i
AH what could be the matter. In u fw moment, when Hi - 1
HtmW we I.a.l recovered from our fear, ve saw the light disap-
M&-$ :,r- r..i.iKi-K ntcrnS. we feund hole In the ground.1 W 'W .. -
TO&W in it a hall of light. Wo retired to a little distance. 1 lt
WXWWW '-a exhalations or .-tars which went out without kvj .
SWCfc iol,o. Wo .turned after a li.tio and found in tho hole, Ah. -''
c lu't stone wo could hardy handle. This, on the , text "
fViSlB8 :Tr.1 day. wo taw look, d like a pi-co of iron. All ttight It
;?$P453 " W?l'U rained Mar-. We saw m fall to the ground, as thor
" ' to he ,Mi..,.lshcd while vet hh;h -P."
Sel mm " '' -. ''" "'.v one known to have reached
' V v f$Z$rt$X I '. -l.V '(..net. there
' V; 1-1 "f "f '''" showing Filch
-felife $$R- ",,l,s" fmm ,0,1,r!,,",i,m i,f,or Kroat
tpmmsmsaUK astronomers announce ;!'' ' A--sott3tea.,
Tft that Hallcy's comet ia ap- SfU -'i' WtW ' I -
! proaohlnB the cah at the rate ,f a million SM.sMm " 1
! .niloH a day. A9 Ilallcy'a i, tho mo8t .plea-
& ! dldly attractive (otherwise the most alarming) of all iW'' M T "SV-
isXOBBOiBrt our regular comets, they add that wo need not fear riV Vv V'Dvb mVvftiSti
fyN I that It will strike the earth, because It will not come 1-
il&m elH,er tons than 13.000.oou miles. A&vV;; . 4,? fl
(te: This is tho Kclentlfic Kchcdule, hut that does not ; - ,. . V ' l-4g
I 169 5 awo on the approach fc-fov, K,k:mM 1m
lL j of our mKt remark- MP3JES?822ITOH!TO:OT? -A- ' M'mN
feTJi , ablo comet, from as!:- 'aVf-- 0)4i cr ' '11
feSuaailsdl son it loaves the BcleR. ; :.M,-.rf,r,;- ::: -M:i : VT" . A .
l::-"-'f'v- 'Vf:tv:r:fc7fv4f.-;- ; V s U
v;v.a , . fc i
I:,, i-vv ? v ... ': t ! .' x W- I II
' . - .v f -. .. - (' . v.or .. - I "H . '. . : -.- .,- .... . ..;
f H Ti "i UTL. y
CJ
J
lilie seherj.'ile, as I'iela's co:att did
when it did the most remarkable
tliiiiR thus for known in the history
of tho solar system since men have
bcRiin to watch tho n):y. That is.
alter coming hack over and over on
schedule time, until it was supposed
to he as regular r.s the earth itself, it
t-plit In two, underwent liaal ship
wreck Fomoivhcrc in tho heavens, and
according to the last supposed to be
known of it, fell on earth several hun
dred Miles tioulhoast of Kl I'aso, Tex.
The probability that this was tho
last of that comet is conceded by
such cautious astronomers as Prof.
Young or Princeton. It Is an authen
tic iccord. valued because it is about
as near tho history of Uiela's comet
as we will ever get. U is certainly
lost, and it in thought that we have
the last trace or it on earth now in a lump of nickel-iron vhi. h fell in Mexico,
when supjiosed frapnier.ts of the lost comet (called "Hielids" after tho as
tronomer, P.iela, who discovered it) were being watched for and expected to
fall In a shower somewhere en earth, if they were not burned to vapor by
heat from friction as they were being whirled through the earths atmosphere
in falling. Although Ilalley's comet has been coming hack regularly every
7(i or 77 years since it b: supposed to have appeared with Its tail lillim,- the
' ':'::.. :'.
APPEARED t"
i II i
Jfio "sr w L-f-cfl
I
I
I I. '.
.1. . I K. iJ- .
iMiiS-i''!!
