Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1865-10-13
The Sun.


This glorious orb may be seen almos
any clear day, by looking intently in it
direction, through piece ofsmoked glass
Through this medium it appears abou
the size Of large orange, and OF mucl
the same color. II is, however, some
what larger, being, in fact, $4,000 mile'
in diameter, and containing volume o
matter equal to fourteen hundred thous-
and globes Of the size Of the Earth. which
is certainly matter of no small import
ance. Through tie telescope it appears
like an enormous globe of fire, with many
spots upon its surface. which, unlike those
of the leopard, are continually changing
These spots were first discovered by q
gentleman named Calico, in the year
1911. Though the sun is usually term
ed and considered the luminary of the
day, it may not be uninteresting to some
of our readers TO know that it certainly
has been seen in the night. A scientific
friend Of ours from New England Mr..
II. w. Emerson) while travelling through
the northern part of Norway, with a car
go OF tihware. on the 2ls Of June, 1886,
distinctly saw the Sun in all its majesty,
shining at midnight i'm fact, shining all
night Emerson is not what you would
call supersttious man, by any means
but be left Since that time many per-
sons have observed its nocturnal appear"
ance in that part Of the country, at the
same time of the year. This phenome
non has never been witnessed in the lat
itude of San Diego, however, and it is
very improbable that it ever will be-
Sacred history informs us that a military
man, named Joshua, once caused the Sun
to "siand still = how he did it is not men
toned. There can, of COURSE, b e n Of
doubt Of the fact that he arrested its prog
ress, and possibly caused it to "stand stir
but translators are not always perfectly
accurate, and we are inclined TO the opin !
ion that it might have wigsled very lit
tie when Joshua was not looking directly
at it. The statement does not appear So
very incredible, when we reflect that sea-
faring men are in the habit of actually
bringing the Sun down TO the horizon al
~ Meridian. This th, ~ effect by means {
of tool made of brass, glass and silver,
called a sextant. The composition Of the {
Sun has long been matter of dispute. 5
By close a accurate observation
with an excellent opera-gla we haYe :
arrived at the conclusion that its entire v
surface is covered with water TO a very c
great depth; which water, being decom 8
posed by process known at present on e
" to the Creator Of the Universe and to d
Mr.. Paine of Worcester, Massachusetts, b
carburetted hydrogen G a 5,
which, being inhamed, surrounds the en- a
lire body with an ocean of fire, from which o
we and the other planets receive our light 5
and heat. The spots upon its surface c
are glimpses of-water, obtained through !
the fire; and we call the attention Of our
old friend and former schouma,e, Mr..
Agassiz, to this fact as by closely oh
serving one of these spots with strong
refracting telescope, he may discover p
new species Of FISH, with little fishes in
side of them. 1t is possible that the Sun
may burn out after while, which would
leave this world in state Of darkness.
quite uncomfortable to contemplate ; but
even under these circumstances it i,
pleasant to reflect that counting and love
making would probably increase to an in
definite extent, and that many persons
would make large fortunes by the sud
den rise 10 value Of coal, wood, candles,
and gas, which would go TO illustrate the
truth of the old proverb, "Il's an i'll
wind that blows nobody any good"
Upon the whole, the Sun i glorious
creation pleasing TO gaze upon Chrough
smoked glass,) eIevatng to think upon.
and exceedingly comfortable to every
created being on cold day it is the
largest the brightest, and may be con-
sidered by far the most magnificent OBJ
ject in the celestial sphere s; though with
all these attributes it must be confessed
that it is occasionally entirely eclipsed
by the moon.-John Phanir.
Sire, one word" said soldier one
day 10 Frederick the Great, when pre-
seuiing TO him request for the brevet of