The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1882-05-11
The Changes Of the Moon.

1
In one of the most whimsical OF his
essays Charles Lamb speaks of the utter
confusion of mind which would result
II, on getting out of bed some morning
and looking towards the East, where we
had always been accustomed to see the
sun rise, we should find the moon COM
ing up, attended by the eleven stars. .,
while far up in the sky the disc of the
sun Aould appear, white and ghostly,
as the moon waning in the early dawn.
Probably the majority of us would not
at first be willing to trust to the evidence
OF our senses, and would call our fami-
| lies directly to help us out of the diff
Guilty. But if our wives and children
with one voice declared that what we
saw was real, fear and apprehension of
coming calamity would take the place of
distrust in our senses, for we could not
help believing that what we saw was bat
the forerunner of changes in the econo-
my of the solar system of the immedi-
ate, to say nothing of the final results of
which none could speak with conf
dence." Should we find upon s.sally-
ing abroad that the people in the street
all stood gazing at the sky, and, too,
had "lost all confidence in the universe
we should certainly believe that we had
taken leave of our senses IN toto. and
that the whole world had gone mad with
US. But if then, as Lamb continues.
we should begin to find that we were
much lighter than we had ever been be-
fore; that we bounded along the streets
instead of walking, and that ponderable
bodies had lost their old-time weight, SO
that hawkers' carts and the stalls of
green grocers We're swept out of the way
like so many feathers, we should be re-
duced to the ssextremity of humor'' on
one side of our nature, while on the
other we should be painfully reflecting
upon the probable result of what would
now seem apparent-that we were re-
cedIng from the sun, and might soon be
left in ''lightness, comparative darkness
and certain eclipse
The truth probably is that should such
an aspect Of nature ever be put on as
that which Lamb has taken for the basis
OF his sketch, we should not act at all in
the way which the most whimsical of
English humorists has here described.
How we should comport ourselves under
such circumstances it is probably out of
the reach of any mortal to saw. but it
seems extremely probable that before
long the solar system may be called up
on to give an account of itself which will.
II not Immediately to us all, yet to the
scientific world, be most interestinr-we
do not say alarming-because it is en-
tlrely unprecedented. Several German
and at least three English astronomers
among whom Professor Ball is to be
counted-haveo oflate told us that physi-.
cal changes have been going on in the |
moon which will cause physicists to re-
cast their opinions in regard to the con-
dition of that body. The first astronomer |
who called attention to this fact was
Professor Heilbronn, of Bonn, who has
discovered great caverns in our satellite |
which certainly could not have existed /
two months ago. He notes particularly
two of these assures es-one at the base of
the Tycho Brahe, and another, which
has apparently been caused by the dis
placement of rocks near the crater of
what is probably one of the oldest of
lunar volcanoes. Up through-another
crater has been thrust column of rock
OF enormous height-enormou when we
consider the moons size-and there are
also evidences, obtained by means of the
spectroscope which has hitherto given
indications simply of solar light reflected
from the moon, that volcanic forces are
now at work in planet which has hith-
srto been held to be utterly lifeless so far
IS chemical action and any form of en-
srgy except gravitation is concerned.
1t is evident that speculation in regard
o these phenomenal appearances is as
ret premature. Possibly they are con-
lected with general cosmical changes.
'uch as those which Professor Huggins
ong ago pointed out when he showed that
he whole solar system is in motion to-
ward certain stellar systems. Possibly
hey may be connected with recent
'hanges in the sun; but as yet all is IN
he dark.--London Spectator. |
Not That Kind of Doetor Shon-