Oxford Democrat. [volume] (Paris, Me.) 1833-1933, 1902-01-14
BLUNDERS IN FICTION
ASTRONOMICAL BULLS THAT LIVE IN
PROSE AND POETRY.

=
Hall Gaines Wonderful Night, Dick.
ems Stationary Star, Rider Hag.
cards Wonderful Eclipse and Cole
ridges Impossible Crescent.
1t is curious to note in how many in.
stances strange astronomical errors ap-
pear in works Of fiction quite unneces.
sary to the requirements Of the story
and resulting apparently from sheer
lack Of observation. As a modern
example Of such gratuitous blunder-
ing take a piece Of description from
Mr.. Hall Gaines "Scapegoat:" 1T was
a wonderful night. The moon, which
was in It's first quarter, was still low
In the east, but the stars were thick
overhead" A wonderful night, in
deed! And strange that such lover
of nature as Mr.. Hall Caine should
not have reflected that when the moon
in It's first quarter Is low In the east
It is broad daylight, with the sun high
in the heavens!
Nevertheless on this point he erred
in good company. The young moon
has proved a stumbling block to many
writer who has attempted to intro
duce 1t as picturesque adjunct to his
description Of evening.
In Dickens "Our Mutual Friend"
Eugene Wrayburn, in his walk along
the river bank, finds 1t has just risen
when 1.-THE stars were beginning to
shine in the sky, from which the tones
of red and yellow were Pickering"
Dickens, In truth, was sublimely su-
perior to astronomical niceties, espe-
cially when they in any way inter-
Tered with the artistic effect Of his
stories. In his "Child's Dream Of a
Star" the point turns upon one special
star, larger and more beautiful than
the rest" which always came out
every night in one particular place and
at one particular time, thereby behav-
ing as no star has ever conceivably
been known to do. This is undoubted-
" taking a liberty with the solar sys-
tenn, but 1t is small indeed compared
with the license sometimes claimed by
authors DESTROYS Of calling in the aid
of astronomy to assist their plots, but
who are either insufficiently acquaint-
ed with their subject or count 1t no
sin to twist and convert facts to suit
their requirements.
A very famous and noteworthy In
stance Of this Is afforded in Rider Hag.
CARDS king Solomon's Mines" where
the phenomenon Of total solar eclipse
Is employed with most happy and dra-
matte effect as far as the story Is con.
cerned, but with perfect disregard
of astronomical details which In Its
audacity Is almost startling. Here,
again, as in SO many other cases, the
difficulty of the young moon comes
In. and the sun has scarcely set be-
fore the Zine crescent" rises in the
east. Within wonderfully short space
Of time utter this curious event the
moon is full, and only day later the
total eclipse Of the sun takes place,
despite the astronomical fact that 1t
is at mo MOON Tor. more accurately
speaking, the last few seconds Of the
old moon and the first few seconds OF
| the new that total solar eclipse alone
Is possible.
But perhaps the most interesting
| feature Of this altogether remarkable
eclipse is that the total darkness lasts
for nearly an hour. Alas, under the
rarest and most favorable conditions,
seven minutes alone Is the utmost limit
| Of time during which the suns face Is
totally obscured, and the observer un-
der ordinary circumstances counts him
| self lucky II he Is rewarded for jour-
ney of some thousands Of miles by an
uninterrupted view Of the corona for
| three minutes. two or even less.
Some years ago one Of the magazines
contained story called "The Portent,"
| the motif Of which was a certain
strange seeming in the heavens which,
whenever 1t appeared, BODIED Ill to a
particular family. This prophetic sign
was none other than the appearance
| Of the crescent moon with star be-
| tween the two horns. Nor was this q
particularly novel idea, for 1t will be
remembered that in Coleridge's "An-
cient Mariner" that veracious seaman
relates how at one period Of his ad-
ventures there rose
above the eastern bar
The horned moon. with one bright star
Within the neither tip.
In a purely miraculous and fanciful
creation like this famous poem II
would be ridiculous to cavil at such
| q detail, though in the case OF the
story 1t might well be questioned how
| the star could manage to appear In
| such a position. We may perhaps re-
| fer to the line in 1.-The Burial Of Sir
John Moore" where the great soldier
Is represented as being Inferred "by
the struggling moonbeam's misty
light" whereas, as a matter Of fact,
the moon was but day old at the
time Of the battle of Coruna and there
| fore invisible. This seems like hyper.
criticism. especially In a poem that
lays no claim to astronomical accuracy
The case Is different when an author
deliberately makes statement which
he intends shall be believed. In I'm
nocents Abroad" Mark Twain draws
special notice to the point that OH the
voyage across the Atlantic they OBJ
served the full moon located just in
the same spot in the heavens at the
same hour every night. He accounts
for this by the motion Of the ship,
which gained enough every day to
keep up with the moon. but he seem
ingly forgot that. though for this rea-
son the position Of the moon might not
greatly alter. her phase certainly
would. so that 1t could not have been
the full moon which was visible night
after night.-London Standard.