“Lo! from the dread immensity of Space, Returning with accelerated pace, The rushing comet to the sun descends: And, as he shrinks below the shading Earth, With awful train projected o’er the Heavens, The guilty nations tremble.” —THOMSON. Can there be anything more awe-inspiring to the superstitious than the stealthy approach of a comet as it wends its way among the stars, finally blazing out with a marvelous train as it draws near to the sun to pay homage? As a distant relative of that luminary, it comes for an occasional visit from far-off realms, and after a brief display during which it adorns itself with a splendor befitting the momentous occasion, it withdraws into the obscurity from…
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