, 1879-03-29
SCIENCE coMsATs SUPERSTITION.
The Terrible Year 1881.

luiCoooT ANtit toil, VI tift SdlllOIlila
state normal school lectured upon the
very interesting subject of "The Plane
tary Conjunction Of 1881" The an
nonncement of this lecture was undoubt-
edly what drew the large audience pres
ent- The prediction of astronomers that
in 1881 viii occur the conjunction of
nearly all the great planets, brought again
to the surface the old prophecy Of Mother
Shipton, and of score OF other birds of
i'll omen, who, backed by the recent ap-
pearance of the plague, have predicted
the most awful state of affairs to be in
augurated in 1881, and TO continue until
1887, during which fearful epidemics shall
prevail, crime multiply, the elements con-
tinue in constant and awful perturbation,
floods orerwhelm, earthquakes destroy,
volcanoes burst forth, the earth open and
swallow up towns, tornadoes sweep sound
the world, all waters become poison and
the devil be loosed in reality to work
more desolation and ruin in all the earth.
Lately in this state so-called Professor
has issued book in which he has froph-
esied from conjunction of Neptune,
Saturn, Jupiter, the Earth and Mars,
that there shall occur all the FOREGOING re-
cited, and a hundred other woes fall upon
the earth, and the deviltry and destruc-
tion is to begin in 1881. Professor Nor
ton, however, does not believe these
things, and his lecture was intended tn
show the reason for his faith. He Illus
trated his remarks with diagrams thrown
upon the wall by means of magic Ian
tern.
MOTHER SHIPToN EXPOSED
He began by saying that we are never
satisfied with things now present The
world is ever looking backward to the
good old time, or forward TO the good
time coming. Somehow the forward out
lock is never calm and cloud,css. To
reach the promised land, We must pass
through the Red sea and wilderness.
Mah naturally looks forward to golden
age which shall follow great tribulations
and agonies. After tie seven angels had
emptied the seven vials full of the seven
last plaques the holy city comes down out
Of heaven.
Il is also natural that men should look
to pivotal events in nature, such as the
completion Of great astronomical cycles,
as being likely to involve great crisis IN
human affairs. The remarkable plane
tary opposition of the year 1881 has es-
pccially appealed to human superstition
and imagination.
The lecturer here read extracts from a
recently published pamphlet entitled
:. The Voice Of the Stars, which fore
told terrible series OF disasters IS likely
to occur between the years 1880 and 1889 ,
including the annihilation of the Chinese
race ard the death of Is, ,o00,o00 Amerl-
cans from the plague terrible storms,
earthquakes, volcanic ernptions, tamines:
He also gave brief synopsis OF Piozzl
Smyth's d" Pyramid Religion, and quoted
from the oracles Of Mother Shlpt"n, all
three substantially agreeing that
sThe world to an end shall come
In 1881"
He Saia That the prophecy of the old wo-
man seem d 10 still! have vitality, aith"ng!i
the pabl:sher Of the Shipton almanac has
oDen!v confessed that he added the lines
above quoted in order t" give the book Il
I;rre sale The question before us IS, en-
there be any residual truth behind al ta's
superstition and no3sepSeE
The lecturer presented Prof. Dsiaurre
theory of the relation Of planetary con
functions to san spots ; showed diagrams
Illustrating the effect OF the attraction 81
the sun and moon upon oceanic tides, and
the alleged corresponding effects OF plane.
tary coniuac,ions upon the atmosphere OF
tbe snn' He then exhibited diagram
showing the position Of the planets octo-
bcr 81, 1881; all the large planets but
Saturn and Mercury heing nearly IN a
straight line passing through the center
Of the sun. 1t is alleged that siI.llar
aspect Of the planets will not occur Tor
many thousand years.
If it is possible for the massed planes
ever to produce extraordinary tidai thscl
upon the earth, such effects must soon be
manifested. Nevertheless, the planets are
enormously distant. Their attractive
force varies inversely as the square OF the
distance. 1t is hardly conceivable that
mere grayitation could ever produce any
such effects as the foretold disasters.
The only remaining theory IS that of a
hypothetical electric inter-actlon between
the sun and planets. This Is but the
ghost of theory, having hardly shade"
of ascertained fact behind 1t.
The lecturer quoted one or two IN
stances in which there seemed to De a
coincidence in time between such conJuilc
tions and atmospheric disturbances, where
the theory of great resulting evils tailed
utterly. and then read the following letter
from Prof. Young, of Princeton College
,ba .,,,rapt scientist and astronomer
HR NoR1oy-Drar Sir: Your note OF IN
o,irr "a received. | answer briefly, as fol-
F;rs.-Your inclosed diagram tof the con-
iunctiouI is not essentially incorrect -,
Sscosd-It is true that the plaIhts Will lie
somewhat nearer their perIheiia than Is "Sual
at such heliocenfric conjunctions
~bird-There is no good reason for expect
;,, ramart allie disturbances in the solar or
.arrrastrial atmosphere On account Of such plan
st.rv rositions. Prof Delarue thought that
Ia bad discovered a relation between them anu
S,,n s,,o. but latest researches fail 10 susrs'an-
t;ate the theory Scientific astronomers con,
s;dsr the new gospel of Piozzi Smyth and
Mother Shpton as being about equivalent 10
'i''' y CHARLES A Y0UNG.
Summing up the evidences, only few
81 which we are able TO present, Professor
Norton said We are justified IN concluding
that science has thus far given us no den
mite reason for expecting the great tr1bu-
lation. Nevertheless, if public excite
ment shall cause men to cleanse their
savers and mend their lives. We may be
thankful for the voice from the tomos
uttered by Piozzi Smyth and the woeful
fnracaSt attributed to Mother Shlpton!
THE Nation says: We may fairly con
slider that the candidates for 1850; at any
rate until the nominations are made are u