of the black point noticed by Schmidt. (between 30 and 40 English feet) in height. | may possibly be the fine white summit west As a crater, Linné has entirely disappeared. "The light spot is always visible; but the crater-form has never been visible from October until the present time. "January 25.- No crater, and the light cloud visible. In it (as on December 26) a very fine black point; to the west of it a fine white summit." In a letter to the Astronomische Nachrichten (see translation in the Astronomical Register, May, 1867, by W. T. Lynn, Esq., B.A., F.R.A.S.) Schmidt says, "At the time of the labours of Lohrman and Mädler, 1822-32, Linné was a deep crater more than 5,000 toises (6 English miles) broad, and very deep, distinctly visible as a crater; when near the phase, it was more or less overshadowed. . . . At least since 1866, October 16, the crater-form of Linné, at the time of oblique illumination, cannot at all be seen. The Athens refractor shows in the interior of its figure at times a fine black point 300 toises (1,918-4 English feet) in diameter." says, It must be said that all this is not very clear, for it seems easier to consider the black point a depression than an elevation. In a letter from the Roman astronomer, Father Secchi, to the French Academy, he "On the evening of the 10th (February) between nine and ten o'clock, the crater Linné entered into the sun's light, and close by the limiting circle a small prominent point was seen with a little shadow, and round this point an irregular circular corona very flattened. On the 11th, a very small crater was distinctly seen, surrounded by a brilliant white aureole, which glittered against the dark ground of the Mare Serenitatis. The size of the orifice of the crater was at most one-third of a second, and the aureole was a little larger than Sulpicius Gallus. I insist on this comparison because it shows that Beer and Mädler could never have figured a crater as big and as wellmarked as that which they assigned to Linné for the white spot which at present exists. In fact, Sulpicius Gallus is much larger than the little crater which forms the centre of the spot. It cannot be doubted that a change has taken place, and it seems probable that an eruption has filled the ancient crater with a material white enough to look bright against the dark ground of the sea." Neither is this description very distinct; but on the whole, it would seem that the black spot, which Schmidt considers a hill, appears to Secchi as a crater; and Secchi's "small prominent point with a shadow Without further observations it, would be premature to speculate with any confidence on the probable conditions of the eruption. It would appear, according to Secchi's view, that the outbreak has already ceased, after filling up the greater part of the old crater, and leaving quite an inconsiderable one in its place; so that there is now, in fact, no obscuration in the proper sense of the term If, on the other hand, there is no sign of any crater whatever, the eruption may still be going on, and the crater may be filled with an over-boiling mass of bright matter which is flowing away from it on all sides; or it may be really obscured by a vapour. Schmidt does not think that there is a vapour, as appears in a letter translated from the Cologne Gazette for the Intellectual Observer (April, 1867) by Mr. Lynn. Schmidt says, -"An eruption of vapour or ashes is not probable, because a shadow of that which covered the crater would be thrown at sunrise and sunset; but this is never the case. Had the crater sunk below, in its place a great shadow would be visible during the phase. Had the ring-mountain been destroyed, the fragments would throw shadows; which also is not the case. Had the crater been filled up by an eruption of fluid or powdery matter without overflowing, the interior black shadow at sunrise and sunset would indeed disappear; but there would remain a hill throwing a shadow on the outside. This was the appearance seen by Schröter in 1790 in the central part of Posidonius, and by Julius Schmidt in the same object in February, 1849. But such a mass of matter may also have flowed out over the outside banks, and covered the surrounding declivity with a very gradually sloping inclination. This would prevent the casting of a shadow outside at the phase. Such an event would explain all the phenomena presented by Linné, and it is the kind of event which, in the mud volcano in the peninsula of Taman, so closely described by Abich, has so striking an analogue on our earth. The spreading of the overflowing bright mass over the dark plain gives occasion to the origin of broad formations similar to a halo, which are seen frequently upon the moon, especially in the so-called Mare." But there seems to be no reason why a condensing vapour should not assume the same shadowless slope; and, considering that the ejected matter may have appeared in a vaporous, a fluid, or a solid state, or in different states, it is evident that great caution should be used, for the present, at least, in offering any decided opinion as to its condition. It may be noticed as a striking fact, that the obscuration in Schröter's time passed away; and