Western sentinel. [volume] (Winston [i.e. Winston-Salem], N.C.) 1856-1886, 1877-09-06
ASTRONOMICAL.

the celebrated French actress, for
having kept the theatre in an up
roar during some forty years, she
has passed from the mimic and the
real stage as well, ard is quietly
sleeping the sleep if not Of tie just,
at least of a good grisette who had
a good time on earth. Nor do we
mean the great god of war, old
Father MARS, Marsplter, as he was
called by his Latin children, He
has ever been engaged in stirring
up a rnuss, since he became the
father of .RoMULUs and RENTS and,
failing to make Mrs. MARS of their
mother, that holy vestal virgin
RHEA SILVIA by name, betook him
self to the upper regions and stirred
mp VULCAN by his particular atten
tions to Mrs. VENUS VULCAN, who
has not enjoyed a vestal reputation.
No, it is MARS the planet, the fouth
planet in order of distance from the
sun, and the nearest to us of the
superior planets, by whom the
present excitement has been cre-
atcd. 1t is not that he flames in
the east every night now with a
bright red glow ''like an oGiflamme
of war" This is not an age OF
superstition to attribute his sudden
increase in size and brilliancy to
the wars now waged in the East =
He is known now 10 be but harm
less planet and his present bright
ness and beauty putting JUPITER i'll
the shade and before which ever
VENUS pales, is caused by the fact
that he happens TO be at that point
IN his orbit which is nearest the
earth. The excitement is in the
scientific world, not among rs COM
mon folks, and it is caused by the
discovery that MARS, hitherto sup
posed to be without satellites, has
two moons, and having two moons
is inhabited. Gniltless of astronon-
icai knowledge, we shall not at
tempt to state the why's and where
fores. The work is done to our
hand by an expert. Read the New
York Times on
MARS AND ITS MOONS.
Mars has always been an inter-
esting planet. 1t is sufficiently
near us to enable astronomers to
investigate it pretty thoroughly,
while at the same time they cannot
venture to tell such extraordinary
stories concerning it as they fear
lcssly tell of the ringed Saturn, and
the many mooned and beltcd Jupi>
ter. Although Mars resembles the
earth in many respects, it is laid
out in very peculiar nanncr-the
continents being pierced with long
and narrow tiords, as If the planet
had been expressly designed for the
Summer cruises Of the New Yorl;
Yacht Ciuh. There is a great deal
more climate in Mars than there is
on this earth. In the winter The
palor ice brings itself to the very
doors of the inhabitants of the
equatorial zone, and in summer
early spring vegetables grow in
the extreme arctic regions.
Until last week all astronomers
agreed IN denying that Mars is
Inhabited. i has always been sus
pected that they took this course
because they feared that if they
once admitted the existence of in
hab,tants upon Mars, the public
would demand that they should
open some method of communica
ton with the Material people-a
task Which the astronomers well
knew they could not accomplish
However this may be, they stoutly
asserted that there was not living
being, whether human or scientific.
upon Mars, and IN proof thereof,
paraded the alleged fact that Mars
had no moon. When skepticaI
people inquired why a moon was
thought necessary to the existence
of inhabitants, they were over
whelmed with learned remarks on
tides and other phenomena due to
lunar influence, and were finally
silenced with the assertion that as
life on tie earth has never existed
except contemporaneously with the
moon, we are, therefore, justified in
assuming that moon is necessary
condition of life on every planet
OF course, the weakness Of this
argu nent has often been perceived
by intelligent men, but out of pru
dence they have foreborno to com
bat it. No wise man argues with
a scientific person. The latter can
always overwhelm him with unsa
worry scientific terms, to the use OF
which no self,respecting man can
descend 1t is true that when an
angry scientific person calls an OPP
ponent an unconscious automaton,
an aggregation of protoplasns, and
a son of simian, it is the former
and not the latter who is degraded;
l,ut no one cares to unnecessarily