1752. The SOLAR SYSTEM, according to Copernicus. diftance of Saturn from the fun, will be But from a round calculation, the diftance of each planet from the fun in Engfifh miles, is about The distance of the moon from the earth, is about thirty of the earth's diameters, or 240,000 miles. Its proportion to the earth in magnitude, is as 5 to 258; that is, it is more than fifty times Jefs than the earth. The fun is about a million of times bigger than the earth. The diameters of the fun, the earth, and each of the planets, in English miles, are nearly as follows: Saturn Mars Moon Venus Mercury Sun 67,900 565 their own axis, perform that revolution in the following times. The fun, in fomething more than twenty-five days; Mars, in one day and forty minutes; the Earth, in twenty-three hours fifty-fix minutes, and 4 feconds, which we call a day; and Jupiter in ten hours; the moon revolves about her axis in the fame time that he makes her courfe round the earth, which is near what we call a month. It is very probable, that Mercury and Saturn alfo revolve round their own axes, as all parts of their furfaces cannot otherwife receive the light and heat of the fun, which, in all probability, are as necefary and convenient to them, as we find them B to be to the earth. The certainty of this revolution in the other planets, is proved by the appearance and disappearance of certain spots on their furfaces, which rifing first on one side or edge of the planet's difk, move by degrees to the middle, and fo on till they reach the oppofite edge, where they fet and difappear; and after they have been hid for about the fame fpace of time that they were visible, they again appear to rife in, or near, the fame place as they did at first. Now by reafon of Mercury's nearness to the fun, and of Saturn's great distance from him, no obfervations of this kind have hitherto been made on them, and therefore their diurnal motion, or revolution round their own Daxis, though probable, is not yet abfolutely determined. All thefe planets, both primary and fecondary, being opaque bodies, and re- E ceiving all their light from the fun, as well as making their great revolutions round him, are, for thefe reafons, looked upon as dependants on him, and make up all together, what is called the folar fyf tem. All these planets move one way, from weft to caft; and of the primary planets, F the most remote is the longest in finishing its courfe round the fun. The pe riod of Saturn falls fhort only fixteen days Such of these bodies as revolve round Of the fix primary planets, it hath not been obferved that more than three are attended with fecondaries, moons, or fatellites, viz. the Earth, Jupiter, and Sa Jupiter has four fatellites attending him; the first, or innermost of which performs its revolution in about one day eighteen hours and a half, at a distance from the center of that planet, equal to about 5 femidiameters of Jupiter's G body. The next fatellite revolves round Jupiter in about three days 13 hours, at the diftance from Jupiter of about nine of that planer's femidiameters. The third performs its period nearly in feven days three hours and three quarters, at the dif tance 4 C 566 The SOLAR SYSTEM, according to Copernicus. Dec. Saturn has five fatellites attending him, which perform their periods round him as follow: The innermoft is diftant about A 4 of Saturn's femidiameter, and revolves round him in about 1 day 21 hours. The next is diftant about 5 femidiameters, and makes its period in two days 17 hours. The third is about eight femidiameters diftant, and performs its revolution in near four days twelve hours and a half. The fourth is near 18 femi- B diameters diftant, and moves round Saturn in about 15 days 22 hours. The outermoft is removed to the distance of 56 femidiameters, and makes its revolu tion in about 79 days 7 hours. Befides thefe fatellites, there belongs to Saturn another body of a very fingular kind; this is a hining, broad, and flat ring, which encompaffeth the planet round about, without adhering in any place to its body, But what laws this ring is fubject to, or what ufes it may ferve, are yet unknown. C Befides the planets, there are other bodies which may be faid to belong to the folar fyftem, and are called comets; for, they likewife move round the fun, but D the orbits they move in are fo elliptical, that is to fay, fuch a long oval, that they can be feen by us only in their perihelia, or when they come to that end of their orbit which has the fun for its center. They likewife are opaque fpherical bodies, receiving their light and heat from the fun; and fome of them go E round him at fuch a small diftance, that they must acquire a degree of heat more intenfe than can poffibly by us be imagined or defcribed. The number of them is not known, nor perhaps ever will; but by late obfervations the times of fome of their revolutions have been calculated; and for what we