The celebrated African explorers, the Landers, graphically describe what took place on the occasion of the eclipse of the Moon of Sept. 2, 1830. They say:

"The earlier part of the evening had been mild, serene, and remarkably pleasant. The Moon had arisen with uncommon lustre, and being at the full, her appearance was extremely delightful. It was the conclusion of the holidays, and many of the people were enjoying the delicious coolness of a serene night, and resting from the laborious exertions of the day; but when the Moon became gradually obscured, fear overcame every one. As the eclipse increased they became more terrified. All ran in great distress to inform their sovereign of the circumstance, for there was not a single cloud to cause so deep a shadow, and they could not comprehend the nature or meaning of an eclipse....Groups of men were blowing on trumpets, which produced a harsh and discordant sound; some were employed in beating old drums; others again were blowing on bullocks' horns....The diminished light, when the eclipse was complete, was just sufficient for us to distinguish the various groups of people, and contributed in no small degree to render the scene more imposing. If a European, a stranger to Africa, had been placed on a sudden in the midst of the terror-struck people, he would have imagined himself to be among a legion of demons, holding a revel over a fallen spirit "."

It is to the Chaldæans that we owe the earliest recorded observations of lunar eclipses, as mentioned by tolemy. The first of these took place in the 27th year of the era of Nabonassar, the first of the reign of Mardokempadius, on the 29th day of the Egyptian month Thoth, answering to March 19, 720 B.C., according to our mode of reckoning. It appears to have been total at Babylon, the greatest phase occurring at about 9h 30m P.M. The second was a partial eclipse only; it happened at midnight on the 18th of the month Thoth, or on March 8, 719 B.C. The third took place in the same year, on the 15th of the month Phammuth, or Sept. 1, 719 B.C. The magnitude of the eclipse, according to Ptolemy, was 6 digits on the southern limb, and it lasted 3 hours, having commenced soon after the Moon rose at Babylon.

Three eclipses recorded by Ptolemy and which happened in 523, 502, and 491 B.C., assisted Sir I. Newton in ascertaining the terminus a quo from which the "70 weeks of years were to be calculated which the prophet Daniel (ix 24) predicted were to precede the death of Christ. And this terminus a quo is on good

h R. and J. Lander, Journal of an Expedition to explore the Niger, vol. i. p. 366, New York, 1844.

grounds considered to have been the restoration of the Jews under Artaxerxes in his 7th year (457 B.C.)i.

An eclipse occurred in the 4th year of the 91st Olympiad, the 19th of the Peloponnesian war, answering to Aug. 27, 412 B.C., which produced very disastrous consequences to the Athenian army, owing to the obstinacy of their general Nicias. Modern calculations shew that it was total at Syracuse.

The eclipse of the Moon which happened on March 13, 4 B.C., serves to determine the date of our SAVIOUR'S birth. This event preceded, by a few weeks, the death of Herod, and, according to Josephusk, that occurrence took place soon after a lunar eclipse which has been identified as stated'. The Nativity took place in the Autumn or Winter of 5 B.C.

An eclipse of the Moon, which happened on March 1, 1504, proved of much service to Columbus". His fleet was in great straits, owing to the want of supplies, which the inhabitants of Jamaica refused to give. He accordingly threatened to deprive them of the Moon's light, as a punishment. His threat was treated at first with indifference, but when the eclipse actually commenced, the natives, struck with terror, instantly commenced to collect provisions for the Spanish fleet, and thenceforward treated their visitors with profound respect.

H. G. Guinness, Approaching end of the Age, 5th ed., p. 516: J. B. Lindsay, Chrono-Astrolabe, Lond., Bohn, pp. 75 et

seq.

J Plutarch, Vita Nicias. Thucyd., lib. vii. cap. 50.

Antiq., xvii. 4.

1 See Wieseler, Chronological Synopsis of the 4 Gospels, p. 51. I cannot see the force of the Rev. S. J. Johnson's reasoning in favour of the eclipse of Jan. 9, o B.C. (Eclipses, past and present, p. 21.)

m W. Robertson, Hist. of America 10th ed., vol. i. book ii. p. 240.

CHAPTER IX.

A CATALOGUE OF ECLIPSES.

TH

HE eclipses visible in England have received much attention from the Rev. S. J. Johnson, and papers of his cited below will be interesting to many English readers.

The following Catalogue contains all the eclipses which occur during the remainder of the 19th century, excepting solar eclipses hardly visible to any inhabited portion of the Earth, and lunar eclipses in which less than of the Moon's diameter is obscured. The time is approximately that of Greenwich, M. standing for morning, and A. for afternoon. Under the head of "Locality" the letter C points to the path followed by the central line; in cases where this passes very near the North or South Pole, it is not traced, but those places only are named where the eclipse will be visible (V). The letters N.E. or S.E. following the name of a place, indicate the direction taken by the shadow after passing the parts in question.

For Catalogues of Eclipses extending over long periods of time see Oppolzer's Canon der Finsternisse in Denkschriften der Kaiserlichen Akad. der Wissenschaften, vol. lii. Vienna 1887; and L'Art de vérifier les dates, Paris 1818, vol. i. p. 269.

In connection with the calculation of Solar eclipses attention may here be

called to a very interesting memoir by S. Newcomb, On the recurrence of Solar Eclipses, with Tables of Eclipses from B.C. 700 to A.D. 2300; in Astronomical Papers for the use of the American Ephemeris and Nautical Almanac, vol. i. Washington, U.S., 1879.

b Month. Not., vol. xxxiii. p. 402, Ap. 1873: Jb. vol. xl. p. 436, May 1880.

According to Hind the following are the important total eclipses of the Sun for the remainder of the present century, which are likely to be available for increasing our knowledge of solar physics:-Dec. 22, 1889, the totality of which lasts for 3m 34, and April 19, 1893, lasting 4TM 443.

c Month. Not., vol. xxxii. p. 178 (Feb. 1872).