ASTRONOMICAL NOTICES. not repine, mother; it is better for me to go, than to live and lose my religion." When the closing scene actually came, his leader asked him, "Is Jesus precious ?" To which he replied, "Yes." The further question was put, "Is Jesus going to take you, Alfred?" He said, "Yes; and I will watch for your coming." Seeing his mother deeply affected, he asked his father what was the matter. His father told him that he was dying; calmly said, “Is this dying? I did and he 127 not know that dying was so easy;" and then added, "I shall soon be home." Thus his happy spirit escaped from its frail tenement to the realms of light, to join in the anthem of the redeemed, "Unto Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His own blood, and hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father; to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen." He died on May 4th, 1864, in the twentieth year of his age, Astronomical Notices. FOR APRIL, 1867. BY A. GRAHAM, ESQ. RISING AND SETTING OF THE SUN AND PLANETS FOR GREENWICH. ...... April 8th April 1st May 1st 251,710 .239,576 SUN'S DISTANCES FROM THE EARTH. Increase of distance for the month.. On the 1st, at 11h. in the evening, the Sun will be at his mean distance from the Earth. This distance we have assumed to be 91,677,410 miles, in estimating the intervals between the planets, which all depend upon this as their units. He will pass this month through the constellation Aries. In former ages the vernal equinoctial point was where the Sun enters this constellation, now it has fallen back into Pisces; so that there is some little confusion in calling it the first point of Aries, a name which was given when the Sun actually entered this constellation in crossing the equator northward. It will be exceedingly interesting, on the mornings of the 1st, 2d, and 3d, a little before half-past four, to watch the rising of Venus and Jupiter nearly at the 128 TABULAR RECORD OF MORTALITY. same moment; and, on the first of these occasions, at a distance asunder of less than a degree. The Moon, then a thin crescent, will rise shortly before the planets on the 1st. The diameter of Jupiter at that time is thirty seconds; that of Venus seventeen seconds; Jupiter, as usual, slightly oval; Venus gibbous. On the morning of the 4th, the distance of Venus from the Earth will be equal to the mean distance of the Sun; that of Jupiter nearly six times this distance. Jupiter will be near the Moon`again on the morning of the 29th. On the morning of the 16th Venus will be very close to the fifth magnitude star in Aquarius, marked by the Greek letter phi. The apparent motion of Mercury among the fixed stars will be westward, or retrograde, till the 8th; afterwards eastward, or direct. On the same day, at noon, it crosses the Ecliptic, going southward. On the 18th it will be at its greatest distance from the Sun, fortythree millions of miles; and on the 23d at its greatest western elongation from the Sun, twenty-seven degrees. On the 14th Mars will be, apparently, in the continuation of a line drawn from Castor through Pollux. On the morning of the 18th it will be at its greatest distance from the Sun, one hundred and fifty-two millions of miles. The extreme major axis of Saturn's ring is now forty-two seconds, its minor axis sixteen seconds; the diameter of the globe is seventeen seconds. The Moon will pass over Aldebaran on the 8th. The star disappears at 2h. 9m., and re-appears at 3h. 9m., in the afternoon. The attention paid to the August and November meteors has brought out several important facts with regard to these bodies. One is that they are groups of small planets revolving in very eccentric orbits round the Sun. In the case of the November meteors the length of the mean orbit is ten times the diameter of the Earth's orbit; they approach nearer to the Sun than we do, and again recede to twenty times our distance from the Sun: this gives a period of about thirty-three years; a little more than that of the planet Saturn. Another remarkable circumstance is, that the orbit of the third Comet of 1862 is nearly coincident with the mean orbit of the August meteors; so that it may be regarded as belonging to that group; and, in like manner, that the first Comet of 1866 seems to belong to the November meteors. Should these results be confirmed, we are brought a step nearer to the discovery of the material of which Comets are composed. As the voyager from England to the Mediterranean passes up the Strait of Gibraltar, let him use well his opportunity of gazing on the shores of two continents, Europe and Africa. Let him admire the vine-clad hills of Spain, and the grand mountains of Barbary, and then describe, if he can, the beauty and majesty of the prospects. He leaves, on the right hand, the Bay of Tangier, where, many ages ago, a Saracen chief was contriving, day and night, how he might accomplish the conquest of Andalusia and the destruction of Christianity. Next, on his left, a low promontory-with a town on it, and a castle-shoots out from the Spanish mainland; and he must know that at this place a Berber, or African barbarian, called Tarif, landed some five hundred troops, horse and foot, by way of experiment, rode over the hills, and carried back to Tangier tidings that this pleasant land was accessible to the soldiers of the Prophet. Hence the place is called Tarifa. By this time Gibraltar heaves in sight. First of all the low tongue of land called Europa Point, and said to be the southernmost ground of Europe, slides out on the horizon; and quickly the Rock VOL. XIII.-Second Series.