know, fome one of them may put an end to the prefent state of things in this earth; for as they cut or cross the orbit of the earth at least twice, if the earth fhould be in that part of its orbit, or very near it. when the comet croffes, it would occafion a most terrible revolution; and it was computed that the comet which appeared in 1680, came within half the fun's diameter of us, that G is to fay, within 382,150 miles of us. Far beyond this folar fyftem are placed the fixed ftars, at fuch an immenfe diftance, that the beft telescopes reprefent them as points; thefe are called fixed stars, because from all ages they have not F been obferved to change their situation. Hence, fays Mr. Wells, it is ufual to denote the place of any of the intermediate celeftial bodies, by affigning what part of the sphere of the fixed ftars they appear to us to be in, or more properly under. And accordingly it is ufual to diftinguish that tract of the fphere of the fixed fars, under which all the planets move, by the afterifms or conftellations that lie in that tract; which being fancied to reprefent feveral things, are therefore called figns; and because the things reprefented by them are most of them Zodia *, or animals, hence all this tract is filed the Zodiack. Now the orbit wherein the earth performs its annual period (and which the fun feems to move round every year) runs under the very middle of the Zodiack, whence this middle part of the Zodiack is of special note in aftronomy, and is therefore diftinguished by a peculiar name, being called the Ecliptick. This, as well as the whole Zodiack, is divided into twelve parts, diftinguished by the conftellation or fien, to which each part was formerly affigned. The names and characters of thefe figns are as follow: Aries, r Taurus, Libra, Scorpio, m Sagittarius, ↑ From the observations of thofe whe have endeavoured to find the parallax of the earth's orbit, it may be demonftrated that the nearest of the fixed ftars are at leaft 100,000 times farther from us, than we are from the fun. Nay, fo inconceivable is the space betwixt us and them, that aftronomers have computed the diftance of Sirius, or the dog-ftar, which is thought to be the nearest, to be no lefs than 2,200,000,000,000 miles, that is, two billions and two hundred thoufand millions of miles. So that a cannon ball in its fwifteft motion, would be above fix hundred thousand years in travelling to it. If a fpectator was placed as near to any fixed ftar as we are to the fun, that star, would in all probability, appear to him as big as the fun appears to us, and our fun would feem no bigger than a fixed ftar. Since the fun therefore differs in nothing Zodia is a Greek word, fignifying living creatures. from 1752. Terrible Hurricane in CAROLINA. from a fixed ftar, why may not the fixed ftars be reckoned as fo many funs, and every ftar be fuppofed the center to a fyftem of inhabited planets and worlds like ours? For who can conceive, that all thofe noble and majestick globes were only intended as lights and ornaments to this diminutive ball which we inhabit? A We hall conclude with obferving, that the axis of the earth makes a right angle with the plane of its orbit, but the plane of its orbit inclines to, or does not make a right angle with the axis of the fun; confequently, for one half of the year the north pole of the earth must be nearer the fun than the fouth pole, and for the other half of the year, the fouth pole B must be nearer the fun than the north pole. This is the caufe of those different feafons which we call fpring, fummer, autumn, and winter, in all parts of the earth towards the two poles, and the reafon why in the fouthern and northern hemifpheres, thofe feafons are directly oppofite or contrary to each other, being always fummer in one when it is winter in the other, &c. Ο By Letters from Charles-Town, in South- 567 forts of timber, barrels, ftaves, shingles, the wind veered to the E. S. E. S. and At Sullivan's ifland, the peft-houfe was carried away, and of 15 people that were there, 9 were loft; the rest faved themfelves by adhering to fome of the rafters of the houfe when it fell, upon which they were driven athore fome miles beAt fort yond the island, at Hobcaw. Johnfon the barracks were beat down, most of the guns difmounted, and their carriages carried away. At Craven's and Granville's baftions, and the batteries about this town, the cannon were likewife difmounted The Mermaid man of war, which had just gone up to Hobcaw, to heave down, was drove afhore not far from the careening-place. To this is added a long account of fhips, Schooners, fleeps, boats, pettiauguas, fnows, brigantines, &c. that were either wreck'd, dafi'd to pieces, or drove afbore there, and feme into woods, feme into corn fields, and Fothers far into the marshes, on and about James ifland, Wappeo, &c. And after this are the following paragraphs. For about 30 miles round Charles: Town, there is hardly a plantation that has not lost every out houfe upon it.