Alexandria gazette. [volume] (Alexandria, D.C.) 1834-1974, 1883-12-19
FAR.OFF WORLDS.
tCorrespondcncc Hartford Times. J

At midnight, about these days the starry
heavens present one Of their graudest
phases. Prominent in the southeast, high
up, is that grand constellation of Orion,
| with his belt and sword, and his chief iO.-
lower, the peerless Sirius close behind him.
In the sword tabout the mddlel is that
vast nebula or unfinished system, so often
| mentioned by astronomers. At this stage
it is "without form," and evidently void"
What this vast object will be, when finished,
| whether one immense system, or aunvcrsc,
| the far-oil future ages must determine.
What infinite mind can determine the length
of time required to carry this vast formation
through ali its grand stages, till 1t Is folded
| together like Il Vestllre, as into great
mountain ranges, by the mighty contract
ing forces OF gravitation, and Is finally
| "changcdh and ceases to be? There seems
to be reason TO believe that in the history
Of all worlds, no matter what splendor OF
development they attain, or through what
ncouceivable ages they exist when III The
| process ci cooling and contraction tney
slowly talI-the waters recede las they have
done in our moon into the internal cave:ns
| from whence the lava was onco elected By
this same contracting force.
| But all these worlds were created, accord
inr to the sacred writer, "of things which
do not appear" Ola more invisible mat
ter which our widest telescopes fail 10
reach? But how does this invisible matter
| or star dust become so contracted, as TO be-
come visible to the unaided, as well rs to
the aided eye, and, further. assume its ro
| tarv motion and cast off its irregular parts
| into satellites, while its main central part
| forms the governing globe or sun around
| which they must revoive? How? We are
| here brought face to face with one Of the
unfathomlble mysteries of God or Of ma
turc. All we know about it is this "And
the Spirit of God moved upon the face OF
| the waters" And we shall see in this first
account of Grafton that there were grass and
herbs, also trees with fruit, long before the
| sun was finished.
This harmonizes with the teachings of
science. that the smaller the globe or sate!-
| lite, IN The same original ncbulous masS.
| the sooner it is finished and becomes chung
ed. Consequently the earth was ready
| for Il light vegetation long before the sun
| WAS finished, and the moon before the
earth And it is probable that somewhere
| in this age our coal mines were laid up for
Us, before the crust Of the earth became
strong enough to bear The heavy growth oi
timber, which By the warmth ani moisture,
grew 10 great height and size.
| This timber, both hard and soft, by lis
great weight, when the crust wasthln, S;ink
| suddenly aud became charrcd and petrlhed.
and thus, both hard and soft Goals were
made and preserved for this latter busy and
wicked age. Good and evil must be com
pared in their present light. But we read
about the evening and morning" being the
first. second and third day, etc. True, and
a the earth in its slow aXial motion land
we know not how slowly turned to and
| from this vast central light or unfinished
SUI, il could well be called the evening and
morning Of the earth at that far oil age.
The next object of attraction in the early
winter night sky is Saturn-high up and on
the meridian This is the astrlnged planet
| 1t is now nearer TO the eartn tnan 1t mas
been for twenty-eight years. 1t is Ill or near
drag" BY watching it carefully for few
DAYS it will be seen TO be moving westward,
but this is only in appearance as the motlon
OF all the planets is eastward all the Tune.
This backward movement is called ITS re-
trograde, and happens in this way
Select some level spot and strike circle,
say three feet in diameter, and call this the
| sun, then MAKE ;tuOlHcT ClICic, say tSh leS'
in diameter, and call this the earth's orbit,
then make still larger circle, say fifty feet,
and call this the orbit of Saturn. For this
experiment you need to make but small
part of the large circle, and on that small
part you place an object, or person, and
call it the planet Saturn. Now start and
walk around the ten feet circle which we
call the earth's orbit, from the right side to
the left. on the side Of your circle next to
the supposed Saturn. Mark some object
away far beyond the supposed Saturn. Now
rs YOU come nearly opposite to Saturn, or,
in other words, when you are nearly IN
line with the supposed sun and Saturn, tho
latter is nearing its opposition, when you
can see that yon, representing the earth, are
at the nearest point to the planet: In ap-
preaching this point from the right, If you
have ranged past the supposed Saturn to
some distant object, which is to represent
fixed star, you will notice that though Sat
urn. a moment since, was in line with you
and the distant star, it now appears at the
right of the star, as though it were moving
to the risht-when in fact it is gradually
moving in the same direction that you are
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