Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1880-05-05

telescope, without feeling that this system
| of rays must have resulted from the opera
tion of forces of the most stupendous
nature; though as yet the true import Of
them may be hidden from us. They wou d
be marvellous phenomena even, if the
were not so mysterious. They are mar
velous in their enormous extent, their sin
gular brightness and their manner N
| traversing sea bottoms, craters and mount
ain ranges in continuous lines. They seen
like veins of white quartz upon the earl
could they be found thousands of miles il
length and many miles wide.
These lines are best recognized whel
the moon is full, while all other luna,
phenomena are seen best in the first or la>
quarter, as of all the mountains we gai
much of our knowledge of their size an
shape from their shadows. These srreak
are not much raised from the moons sur
face, neither are they depressed below it
and it is mt best very remarkable that the
are so long continued in straight line.
without any break.
A mighty system of these rays extend
from the great crater Tycho, and otheI
systems not less won Ierful extend from
that battlemented crater, Copernicus, anu
that salutary Kelper. The longest ray
from Tycho can be traced nearly acros
the entire hemisphere of the moon; an'
when it crosses that largest plain, calleu
Serenity. that great plain seems divided
by the line, and to slope gradually each
way from it. What are these mysterious
ray systems? l believe you will ask, but
the answer is not as ready. They cannot
be lava flows, as they are too long and
too wide, and are attended with none OF
the widening and narrowing of the lava
stream as it always flows on earth in Il
broken country such as volcanic sections
are. Bat might they not be long cracks
in the lunar surface, like our canons of tn
west. and then filled during the active
volcanic stage of the moon with some
partially melted material forced in from
beneath? 1t would seem that thus we
might see the origin.
Again, Humboldt, that immortal ex-
plorer, thinks that MS the interior of our
earth cools. that the shell we now live on
will crack in Il similar manner and be
filled from beneath, thus giving US such n
formation. But we will not speculate, for
it is enough for US to know that they exist,
and under the hand of God they are as
easy to make as the porphyritic dkes of
this section would seem to be.
The mountains in the moon seem higher
than those of earth, but if we measured
ours from the lowest depths of ocean they
might be rs high as lunar mountains; in
fact, doubtless would be. But there is
another feature of the moons surface.
There are long, regular rils," as they
are termed. which seem to be deep cracks
into the lunar surface. They cross ranges
of mountains, and sometimes dive beneath
to come out on the other side. We have
some similar but Of less extent on earth.
Here were shown charts and ilustra-
| tions
But are there no changes ever visible
upon its surlaceP Yes; II large crater fell
in 1866, and various others have changed
somewhat, yet there is no volcanic action
there, the internal fires having been
smothered when the moon became cold
long time ago.
Some think that meteors struck the
moon, thus making small surface changes.
Some think that the extremes of heat and
cold gradually crumble the rocks. We
can. however. hardly understand how it
could long do so.
| There is, however, much speculation
about the other side. which we never see
on account of its day being equal to its
revolution about the earth. We, of course,
can guess at it, but my guess would be
that it did not vary much from the side we
do see. Our earth acts to that side as n
moon, but would appear to an observer
there thirteen times as large as she does
to us.
But there are other things which, per-
haps, we may sometimes think of in con-
neclion with this orb OF night, and that is
the superstitions about its influence over
crops, the weather, ETC., all of which are
little else than fancy, and should never
receive serious thought. Most certainly
it does not affect peas, pork or potatoes,
our birth or our death, SO
Hail to thy cold and couded beam
Pale pilgrim of the sky:
Ha; though the mists that DER thee stream
Lend to thy brow their suen dye;
How should thy pure and peaceful eye
Untroubled view below,
| Or how fearless beam supply,
To light world of and woe