The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1857-06-17
THE DAILY DlSPATCH
Wednes1ay Mern,ns. Jase ~. 1897.

THE DAILY DlSPATCf
wednesday Ncrnins. Jase IL, Io"D
The Genet a..
The dav appointed for the comet 10 ' M ii.
s.rth b.s come and rome. and the plane' su" 80 ss
.. -. $50, ..s,. On. set Of believers nao
fixed the 18th aud another the io'p' w." In
have gone and the comet mas No. hs-vr from
France and In England the ie.' 40 ,,.redI.
this comet Ia said to have p'esA"e" 49,, among
BILE extent, not only among 'he ~ TN. s,r,n,ures
the cultivated and the afis'ocf."., - Tho event:
r.. -. r.r,,cked for predictions OF the er'D''
h.s,s.s.. have been an xiously catech'sed' oo"s
$3.50 and prayed, others have sa"e,.
nave -, In all directions believing tI~'
'ne'' 'vo ,,,h =, ., f.rthest, the 10th OF june
.''' ' r.. No more need of francs or soVe'
'ue'e r.. ho.rd If TO such absurdittesf In
1,,o Americans are practical ana
'n ,,.or,s Some of them have hello
.ha comet IN high repu'e, and cousidereo v1'y
,,,nhah,s tina, he Nigh, do some mischief pu' 'he'
a.ar, - have concluded that the loss OF money
,.,,,n 40 much more harm. They wisely re"
.o,rs, IN hold on 10 their dimes till they sa" tne
r,o, hi, We have not even heard of any BODY
sailing on. in the town Of Carondeies-
T., rrg,and Il has been the opinion OF some tnaf,
~. aav named the messenger of doom would
,..u drsx;,g nearer and nearer to the earth,
It'll =, sbou,d spread and FL the whole horizon,
,,-.,o,;,c onr globe IN profound darkness, draws
,ha u.,.r on, of the seas and rivers, and
a,.,,v converting the world into heap of cinders.
-. hold that sudden shock would be
e,ne,;epced from the collision, from which disas-
s;o;n I'd Rnfh ri
~ philosophers have been sisnally disappointed
In their calculations
The world moves, the planets move, the comet
moves. and everything else seems to move, ex
cant the superstition of man. The appearance OF
c,mets has always sprung mine of supersiticn
A brilliant comet AZ years before Christ, which
was so bright as to be visible in the day time was
supposed to be the ghost of Caesar More frequently
they have excited fears that the day of Judgment
was at hand. An eminent member of the French
Academy announced TO that body in 1913 that
there great danger of the comet which was coon
- appear, striking the earth. Many persons are
said to have died of fright in consequence OF that
announcement.
1t is asserted by some astronomers that the
earth has, on several occasions. passed through
the tail of q comet in proof of which several cases
of Q peculiar kind of Fog have been noticed At
several periods "The first of these fogs,' says an
authority before u.s. "of which any record Is
made, was that of 1888, and which began on the
18th of June, aud at places very remote from each
other 1t extended from Africa to Sweden and
throughout North and South America. This fog
continued more than . month. 1t did not appear
TO be carried to different places by the atmosphere
because at some places it came on with q North
wind and at others with South or East wind; it
prevailed in the highest SUBMITS of the Alps as
we'll as In the lowest vallies. The rains, which
were very abundant in June and July, did not ape
pear to dispense it in the least. In Lapquedoc Its
density was 30 great that the sun did not become
visible In the morning till it was twelve degrees
above the horizon; 1t appeared very red during
the rest of the day, and might be looked at with
the naked eye This fog smoke had disagree
able smell, and was entirely destitute of any mois.
ture whereas most fogs are moist; besides all
this there was one remarkable quality In the fog
or smoke of 1893, it appeared to possess phospho-
rio property or 3 light of its own. We fad by
the accounts of some observers. that 1t afforded
even at midnigh. light equal to that of the full
moon, and which sufficient to enable person
to see objects distinctly at distance of two hun.
bred yards, aud to remove all doubts as to the
source of this light it is recorded that at the time
there was a new moon. Another remarkable fog
In 1881, which excited the public mind in all quar-
ters of the globe resembed much that of 1888
that the description given of it, applies with equal
force to that of 1881 1t thus appears probable
that the earth has been several times embraced 10
the tail of comet and that nobody has been the
worse for the contact Ii may be observed that
the tails of these innocent creatures out of all
proportion to their nuclei, or heads, which are
only from 80 to 2, 600 miles in diameter Whereas
no comet is considered respectable, whose tail
measures less than thirty five millions of miles -
That of 1S43 measured 1870 millions. That was
tail worth speaking Of But then, like the tails of
all comets, 1t was mere snowy appendsge, and
like some eccentric personages was . great deal
of gas with very little substance.
We trust, now that the day has passed for the
destruction of the world by the comet of 1857 that
nervous people will become composed, aud make
up their minds to die in the regular way, and in
the most resigned and philosophical manner. They
have escaped the comet, but that does not guaran-
tee their escape from death The world will not
probably be smashed to atoms this year, but that
little world which each man carries In his own
gauizaton, may be dissolved befo:e the end of the
week And to him whose physical system thus
decays aud perishes, the effect Is the same as If
the whole globe we're crushed beneath e storm of
ponderous stars How idle, then, to torment our.
tsves with fears LIST our dwelling place may fab
and smother US, when we see sword always sus
pended over our heads which, we know, sooner
or later, mus, descend, and sever the golden cord
of existence.
We bid goodbye to the comet with regret. He
has furnished us materials for several articles, and
- tn VNa hnn 49, y.
worlds which he passes in his voyage may give
him a hospitabie reception than he has met
in this highly intelligent and charitable planet
C0yner's Springs.
The advertisement of these Springs may be
found In our advertising columns, and we invite
attention to it. 1t belongs to the family group Of
the Virginia and Tennessee Rail Road, whose
virtues and attractions that road has brought rap.
In t.A1 IL