Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1875-01-07

IN. hoy AsRAsl 5uliThs Rrst
t1unsit Of Venus essf seen II i human
sysvss peedirted By ; bq] nd Ms
observsd By that boy Just - xsochea
she age of manhood. Hi ne eu
Jereaninh Horror. We hAye asuom&
whef wonderful story 10 ten yoa sbout
He kved IN N obscure villaes near
ysrpool England He une 8 lover
q 3Goks of ecienceI and befose he
re6elsd the $50 q sightern be had
nastored The asironomical knowledge
u the day. He studied the problems
of KepIef, and Ne made - discuveEy
81 IL tables - Keplse fndieatsd -
- q - io5 q - - :.
This was about the year 1855.
Often on midsummer nights the boy
HORROR might have been seen in the
fields watching the planet Venus. The
desire sprung up within him to see the
transit of the beautiful planet across
the disc of the sun, for it was a sight
that no eye had ever seen, and one that
would tend 10 solve some of the greatest
problemsever presented to the mind of an
astronomer. Sothe boy began toexam-
inc the astronomical tables of kepler,
and by their aid endcavored to demon
strate ut what time the next transit
would occur. He found an error in the
tables, and then he, being the first of
all astronomers to make the precise
calculation, discovered the exact date
when the next transit would take place.
He told his secret to one intimate
friend, boy who like himself loved
science. The young astronomer then
awaited the event which he had predic-
ted for a number of years. never seeing
the loved planet in the shaded evening
sky without dreaming of the day when
the transit should fulfill the beautiful
vision he had carried continually in his
mind.
The memorable year came at last
1889. The predicted day of the transit
came, too, at the end of the year. 1t
was Sunday. 1t found Horrox, the boy
astronomer, now just past twenty years
of age, intently watching a sheet of pa
per in private room, on which lay the
suns reflected image. Over this re-
fection of the suns disc on the paper
he expected, moment by moment, to
see the planet pass like moving spot
or shadow.
Suddenly the church bells rang. He
was a very religious youth, and was ac-
customed to heed tie church bells rs n
call from Heaven. The paper still was
spotless; no shadow broke the outer
edge of the suns luminous circle.
Still the church bells rang. Should
he 60? A cloud might hide the sun
before his return and the expected dis
closure be lost for century.
But Horrox said to himself: Il must
not neglect the worship of the Creator
to see the wonderful things the Creator
has made
So he left the reflected image of the
sun on the paper ana went 10 the sane
tu:ry.
When he returned from the service
he hurried to the room. The sun WAS
still shining. and there, like a shadow
on the bright circle on the paper, was
the image of the planet Venus! 1t
crept slowly along the bright center,
like the finger of the Invisible. Then
the boy astronomer knew that the great
problems of astronomy We're correct,
and the thought filed his pure heart
with religious Joy.
Horrox died at the age of twenty.
two. Nearly one hundred and thirty
years afterwards Venus was again seen
crossing the sun. The whole astronom-
ical world was then interested in the
event, and expeditions of observation
were fitted out by the principal Euro
pean governments. Ii was observed in
this country by David Rittenhousc, who
tainted when he saw the vision.