it might be expected that the present would also come to an end without any permanent filling-up of the crater. However, the two "obscurations seem very different in character, as the first was a darkening, while brightness and absence of shadow distinguish the recent phenomenon; and the final effects of both may be very different also. If the body that obscures the old form of Linné is really a vapour, it would afford an independent proof of the airless condition of the moon in showing the absence of winds over her surface. If winds were there, it should certainly display their action, and could not persistently maintain its circular shape. But its outline has remained unchanged. The white cloud, if cloud it is, betrays no yielding to any superficial force, and its solemn pall hangs motionless over the awful vault. But here still would be only a confirmation of what is otherwise established; and it may not be inapt to notice one of its peculiar effects in connection with the eruption of Linné, supposing the moon to be inhabited by sentient beings. If, then, our satellite contains a form of life suited to the conditions that obtain there- and we cannot know whether it does or not-it is plain that, unless, indeed, the vibrations of the ground serve with adapted organs for the purpose of hearing, the eruption of Linné, however great it may be, and frightful to the sight, can yield no sound. The whole land may heave with a force unknown in our most dreadful earthquakes; a hundred chasms may yawn wide, and breathe forth their breath of flame; the lofty peak may cleave asunder before the issuing lightning; the sun may darken behind the volleyed rocks, or the lofty shroud of vapour; and the encircling cliff for miles may fall down in uttermost confusion-still there are no smothered rumblings in the deep abyss no thunder among the hills no roaring in the red throat of the fire-mountain; for even Ruin, wielding her greatest terrors, can have no voice in the airless space; and were all the volcanoes of the moon in eruption together they would be as noiseless as, to human ears, the cushioned feet of a butterfly lighting on a flower. I will not here discuss how an atmosphere of some kind might be expected to result from the discharges of gas from volcanoes, it from no other source. A perfectly transparent, and, at the same time, sound-trans mitting air covering might exist if only the absence of oxygen or hydrogen forbid the formation of water and its consequent phenomena of evaporation, rain, and mist. However, the moon affords no proof of an envelope even such as this; and any subject relating to her is rightly treated under the assumption that she possesses none. Now, proceeding with the supposition that the ejected matter which is visible to us might, possibly, be the vapour of minerals in that powdery state which seems transitional between a fluid and a gas, it may be interesting to consider how a vapour would behave at the surface of the moon. For this it will be sufficient to recollect that the rising of a light body is, properly speaking, caused by the weight of that in which it is immersed, where the heavier particles tend to gravitate into its place, and push it upwards. It is plain, therefore, that this vapour could not rise on account of its lightness where there is no upbearing medium; and its total elevation would, consequently, be due to gaseous elasticity and impulsive force. Even if there was an atmosphere of greater specific gravity than the highly heated vapour, still the latter, after its ejection, should begin so quickly to lower in temperature that its expansion to any considerable extent would be impossible; and the result, in any case, would be, probably, what might be called a rain of recondensing minerals. In point of fact, the white cloud might be a condensing vapour; or it might be a solid or fluid outpour; or it might be the resulting formation of matter ejected in any shape. But, be this as it may, it seems established on a high authority and this is the point of paramount importance — that the moon betrays the continued existence of those forces which, in the operations of countless ages, have impressed her surface with a character so strange, so wild, and so forlorn, that if such scenes were discovered in some hitherto unexplored region of the earth, they would freeze with awe the blood of the beholder. It may be regretted that the phenomenon did not occur in a crater more remarkable and generally known than Linne, for there is, probably, not a person living, besides Schmidt himself, whose acquaintance with the place, derived from his own observations of twenty-five years, would enable him to pronounce decidedly on a change in its appearance. An alteration or feature in any one of a number of other craters might be proved by a host of witnesses; but at the same time it must be remembered that the distinguished observer who presides over the Athens observatory is, indeed, equal to a host in himself. Having referred to Linné as bearing testimony to the absence of a lunar atmosphere, which, again, I believe to be a strong evidence of creative design, I think it not out of place to state that, on the other hand, our satellite