through its mighty round from year to year, from century to century, accomplishing all the designs of the great Creator of the universe. The Moon is the first heavenly body that seems to arrest the attention of little children. Shining amidst the heavens, and diffusing her mild and silvery beams, she can be gazed at for any length of time without inconve nience to the sight. This naturally leads children to view her as an object of wonder and delight. And it is highly probable that, in most cases, this luminary is the first celes tial object that excites in the youthful mind inquiries re lating to the visible heavens, and their glorious Maker. To the eye of the observer, the Moon appears diversified by bright, and dark or dusky, parts; but when viewed through a telescope, the sight is at once grand and sur. prising. Here we clearly observe large and extensive ranges of very high mountains, and their projecting shadows, by which astronomers have attempted to measure their height. And besides these extensive chains of mountains, we discover valleys, rocks, and plains, in every variety of form and position; and numberless bright and beautiful parts, as if the Sun shone upon rocks of diamond. In other parts are seen extensive tracts, of a dusky or dark aspect, which reflect but little light; as if the Sun shone either upon water, or land similar to our uncultivated commons and moors, which are covered perpetually with heath and peat moss. But the most singular features of the Moon are those circular ridges which diversify every portion of her surface. A range of mountains, of a circular form, rising two or three miles above the level of the adjacent district, surrounds, like mighty ramparts, an extensive plain; and in the middle of this plain or cavity, an insulated conical hill rises to a considerable elevation. Several hundreds of these circular plains, most of which are considerably below the level of the surrounding country, may be perceived with a good telescope, on every region of the lunar surface. They are of all dimensions, from two or three miles to forty in diameter. That there are prodigious inequalities on her surface is proved by looking at her through a telescope, at any other time than when she is in full; for then there is no regular of God were upon this haughty prince; for he is jealous God," and will not allow his glory to be given to another. At that moment the angel of the Lord smote him; worms preyed upon him, and he gave up the ghost: an awful proof that "pride goeth before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall." From these examples we may learn, that pride is the abominable thing which the Lord hateth, and is ever dangerous to man. It is the parent of numerous crimes, degrading to all its subjects, and ought to be avoided by those who would maintain the true dignity of intelligent beings, and the character of the Christian. Hear, then, ye mortals, the voice of the Lord: "Humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.” London. N. ASTRONOMICAL SKETCHES. No. VII. THE MOON. THE Contemplation of the works of an infinitely wise, powerful, and good Being, are fully calculated to produce in our minds sentiments of reverence, delight, and love. These works are infinitely diversified, and afford a neverfailing source of mental pleasure to all who delight in them. 66 The works of the Lord are great, sought out by all them that have pleasure therein." Among these amazing and multiplied productions, some are more conspicuous than others, and strike our senses at once with their magnitude, lustre, and beauty. The Sun that shines daily upon the Earth is at once beautiful and glorious. The stars that shine by night afford the most delightful prospects to the eye, and endless employment for our most soaring thoughts. And the pale Moon that rules the night, affording light to millions by sea and land, influencing our atmosphere, and governing the mighty deep, is, next to the great orb of day, the most interesting of the celestial bodies, and affords to the studious mind full scope for all its powers. The Moon is the nearest of all the heavenly bodies to our Earth. She is its faithful companion and attendant through its mighty round from year to year, from century to century, accomplishing all the designs of the great Creator of the universe. The Moon is the first heavenly body that seems to arrest the attention of little children. Shining amidst the heavens, and diffusing her mild and silvery beams, she can be gazed at for any length of time without inconvenience to the sight. This naturally leads children to view her as an object of wonder and delight. And it is highly probable that, in most cases, this luminary is the first celes tial object that excites in the youthful mind inquiries re lating to the visible heavens, and their glorious Maker. To the eye of the observer, the Moon appears diversified by bright, and dark or dusky, parts; but when viewed through a telescope, the sight is at once grand and surprising. Here we clearly observe large and extensive ranges of very high mountains, and their projecting shadows, by which astronomers have attempted to measure their height. And besides these extensive chains of mountains, we discover valleys, rocks, and plains, in every variety of form