sun's atmosphere; so that during eight successive years, the inhabitants of that globe, if they do exist, never once obtained a glance of that starry firmament, from the contemplation of which, a Supreme Being could scarcely have excluded any of his rational creation. To maintain, therefore, that the sun is peopled by intelligent beings, is to reason in defiance of the strongest analogies, and support opinions which posterity will rank among the aberrations of the human mind." But the following considerations are certainly as philosophical, and seem to be in unison with the economy of the universe; for, as the sun, is not only the largest, and most glorious body in the system, it may be conceived to be tenanted with beings of a higher order, than that of our earth, and endowed with physical powers of motion of a superior nature to those of man, "Let us look around on the sublime world in which we dwellwhat a speck is earth in the illimitable fields of creation! yet what a universe of beauty, and of being it contains ! Look around, O inhabitant of the earth! and ponder the marvellous and magnificent works of Nature-look on the sun-lit landscape! fields filled with little hills, and hills covered with waving fields-cataracts thundering from the rifted rocks of the mountains. Impenetrable forests full of life-full of song-full of beauty, shaking the melody of earth from every bending bough. Oceans rolling from shore to shore, rich with gems, and life, and loveliness-bright blossoms breathing their delicious perfumes, even to the wild winds of the wilderness-the blue heavens above--the green plains below, adorned with quadrupeds, and insects, and flowers of every variety, every form, every color which the most fertile imagination can conceive-then O! look above on the golden fretted skies blushing to the rising day, or coloring throughout all the azure crystalline with the last glorious rays of even! what a sublime world we dwell in. Yet this planet is among the smallest in the solar system! The sun is more than a million times bigger than the earth; and canst thou suppose for one moment that that mighty orb is a desert of devouring fire?—that the great globes encircling him are masses of matter unable to sustain life or vegetation? while the world in which we dwell, and which is scarcely observable among the wheeling globes around it, is the only planet in the solar system which is inhabited, when by as little exertion of creating power it might be made the brightest abode of intelligent beings? Since every part of the terrestrial atmosphere swarms with innumerable living creatures, since millions of animalcules may be suspended on the point of a needle —since a single leaf of the forest, a bud of the smallest flower of the valley affords food for myriads of living creatures—since the cavities in the most minute grain of common sand are filled with insects and vegetables of various kinds.-Is it to be supposed, for one moment, that a globe, which is ten thousand times greater than all the matter of the planets and moons of our solar system put together? is it to be fancied for a single moment, that, that mighty orb, "the centre and soul of our universe," is a mass of desert matter without life, without beauty, without vegetation?—that a single globe of the solar system-nay of the wide universe, was made in vain-uninhabited-unfit to be the abode of intelligent creatures?"-Essay on the Creation of the Universe, by C. D. Sillery, Author of "Vallery,” “ Eldred of Erin," &c. 66 SONG OF THE SOLAR INHABITANTS. Praises to him,—all bountiful-all good,— He out of light, impalpable, inert, And bade us live. Through ages undecayed Meets us in all we see, and all we do, Who made the sapphire waves of the great deep, And reared the glittering many coloured hills? Who bade the winds breathe fragrance and sweet sounds, The infinite-the everlasting GOD,— Glory to Him,-omnipotent-all wise- He bade the sun arise from the deep void 4 Unerringly around. The abyss of space He spread out with his hands, and set therein All things are from Him,—all on Him depend :— He stretcheth out his hand,-and new worlds spring : He speaketh, and bright suns have passed away. Glory to Him,-omnipotent-all wise- Midsummer Day's Dream.-Atherstone, The sun enters Libra at 46 minutes after 7, of the evening of the 23rd of this month. LUNAR PHENOMENA. Conjunctions of the Moon with the Planets and Stars. Sept. 5th, with Regulus at 5 morning. .... 9 night. 7 evening. 5 morning. 11 night. 8 18th, .... Jupiter...... Jupiter........ 2 afternoon. Telescopic Moon. The surface of the moon, when examined with a telescope, presents a wonderful variety of aspect, being diversified with mountains, valleys, rocks and plains: the bright spots on the moon are the mountainous regions, the dark spots are the plains. Among the most remarkable of the bright spots are those which bear the following names:-Aristarchus, Hevelius, Kepler, Co pernicus, Gassendus and Tycho; the most considerable of the less bright regions are thus denominated :-Mare Imbrium, Mare Humorum, Mare Vaporum, Mare Serenitatis, Mare Tranquilitatis, and Mare Crisium. Aristarchus is a very brilliant portion of the moon, situated in the north-west quadrant; it has been seen sometimes with great distinctness during an eclipse, also, when this part of the disc has not been illuminated by the direct rays of the sun. The following will give some idea of this part of the lunar surface. Hevelius is south of Aristarchus, and near the eastern edge of the disc; it consists of an annular ridge of mountains, within which is an oval cavity, and a broken elevation resembling an egg. The following is a representation of this spot, and a smaller one contiguous to it. |