was considered by an eminent philosopher as affording a proof that the world was not formed by an omnipotent intelligence. Laplace says that the moon is not situated to the best advantage for giving light, as she does not always shine in the absence of the sun. To attain the object for which the partisans of final causes imagine her to be intended, it would have been sufficient at the beginning to place her in opposition to the sun in the plane of the ecliptic, and at a hundredth part of the distance of the sun from the earth, at the same time giving her a motion by which the opposition would ever be maintained. The distance would secure her against eclipse, and there would thus be a continual full moon rising regularly at sunset. appear near sixteen times smaller than at present, and her illuminating and other inHuences would be in the same degree less. I am not aware that the philosopher, to meet those objections, suggested any increase of size; and it might be said that the moon of eminent physical and scientific value would not, according to his plan, exist - neither would the moon of poetry. The ever-round and ever-diminutive-looking satellite would furnish no striking theme for description or romance, nor suggest to genius some of its grandest conceptions. Milton could not have told of the sun looking from behind the eclipsing orb in a simile with which no other of any other writer can be compared for an instant; nor, again, could he have thrilled us with the description of the archfiend's shield, whose "Broad circumference Hung on his shoulders like the inoon." In a scientific point of view, it will be easily understood, that, if the distant and nightlyappearing satellite had still the power of giving any effective light to the earth, in But it may be proved mathematically place of being an object of high interest, it that the moon could not retain that position would be a positive nuisance to the astronwith respect to the earth; and even if she omer. How few of its great wonders could, the advantages suggested by Laplace would the heavenly space have revealed to would be more than doubtful. In the tides, us through the veil of an eternal moonlight! we see clearly that it is not her light-giving The most beautiful systems of the double properties alone that mark her usefulness; and multiple stars, with their different lights and her attractive force, which is shown by and motions, would be scarcely noticed. various other phenomena of less obvious, We should never receive delight from the though, perhaps, not less real importance exquisite charms of the many-hued cluster, -such as precession and nutation - would dappled with coloured fires, like the flashbe vastly modified by her removal to nearings of the diamond, the sapphire, and the four times her present distance. In her rela- ruby; nor should we know of the far-remote tively unchanging position, she would be cloud-worlds, with all their surprising shapes far from serving, as she does now, for the of the ring, the sphere, the spindle, the closest determination of the longitude. By spiral, and a thousand indescribable forms, the non-occurrence of eclipses, we should be many of which are already proved by the deprived of most admirable and instructive spectroscope to be no other than what they phenomena. We should never watch in appear to be luminous vapour. wonder the veiling of the lunar disk, nor mark the earth's roundness in her coppery shadow. We should never, and with still more solicitude, observe the sun himself varying, like a mystic day-moon in rapid phase, up to the awe-inspiring moment when he vanishes among the kindung stars; nor should we ever await in astonishment that most enrapturing of celestial sights when, in the annular eclipse, the thin sun-streams flow round on the central darkness, and encircle the pitchy space like a bright setting that lost its gem. Supposing still that the moon could be maintained in the position favoured by Laplace, her disk would And if those mystic glories of the sky would remain unseen, so, also, would the wonders of its darkness. We should have no speculations about the rayless regions, such as stain the brightness of the Milky Way, or set off the splendours of the Southern Cross. The deep gulf in the great nebula of Orion would be as unseen as the marvellous promontories that it divides; and, undiscovered among the brilliant tracts of Scorpio, would remain the dreary aperture of an Avernian blackness, through which we can perceive, as it were, the eternal night of outermost space, whose secrets no telescope has ever penetrated. Our acquaintance with the moon's own appearance would be vastly circumscribed. At such a distance, we should have little pleasure in contemplating the great landscape of half a planet. Thousands of details now plainly enough visible would be only imperfectly or totally unseen; and it is probable that we should never be attracted by such sights as the obscuration of Linné. J. BIRMINGHAM. mutual ignorance between rich and poor, out of which it arises that the latter listen to few at visers out of their own class, and most readily to those who most artfully influence the spirit of class antagonism; that the