lightning struck,
it commenced at the southern extIe entity of
the huilding, and, in every instance, shiver-
ed the oaken parts of the raiters, and did
not so much as leave sign of its touch
upon the cedar. The electric fluid actual
ly skipped over every rafter of cedar, and
rent in splinters every one that was of oak /;
and although the cedar and oaken rafters
were nailed together at the top, yet Won
derful to tell, even the iron appeared to
lose its attractive quality, and the cedar
was left untouched, the fluid seeming to
evade the cedar, and spend the whole of It's
violence upon the oaken rafters, splintefing
them on one side and the other, throughout
u IL l. - L.. l 4