Every evening, Wilmington daily commercial. (Wilmington, Del.) 1878-1928, 1918-06-05
DON'T GET EXCITED
ABOUT THE ECLIPSE
ON SATURDAY NEXT
Nothing Dreadful Will Happen
and It's Only a Very Beautiful,
if Weird, Solar Phenomenon.
TAKE CARE OF YOUR EYES

AhE LAKE ot IOOK Z Z y
Just about the minute next Saturday
afternoon that the missus' is wanting
to know if YOU know that it half past
SIX and time for all respectful married
men to he home to supper and YOU are
camouflaging about being detained at tho
office. or the dingbusted trolley cars
being stalled. or the baseball game not
starting on schedule you know the time
honored dope we mean something
going to happen.
Here wait a minute Don't get
scared and run away like that. The
U-hoats are not coming up the Christiana,
nor is the town TO hc bombed by IeppClins,
nor is ANYTHING more serious than the
usual wifely Objurgations about your
lateness going to disturb the serenity OF
your household.
The something TO happen will he
sudden lessening of sunlight and then
gradual creeping on OF dusk. Finally
things up in the sky will look as # Old
Sol has been closed up by the sheriff or
the Huns devised some means of shutting
off his light for the purpose Of putting
over some ncwfanglcd dcvilment upon the
people of America Put Old Sol hash
quit, either through political pull, force,
coaNing. bribery or his OWN volltlon,
- there's no need to get cxcited. Nothing
dreadful Is going TO happen that is, unless
YOU don't eat your supper before 1t gets
cold and then 20 out and sec
REAUTIFUI. AND WEIRD.
See what? Why nothing less than a
very beautiful and somewhat weird
solar phenomenon an almost total eclipse
OF the sun OF course if it Is raining or
the skv is overcast with clouds YOU Will
-. L., ,f ~ hfs
picture. lust like YOU do when something
goes wrong with the hlm II the movies.
BUT YOU II SIC the effect Of what is gong
on behind the clouds just the same, be
cause what little light the eclipse lets
filter through from the sun will then he
completely shut of from vou and II will
he Just as dark aS real night
OF course there Will he LOT Of super
stitious folks who'll say all manner Of
evil things arc about 70 happen Let en-
rave. while you remember what Browning
SAYS:
God in his heaven
All ; we'll with the world
There was a time when an eclipse Of the
sun was regarded as the harbinger O:
all things awful. earthquakes, cataclysms,
bloody wars. fa,nlneS plaques and even
the end of the world People, even civil
red people who ought 10 have known
better, hid themselves or threw themselves
upon the ground IN panic terror, and then
waited days and days for the awful thing
nat never made connections Maybe
they q be DONG y sun Il the newspapers
didn't print stories like tins, that sort OF
put YOU wise 10 what's gong on.
OF course, there q perfect Chinese
puzzle OF astronomical technic about an
eclipse that nobody except astronomers
themselves understand ana q dictionary
ioad 81 WORDS abodt inc various lai - u
II tlla{ Just gum ~ your uiiue !SOaH ing
and ours, too ana make you Iooh wise
Nhen you areh !. Dut II al AeIlectlH
simple, 50 mere - where we Ieouce = "
pain E-As'isE-
THE WHY AND THE HOW.
Imagine that YOU hold before you at
The length of YOUR right arm q pocket
electric torch with the business end
staring YOU in the ewes Well, let the
torch represent the sun. YOU the earth
and volT ewes It's people Thin between
the earth-vou and the sun-torch pass
with your left hand your son Bills base
hall. which for the PURPOSES of this demon
strztIon will be the moon Won't the
torch he obscurcd? Surest thing YOU
know Well, then, if YOU could stand
little tn one side. or your ewes were
visncing over or under the ball Just q
6if of The torch wouli be visible Sure
Well. then, that is Just what is happening
between the earth, the sun and the moon
to make that eclipse You know that
the earth revolves around the sun and
that the moon TevoiVes around the earth'
OF course. Ahd equai'y o. COURSE, tiie ai
must ne times "iieh Tue Iiioon se'9 oii eo'4S
IN me between lis anu Tue sun soHiIe 'iilies
when II gets parity between ana sometimes
when II Just SCOOPS past me way YOU
Dodge between q coupie OF autol lnoa?l
ana ge' nothing nun O1t oIi Ieeiilis
or your cieui' WIN ti'e iecOIuIHs ane0''
hese partial lIteFlerehees oi the moon
IN our AFFAIRS WIN Ihe sun are what are
called partial eeilpSes
NOW mere IS something luhhy mat you
wont see, although you could II you were
up above the earth ABOUT q Thousand mics
Just as TINS eclipse starts you would see
ripping big shade" IKE broad band
strike the earth surface ABOUT where
the Island OF borodino IS, OF the coast OF
Japan, and then begin 10 traVei III a line
southeasteriy curve across The Pacliici
SINKING Our coast aDooi astoria ana
keeping on over that southeasteTlyy curve
Florida, and then tade away n the