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Why there devoid of charitable mind
That blesses, dignifies, endears mankind;
And why (Oh such his imperfections here!)
His virtues intermix'd with vice appear;
Why love and hatred, hope and fear combin'd,
Form the strange picture of his various mind;
Now rash, now prudent, nows evere, now mild;
Though rude, sagacious; though inform'd, a child;
Though haughty, humble; vengeful, yet benign;
Blended appear the mortal and divine.

Though such the ambient's influence on man,
'Tis Heaven, not fate, directs the amazing plan.
Nor think, because the elements conspire
To cherish or extinguish vital fire;

Because they tend to scatter sunshine round,
Or wrap the gloomy soul in night profound,
That all our efforts ineffectual prove,

Reason's blest light, and virtue's heavenly love;
That though disease oft baffles all control,

Which or afflicts the body or the soul.

Yet oft fate yields her formidable rod
To art celestial, and the Delian god.

That though too strong oft proves the tide of fate,
Yet virtue best relieves affliction's weight;

That though our state nor health nor honours grace,
Yet Heaven some good ordains to fill their place.
Some bliss denied the affluent and the great,
Visits the wise and good in humble state:
And, as the seasons turn the varying scene
From warmth to cold, from stormy to serene,
So changeful man is pre-ordain'd to know
In due succession happiness and wo;
And though subjected to the starry train,
The soul on reason's throne asserts her reign:

And though whole hosts her glorious power oppose,
By virtue shielded smiles at all her foes;

Unsullied conscience soothes her latest breath,
And heaven receives her from the arms of death.

ASTRONOMICAL OBSERVATIONS.

WE naturally observe the beginnings and ends of years and months, and other settled portions of time; we note the occurrences which take place as these intervals elapse; and we do this wisely and beneficially, although we can tell but little of time in itself. Yet metaphysicians are tempted to speculate on its nature; while astronomers, and other men of science, define it in its relations to the various subjects which they investigate. God only hath true immortality or eternity; that is to say, "Continuance, in which there grows no difference by the addition of Hereafter unto Now;" whereas other creatures, how noble soever they may be in their nature or their tendencies, have, by reason of their continuș ance, the time of their former continuance lengthened, and the time of their subsequent continuance (at least in the sent state of being) shortened.

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Hence the importance of regarding time in its perpetual current, and hence the most obvious of its definitions, as it has been very accurately expressed by Hooker, in the following terms: "Time, considered in itself, is but the flux of that very instant wherein the motion of the heaven began ; being coupled with other things, it is the quantity of their continuance measured by the distance of two instants. As the time of a man is the man's continuance from the instant of his first breath, till the instant of his last gasp."-Thus time serves for the measure of other things, while itself is measured by means of motion and number. It is not, however, an effect of motion, nor is it a result of number; for it would be

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easy to conceive of time, though motion and number were not. Time, regarded as the quantity of continuance, may as well be imagined in reference to a single thing at rest, as to a multitude in motion. Motion, however, is necessary to measure and compare the portions of duration; for to say accurately how long or how short the continuance of a thing may be, without a reference to motion, were impossible. Thus the motion of the sand in a glass has served to mark the hour; of the shadow on a dial, to mark the returns of noon, or the measure of a day; that of the moon to define a lunation or month; and that of the sun through the ecliptic to fix the terms of the year. And thus much may suffice to say of time in relation to the present subject; for more on time in general, we refer to the Pantologists and Lexicographers.

In the time of Numa Pompilius, the month of January, which was then, as well as now, the first in the year, commenced at the winter solstice, or the time when the Sun entered Capricorn; with us, at the present period, January commences ten days after the Sun's apparent ingress into that sign; of course the days are not now at the shortest, but have lengthened about four minutes since the shortest day. Taking intervals of ten days through the month, the times of the Sun rising and setting, at London, will be

Saturday, 1st. Sun rise 8h. 5m. Sun set 3h. 55m.

Tuesday, 11th.
Friday, 21st.

7h. 56m.
7h. 44m.

4h. 4m.

4h. 16m.

Equation of Time.-This is the adjustment of the difference of time, as shewn by a well-regulated clock and a true sun-dial. A good clock measures that equable time which the rotation of the earth on its axis exhibits; whereas the dial measures time by the apparent motion of the sun, which from a cause, hereafter to be explained, is subject to variation: equal, or true time, is measured by an accurate clock; apparent time by the dial. To find true time, we must add or subtract, as the

case may require; a certain number of minutes or seconds to apparent time, which is marked by the dial. The following table will show what is to be added for every fifth day of the the month of January:

Saturday, Jan. 1st. to the time on the dial, add 3m. 48sec.

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That is, when it is 12 o'clock on the dial it must on the 1st of January be 3m. 48sec. after 12 by the clock, which is true time. The Sun will enter Aquarius on the 20th day, at 34m. past 2 o'clock in the afternoon.

The Moon will be in the full on Thursday, the 6th day, at 8m. past 7 in the morning; and the ensuing New Moon will occur on Friday, the 21st day, at 13m. past 2 in the morning. The times of the Moon's rising for the first 5 days after she is in the full, will be as follows: viz.

Jan. 7th, 5h. 44m. P. M.

Jan. 9th, 8h. 14m. P.M.

Jan. 8th, 7h. Om. P. M.

Jan. 10th, 9h. 27m. P.M.

Jan. 11th, 10h. 40m. P. M.

They who travel at night, will do well to bear in mind, that this luminary gives no useful light till nearly an hour after she has arisen.

There will be a solar eclipse on the 21st day; that is, at the time of the New Moon; but it will not be visible in England,

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On the 1st day of this month the Moon will eclipse the. star marked μ ceti, in astronomical catalogues. The immersion will occur at 17m. past 9 in the evening, when the star will be 11 north of theMoon's centre, and the emersion at 12m. past 10, the star being then 9' north of the centre of that luminary.

Another star, namely, (II, will be eclipsed by the Moon on the 6th day. The immersion will take place at 41m. past 2 in the morning, the emersion at 15m. past 3 ; in both cases the star will be about 14' north of the Moon's centre.

The Moon will likewise eclipse a third star, viz. 2 § ceti on the 28th. The time of immersion will be 31m. past 8 o'clock in the evening, that of emersion 32m. past 9; in the former case the star will be 6', in the latter 7' south of the Moon's centre.

Mercury will appear at his greatest elongation from the Sun on the 2d day, and Saturn will be in conjunction with that luminary on the 12th.

The astronomical observer may be informed, that eclipses of Jupiter's first satellite will be visible at the following times, viz. the immersions on the

2d day at 12m. past 6 in the morning.

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COMETS are a class of celestial bodies which appear occasionally in the heavens. They exhibit no visible or well-defined disk, but shine with a pale and cloudy light, accompanied with a tail, or train, turned from the sun. They are found in every part of the heavens, moving in all directions. When examined through a good telescope, a comet may be said to resemble a mass of aqueous vapours, encircling an opaque

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