Willmar tribune., 1910-04-27

of the larger planets, especially
Saturn were obtained.
Twenty-Five years before the close
of the comets period, its return
commenced to interest astronomers,
several of whom undertook the task
Of computing the planetary pertur-
bations, and the period Of its peri
hilion passage was predicted to
within nine days of it's actual
occurrence.
Such then is the rare, but regular
and interesting celestial visitor
which came into telescope view
last September, and which for the
last six months has been rushing
sunward at the speed of half a thou
sand miles a minute, and which,
before the year closes, will have
hurled itself through space so much
nearer the earth as to be visible to
the naked eye, a splendid spectacle.
One Of the earliest important ap-
pearances of this comet was in &C
A. D. the year in which St. Peter
and St. Paul suffered death in Rome.
This year witnessed the great revolt
Of the Jews, which resulted in the
destruction Of the holy city. Jerusa-
lem, and the dispersion of the Jews.
Josephus, the Jewish historian has
recorded that ''star,'' shaped like
a huge sword huhg for months over
the doomed city. On its appear
ance in 451 A. D. it witnessed the
great defeat Of the Huns under
Attila "the Scourge of God," by
the Roman and Gothic forces, one of
the great decisive battles of the
world. Its return in 607 was mark
ed by the rise of the Mohammedan
impostdre and in succeeding CEN
turies it must have witnessed many
of the grim and bloody tragedies
which were enacted during the Mo-
hammedan conquest of Asia, and
the wars of the Crusades; wars
which although futile and abortive,
as far as regarded the purpose for
which they were undertaken, Ger.
tainly checked the tide of Moslen
invasion which at one time threaten.
ed to overwhelm European civiliza'
tion. There IS picture of it in the
Bayeux tapestrey showing the fleet
of invaders under William the Con
queror about 1866. An old chronicle1
records. "Guided by a comet, the
Normans invaded England. Wher
the Dukes attention was directed
to the comet he was undaunted
and merely remarked: 1t mean:
that Kingdom wants a King"
It's coming was recorded in 13O:
and 1878. In 1881, it was tn,
herald Of Pizarro, in his descent OF
the ancient Empire of the Incas, ant
in 1907, its appearance signalizet
the first successful attempt of th'
English to colonize North America
to be followed a year or two late
by the founding of Quebec b!
J Champlain. In 1852, it beheld tn
discovery Of the Mississippi River
by La Sale, the greatest and mos
intrepid of all the pioneers of New
France; the first white man to ex
plore the great country west of tn
Rocky Mountains, destined, tw
centuries later to become the sea
Of wealth and power. For NOR
, than one hundred years, Spanis
, seamen had navigated the waters o
. the Mexican Gulf, without bein,
aware Of the fact that it receive'
the waters Of one of the world
greatest rivers. In 1859 it witness
, ed the final act in the great dram
of war, so long enacted on the stag
of the North American continent
when on the plains of Abraham
the gallant Gen. Wolf wrested tn
dominion of Canada from France
and forever changed the currant O
{ North American history.
: No great event signalized the re
5 turn of the comet in 1885, but thi
? period marks the beginning Q
! three quarters of century of pre-
} gress, without precedent in the his
! tory of mankind: and in conclusio
we may briefly review the man
and great changes, social, politics
and economic, which have take
: place since the last visit of tn
2 comet: Lack of space forbids tha
5 we should do more than make pass
? ing mention of the great expansio
) Of the British Empire in Asia an