LECTURE III.

THE MOON .

“ How like a queen comes forth the lovely moonFrom the slow-opening curtains of the clouds ;

Walking in beauty to her midnight throne ! ”

Croly.

The Moon , although by no means important in size, in somerespects surpasses in interest every other heavenly body. Inthe soft, mellow light of a moonlit summer’s evening thereis a fascination peculiar aud almost indescribable. In theprincipal shadings upon its disc visible to the naked eye wesee the origin of the myth of the old Man and his bundle ofsticks, which is diffused through nearly every savage as wellas every civilized nation ; in the wondrous scene of valley andmountain, of landslip and crag, of cleft and crater, exhibitedin our telescopes, we behold details which would be altogetherinvisible at the vastly greater distance of the nearest of theplanets; in the accurate determination of its exceedingly com-plicated orbit, and of the many irregularities of its motion,the most accomplished mathematician may tax his utmostskill; while in its ever-recurring phases, in its tidal action,in its imagined power over the weather, as well as in otherrespects too numerous to mention, the Moon is closely con-nected with the events and business of everyday life. Surelywe may assume that our readers will join us in feeling aspecial interest in its study.

That study may be most conveniently divided into two parts;the one connected with the theory of the lunar orbit, the otherinvolving the physical observation of the lunar surface. Of

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