Washington telegraph., 1856-03-12
a Rich Lecture on Astronomy.

Ethan Spikes. Esq, of Hornby. Maine,
writes the following letter to the Portland
Transcript, descri ptive Of matters and things
IN that part of the country. Our readers
will enjoy his amusing report of the lecture
on Astronomy;
MISTER EDIToR:-Perhaps in a letere-
~ pint Of view. our town haint been so
formed as she ottor. While Polly ticks and
millingtary interest has been carried furder
perhaps than in any other place ON airth.
vet except In my own case, literatoor hasn't
gone beyond course hand writing an the
single rule of three. Ferlosophy has been
quoted below pork syence hasn't compared
with syder; string beans has been generally
set higher than stronomy letters led trigi-
nometry, and pumpkins was ahead of poe
try. Naow. haOwsever, the tables has turn
ed bottom side under. Syence is ris,
We've got Lie-see-um The cry of
letters Is begun, the tree of nolidge has
sprouted interiec: biles over matter-that
ere interlect, which has been dormonse, is
naow raoused like sleepy lion gitten away
from Jordan. The fust lecture of the sea-
son was gin last night by Jemes Peabody.
who's been one quarter to an academary.
General subjeck-StJouomy.
"Pertiehler ditto-Comics.
Il haint time to gin you mOre'n digest
we fac simila Of the letter
'Jemes begun by observin that eff eny-
body supposed that the stars warnt bigger
than they looked. they were almighty be-
hindhand. Wy. says he, theirs that ar lee
tie sinner called saturn. says be don't look
bigger than tater, and We: according to
Herklys-who knows the heavenly bodies
Jst as easy as know father-tis sumwhat
larger than the hull county of Oxford -
An the leetlest star you can pick aout is as
big as keart wheel. At this point Deacon
Elderberry ris, and said this was goin too
fur, twas reg lar blasfemy, contrary to scrip
tur, and agin common senses Then he tuck
his hat and cleared, fust spittin aout his to-
backer cud as testimony agin the dock
trine.
after speaking Of the milk way-which
he said was longer than the Cumberland or
Oxford Canawl-an the moon, which the
enlarned consider to be green cheese, but
which syence demonstrates to be iackern-
lantern on large scale, the lecturer pro
ceeded to the pcrtickler part Of his sub
jock
COMICS OR BRAZEN STARS
'Comics, says Jemes-he says-are of
two kinds, the Tame and the Wild. The
fust ones is made of old moons as amt fit
for service; and is called by the unedicated
shootln stars, but We of the schools call EN-
meters This difference led the speaker to
remark that larnin is everything.
1.-The wild kind, says Jemes, is differ
ent crltter; bein composed Of knebeous
matter. hyfolution gaas, oxside of cast iron.
and salts Of harmonic, makes it highly saw
age and unsartin. They fust appeared
about Deuteronomy, or perhaps little later
IN the year SIX, and was diskivered sponta-
neously from Portland observators on Pom
pey's pillow in Rooshy. They are pesky
things. says he, alters gittin up wars, harrii-
canes and earthquakes Oneasy and rest
less, traFelin about faster than rale-rode.
but never reachin anywheres in pertickler
hinder dominated Peter Rugs Mighty
onsartaln, they are, can't be depended on.
Father Miller engaged one to DO pertick-
Ter job in '43, but it probably got better
tarms somewhere else, an that ar Job re-
mains ondone to-day.
But naow, says Jemes, we come to con
slider their tails. Them. says he, is raal nu-
merous. Talk about the moons .wondrons
tale Why, the tails of all these plants
IN the ciderial heavings wouldn't make one
Tor first rate comic, Longer than the
magnetic paragraph, and wider than Seba.
60 pond, they stretches out over the uniyer-
SAL kanerpy IN the unlimiten nugacity of
either now sweepin' down among the elon-
gate coneavities of diurnal convexities, and
agln soarIn' upwards till lost in the great
Jenes was 80 used up by this peroaration
ina the had to be carried home on a cheer
This mornin' however, he was as we'll as
could be expected, and if convalescence
doesn't set in, he'll be about in day or
two. ETu.N Sn,r,,