The daily crescent. [volume] ([New Orleans, La.]) 1848-1851, 1849-12-27


Prof Mitchell delivered, last evening, his second
lecture on astronomy one Of the largest and most
fashionable audiences we have seen this season.
Almost every seat in the large Hall was taken. and
The greater portion occupied by ladies'.
Previous % The delivery Of the lecture, Recorder
Baldwin stated to the assembly, that in future, in
order e avoid continued interruption, the lectures
would commence az half-past seven o'clock, instead
81 g heretofore, at seven. And he hoped that, as
THIS arrangement had been made expressly to avoid
me noise and confusion occasoned BY the entrance
y persons after the commencement Of the lecture.
his fair audience would endeavor TO be at the Hall
~ De appointed sime
Prof. MS lecture consisted TOO much Of details
% admit with justice to the lecturer, OF condensa
tion he rather dwell on the creation and history
IF hs.words its origin and antiquity, than on the
spees Of astronomy proper He saidhe could mot
but believe the world to be much older than ina
giaed By those basing their knowledge on Hebrew
authority. He did not think the word dan ssused
in the Book Of Genesis, meant the day as now
generally understood. Indeed, but few persons
could define the meaning q dav. To say il has a
space q lime consisting Of tsventy-fours, would
give By ea inadequate idea, while to express il as
complete revolution Of the globe on its axis would
be erroneous. A clear idea Of what constitutes a
day requires much astronomical knowledge. If
then, We have but vague idea of il, very possibly
itnay have been used BY the ancients to express 4
very different thing from that we now imagine.
The Hindoos divide the age Of the world into
Jour different spochs, the first alone consisting Of
over one million seven hundred thousand years and
the whole four spaces Of times combined makes the
world, according to ihs1 computation, over three
milliona Of years old. But how the word vear is
used . matter Of much doubt The BabvIo-
man and Chinese systems make its age approx
male this estimate but Prof NJ argued that the
years Of the Hindoos meant nothing more than the
time occupied BY the diurnal revolutions Of the
globe By understanding their year to mean the
hme from the rising to the setting Of the sun, and
from the setting to the rising thereof, we immedi-
ately resolve their immense period Of time OF the
worlds existenceinto that age now aessled by the
Bible computation.
He could not imagine how Noah could have
preserved the histories and traditions Of ages ante.
TioF 70 bis existence, and, therefore, with many
otherl, wondered how they were preserved. He
would not himself pretend to say but was struck
with chapter Of Josephus which perhaps might
slueidate the mystery. That historian had asserted
that previous to the food, the aneients had prophe-
sled and anticipated the destruction Of the world,
and imagining it would be oocasioned either BY FIRE
o water, built two monuments--one Of brick. the
other Of stone on which many events were in
scFibed, in the hope that they would outlive the
existence Of the world. Possibly they did survive
the hood--at any rate monuments of great an.
tiauity were in existence few centuries befor,
Chrisl-but whether they were Of an age anterio
% the Hood, could not now be aseertained.
Prof Mitchell concluded by referring to the de
tails he had necessarily been compelled to make
bui which, well understood would make futur
lectures clearer.