The national Republican. [volume] (Washington City [D.C.]) 1866-1870, 1869-07-27

On the 18th Of May, 1860, a great confa-
grafton, Infinitely larger than that of Lon
don and Moscow, was announced. To use
the expression Of distinguished astronomer,
world was found to be on fire. A star,
which till then had shone meekly and unob-
trusiycly In tho Corona Borcalis, suddenly
blazed up into lumluary OF the second mag
nitudc. In the course OF three days from Its
discovery In this new character by Mr.. Brim-
lngham, at Tuam, II had declined to the third
or even fourth order Of brilllancy. In twelve
days, dating from Its first appartion In the
Irish heavens, II had sunk to tho eighth
rank, and II went on waning until the 10th
June, when II ceased to be discerniblc except
through the medium Of the telescope. This
was remarkable, though certainly not an
unprecedented proceeding on the part Of
star; but one singular circumstance 10 Its be-
haviour was that, amer the lapse Of nearly
two months, 1t began to blaze up again,
though not with equal ardor, aud, AFTER
maintaining Its glow for few weeks and
passing through sundry phases OF color, II
gradually paled Its fires aud returned 10 Its
former insignincance.
How many years had elapsed since this
awful conaagration actually took place 1t
would be prcsumptuous to guess; but II must
be remembered that news from the heavens,
though carried by the leetost of messengers,
IShs. iSaSh US iobR hiNti WV N'NhN heS
transplred, and that the same celestial
courier is still dropping the tidings at each
station II reaches In space, until 1t sinks ex-
hausted by its length OF flight. Now when
this object was examined, as II was promptly
and eagerly by Professor Miller and Mr..
IIuggins, they found to their great wonder
that 1t yielded two spectra-the one i'm.
posed upon the other, though obviously in-
dependent. There was the prismatic ribbon
-. II. Il ~.
sun and stars generally, but there was
another In which four bright lines figured t;
and these, according to the canons of inter.
pre- tatlon previously mentioned, indicated
that some luminous gas, or gases, was also
pouring out Its light from the surface of the
orb.
Two Of the lines spelled out hydrogen in
the spectral language. What the other two
signihed did not then appear; but inasmuch
as those four streaks were brighter than the
rest Of the spectrum, the source from which
they came must obviously have been more
Intensely heated than the underlying parts,
or philosophers, from which the normal stel-
| lar light proceeded. And as the star had
suddenly famed up, was 1t not a natural
supposition that 1t had become cnwrapprl
In burning hydrogen, which, In consequence
Of some great couvulsion, had been liberated
In prodigious quantities, and then, combin-
| ing Win Otner elements, hau set TINS huplcss
world on fire In such fierce connagra-
ton the combustiblc gas would soon be con-
sumed, and the glow would, therefore, begin
to decline, subject, as In this case, to a sec.
ond eruption, which occasloned the renewed
outburst Of light on the Goth of August.
BY such catastrophe 1t Is not wholly i'm
possible that our own globe may some time
be ravaged, for II q word from the Almighty
were TO uuloosc for few moments the
bonds OF ailiulty which unite the elements OF
water-of the ocean on the land and the
moisture In the ARA single spark would
bring them together with a fury which would
klnde the funeral pyrc of the human race
and be fatal to the planet and all the works
that are therein. II cannot but be a start
ling fact for us that in yondcr doomed ant
distant world we have, probably, seen in ouI
own day realization Of the fearful picture
sketchcd by Peter, "when the heavens (oI
atmospherc) being on fire shall be dissolved
and the elements shall melt with feryen
heat" And If we regard 1t as the centre o
a system, 1t is impossible to think withou
horror Of the fate of the numerous globe
around II when overwhelmed by this sudlei
deluge OF light and calorlc.-Britih QHdritrl!
Repiew.