masters know little of what is passing in the minds of their people, are on their part often narrow and onesided in their views of the rights and feeling of their workmen, and if more enlightened, are powerless to counteract the evil influence; and that both parties can be hurried into a serious struggle with no other necessity than arises from mutual misunderstanding and mutual irritation. It is by no means a healthy symptom of our social state, though one to which we are reconciled by habit, that from all the associations of the workmen for mutual support and assistance in every trade, the masters are, and choose to be, excluded. Beyond the political and social evils which it engenders, this class separation, this caste tendency, has the worst effect on the life and character of both the rich and the poor. Each is withdrawn from a portion of the moral and social influences necessary to the formation and nourishment of a healthy human feeling, and their character is to that extent starved, dwarfed, or distorted. — Macmillan's Magazine. SOCIAL DISINTEGRATION. Regard to history confirms the fears of common sense that a state of national life, in which the moral unity of the nation is broken, — in which the rich and the poor begin to form two separate castes, losing mutual comprehension, mutual sympathy, mutual regard, and becoming to each other as distinct races with separate organization, ideas, interests, -is the sure forerunner, the first commencement, of rapid national decay. It is by bridging the gulf of separation, by re-uniting the severed sympathies, and rekindling_the earnestness of personal goodwill between the estranged orders, iuat we can hope to maintain in vigorous life the common sentiments, the mutual JOHN ANSTER, LL.D., the first translator of affections, which are the breath of national life. "Faust" into English, died last week in DubIt is only by bringing the two classes once more lin, and was buried on Wednesday. He was a into relations of personal kindness and friendly member of the Irish Bar, but never practised. intercourse, by service rendered without patro- In 1837, he received an appointment of small nage and accepted without degradation, that we value from the late Earl of Carlisle, that of can avert the danger of those terrible collisions Registrar of the Court of Admiralty, which between capital and labour (which are the fruit he retained to his death. He also became, in of mutual misconception and irritation, much 1850, Regius Professor of Civil Law in Trimore than of conflicting interests) which, if less nity College, Dublin. The place of Dr. Ansviolent, become daily more formidable, from the ter's birth was Charleville. He wrote poems gigantic proportions assumed by the separate when an undergraduate. Fragments of his organizations in which the labourers are banded translation of the first part of "Faust" aptogether, apart from, and, as it were, in antago-peared in Blackwood's Magazine for June, 1820, nism to their employers. The extent of this social danger was inade plain to careful observers when a hutch in the working of the trades union machinery led to a strike in the iron trade of North Staffordshire. The quarrel was taken up on both sides by distant bodies and rival firms; and we were on the verge of witnessing a social war which would have raged from Birmingham to Newcastle, and in which every iroumaster and every foundryman would have been engaged, closing hundreds of works, and throwing thousands and teus of thousands out of work, merely in consequence of a local squabble. Sucn, and so mighty, are the separate organizations of the labouring class. Ere long it is probable that all the unions of all the trades throughout the empire will be combined in one federal league, which may bring the whole force of the labouring class to bear on any trade dispute. It is impossible not to regard with the gravest anxiety a state of estrangement and and, according to a notice of him published in 1839, immediately attracted the attention of Goethe. The extracts were reprinted fully in England and America, and encouraged him to complete the translation, which appeared as a whole in 1835. In 1837, he published a volume of poetry named " 'Xeniola," which contained, among other pieces, a Prize Ode on the death of the Princess Charlotte, which had procured for him a gold medal. Dr. Anster in later years was a considerable prose contributor to leading magazines. The second part of "Faust" by him, which appeared only a few years ago, has been considered not inferior, as a translation, to the first, though, from the character of the poem, it did not attract anything like the same attention. The members of the Royal Irish Academy, with the Council of which Dr. Anster had a long connection, formed in procession at his funeral. -Examiner, 15th June. Vivian Grey, 8. New Life of Napoleon I. England and France vs. United States 9. William Lloyd Garrison 10. Correspondence POETRY: In the Shadow, 194. Beside the Stile, 223. Rest and Unrest, 254. (Young and Old), 255, ORVILLE COLLEGE. By Mrs. Henry Wood. T. B. Peterson and Brothers, Philadelphia, A DAY OF DOом, and other Poems. 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