-MAY, 1867. I 130: GIBRALTAR. But itself swells forward, and soon stands apart, lofty and solemn, moving away from the Spanish shore, and seems in shape like a vast lion couchant, sitting on the sea, due north and south, with its head erect and watchful towards the realm of St. Ferdinand, and its tail quiet on the waves. It was on that strip of land, known as Europa Point, that, soon after the visit of Tarif the Berber, the Saracen captain Tárek landed with a strong force, without any opposition, and took possession of the mountain-rock; which thenceforth loses its Latin name of Calpe, (one of the "pillars of Hercules,") and takes that of the invader, Gibel-al-Tárek, the mountain of Tárek, shortened into the Spanish Gibr-al-tár. The town is terraced up the steep, looking cheerful and well built, as if copied after England; while toward "the north front a square old Moorish tower stands witness to the barbaric strength with which the Mohammedans for many ages held possession of "the Rock," even after they had been conquered and expelled from Spain. Close down to the sea an unbroken line of batteries and fortifications runs round the base of Gibraltar; "as the halo," to borrow an Arab similitude, "surrounds the crescent moon." these fortifications are strong beyond the strongest that were known, even a few years ago; and other formidable, yet lowbuilt batteries, planted above the town, look down over it in defiance of any enemy that might bring his ships into the bay. And this reminds us that the most ancient account of the use of artillery in Europe tells of its employment here, at a siege of Algeciras, in the year 1342, when the explosions of gunpowder burst from Spanish ships, to the amazement and terror of the Moors; and the like was repeated on a larger scale at the seventh siege, said to have been sustained by Gibraltar, in 1436. By that time the "thunder-machines were common. Nowhere in the world can we suppose that the scourge of war has lashed its victims oftener, or more severely, than around this famous Rock of Gibraltar, until battle reached its highest pitch of fury in the memorable siege which ended on February 2d, 1783, after a terrific but triumphant conflict of three years and seven months with the combined forces of France and Spain. But the military and political history of Gibraltar must be sought elsewhere. This is the oldest of Wesleyan Missionary Stations. Nine years after the siege, a few pious soldiers, of the 46th, 51st, and 61st regiments, then stationed in the garrison, hired a room at a guinea a month, where several of the inhabitants joined them; and, under the preaching and exhortations of two or three of these devoted men, many, both soldiers and inhabitants, were converted to God. Seamen, also, mingled in their meetings, and several from His Majesty's ships "Terpsichore" and "Hector" are mentioned among those who joined the flock. One of the glories of that infant Church was persecution; but the brave men who were willing to die for their country, were also willing to suffer for Christ's sake, as they often did; until, at length, a court-martial, held in June, 1803, sentenced five of them to receive five hundred lashes each, for having been present at a prayer-meeting, contrary to regimental orders. To execute that sentence, even could life endure half of it, would have been downright murder; but two of them, being non-commissioned officers, were "reduced," the same evening, and actually did receive two hundred lashes each. The afflicted congregation felt the need of a Minister to be at their head, and obtain for them some recognition in the garrison, or, on their behalf, seek protection from England. They, therefore, after a few months, sent home a petition to be presented to the Conference. In 1804 the Rev. James M'Mullen was accordingly appointed to Gibraltar, and landed in the month of September, during the raging of an epidemic fever. He and Mrs. M'Mullen caught the fever, and, after a few days, both died, leaving an infant-daughter to the care of a good man and his wife, who, having nursed the parents to the hazard of their own lives, took care of their orphan until she could be conveyed to her friends in England. There she lived to become the wife of a Wesleyan Minister, and mother of the Rev. James H. Rigg, D.D. The Conference of 1807 repeated the trial by the appointment of another Minister, who found that the work of God had outlived its enemies, and that the meek endurance of a few faithful men had done much to conciliate the respect of the inhabitants in general. A small piece of ground was made over to the Mission by Letters Patent under sanction of the Crown, and a humble place of worship, called Providence Chapel, was built, and dedicated to the worship of Almighty God in 1811. In 1834 this building was taken down, and one much larger and more commodious erected in its stead, with a comfortable Missionhouse. The Minister who was in charge of this Mission from January, 1832, to July, 1842, had the happiness of witnessing important changes. Within a month after his arrival a Spanish congregation was, for the first time, assembled publicly. He had also the satisfaction of founding schools, for boys and girls, as well as adult evening-schools, both in the north and south of Gibraltar. The former still flourish. On occasion of the Centenary celebration of 1839, not fewer than four hundred Spanish children were led in procession to the neutral ground, -a flat strip of sandy land which unites Gibraltar to Spain,-accompanied by nearly all the native population of the town; and, after pleasant entertainment and a solemn address in their own language, marched back again, amidst the ringing acclamations of the people. He succeeded in establishing class-meetings for Spanish converts, and in furnishing them with other means of grace; and thus formed a fully organized Spanish department of the Mission, which has continued ever since. Having found the Press under prohibition as to writings relating to religion, whether large or small, he obtained freedom for it, and left it free, after having used it largely for not less than seven years, for the benefit of Spain and Spanish America, He was enabled, by the grace and help of God, to extend Missionary operations |