and position; and numberless bright and beautiful parts, as if the Sun shone upon rocks of diamond. In other parts are seen extensive tracts, of a dusky or dark aspect, which reflect but little light; as if the Sun shone either upon water, or land similar to our uncultivated commons and moors, which are covered perpetually with heath and peat moss. But the most singular features of the Moon are those circular ridges which diversify every portion of her surface. A range of mountains, of a circular form, rising two or three miles above the level of the adjacent district, surrounds, like mighty ramparts, an extensive plain; and in the middle of this plain or cavity, an insulated conical hill rises to a considerable elevation. Several hundreds of these circular plains, most of which are considerably below the level of the surrounding country, may be perceived with a good telescope, on every region of the lunar surface. They are of all dimensions, from two or three miles to forty in diameter. That there are prodigious inequalities on her surface is proved by looking at her through a telescope, at any other time than when she is in full; for then there is no regular line bounding light and darkness; but the confines of these parts appear, as it were, toothed, and cut with innumerable notches and breaks; and even in the dark part, near the borders of the lucid surface, there are seen some small spaces enlightened by the Sun's beams. Upon the fourth day after the new Moon, and for several days afterwards, there may be perceived some shining points, like rocks, or small islands, within the dark body of the Moon; but not far from the confines of light and darkness, there are observed other little spaces, which join to the enlightened surface, but run out into the dark side, and, by degrees, change their figure, till at last they come wholly within the illuminated face, and have no dark parts around them at all. Afterwards (in the space of a few minutes or hours) more shining spaces are observed to arise by der grees, and to appear within the dark side of the Moon; which, before they drew near to the confines of light and darkness, were invisible, being without any light, and totally immersed in the shadow. The contrary is observed in the decreasing phases, where the lucid spaces which joined the illuminated surface by degrees recede from it; and after they are quite separated from the confines of light and darkness remain for some time visible, till at last they also disappear. Now, it is impossible that this should be the case, unless these shining points were higher than the rest of the surface, so that the light of the Sun may reach them sooner. As the Moon has on her surface mountains and valleys, in common with the Earth, some modern astronomers have discovered a still greater similarity, viz., that some are really volcanoes, emitting fire as those on the Earth do. Different conjectures have been formed concerning the spots on the Moon's surface. Dr. Keill, and the greater part of our present astronomers, are of opinion, that the very bright parts are only the tops of mountains; which, by reason of their elevation, are more capable of reflecting the Sun's light than others which are lower. The dusky parts, the Doctor says, cannot be seas, nor any thing of a liquid substance; because, when examined by a telescope, they appear to consist of an infinity of caverns and empty pits, whose shadows fall within them, which never can be the case with seas, or any liquid substance; but even within these spots brighter places are observed, which appear to be points of rocks standing within the cavities. Dr. Long, however, is of opinion, that several of the dark spots on the Moon are really water. May not the lunar seas and lakes," says he, "have islands in them, wherein there may be pits and caverns? And if some of these dark parts be brighter than others, may not that be owing to the seas and lakes being of different depths, and their having rocks in some places and flats in others?" Keighley. PHILIP GARRETT. ROME IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY. "Fuit ilium." THE FORUM. Ir anything is calculated to impress on the mind "the short-lived beauty" of this world, it is the present condition of the capital of the Roman empire. Its poets and orators, statesmen and generals, are fresh in our memory; its authors are as familiar as though they flourished yesterday; but when, in the ardour of admiration for their various works, we inquire where is the glory of the Eternal City, we are referred to a series of dilapidated and empty palaces; miserable hovels, indiscriminately piled; magnifi cent ruins, whose names and origin are forgotten; and a race of haughty paupers, gradually perishing by Popery and malaria. On no part of Rome have time and tyranny exercised their desolating influence with more success than on the Forum. Its Augustan grandeur has been utterly annihilated. It is a pasture for herds, as Virgil describes it to have been before the arrival of the Trojan settlers; * and the unscared heifer gambols on the site of the Rostra, where Cicero poured forth his torrents of political and forensic eloquence. Where the Roman people erected mag. nificent temples to their deities, and where patrician emu Eneid, lib. viii. 360. |