—All our roads are fo filled with trees blown and broke town, that travelling is rendered extremely difficult; and hardly a fence was left ftanding in the town or country. Our lofs in fine timber-trees is almoft incredible; and we have fuffered greatly alfo in the lofs of cattle, theep, hogs, and all kinds of provifion. 4 Cz Capt 568 A LETTER from a LADY. Capt. Dorrington met with a violent ftorm, about 7 leagues to the eastward of this place, on Wednesday laft, that continued till the next afternoon, in which his fhip loft all her masts, fails and rig-' ging, had one of her fides beat in, and five feamen, one negro, with all her boats, &c. wathed overboard. To this we shall add the following extract of a letter from Charles-Town, of Sept. 26. Dec. to disturb that calm I was going to poffefs, the herself muft aufwer for the confequences. And the can avoid 'em no other way, than by granting me the favour the has fo often more than half promis'd me by you her furety. If the still perfifts, her. moft fecret hiftory fhall be no longer A a fecret; and those very perfections she's fo induftrious to conceal, I fhall make no fcruple of publishing to all the world. Bid her hear this, and tremble. B Since my laft, the lofs by the late hurricane appears to be more dreadful than it was formerly reprefented. I shall now only inform you, that James ifland, from whence we ufed to receive all our provi-" fions for this town, is entirely destroyed. It is at prefent impoffible to form any judgment of the damage done to the merchants in this town, or of the lofs fuftained in the country. What with the drought in the fummer that fcorched up all the high land rice, as well as a great deal of the low, and now the hurricane coming upon that which was ftanding, C and ready to be cut down, the crops this year must be very poor. A Letter to the Hon. Mife. LOVELACE, from Mrs JONES, with Extracts from shofe Mifcellanies in Profe and Verfe, we have fometimes entertained our Readers. Alarch 5, 1735. OU've now furpris'd and oblig'd me Y beyond my expectation, a thing not D As to the paffion of love, 'tis a pretty amufement, grant you, for the heart; but when once it gets up into the head, 'tis bitter bad. Not but its effects are different in different conftitutions; tho' perhaps a fpecies of madnefs in all. Its effence is made up of contradictions, and there's nothing fo great, or fo mean that it will not attempt. In the breaft of the hero, 'tis many times an incitement to virtue, or fomething that looks very much like it. In little fouls, it creeps, and fawns, and lies, and betrays. 'Tis well, if among our fex it goes off in rhyming; for if once we can fettle ourselves to write about it, I reckon the danger is over. All that I would advife in fuch circumstances is, not to publish juft in the fit; but wait till the paroxyfm is a little abated, and the patient begins to cool. Not that I am of the opinion of those, who are for driving this, or any of the tender paffions from the human breast. They are all of ufe; and, under proper regulations, have a right to be heard. They fmooth and temper the rough and fiercer ones, (which perhaps are by far the more mischievous of the two) introduce thofe friendly and benign fenfations, which ferve to correct our very virtues; and by relaxing, or very ufual among one's betters, who, 'tis faid, feldom furprife people that way. Indeed you have this in common with other people of quality, that you always raife our expectations very high; but then you generally manage it fo, as if you thought it incumbent upon you to anfwer E foftening the movements we have in com them. How this whimsical notion came into your head, I can't pretend to account for; but this I know, that the ideas I had conceiv'd of you before I had the honour to correfpond with you, were of fuch a nature, that if you did answer them, 'twas more than I expected. I've no other way of acknowledging your last favour, but by fitting down to thank you for it as foon as you answer'd my nonfenfe of February. Why you had Hot that fo foon as 'twas dated, was owing to my ufual ftrength of memory: 1 fat down in a violent hurry to write it, fed it, lock'd it up in my bureau, and forgot it. F Be it known to your provoking friend G behind the curtain, that dangers are not to be trified with, even tho' they are at a distance: That people whofe fenfations are as quick as mine, are not apt to forbur that fince the has begun afresh mon with other machines, pour all the powers of harmony thro' the foul. With 'em, we are fometimes more than human; without 'em, favages. But becaufe I've call'd the paffion of love a fort of madness, I fhall give you Mr. Dryden's fentiments; who never fails of the most mafterly images, whenever he touches this affection. Love is that madness, which all lovers have ; And prudene, of abuse cure so much you A |