The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1869-08-10
The Eclipse.

When the human race was young, an
eclipse was the source Of great tribula-
ton Our ancestors were Mortified and
perplexed, and it was long before they
discovered that the arrangement Of the
natural order of day and night was ow
ing to the insolent familiarity of the
moon. But education has wonderful
power. and mankind having now been
present at several score of eclipses have
at last been brought to view them with
equanimity. A few individuals here
and there, WHO do not take the papers,
may shu lder and look for something to
crack, but they have no power to pro-
duce panic.
We have learned somewhat about the
sun and moon and their devious cours-
es, but some matters still remain in un.
certainty, which savants think may be
satisfactorily settled. Certain luminous
protuberances in the circumsolar re-
gions still perplex the astronomers. 1t
is settled that these protuberances which
on account of the dazzling brilliancyeof
the Gun itself, can be observed only at
the time Of total eclipse, are several
hundred times as large as this earth and
that they completely change their form
and position in the course Of a few min.
utes, and. further, they are mainly or
entirely composed Of hydrogen gas.
Now it remains to be learned how these
protuberances may be accounted for
Do they belong to the sun, or to q ring
circulating about the sun Various the
cries are endangered by the inexplica-
bic presence OF these flaming protuber-
ances of incandescent hydrogen. A
very high authority. who observed the
eclipse Of 1868 in India, maintains that
the sun has no considerable atmosphere
surrounding it. 10 fact. we suppose that
nothing was ever presented to the at
tention Of the human race about which
innumerablc questions might not be
asked. Only once more this century,
namely, in the year 1900, will the sun
retire from it's business of raising veg
etables and ripening corn to be cate
chised by the savants of the United
States, and even then it is not certain
that any decisive replies will be obtain
ed.
d The chief interest of an eclipse, es-
pecially of total eclipse. is its sublim-
ity as a natural phenomenon. Thunder
is tame, and lightning pales before it
Darkness succeeds suddenly to light,
and we tremble lest the sun forever
turn into darkness and the moon into
blood. Arago says, in his splendid de-
scription Of the total eclipse which he
witnessed in the South of France, in
1912, in the presence of 10000 simpro.
vised astronomers When the sun,
narrowed to mere line, began to throw
over the horizon but faint light, An
anxiety spread through the whole
crowd. Each man felt impelled to CON-
municate his impressions to his neigh
Dor. Then began dull roar, like that
of distant sea after . tempest. The
noise became louder in proportion to
the thinning of the slender solar cres-
ent. Finally the crescent vanished
Darkness succeeded suddenly to the
light, and an absolute silence marked
this phase of the eclipse as sharply as
did the pendulum Of our astronomical
clock. The phenomenon, in its magnif-
icence, had triumphed over the restless
ness of youth, over the frivolity which
certain men take for sign of superior
ity, and over the noisy Indifference of
which the soldiers ordinarily make their
boast. A profound calm reigned, too.
in the air even the birds ceased their
song. After q solemn waiting of about
two minutes duration, transports of
Joy. frantic applause, saluted, with the
same accord, the same spontaneity, the
temperance of the first solar rsys?-
IN. Y. Tribune 1Hols#c ST. &c -
( a = O. - So Il