The chief mountains are the Apalachin hills in North America, which divide Florida from the more northern countries; and the Andes in South America, which is a long ridge of mountains running from the south part of America toward the north. Travellers suppose them to be the highest in the world.

Thus I have described the various countries of the earth in a very brief but imperfect manner, sufficient only to give the young and ignorant reader a taste of geography, and to encourage him to pursue the study farther in that excellent manual Gordon's Geographical Grammar, or in volumes of larger size.

SECT. XVII. Of the fixed Stars in the IIeavenly Globe.

AS the Terrestial Globe has the various countries, cities, mountains, rivers and seas drawn upon it; so on the Celestial Globe are placed the fixed stars exactly according to their situation in the heavens. Yet there is this difference between the representations made by the heavenly and those made by the earthly globe, viz. That the several countries, rivers and seas, are represented on the convex or outward surface of the earthly globe, just as they lie naturally on the convex surface of the earth; whereas the stars naturally appear to us in the concave, or inward hollow surface of the heaven, but they are represented on the heavenly globe on the convex surface of it. Therefore we must suppose our eye to be placed in the centre of the globe, in order to have the stars and heavens appear to us in their concavity and proper situation.

Planets and comets are vulgarly called by the general name of stars; but the fixed stars differ from the planets and the comets in this, that they always keep the same place or distance with regard to one another; whereas the planets and comets are perpetually changing their places and distances with regard to one another, and with regard to the fixed stars. They differ also in this respect, that the fixed stars generally twinkle, except when near the zenith, or seen through a telescope; and they shoot sprightly beams like the sun, which is usually given as a proof, that like the sun they shine with their own light; the planets have a more calm aspect like the moon, and never twinkle, which is one argument among many others that they derive their light from the sun, and shine only by reflection.

For our better acquaintance with the fixed stars, astronomers have reduced them to certain constellations. This we have shewn already in the second section, concerning those stars that lie in the zodiac, which are reduced to 12 constellations, and called the twelve signs, (viz.) Aries or the ram, Taurus or the bull, Gemini or the twins, &c. the rest of the stars are distinguished into the northern and southern constellations, as lying north or south of the zodiac or ecliptic.

The Northern Constellations were thus framed by the ancients, Ursa Minor or the little bear, in whose tail is the pole star, Ursa Major or the great bear, Draco or the dragon, Cepheus whose feet are just at the north pole. Cassiopeia and her chair, Andromeda, the northern triangle, Perseus with Medusa's head, Auriga or the charioteer, Bootes or the hunter, who is some times called Arcturus or the bear-keeper, Corona Borealis or the northern crown, Egonasi or hercules kneeling, Lyra or the harp, Cygnus or the swan, Pegasus or the great flying horse, Equuleus or Equiculus the little horse's head, Delphinus or the dolphin, Sagitta or the arrow, Aquila or the eagle, which some call the vulture, Serpens or the serpent, and Serpentarius the man who holds it. To these 21 northern constellations were afterwards added, Antinous at the equator next to the eagle, Cor Caroli or king Charles' heart, a single star south of the great bear's tail, and Bernice's hair, a few small stars south of Charles' heart, &c.

The Southern Constellations known to the ancients are Cetus the whale, and the river Eridanus, Lepus the hare, the glorious constellation of Orion with his girdle, sword, and shield, Sirius or the great dog, Canicula or the little dog, Hydra or a large serpent, the ship Argo, Crater or the two handed cup, Corvus the crow, or the raven, Centaurus or the half man half horse, Lupus or the wolf, Ara or the altar, Corona Australis or southern crown, Piscis Notius or the southern fish. To these 15 there have been added 12 other constellations made up of the fixed stars toward the south pole which are never visible to us in Britain, and therefore I shall not mention them.

Astronomers have framed some lesser Constellations which are contained in the greater, as the Pleiades or the seven stars, and the Hyades in Taurus or the bull; Capella or the goat, in which is a very bright star so called, in the arms of Auriga or the charioteer; the Manger and Asses in the Crab, which indeed is nothing but a bright spot composed of a multitude of small stars; Charles Wain which are seven bright stars in the rump and tail of the Great Bear, three of which in the tail resemble the Horses, and the other four, c, d, b, r, a square cart; see figure xxx. The two hindmost stars in the cart, viz. b and r are called the pointers, because they point to the north pole. Besides these there are several other smailer stars scattered up and down in the heavens, which are not reduced to any of the Constellations; though of late years Hevelius a great astronomer has made Constellations of them which are described upon some modern globes.

The fixed Stars are of different sizes, and are divided into those of the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth magnitudes. There are but a few stars of the first and second magnitude,

and many of them have remarkable names given to them, as the Ram's Head, Aldebaran or the bull's eye, Capella or the goat, the three stars in Orion's girdle, the Lion's Heart, Deneb or the lion's tail, Regel the star in Orion's left foot, Spica Virginis, which is an ear of corn in the virgin's hand, Hydra's heart, the Scorpion's heart, the Eagle or Vulture's heart, Ala Pegasi or the horse's wing, Fomahant a large star in the southern fishes mouth near Aquarius, the Pole Star in the Little Bear's Tail, &c. See more in the table of fixed stars at the end of this book. Some remarkable stars are called by the name of the constellation in which they are, as the Great Dog, the Little Dog, Lyra or the harp, Arcturus the bear-keeper, Capella the goat, &c.