'f!t
3r V: ft
"11 ti.'.-i. . I , v i'''BniIt;M. ill- :ut, ... t( -fi Sc:-
j
'.I'll
w' A bBirUD'cf385
JUPPQStD FRMrlltiT
OFWELffS COMET
AMQFAtl SH0HM COURSE OF MLLLYiS COMET JUHJHQ 909 A090
sky bofore ti e fall of Jerusalem, ft may end
Jinally jih licla'u comet did, falling In a star
shower cm earth, or on gome other planet, or
Into the mn, or scattering through space
around the sun In masses perhaps of nickel
iron, unseen on earth, unless tho earth cap
tures them out of space and sets them blazing
through the sky as they fall.
Surposo wo wero to capture Ilalley's comet
and It were really to fall, what would become
of tho earth or of the comet?
That Is a fair question for all who wish to
keep a proper scientific awo of our finest reg
ular comet. It may offer something to take
the place of tho unscientific awe which used
to soud thousands to their knees, remember
ing their sins and praying for pardon as soon
as Ilalley's comet began to spread its magnifi
cent tall across tho sky. In other words. It
made tbem try to think, which was. no doubt,
the best thing a comet could do for uem.
Another Important question Is whether Ilal
ley's comet will bring its magnificent tall hack
with It, restored to Its ancient and awful
splendor. If It does not, tho world, learned
and unlearned, will be disappointed, for a
cotnet without a tall Is not nwful or sublime
enough to -bo worth growing cither enthusias
tic or repentant over. We cannot tell about
. the tall. It may como back with the comet,
reduced SO per cent., or it may finally bo lost
altogether or Increased back to awful mngnill
ceneo. -dreaming across the sky In such a
spectacle as can he hoped for on earth only
once hi n lifetime.
If It recovers its tall in Its full historic
splendor, Ilalley's will be too tnngelllcent a
comet to be lost, according to our ways of
looking at comets. It ls not a third ruto as
tronomer's comet, like Nlola's, hut a comet for
everybody, with all mankind Interested In It.
It may set all tho gongs in Asia beating while
wo are watching it through telescopes. Mil
lions who do not know enough to bo fright
ened at the idea of Its striking tho earth may
find It awful enough to make them try hard
to think, with results which, while they last,
may seem to them tho most awful they ever
felt in their lives.
While all who are Intelligently interested
In comets will want Ilalley's back regularly,
tail nnd all, as something to think about, there
Is a chance that It will lose Its tall and also
a chance, very renioto now, that it tuny bo
shipwrecked finally and lost In space. It Is a
"chance" only until tho law Is learned. The
chance Is worth discussing only in tho hope
of learning more of the law. Can a comet
lawfully get out of its regular path and be
pulled down finally by tho inrth or some other
planet? T1int is a question of law and as' far
as we have learned the law the answer is that
It can.
Wo do not know much yet about the law.
All we are beginning to' Arid .out' dates from
the night In January. 1S4C. when Prof. Challls
looked through his telescopo at the Cambridge
observatory nnd could not believe his eyes.
The spectacle he saw In the heavens was too
astonishing to believe. It waft Mela's comet
split Into two distinct comets. Such a thing
had never bren heard of or imagined ns pos
sible, lint in some wny It had actually oc
curred. Had tho cornet xploded by Its own
forces? Had It como In reach of the attrac
tion of one of tho planrU nnd been pulled
npnrt? What must become of a comet after
being thus split til pieces? Could it como
within range of the earth and be captured and
pulled down to the surface? If so. would it
jar tho earth in its orbit or set the planet
on fire?
All vc will ever have In the way of a final
answer to these questions us they belong to
the complete and final loss of Iliela's comet
is given officially now In the records of Mex
ico In the statement recorded by Senor Jose
A. y Honilla, director of the nstronomical ob
servatory in the state of Zacatecas. In No
vember, 18Sr, It was supposed that between
the twenty-fourth and twenty-ninth of the
month the earth would pass in spaco through
or near tho fragments left by Klola'B comet.
