Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1874-07-14
THE COMET.

THE COMET.
The arrival Of the comet at its perlhellon on
the SIN inst, gives new turn to It's history
vlch will be stead tastly watched by Its maD5
.r,cnt admirers. The great meteor IS no"
.i,nu, cne-third nearer the sun than we are, OF
aL.,u, sixty millions Of miles from the fiery orb.
'vN. cHrc. Of this approach to the sun Is neces
..,,;,r preat 10 the analysis Of the cometlc mat
rr Jy solar heat and the vaporlzatlon OF the
meteor. q
rho aprarent contraction OF comets as they are
reyihcIloued is that they are partly evaporated
iy the hea! aud the ccsmlcal cloud Is converted
mo Invisible cometary mist. The whole mass
A HALEY comet, in 1886, was thus convert
u into invisible gas, and afterwards, on cool
~. was condensed SO as to become again ap-
aren't. The change which the great comets
undergo from their near advance toward the
.un is one of the most interesting points OF 10
yr,riyaiion 10 terrestrial physics; tor from what
ye know Of the powerful agency OF aqueous va
,r on our planet We may not unphllosop phlcaly
rncuic that the comctary vapOr, expanding
ay.r mlilions of miles 10 space, plays tor the
lime being an important part 10 the dlstrlbu-
,lp Of solar heat through the solar system.
Every one has observed on an intensely hot
midsummer day what buon small fcecy
,ad Aying overhead Is. to the pedestrian 10
,retrirg him from the rays above. 1t couder-
,t such cloud would probably not furnish wa
;ereuuugh 10 molsteu handkerchief, but the
yaIorcuS particles are potential in arrestlDg
lie down pouring food OF solar radiation. We
,now that the water of the tropical ocean, when
,,aycrted into Invisible vapoI, occupies be-
;wecn sixteen aud seventeen hundred times its
Ntgiua volume. This is, however, only under
Al, equatorial temperature OF trom elghty-hve
icgrres 10 Dinety-6ve degrees Fahrenheit-a
7ery low temperature, comparatively. But IN
tie vaporzation of comets when at the perlhe-
Ggu truperalure ranging from five thousand
70 twenty five thousand times that OF an cqua-
Gria SUI, is brought to bear upon the cometary
natter.
The inc0uceivahle attenuation and expansion
iue to such thcrmometrlc extremes can re
iautiy indicated ouy by Immense cometasy
c.ouds, stretching over many millions OF NIL,
10 Iuterpanetary space aud serving 10 divert or
!card or stop the tides OF solar heat. 1t would,
therefore, not appear remarkable should accu-
rate research hereafter prove that comets have
an mpoltant influence on the climate and
weather of the season. Such has been the
worlds belief for ages. and though modern
s,lcucc. with its inconocastic tendencies to
sweep away all that is odS may reject the
thought, maturer results may confirm 1t.
Should the perihelioned comet OF 1874 exert
ths> luiucucc as some think it has doue al
ready, the effect will be most marked, perhaps,
10 producing the July thermometrlc mean. The
comet Of Coggia will, now that it has made its
closest approach to the sun, rapidly pay its re-
>!cci> to us According to tie reliable com
lus,lvn of Astronomer Hind the great me
teor will be nearest the earth on the night Of
July - 1t will then be less than oDe-third of
Nr distance from the sun, of.wlthin thirty mil
Aous Vi miles Of our globe. 7. Herald.
lnE pApAL ADMINISTRATIONS the 18th OF
,a>t month the Pope attalned the age OF eighty
iVo. On the 18th Of June, 1916, IN the
haIc ot The Quiriual he was elected Supreme
ioDIi Of the Holy Roman Church, and on
IL, :! he WAS crowned with the triple tiara.
III, said to be the custom for the Cardinals
at zach enhancement of Pope to address him
he formula Amos Petr noo videbls, > Thou
Sttuot see the years OF Peter" According TO
Tradition, ST. Peter was for twenty-five years
Bishop OF Rome, and was then crucl6cd with
81 Paul under Nero, their heads downward,
a0d buried in the Ostain way. Others, how
ever conteud that there is 40: proof that s..
Peter was ever in Rome, and others still that
be never held the cfiicc Of chief bishop. How
ever that may be, other Popes have nearly ap-
lroachcd the years Of Peter The illustrious
Illus Ii. reigued for over twentythree years,
tu' Plo Mono alone has exceeded the quarter
Nacentury already by three years His reign
'housh chvckercd, and at times tragic, has
Dot been altogether disastrous; nor has he en-
tured as much as the seventh Plus, whom
Napoleon l. held prisoner at Foutaiuebcau
sud who yet died peacefully in Rome We
may apply to Pho Mono the eloquent words OF
CM'ilnal Wiscmau in his 'kecollectiops Of
Tie Last Four Popes," relative to Plus VII:
Far beyond al these exlraneous glo,
les which shed an enuobling splendor
@uod the old age and waning pontif-
@;c If Plus VII, was the steady and uuvary-
4slove and veneration of his subjects. Not
Gumur Jared upon his ear, among the bene'
:;t,ouS daily wished him, aud returned by
In with fathery tenderness to all. One may
.abt if there be an instance in history, where
Ii; Judgment of posterity is less likely to re-
''~ the verdict of contemporaries
Among Protestau1s Pus the Ninth is much
s-m,I. Personally, he is one OF the most
s~atle aud genial of mankind. We shall
'~cn forget that he was the only foreign
,,;'r who recognized Confederate nationality.
NsPoOufcate has been marked BY tremend
seVeuIs. s.-Lyach. Neacs.
NOVEL EXpER1ENcE.-A young man named
Tlas .U>las " elch had a rather novel experience
%s.As"ourg yesterday, an account Of which Is
s' s'Sa 10 the Telegraph. 1t seems that the
I'@ trunk sewer through South William ST.
s,Os .sOs made deeper. Daring the heavy
;s,s:f s1 which came up yesterday sftern oon. the
,,Aaeu took refuge from the rain in various
,,s -Ns' This young man and a small boy went
r,.s. .s. the arch of the sewer under Golden
,SS %E winch was left standing. Alter the
s,ta ~ aaa been falling short time, the water
s,.s s~s sewer which extends up a steep hill,
ssr sra ,I,, 10 rise RAPIDLY, and young WEIGH saw
en- would have to move. He helped the boy
,,;ss W. before he could get out himself the
sa, a'' swept his feet from under him, and he
t.,s ~ uY@n through 600 feet of sewer with light