As the globe of the earth with all the lands and seas described on a terrestial sphere is represented on maps, so the celestial sphere with all the fixed stars is often represented on two tables or plani spheres, projected, one on the plane of the equator with the two poles of the world in their centres; and the other on the plane of the ecliptic with the poles of the eclip- ̄ tic in their centres*. Note, This sort of projections has sometimes been furnished with some little appendices which are moveable, and makes an instrument called a Nocturnal to take the hour of the night, and perform many other astronomical problems by the stars.

It is hardly necessary to say, that the stars are supposed to keep their constant revolution once in twenty-four hours by day as well as by night; but the day light conceals them from

our eyes.

The sun in its annual course moving from west to east through all the signs of the zodiac hides all those stars from our sight which are near its own light or place in the heavens; and therefore at several seasons of the year you see different stars or constellations rising or setting, or upon the meridian at every hour of the night; and as the sun goes onward daily and monthly toward the east, the Eastern Constellations come daily and monthly within the reach of the sun beams and are concealed thereby, which is called their setting heliacally. And the Western Constellations hereby getting farther off from the sun beams, are made visible to us, which is called rising heliacally.

Thus, as I intimated before, we may easily find what stars will be upon the meridian every midnight by considering in what sign the sun is, and in what degree of that sign; for the sun with the stars that are near it being upon the meridian at noon, the stars that are directly opposite to them in the heavens will

Mr. Senex at the globe over against St. Dunstan's in Fleet-street, has lately printed the best that ever were in England, or perhaps in any country.

be upon the meridian that day at midnight. And by the same means if you observe what stars are upon the meridian at midnight, you easily infer the sun is in the opposite point of the heavens at midnoon.

Here it should not be forgotten, that there is a broad uneven path encompassing the heavens, passing near the north-pole, which is brighter than the rest of the sky, and may be best seen in the darkest night: This is called the Milky Way, which Jater philosophers have found by their telescopes to be formed by the mingled rays of innumerable small stars. It is to the same cause that some other bright spots in the sky (though not all) are ascribed which appear to us like whitish clouds in midnight darkness.

SECT. XVIII. Of the Planets and Comets.

THOUGH the planets and comets are never painted upon the globe because they have no certain place, yet it is necessary here to make some mention of them; since they are stars much nearer to us than the fixed stars are, and we know much more of them. The planets are in themselves huge dark bodies which receive their light from the sun, and reflect it back to us. They are called planets from a Greek word which signifies wanderers, because they are always changing their places in the heavens, both with regard to the fixed stars and with regard to one

another.

The planets are placed at very different distances from the centre of our world, (whether that be the earth or the sun) and they make their various revolutions through the twelve signs of the Zodiac in different periods of time.

Saturn

in 29 years and 167 days, i. e. about 24 Weeks.

As the ecliptic line is the orbit or annual path of the earth or sun, so each planet has its proper orbit, whose plane differs some few degrees from the plane of the orbit of the sun, and to a spectator's eye placed in the centre would intersect or cut the sun's orbit at two opposite points or nodes. Now the distance of a planet from the ecliptic, measured by an arch perpendicular to the ecliptic, is the latitude of that planet as before.

To represent this as in figure x1. you may imagine as many hoops as there are planets thrust through with several strait wires, and thereby joined in different places to the hoop that re

presents the plane of the ecliptic, i. e. the sun's or earth's orbit ; and then let these hoops be turned more or less obliquely from the plane of the ecliptic: For all the several orbits or paths of the planets do not cross or intersect the ecliptic or sun's path in the same point, nor at the same angles: But their nodes or intersections of the ecliptic are in different parts of the ecliptic, and also make different angles with it.

Among the several uses of observing the latitude of a planet, see one very necessary in problem XXXVII.

The comets were by Aristotle and his followers supposed to be a sort of meteors or fires formed in the sky below the moon, continuing for some months, and then vanishing again. But by later astronomers they have been found to be dark bodies like the planets, moving through the heavens without any regard to the ecliptic, but in very different orbits, which are supposed to be elipses or ovals of prodigious length, and returning at various periods of several scores or hundreds of years. Though it must be confessed, those parts of their orbits which are within the reach of our sight are so very inconsiderable parts of the vast ovals they are said to describe, that it has been much doubted, whether the lines they describe in their motion be not parabolical or some other infinite curve; and thus whether the comets themselves are not wandering stars that have lost all regular revolution, and perhaps have no settled periods at all and may never return again : But comets appear so seldom that they have scarce given the nice enquirers of these last ages sufficient opportunity to observe or calculate their motions with such an absolute certainty as could be wished.

Thus I have finished the speculative part of this discourse which contains the rudiments or first principles of astronomy. It is called the spherical part, because it treats of the doctrine and use of the sphere; and I have concluded therein the general part of geography, and given a slight survey of the particular divisions of the earth.

It is indeed the second or special part of geography that treats properly of these particular divisions of the earth which I have but slightly run over, and in a much larger manner enumerates not only all the kingdoms, states, and governments of the world, but also gives some account of their manners, temper, religion, traffic, manufactures, occupations, &c. It also de-. scribes the various towns and villages, the larger and lesser mountains, rivers, forests, the several products of every country, the birds, beasts, insects, fishes, plants, herbs, the soil, minerals, metals, and all rarities of art and nature. It relates also the various ancient and modern names of the nations, cities, towns, rivers, islands, &c. What remarkable occurrences of battles, victories, famine, desolations, prodigies, &c. has happened in

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