Eastern times., 1856-02-21
a Rich Lecture on Astronomy.

a Rich Lecture on Astronomy.
Ethan Spikes, Esq. of Hornby, Maine,
writes the following letter to the Portland
Transcript and Eclectic, descriptive 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 lottery pint
of view, our town hairt been so forwed as she
otter. While Polly ticks and millingiary inter-
est has been carried furder perhaps than any
other place on the airth, yet except in my own
case, lieraioor hasn't gone beyond course hand
writing an the single rule Of three. Ferlosofy
has been quoted below pork syence hasn I
compared with Sydrr, string beans has been
generally set higher than stronomy letters led
trginometry and punkins was ahead of poetry.
Naow, haowsever, the tables has turned bottom
side ulder. Syence is ris
We've got Lie-see-um The crv Of Let
ters is begun, the tree Of noidge has sprouted !;
inierIect bies over natter that ere iaierlect,
which has been dormonse, is naow -aoused
like sleepy lion giten away from Jordan
The tus; lecture Of the season was gin last
night by Jemes Peabody, who's been one quar-
ter 10 an academy.
General subeck-Stronomy.
'Pertickler ditto Comics.
4 haint time to gin you more'n digestive
facsimile Of the Letter
'Jemes begun by observn that ef enehody
supposed that the stars warnt heap bigger
lhae they looked, they were almighty behind
hand. Wy, says he, theirs that ar leetIe shi-
rer called Sitrn, says he, don't look biger than
ialer, and vet according 10 Herklys-who
knows the heavenly bodies jst as easy as |
know father--tis sumwhat larger than the hull
county Of Oxford! ! An the leeilest star You can
pick aout is as big cart wheel. At this
point Deacon Elderberry ris, and said this was
going TO fur, twas regear basfemv, contrary
to Scriptur, and aein common sense. Then he
tuck his hat and cleared, flst spiuin aout his
torbacker cud as testimony agin the doctrine.
After speaking Of the milk way-which, lie
said was longer than the Cumberland or Oxford
Canawl an the moon, which the enlarned
consider 10 be green cheese, but which sci
ence demonstrates 10 be jackern-lantern on a
large scale, the lecturer proceeded to the per-
ticker part of his subJeck-
COMES OR BLAzIN STARS
Comics, says Jemes-he says-are of two
kinds, the Tame aud the Wild. The fusl ones
is made of old moons as aint fiji for service, and
is called by the onedicated shooten stars, but
we of the scools call on EN- meires This DIFF
ference led the speaker TO remark that larnin is
everything.
The wild kind, saws Jemes, is a different
critter; bein composed Of knebelous matter,
hyfolution gaas, oxside Of cast iron, and salts
of harmonic, makes it highla savage and onsar-
tin. They fust appeared about Deuteronomy,
or perhaps little later 10 the year six, and was
diskivered spontaneously from Portland obser-
sators on Ponpey's pillow in Rooshy. They
are pesky things, says he, ollars giten up wars,
ihlIiCdHts duu tdIliQudheS. OhtdSE anu rest
less, travein about faster Than rale-road, but
never reachln any where's in perllckler. Kir-
der dominated Peter Riggs. Mighty onsar-
Tin, they are, can't he depended on. Father
Miller engaged one to do pertickler job in '43,
but it probably got better farms somew here else,
and that ere job remains ondone this day.
But naow, says Jemes, we comes to consid-
er their tails. Them, says he, is raal numer-
Gus Talk about The moon's 'wondernus tale
Whi the tails of all these plants in the cidereal
heavings wouldn't make une for a first rate
comic Longer than the Magnetic paragraph,
and widur than Sebago pond, they stretches out
over The universal kanerpy 10 the unlimiten nu-
gacity of either, now sweepin down among the
elongate concayiles of diurnal conveSiies, and
agin sorin upwards till lost in the great hy-
perion.
'Jemes was so up by this peroration that he
had 10 be carried home on a cheer This
mornn, however, he was as well as could be
expected, and if convalesence doesn't set in
he II be about in day or two.
ETHAN SPIKES