26.-OLD HOLY ROOD. See HOLY CROSs, p. 259. 26.-SAINT CYPRIAN.

He was an African by birth, of a good family and well educated. Before his conversion he taught rhetoric; but by the persuasion of Cæcilius, a priest, he became a Christian. He gave all his property to the poor; and was elected Bishop of Carthage, A. D. 248. He behaved with great courage and resolution in the Decian persecution, and openly invited the people to constancy and perseverance: this conduct so enraged the Pagans, that he soon fell a victim to their fury, and suffered martyrdom under Valerianus and Gallienus, in 258.

29.-SAINT MICHAEL.

Saint Michael was an archangel who presided over the Jewish nation, and had an army of angels under his command and conduct; he fought also with the Dragon or Satan, and his angels; and, contending with the Devil, he disputed about the body of Moses. See Rev. xii, 7; Jude 9. This festival has been kept with great solemnity ever since the sixth century.

About this time of the year, it has been, and still continues, the custom to elect the governors of towns and cities. For the ceremonies observed by the SHERIFFS OF LONDON, when they take their oaths. at Westminster, see T. T. for 1814, p. 232, 233. On the election of a bailiff at Kidderminster, the inhabitants assemble in the principal streets to throw cabbage stalks at each other.-See our last volume, p. 259.

30.-SAINT JEROME.

Jerome was born in a town called Stridon, on the confines of Pannonia and Dalmatia. He translated the Old Testament into Latin: this version, now styled the Vulgate, is the only one used or allowed by the Romish church. He died in the eightieth year of his age, A. D. 422.

History of Astronomy.

[Continued from p. 232.]

Astronomy of Modern Europe.

HAVING, in the preceding section of this History, given some account of Dr. Herschel's discoveries on the motion of the fixed stars, and of the Sun as the centre of the solar system, we shall now mention some other facts relating to the fixed stars, which will, we presume, interest such of our readers who are not already acquainted with the subject.

Of the Distance of the fixed Stars.-These bodies are so extremely remote from the Earth, that we have no distances in the planetary system with which we can compare them. Their immense distance appears from this, that they have no sensible parallax that is, that the diameter of the Earth's annual orbit, which is 190 millions of miles, bears no sensible proportion to their distance. Mr. Huygens attempted to determine the distance of the stars, by making the aperture of the telescope so small, as that the Sun, through it, appeared no larger than Sirius; which he found to be only as 1 to 27,664 of his diameter when seen with the naked eye: so that, were the Sun's distance 27,664 times as much as it is, it would then be seen of the same diameter with Sirius and hence, supposing Sirius to be a sun of the same magnitude with our Sun, the distance of Sirius will be found to be 27,664 times the distance of the Sun, or 27,664 × 95,000,000 of miles ; that is, 2,628,080,000,000 miles.

Mr. Michell has proposed an inquiry into the probable parallax and magnitude of the fixed stars, from the quantity of light which they afford us, and the peculiar circumstances of their situation. With this view, he supposes that they are on a medium equal in magnitude and natural brightness to the

Sun; and then proceeds to inquire, what would be the parallax of the Sun, if he were to be removed so far from us, as to make the quantity of light, which we should then receive from him, no more than equal to that of one of the fixed stars? Accordingly, he assumes Saturn in opposition, as equal, or nearly equal, in light to the brightest fixed star. As the mean distance of Saturn from the Sun is equal to about 2082 of the Sun's semidiameters, the density of the Sun's light at Saturn will consequently be less than at his own surface in the ratio of the square of 2082 to 1, or 4,334,724 to 1. If Saturn, therefore, reflected all the light that falls upon him, he would be less luminous in the same proportion. And, besides, his apparent diameter in the opposition being but about the 105th part of that of the Sun, the quantity of light which we receive from him must be again diminished in the ratio of the square of 105 to 1, or 11,025 to 1. Consequently, by multiplying these two numbers together, we shall have the whole light of the Sun to that of Saturn as the square nearly of 220,000, or 484,000,000,000. Hence, removing the Sun to 220,000 times his present distance, he would still appear, at least, as bright as Saturn, and his whole parallax upon the diameter of the Earth's orbit would be less than two seconds; and this must be assumed for the parallax of the brightest of the fixed stars, upon the supposition that their light does not exceed that of Saturn.

By a similar computation, it may be found, that the distance at which the Sun would afford us as much light as we receive from Jupiter is not less than 46,000 times his present distance; and his whole parallax, in that case, upon the diameter of the Earth's orbit, would not be more than nine seconds; the light of Jupiter and Saturn, as seen from the Earth, being in the ratio of 22 to 1, when they are both in opposition, and supposing them to reflect equally in proportion to the whole light that

falls upon them. Supposing, then, that the fixed stars are of the same magnitude and brightness with the Sun, it is no wonder that their parallax should be so difficult to obtain, since it would scarcely amount to 2", probably not to 1", even with Sirius himself. However, Mr. Michell suggests that it is not impracticable to construct instruments capable of distinguishing even to the 20th part of a second, provided the air will admit of that degree of exactness. He imagines that the quantity of light which we receive from Sirius does not exceed the light we receive from the least fixed star of the sixth magnitude in a greater ratio than that of 1000 to 1, nor less than that of 400 to 1; and the smaller stars of the second magnitude seem to be about a mean proportional between the other two. Hence, the whole parallax of the least fixed stars of the sixth magnitude, supposing them of the same size and native brightness with the Sun, should be from about 2′′ to 3", and their distance from about 8 to 12 million times that of the Sun; and the parallax of the smaller stars of the second magnitude, upon the same supposition, should be about 12", and their distance about two million times that of the Sun.

This author farther supposes, that, from the apparent situation of the stars in the heavens, there is the greatest probability that the stars are collected together in clusters in some places, where they form systems, while, in others, there are few or even none of them, whether this disposition be owing to their mutual gravitation, or to some other law or appointment of the Creator. Hence he infers, that such double stars as appear to consist of two or more stars placed very near together, do really consist of stars placed near together, under the influence of some general law; and he proceeds to inquire, whether, if the stars be collected in systems, the Sun does not likewise make one of some system.

He considers that those stars which are found in

clusters, and surrounded by many others at a small distance from them, belong, probably, to other systems, and not to ours; and those stars which are surrounded with nebulæ are probably only very large stars, which, on account of their superior magnitude, are singly visible; while the others, which compose the remaining parts of the same system, are so small as to escape our sight: and those nebulæ in which we can discover either nonę, or only a few stars, even with telescopes, are probably systems that are still more distant than the rest.

The distance of the star y Draconis appears, by Dr. Bradley's observations, to whose labours we have before referred, to be at least 400,000 times that of the Sun, and the distance of the nearest fixed star not less than 40,000 diameters of the Earth's annual orbit; that is, the distance of the Earth from the former is to 400,000 × 95,000,000 = 38,000,000,000,000, and the latter not less than 7,600,000,000,000. As these distances are much too great to be comprehended by the human imagination, we shall, perhaps, obtain a better idea of them by comparing them with the velocity of some moving body, by which they may, in some way, be estimated. The swiftest motion we know of is that of light, which passes from the Sun to the Earth in about eight minutes, or, at the rate of 200,000 miles nearly in a second of time, and yet this even would be more than six years in traversing the first space, and a year and a quarter nearly in passing from the nearest fixed star to the Earth. Again, a cannon ball, moving with its initial or greatest velocity of about ten miles in a minute, would be more than seven millions of years in passing from the star y Draconis to the Earth.

The celebrated Huygens pursued speculations of this kind so far, as to believe it not impossible that there may be stars at such inconceivable distances that their light has not yet reached the Earth, al