326

LUNAB CELESTIAL PHENOMENA.

lightened hemisphere terminated and the dark hemi-sphere began. As night on our earth comes on withstealthy pace, the shades of evening closing in sogradually that we can hardly say when day ends andnight begins, so from the station of the lunar observerthe shading on the earth’s darkened side which showedwhere night was coming on presented no recognizableoutlines. One familiar with the earth and with theways of her inhabitants could not but picture tohimself how, as country after country was carried bythe earth’s rotation into that darkened region, thelabours of men were being drawn towards a close forthe day.

When about a week had passed, the earth hadbecome a half-earth. The shape of the darkened halfof the disc could still be recognized by the ring ofstar-light, which always surrounds her as she is seenfrom the moon, and remains nearly always brightand conspicuous, though sometimes, when many andbright stars are behind the earth, the ring is brighterthan at others. This in fact had been the case whenthe Milky Way , where it crosses Gemini, had beencarried behind the earth, which now, however, hadpassed beyond that region, and was entering theconstellation of the Lion.

The aspect of the earth had in the meanwhilealtered in another respect. The southern polar regionshad been turned more fully than before towards themoon,—more fully than towards the sun.

We may pass, however, from the further con-