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About The west shore. (Portland, Or.) 1875-1891 | View Entire Issue (April 1, 1879)
120 THE WEST SHORE. April, 1879. ........ I.M . i.... . ... PUBPOSK Tim w orld )m never been without iU ( 'I'm, and Jual MM it i having a eurfeit uf thaw ill foreboding prophets. Sometimes th i.la n( evil ntnaii rme forth ti. raat the world hnwiMi 111 tha name ( science, ami aotiiiitiiiiaa 111 tlm character ol biblical interprc tara. Aa many aa three or (our tiinaa within thr recollection l thoee now living tha Millar ilea or Kacou.l Adfeulisla have Hied the time Inr the wi.rM'a dual dcelructiun. their nrcd lioiii being I. mi "I Uk.ii the peculiar cxpueitiomi giveu ol varn.ui pssssgc 111 Scripture. Iweuty yean sg" lha paat wiutar tha apearaiice of a timet maim. .1 a Hidcapicad terror, certain lire tamlera u. astronomical knowledge hating given out that the annihilation ol the earth liy thia oalaaliaJ tramp waa a thing quite within Ilia liimla l xiailility. Anil now the ni preaching conjunction ol curtain ilaneta affonta thw aaina claae of pretenders an opiKirtunity to ventilate their learning anil umpire the ignorant, lha aueralitloue anil the emotional with a dread of impending ovila at the aame time. Opportuiiiliaa ol this kind occurring only al auch long intervale are not to lie neglected l.y tliaae aeiiealiuu tuungcra. Ileuoe we liu.l they are heiug turneil l.y Una claae to goo.1 account. Wa are told that tha direal calauiitiea await only the mini nleuce of theae heavenly bod lea tu 1 1 1. 1 .'.it. 1 1 ; inir doomed worlil anil raoa. Neil year the four great planeta Juater, 1' ran 111, Neptune ami Saturn will lie in rihelioii will have reached their neareat appuwli Ui the aim, anil then uvila cniiutlcea and unaeekalile are to lie let looaa Ipofl the Worlil. The llilluellce of theae plalleta wheu bnightintilliatMiaitiou will he, weareaaaurml, esosadiugly muioui t. the earth ami the people uoi it. Iiiileotl, Mima of theae great MaW ol the aolar ayalem eterl, it VWM seem, at all timea a hauelul n.lluencc upon our littlr planet cuU-ttain, aa it were, a grudge agamal it All theae heavenly Unlina except lupilar am unlriemlly to ua ara, to uaa the language ol aalrology, iaiif-a. Jupiter alone u ''era.- kindly ami well diaHaetl towarda ua. hut Una will not avail to aava ua from theae IhraaWnetl i-iili, lor, although he u mu. Ii the largaat nwmliar ol thia planetary .piartet, hn beneficent iiillueuee will lie nullified hy the maeh greater povar for evil pueaeaaod hy hit aaaooialoa. ami which, whan tha whole aet are hroughl in ienliclloli, they Mill In nl.le to el nt aith deadly ofleoV Having an ..bum.. I the master , the iiilliieuoe ol Uiaaa uopropitioiia plaint, mil hogin to mainlael ItaaJI in the contamination of our almoephetf, rauaiuij iileeptead (annua, pea ti le an.l ilaath. The plague ami other incu iWe diaaaaa will pin ail, the watera will hr. wane palnd, all uaUre will la- an-k. Aminala will .dr. avrn lha Itahaa will peneh ami man km.l la. almoat holly awrpl from the face of Oie earth ; only on t he I'noittc caisl, here theae malign influences are in be exerted with leaa Carat, will any ctmaiderehle number of the man race he ipan il Aa no reason haa U-. i, aaeigrml by theae wiee men for Una letting up ni the tnhatalaiite ..I th. pacific maat, we are left In Infer that Una will ha due to their grratei aamal eirollem. We tine in Uie case of I ot, of Itiltla lame, a p ..-1, 1,1 to pjtlify such roa luai.'ii but eini here, we are nut Ui make gtmd our e alar allott Iher I'ereoui l v. I. inlruiperel ami glatUmout habita who are urn-lean, eat t etceaa. drink whiaky anil auck tobacco, will leave a ciea .