portant will be found in Grant's History, to which the reader is referred.

During the visibility of the great comet of 1858, in the autumn of that year, the question was mooted whether the Bible contained any reference to these objects: the following passages were adduced in support of the idea :

1. In Leviticus xvii. 7 it is said, "They shall no more offer their sacrifices unto Seirim," or Shoirim, which is rendered in the authorised version "devils," and in other versions "goats." We are informed by Maimonides that the Zabian astrologers worshipped these seirim, which seems to confirm the idea of their being astral bodies.

2. In Isaiah xiv. 12 we find, "How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations! For thou hast said in thy heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God." In this passage a certain Hillel is said to have fallen from heaven; but it is quite unknown who or what this Hillel was. Some interpreters derive the word from Hebrew verbs signifying to glory, boast, agitate, howl, &c. Hillel may therefore signify a comet, for it answers to the ideas of brightness, swift motion, and calamity. Comets may be said, in a peculiar sense, to fall from heaven on account of the great rapidity of their motions; they may be called "sons of the morning" on account of their great brightness; they may be said, to some extent anyhow, to weaken nations, because of the terror they inspire; they also ascend and traverse the heavens with great rapidity, and moreover, often by their lustre, overpower the "stars of God."

3. In the General Epistle of S. Jude, verse 13, certain impious impostors are compared to "wandering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness for an æon [age]." In all probability the passage may be taken to refer to comets'.

4. The last quotation which I make is from the Revelation of S. John the Divine, xii. 3:-" There appeared another wonder in

See Alford's New Test. for English Readers. In loco.

heaven; and behold a great red dragon,

and his tail

drew the third part of the stars of heaven." Satan is here likened to a comet, because a comet resembles a dragon (or serpent) in form, and its tail frequently does compass or take hold of the stars.

These ideas are given for what they are worth, which is probably not much.

CHAPTER VI.

A CATALOGUE OF ALL THE COMETS WHOSE ORBITS HAVE
HITHERTO BEEN COMPUTED.

A NEW comet having been discovered, the first thing that an

astronomer does is to obtain 3 observations of it, whereby he may compute the elements of the orbit. He then examines a catalogue of comets to see if he can identify the newly-found stranger with any that have been before observed. The value of a complete catalogue is therefore obvious; and as nothing of the kind has, as far as I am aware, been published for some years, I have been led to compile a new one.

In the preparation of the following list, care has been taken that only the most reliable orbits that were to be obtained should be inserted, the general rule being to prefer the one which was derived from the longest arc, other things being satisfactory. Among the authorities consulted may be mentioned Pingré, Hussey, Olbers, Cooper, Hind, Arago, Galle, and others.

From the publications of the Royal Astronomical Society of London, and from the Astronomische Nachrichten, much valuable information has also been obtained.

The Epoch of perihelion passage is expressed in Greenwich mean time, N.S., since 1582.

The periods assigned in the column of " Duration of Visibility" are subject to much uncertainty, more especially in the case of the ancient comets.

1. It is said to have separated into two parts.

3. It had a short but brilliant tail.

4. An apparition of Halley's comet (?), mentioned by Dion Cassius as having been suspended over Rome previous to the death of Agrippa.

5. An apparition of Halley's comet (?). It had a tail 8° long.

6. An apparition of Halley's comet.

9. Elements somewhat doubtful. It had a tail 30° long.

11. Undoubtedly an apparition of Halley's comet.

12. It had a tail 10 feet long!!

13. A mean orbit. It had a tail 10° long.

14. Elements very reliable. On Sept. 8 it had a tail 40° long. 15. Elements very uncertain.

18. Tolerably trustworthy. The maximum length of the tail was 80°, but it dwindled down to 30° in a fortnight.

20. Probably an apparition of Halley's comet. Mentioned by several Saxon writers. 21. These elements appear to have escaped the notice of recent cometographers, though given by Pingré; but has it been confounded with the following?

22. Possibly an apparition of Halley's comet. This is the famous object which created such universal dread throughout Europe in 1066. In England it was looked upon as a presage of the success of the Norman invasion.

23. Elements satisfactory.

24. A tail 50° long was seen in China, and much bifurcated.