As they were then called "Dlelids," it had
been concluded that they were a swarm of
hundreds of thousands or perhaps of mil
lions of small masses? of meteoric matter, per
haps weighing from an ounce up to a ton or
moro. It was feared that If the enrth passed
through them and drew them to the surfaco In
daylight they would not be seen at all, but
would either burn up in gas or else fall In a
few scattering stones on distant parts of the
earth. This may have occurred in other
places, but on a ranch near Mazapil, In tho
state of Zacatecas, one of them (or a mass of
nickel-Iron belonging to some group of tho
same kind) was seen to fall and recovered at
once by the owner of the ranch, who mado the
deposition taken down in Spanish by Senor
rtonllla and translated by William Karl Hid
den, to closo the last chnpter In the story of
Iliela's lost comet:
"It was about 7 o'clock on tho night of No
vember 27 (188u)." said the ranchman In his
deposition, "when I went out to the corral to
feed the horses. Suddenly I heard a loud, sir.
ring noise, exactly ns though something red
hot was being plunged Into cold water and al
most Instantly there followed a somewhat
loud thud. At once the corral was covered
with a phosphorescent light, while suspended
In tho air were small, luminous sparks, as
though from a rocket, I had not recovered
from my surprint; before I saw this luminous
ulr disappear hi J thero remained on the
ground only stu b a 1 1 li t as Is made when a
match Is rubbed. A number of people camo
heat as the telescope shows in ft
much larger way on tho face of the
moon.
As this was considered the most
distinguished visitor that had ever
reached the earth from Infinite space.
It was presented ns a mark of his
distinguished consideration by Prof.
Ilonilla to William Karl Hidden, as
one of the most distinguished Ameri
can mineralogists, who was also an
authority on meteors nnd meteorlu
minerals. Analysis showed that It
was 91.26 per cent, iron, 7.81 per
cent nickel, C'l-luO per cent, cobalt.
:;o-)00 per cent, phosphorus, with
traces of sulphur, carbon nnd chlorine. Mr.
Hidden wrote its history in the American Jour
nal of Science. In tho century Magazine of
August. 1 hS.1. ho answered the question, "Is
It a piece of n comet?" by summing up the
evidence in connection with tho known history
of Iliela's lost comet, since It split in nnd
returned as two comets in 1 S52. to disappear
finally in what were supposed to bo a swarm
of "hielids.
"At the time of tho fall of this meteorlto"
(in Mexico), Hidden writes, "it was 10 hours
after the maximum number of meteors was ob
served. Tho earth was meeting with only tho
stragglers of the train. It cannot be doubted
that the cosniicnl dust proceeding from tho
disintegration of Iliela's cornet wholly envel
oped the earth and was seen as meteors from
every part of it. Such was the magnificence
of tho celestial phenomena in some parts of
the eastern continent that some people be
lieved there would be no moro stars left la
tho sky."
Iliela's comet had returned regularly In a
period of a little less than seven yeads until it
underwent complete shipwreck In the heavens.
No one ever expects to see It again. Tho end.
as far as known, Is this star shower In tho
night the Honilla hlelld was picked up In Ma
zapil, to give us the best knowledge we Ajve
of what may be expected when a comet falls.
Iliela's lost comet does not compare with
Ilalley's, which must havo billions of stones
or small and largo masses of matter, probably
nickel-Iron, In Its magnificent head. If It wcra
shipwrecked by Jupiter, by the earth or by
any other planet, these, If they were drawn
close enough by the planet to break the hold
the sun haB on them, may do a number of
interesting things.
They might revolve around the earth at a
distance, collecting In such a ring ns that of
Saturn, which Is supposed to ho composed of
an Infinite number of such stones, or they
might whirl closer and closer In revolving
around it until finally the largest of them,
which do not burn up In the atmosphere by
friction, must fall as this hlelld fell in Mox.
iro. The hopo of getting n beautiful earth
ring, such as that of Saturn's, by capturing
comcN, Is very small. If only because comets
have not matter enough in them to ruako It.
1 "
tJtTl' Yd' MM;tily hh; ntl tutrnt z
slid, I 1 rlorm ile til met
Wld ilc piliir !r;Hlii'h twlnkun" w'T
li:en y ' nim'.'H yn' f.rf,
but 1 w nun ler o il yo', Mliitifh. rc m
il.iy yn'll l:i v ti r t;ilk
'Itniil '! w!ii i's 1 ti why i'n whikf" hte
ilifYunt iijH yn' walk.
Kn yn" Lei I' ll In- u-llilnklrt' iri yn?
K"lii' f. r trr My
l er iley yn" on dr prng'sm 41 J
JiiIkiiiIiiI I my !