-all, and'terv hk.lt gu Uaa way SeJeW mat uf mankind Aa a Urg it. porti. of Mir population are addicted to theae l.uillul end unseemly ira. In ea. Uiay, too, may la considered expiated if not dimmed to early Jeatmrtit Aa warrant lor Iheae dire predict wa our atu ttaaera, ratamng to hielory, tiad that the world waa alflirtaai la Ua banner her por bandad oa a vary o carraaKW of U.eae pUnetan toajatw-tioaa m tha paat Neter hate theae 01 La Lean in nvrilivlluu, 01 even io many aa two or three of them, without bringing upon our nice theae overihadowing diaaatera. It waa ao in the year and again IU05, when two of theae malignant iilaneta, Mara ami Saturn, were coincident; and why ahould not like con dition now he attended with like effect; or rathor, why ahould not theae effect!, when there are three of theae planeta conjoined, be even greater now than then. Shall we not be in tmcted by hiabiry and, admoniahed by the tail eiM'rience of paat ague, haaten to adopt auch iiieaaurei aa may aeein lieat calculated to protect ouraelvea againat theae iinieiiding calamitiea. Nay, they are not merely iiniemling : aome of them have arrived; they are Ixiginuing to pre cipitate themaelvoa upon ua In the plague now prevailing in Kueaia, wo have a prcaage of their early coining, if not tangible evidence of their actual preaence. That diaeaae ii the nmnl rourirr of the multitudiaoui ilia "with which we aliall be viaitetl. It waa a godacml, thia plague, to theae vaccinator of evil. Com ing ao timely it imparted to their foreboding an air of probability, mid haa aince helped to keep them in countenance with the ignorant ami credulou public, if, indewl, it appearance did not uggeat to them the idea of aaauining the prophetic role aa they have dona. In the partial diminution of thia dread diaeaae theae aatrological auvanta muatai'c came for alarm, aa tending to impair confidence in their predict unci and ao dimiiiiah their atock in trade. The followera of theae "atar-gazera" are apt to ho nuiiieroua, including that large claaa of mid iiiinca, aimplu ami emotional, who love the horntic, liolieva in aiuna and conault fortune teller, who for a aiiiall fee arc ready to inform them that "it 'eara like" aomethiiig Irenillul, giKHl or luul, in amiut to hapi.eu. Theae euiotiniial aru fond of the dire and wo- (ul, provided alwava the woe decreet! have been allotted not to themaelvoa but to othera. Now Una proclivity to conault the future anil up ou the iit'rnatural and horrible ia a ' 1 1 1 nt al mlirimty with many neiuile. an I Uiev are lint to be blamed (or it existence or for aeeking waya and niuana for it gratification. Yet, aa it la not a healthful or rational pro peneity, and ita indulgence haa a miachiovoua tendency, it la the duty of the pre not to encourage it, nor miniater to it indulgence; but, on the contrary, to lalwr for ita luupreeaion, lulorimiiK theae uuaguided jieople how little cauae theie in for alarm. In the Unit place it ahould be rmoiiilir.il how theae pri.gnmtieationa about the world coming to an eud at a lined time, and all aimilar prediction aa uttered in our own day, have proved entire failure. Then mankind are prone Ui lielieve that the ilia, incident to the preaeut time, are ioeuliar and greatly in ojcoa ol thoae aufTvrrd liy prr.-rding genorationa. fcv nNian.ni lainnica, tin- urea ami nnotia of tti-tlay, are n-nartlitil aa aometliimr. aman. tioual and (auntiiigltti aome aignal calaatrophe in which they are all to culminate. With the aatrolnger, theae mulbtudinnu miafortune are to roach mnaummatioo with the conjunction of the planeta. With the religion enthuaiaat, thia will take place on the id coming of the Meaaiali, with the Artec when MoUuuma returning ahall deliver hi people from the thrall of tha conipiertir. and with the latter Itav Sarnie wheu Joaepb Smith, or ome other prophet, reappeara on earth in btalily form once mora. Now theae thing are believed in by million of people, aome of whom have been awaiting lor theae event to tranapire for genera Uuoa and even can tune; and uotwiUutanding the mm (ultillment of theae prediction, their laith in them remain fen id and ataadfaat Ihtfitult aa it 1 to diaabuae their mind of Uwa impreaaiona, it la lill the duty of ail who iKtcapy anyUiing like the poaition of public leat her to inform Una claaa of peraooa that utw little or nothing to juaUfy their aupre liana.... The truUi in regard to theae pUue lary budiea ia, that, while they probably alway eteiviaa anme influence uim th. . ...n, ..J inhaUlanU, tin influence ia exerted through the aun, and i m. greaUr at on Urn than another While