Juniata sentinel and Republican. [volume] (Mifflintown, Juniata County, Pa.) 1873-1955, 1892-12-14


Neptune, the other far-dw4y brother,
Jupiter sends his love to you,"
called out the Youngest as he came
closer, "and Mars is Just as cross as
ever, and Saturn more spitefuI, but
venus grows prettier every century,"
ut which Elder Brother Neptune
laughed. DE was barely aware of the
existence OF either Mars or Venus, nnd
he had never even heard of the Young
est Planet, but some OF Saturn's dis
agreeable speeches still stung his ears,
aud, for their sake, as much as any.
thing else, lie felt kindly sympathy
Tor the small, fiery atom speeding past
him.
"Hold on minute, he cried. "Who
are you, anyhow? Bless nv moons.
you must be one of our system.
could tell that rotary motion anywhere
but didn't even know You were in
the heavens"
Il haven't been foe q long time. "
apologized the Youngest. "But,
please, Brother Neptune, 1 want to be
and indeed, I'm going to bs-a
Comet. and, OIL Will you tell me (for
you ought to know, revolving so far
out here all by YOURSELF, is it so
80 be q Comet? Well, you are a
brave body. o, mol there's nothing so
frightful about Space. 1t all depends
on yourself. But don't you go to roll
ing too far away, and forget the old
system ard Mother Sun. Make a rev.
olutIon round here once in a while, if
it's only every million centuries. Of
course to do that, you'll have to find
out all about hyperbolas and plrabolas
and don't see now you'll ever learn
by yourself [ never could understand
how 1t was done. Oh! look here-the
Dog Star has classes in that sort of
thing, aud if you'll just tell him you're
my brother, he can give you point or
two worth knowing. Dear mei-a
Comet" and the Elder Brother
turned slowly and sadly on his axis, as
he recalled another youth-time, now
long since vanished, and the once
throbbing hopes that had never got be-
yOnd the dreaming iuto the doing, and
that now merely played the part of an
old set OF memories in the staid
thoughts of a sober, elderly BODY who
took lesurely one hundred aud sixty
four years in his journey round the
sun.
And, meanwhile, the Youngest
Planet, spnrred by an ambition that
overleapt feur, canton, danger, aud
the hundred haDdIcIps barring any
one to dare beyond the common clip
teal groove, wheeled on, pest Nep-
tune, past the furthest point that still
kept in view the dear old Solar System,
on and on. until all that was familiar
faded finally out of sight, and endless
/ unknown stretches of sky space lay be-
/ fore him-untried, un'rodden,
| It was long before the Youngest
Planet returned; so long, that the
mother love alone was now st onger
and dearer to him thau all the bright
I'm bigiou5 that had once lured him
/ from its safe shelter, He sow wanted
nothing k-udiIer tlau the SIMS light,
/ the coUpauy OF his sisters, Venus and
Earth, big Jupiter and little Mercury,
! and he yearned for the sound of Sat
uru's sharp tongue, and the sight OF
| Mars red face. He wheeled slowly
d WI Space toward the far spot where
spun a small speck-the Solar Srstem,
Aud be wondered, as he shook ont his
ra lant plumage for the fight, if this
res. len ent Rosa that swept the skies
would be recognized as the poor little
wayward Planet who had dared and
/ toIled and suffered to gain such glory,
and whose couquering in the hard fight
with circumstance and condition hal,
after all, only left a little less bitter
sting than feat Itself.
"But became Comet" he said to
himself rs he remembered Ssturn's
one-time scorn.
sit IS do you not know me?'
cried out the Comet TO Neptlne-Nep-
tune, once so eIder-brotherly, so much
mightler than the small speeding globe
that before had venturesomely
gone that way-Neptune, now daZZled
and wonder-stricken at the presence
before him.
"Whatl the Youngest? Well, bless
my moonsl Ali you we're whirled for
a Comet and no mistake. You could
never have settled down into our hum.
drum planetary WAYS. But, bT. ther,
it was my message to the Dog-Star that
did so much for you, and 10 mistake. u
And the splendid young Comet only
smiled and passed on, never revealing
that the high and mighty Dog.
hadn't even so much as remembered
oor Neptune. ''I.et me see" had laid
this elegant parsonage in superciliou'
answer to the planet-fedglipg trem
| bling before him, Neptune, J. think
YOU said? H'mI-No, all our classes
in the perusal of hypcrbolic orbits are
full at present. Goodnight, sir.
But the secret of "hyperbolic orbits
had somehow been got at by the de-
termined little body, and the Dog
Star had since then been wonderfully
complajsant toward the brilliant wan
derer, whose early appeal he had chos
to ignore,
Uranus seemed TO have been mostly
asleep while the Youngest Planet hao
been away,
"Why, haIlool who's that?" he crieJ
ont, as the Comet swept into view.
| "The Youngest Planet" answered
the radiant stranger, unable to keel
from laughing at Uranus who was nov
rubbing his eyes at great rate.
'See here, you're-yOu 're--yoJ
know the others can stand this TT o.
thing, hut Neptune and I, way Of herr
from the Sun, we're not used 10 it, aat
all that light pretty nearly knocks mS
out of the ecliptic. Myl won't Sat1rI
be furious when he sees you2 he thinks
his rings beat anything in the beav
ems"
Saturn was cross: the Comet coulc
see it in every motion.
"Don't you remember me, Saturn?'
.sied the Comet.
"No, L don't" answered Saturr
promptly; ''aud 1 don't want to, j
you're that silly little Planet who ages
ago wouldn't revolye in his proper
eilipse, and who woulI go flying OF
| into Nowhere, in spite OF all his Sys
TENS advice; why, all 1 can say is thai
you'd much better have staid of there
among your disrepu.able fixed star;
and not come back TO bother Us. Be
sides, you're not much of a Comet, af
ter all We had one here three thou
sand centuries ago that was a Comet,
IIII admit. He was almost as bright a,
these rings of mine. By the way,
don't suppose y, We seen ANYTHING
Ir1ual to them in Il Sl'ace? Wen,