Kn It's wat4i rn prnj
In ile nnrri r way
(Ain't lilt so')
I'i r 1.1 y sot yu en do ini:'n n 4
J'i!,;inliil liiiy.
l)i V'n it lir:ip n' things yo's iti" 4.tb nt
l lllltl'll'il up will clnulit
Kn yn' projleh mistily Hian'lww. HCt
tn' llilnk yn' uln'l fo'inil out.
Hi y's 11 hit nil low-down me-caMftii fci-
rii il iiiidi Iini'iilli yo' litil
It 11 1 yo' i . hi yo' Hlnn'-up rolli n "
Will. Il-.'ll-rlllllll Will pl'lil",
tint He neali-s ilontr linlil no rnJ"
when il... I.uw.i linil.1 &C K
wi l:;li -
'.n iley i;ot yo' cm l pri)K'JJ Ifcr in
J. ilcml.il. liny.
O, y" Nlirrp ilat rlri.f '
Klivl ile tvirrer way
illit '. in linliil, HrnHi-h'.
I'i r ley unt i " mi el'j iiroR'air J
Jeii:inl:it Imy.
pej 'll bo ?liii;iii', iley'll ti" f,H'.r V.'n", Hir'lf
lie loin nil Itei pln' mill,
Hut iluli won't lie it- cllsplaJnln. Vr sV
Holler i:iy yo' Mil.
Kn yo' riiln't he Hi; (n saw k.tm JKy
uli ip yu' to yo' oniil
Kn iley p'ltit o' to tie nmnbh Ail 4ty
Kivn o' on ile lii roll,
Ho yo" I11U1I1 lie M-ttiinltlri' what y"
f r ti r k:i y
Fi r 'lev (;ot yo' on cP: pros' f
Je,l;mliil I M V.
Kn vo' In Iti li f.lsy
In ile iiinnr way
(Allien! H.iy on!)
Ti r iliy i,Mt yu' on ile prfK'a.'i fer
Jiili;nilnt Hay!
' -
He Cot It.
"And so Ilalley's cornet h;M bwwi
traveling, as you see, for lb in.'.t ft
years or more, In tho outer icf. smL
Is now within tho field of otK-cnwAk
of the largest telescope," mj lr
professor, "it Is liriO.OOO.OOO crti
from the earth, but next spring fct wtft
be much closer, and wo ajstiriirwiiy
some interesting discoveries as t
attraction or gravity."
"As to what, professor?" ass Mn
beauteous damsclf, sleepily.
"The a! traction or gravity."
"Why, has gravity any atUauti?
"Oh, yes. You see, Miss Im?rr? "
"It hasn't any attraction far .
Soon the professor bids bre flaunt
by, mentally deciding to mtXa 1Vm
calls hereafter upon Miss OWcfrF, H
teacher of psychology.
Fiendish Revenge.
With a cold, calculating smtl k
brutal husband enters bis vr
boudoir In response to her sum mom.
"So you want me to hook yor.r ins
for yon, do you? Listen, wanMaf
and his face takes on a strangvljr m
Ister expression. "You've sai.l a rtf
many things ubcut me that Kw
rankled In my hosoin, and juat Buym
ruled mo with a rod of Iron. Bvt rm
lime has come at last. Know vffc::
I'm going to do? I'm going t tr
myself this evening, and I'm KiTR
leave you here to hook your -is"
ir you can!"
With a demoniac peal of IwucSinrlut
ls gone, leaving a shuddering. nwik,
helpless woman crumpled la nv
beside her dressing table.
No Fatalities.
"Although he knew 1 was
says our friend with the long hauraaj
thick eyeglasses, "he burst rtcflt w
upon mo and my ideas went Ut mnW
ereens." "Too bad," we commiserate?.
"Yes, I told him he had wrcl uj
train of thought, nnd he callomij- cuU
1 needn't worry as the Inns rarrhtt
no passengers."
Accommodating.
"Have you any mosqullnenf" 4.
he guest of the clerk at the MKnrs
hotel.
"Hoy!" calls the clerk, arfl'f.miiat..
dly. 'Take somo mosiiiiltnrs t (m.
Mr. C.llinpton's room at once. Snrry
on have been to nny Inconvirreanv
lr."