THE ANIMATED ORRERY.

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the ground. The boy who holds the card of the sun is stationed on the centralpoint just determined. A gardener’s common reel, with a line, is then fixed inthe place of the sun ; and the boy holding the card of Mercury, is called onto go forward, and trace, with the line—the reel, or sun, being in the centre—the orbit of Mercury, his planet; which he performs from his own sourcesof information: having done this, he is to place himself on any point onthe circle of his orbit, and remain at rest. The bearers of the cards of the otherplanets are then called in turn, in the order in which they stand from the sun,and required severally to describe their own orbits, and take their stations,facing inwards, or towards the sun. A small flag, or banner, is now deliveredto each boy, on which is inscribed the name of the planet he represents.

The director of this living orrery now stations himself, with the spectators ofthe exhibition, a few feet on the outside of the orbit of the most distant planet,Uranus , and on its northern side. By the simple military word of command,Attention, the performers are reduced to silence and readiness to put them-selves in action; and each is desired to place himself on that point of his orbitwhich is exactly between the director’s station and the sun, and facing inwards,or towards the sun; the word of command, To the nest face, is then given,when each person, facing to the right, stands looking towards the nest, and,displaying his banner, remains steady. The orrery, if so it may be called, isnow prepared; it only remains to put it in motion.

Mercury is desired to march steadily and slowly on the line of his orbit,until he has performed one entire revolution and a half, when he will havearrived at the point opposite to the director’s station, where he halts; he isthen asked, in audible tones, simply, what planet he represents; to whichhe answers distinctly : and he is desired to say, by what peculiarities of distance,motions, &c. he is distinguished : these points being answered, he is directedto move on, about twenty paces, and halt, remaining steady for further orders.The next planet, Venus , is then called upon to perform the same operations;and having, in the same manner, passed, what may be termed, his examination,he also moves on about twenty paces, halts and remains. The rest, in theirturn, go through the same ceremony ; and when the last, or most remote planet,has thus passed in review, the orrery may be said to be set. Each member ofit is acquainted with his path, or orbit, and is master*of his portion of the sub-ject ; each is again desired to move round in his orbit, and mark the place ofthe nodes of his planet, which will be presently explained. He marks thesepoints by a staff, and remains at the place.

Now, at a given signal, all the performers step, or, rather, march with a firmand measured pace, in the direction in which they were previously placed, fromthe west towards the east; and the first simple representation of the planetarysystem is complete, and is effected in a manner pleasant to the observer, andinstructive, as well as amusing, to the performers. These arrangements, simpleas they are, repeated at intervals, and changing the distribution of the planetsamong the boys, will fix in the memory clear and sure ideas on the subject,