thav are. when in nerhelinn. neareat the sun, they may be, and generally are, the fartheat from the earth, which ought, therefore, to be leu affected by them at auch time than any other. Now, the aun ia ao many million timca larger than theae planeta all put together that any effect they can have upon that luminary, even when neareat to it, must be mall, indeed. The earth, in making its annual circuit rouud the aun, cornea at aome pointa in ita path ,'1,000,000 niilea nearer to that orb than at othera, and yet we are not aenaibly affected by thia greater nearneaa. Though Jupiter ia 12 timea larger than our earth, it 11 composed of matter ho much more etherial that its powers of attraction are barely 12 times greater than those of our planet, the power exerted by this force beiug directly aa density and inversely aa dis tanoe. What is true of Jupiter is true also of Saturn, thia disparity between the latter and the earth being still greater. Theae two are much the largeat planeta in the aolar system, and if their influence upon the sun, and through it upon the earth, is likely to be so little, how iulinitesimally amall must be the influence ao exerted by theae leaaer planeta. So little denaity have theae orbs and auch distances are they at all timea from the earth that their offecta upon the latter muat be inappreciably small. I .-t, therefore, all who have been alarmed dismiss their, fears upon this point. There are plenty of good reaaoh apart from this appre hended urge why people should take measure for the better preservation of their health, and one would almoat feel warranted in terrifying tin-in into some amendment of their present beastly habita, were it not that upon the re moval of the cauno they would probably relapee, ami as an excuse for so much self -abstinence rlunge at last into greater exceases than ever, t would, therefore, be as well for the masses perhaps to turn a deaf ear to theae portentioua foreboding, get rid of their fears and live on aa before. The dread of diaeaae, if it do not in vite, has a tendency to lay the human system open to its attacka. Kxceasive fright has been known to bring maladiea upon thoae who would no doubt othcrwiae have escaped. We have all fsr less to fear from this approaching conjunc tion of the planets than from our own excesses and manifold evil habita, which are depopula ting thu world more rapidly than haa ever been done by the Hlack or any other plague. Mm imj Ms) 'Seirnlilc I'rrM, A ! I M . C I. . I! r 1 ........ ..f ....1, ..-I.,.. ,L. 1 .1 .............. ui vuiioviiu, 01 wio twitt ing of two metal at a temiierature far below the .li:.. i A t . . e- jioiui ui euner 01 tnem, uaa lately oeen noticed by Mr. Charles A. Fawaett, of Glaagow, and by him reported to Sir William Thomson. He describes the following experiment which any of our readers who are curious enough can Ml 1 1 1 1 ' tr, ,,, ..... ... ........... If . l- 1 ""V J I 11 coiiuuaucaa: 11 a piece of ilver, one centimeter aquare, ia heated on mo invurvea ini 01 a porcelain crucible, to about the temperature of 500" C. (032' Fahr. ), and the end of a thin platinum wire is brought into con tact with it, the two metals will be found to have welded to that extent that the silver may be raised from the lid, and will remain attached to the platinum wire when oooled off. Mr. . iwwawss reports mat otner metala copper and aluminum, for example will likewise adhere to silver, though the experiment is lees striking t.iMi ui too cauae ui platinum. OxaaoH or SraiTRjL If a amall ouantitv of mercury ia placed in a hydrogen Geisaler tube, K. Wiedeman Inula that an induction cur rent givea the hydrogen spectrum at ordinary t inpi rature. But it the tube ia warmed in an air-bath, aa the temperature rise the mercury lines appear, while the hvdrogen line grow fainter and finally lUaappear. If a tube of hy. drogen and nitrogen ia wanned at any point, so aa to free sodium or other metals from the g aaa, the hydrogen and nitrogen lines vaniah almoat entirely while the lines of the metal ap pear. Dose the hydrogen disappear, or it It transmuted into some other substance? C'omi Ita ifraaiM.