St. Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1845-1863, 1861-07-11

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reliable men in al re.pcrfs,
(Fw the Bearon)
THE HEAVENLY VISITOR.
MEssks. EDIroHs have thought that,
amid the blood aud tears Of our unhappy
country. which is mercilessly torn aud
nangled, by those whom she has appoint
cd the guardians Of her welfare, you would
have no Objection to turn your eyes to-
ward the heavenly visitor. that is now
gaming down upon US with such benign
co,nplaccucy. What . severe reproof it
must be to our rulers. who are preparing
to drcnch tho land with fratcrnal Noo,l,
aud to destroy those whom they should re-
gard as their children. May this be an
omen Of the good will at Heav~a towards
US in the present enc, gency. aud Of our
approaching salvation from the hand. Of
ungo'lly men!
have meditated much sirs, on the IA
ture aud Formations u the Comet, anj ain
satisfied that the ideas which men have con-
corning this heavenly body. are wholly in
correct. Trse. my observations have been
made with the eye slese, snaidsd by the
telescope. but That instrument can throw
but little light upon an object 90 distant.
or derive but little knowledge from it.
The conclusions which | have Come to are
a,,~inablc by the eye and the mind. and
are more satisfactory thar any .peculati"us
Of visionary philosophers, As | think you
viii admit when you hear aud reflect Oh
| them.
The Comet Of 1853 was the most inter-
esting aud sublime on record. hut the one
now in view Is the most peculiar. The
former made its appearance in the North
West quarter Of the celestial globe. made
brief visit to the bright and beautiful
star Arcturus. crossed the celestial equator
at right angles. aud disappeared in the
South West. enclosing the earth's atmos-
phere in graceful curve, BY that singular
appendage which IL known as the tail, aud
which pointed continually towards the
North pole. while the Comet was North Of
the equator. aud towards the South pole,
while South OF the equator. This is an
astonishing fact, and should he remember
cd. The course of that Comet. therefore,
was s;dr~nys. taking the tail as part and
parcel of the Comet itself, IS It appears. is
generally supposed to be. The Comet now
in view first made lite appearance in the
same quarter, but somewhat farther East,
with tail extending nearly half across the
armament, very irregular in breadth, va
rying from five degrees to the Dimensions
Of s.ere line Of light. The course Of this
Comet, strange to say. is tail torensort. due
South. aud directly from the Sun. instead
Of being toward the Sun. as it has been az
irmcd by sou,e writer in Washington
paper. l suppose his vi.ion is so bleared
BY SCOTS war panorama, that he cannot
look clearly II the heavenly bodies. Let
these facts also be horne in mind. for it will
throw much light on the subj. ct under con-
sideration. This Comet viii pass about
ten or twelve degrees West vi the zenith.
and will leave Us with much shorter tail
than it began with, il it have aug at all,
having already. in seven days. lost three
fourths II It. The tsil ID brig hser on the
Eastern edge than On the Western. and
much longer. As though the latter portion
had been .haven of. or singed by its con-
tact With the Great Bear"
Now, sira, put oil these facts together.
and see what wonderful. and l may say.
original truths they establish. in regard t.
the nature and formation VI the Comet.
1t ir very clear to my mind then. in the
FIRST, that Comet is not i1m;moMs body,
(shining by its own Light. but its light j,
derived entirely from the Sun in the next
place, that Comet is neither an opach~
body. nor . transparent body. but Is
sru"slaeent body, receiving its light FROM
the Sun. and transmitting Il through its
own particles partially. not freely, like =
perforated ball. the light being seen on the
opposite side and forming the tail. These
facts are proved by the circumstances Of
the tail itself. The tail il always on the
opposite side Of the Comet from the San,
and continually changes ito position &C.
cording to the relative position Of the Sun
to the earth This was the case With the
Comet Of 1858. it il the case With the pre-
sent Comet. and il has been the case with
all that have seen OF read Of. Indeed,
su0 R"SCCsss Sosescs - U1OUS SOOwSOcSuk III
this respect. lts tail 10 decreasing - il
recedes from the sun. aud n the curveturs
Of the earth Intervene between them. and
when It gets beyond the equator. It will
have little or no tail. IL the Comet we're
. luminous body. its tail would not change
its position with TINT Of the Sun. Ifit
were m opaehe body. the same would be
true. the tail being in that case part Of
the comet itself. fit we're transparent
body. it would be Invisible. tail and all
AS to the n,steri.l 1t which comet IL co,n-
posed. il is Impossible to conjecture. 1'h,
idea at its Icing. % generally believed. =.
body OF luminous atmosphere" is simpl'
nonsense. The old negro's idea Of its