<h2><SPAN name="CHAPTER_XVI" id="CHAPTER_XVI"></SPAN>CHAPTER XVI.</h2>
<p class="subheader">ECLIPSES OF THE MOON MENTIONED IN HISTORY.</p>
<p class="newchapter"><span class="firstword">We</span> saw in a previous chapter that we owe to the
Chinese the first record of an eclipse of the Sun.
It must now be stated that the same remark
applies to the first recorded eclipse of the Moon,<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_198" id="Page_198">[198]</SPAN></span>
and Prof. S. M. Russell is again our authority.
He refers to a book called the <i>Chou-Shu</i> or book of
the Chou Dynasty, said to have been found in
280 <small>A.D.</small> in the tomb of an Emperor who lived
many centuries previously. In this book it is
stated that in the 35th year of Wen-Wang on the
day Ping-Tzu there was an eclipse of the Moon.
Russell finds that this event may be assigned to
January 29, 1136 <small>B.C.</small>, and that the eclipse was
total.</p>
<p>Next after this Chinese eclipse, in point of
time, come several eclipses recorded by Ptolemy,
on the authority of records collected or examined
by himself. The three earliest of these came
from Chaldæan sources.</p>
<p>The first of these eclipses was observed at
Babylon, in the 27th year of the era of Nabonassar,
the 1st of the reign of Mardokempadius,
on the 29th of the Egyptian month Thoth,
answering to March 19, 721 <small>B.C.</small> The eclipse
began before moonrise, and the middle of the
totality appears to have occurred at 9h. 30m.
p.m. The other two eclipses, also observed at
Babylon, occurred on March 8, 720 <small>B.C.</small>, and
September 1, in the same year, respectively.</p>
<p>Three other lunar eclipses, recorded by
Ptolemy, assisted Sir I. Newton in fixing the
<i>Terminus a quo</i> from which the “70 weeks” of
years were to run which the prophet Daniel<SPAN name="FNanchor_122_122" id="FNanchor_122_122"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_122_122" class="fnanchor">[122]</SPAN>
predicted were to elapse before the death of
Christ. This <i>Terminus a quo</i> dates from the
Restoration of the Jews under Artaxerxes, 457
<small>B.C.</small> The three eclipses which Newton made use<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_199" id="Page_199">[199]</SPAN></span>
of were those of July 16, 523, November 19, 502,
and April 25, 491 <small>B.C.</small></p>
<p>Aristophanes, in “The Clouds” (lines 561-66),
makes an allusion to which has been supposed
(but probably without adequate warrant, in
Spanheim’s opinion), to refer to an eclipse of
the Moon. The eclipse, October 9, 425 <small>B.C.</small>, has,
moreover, been suggested as that referred to, but
the whole idea seems to me too shadowy.</p>
<p>An eclipse of the Moon took place in the 4th
year of the 91st Olympiad, answering to August
27, 413 <small>B.C.</small>, which produced very disastrous consequences
to an Athenian army, owing to the
ignorance and incapacity of Nicias, the commander.
The army was in Sicily, confronted by
a Syracusan army, and having failed, more or
less, and sickness having broken out, it was
decided that the Athenians should embark and
quit the island. Plutarch, in his <i>Life of Nicias</i>,
says:—“Everything accordingly was prepared
for embarkation, and the enemy paid no attention
to these movements, because they did not expect
them. But in the night there happened an
eclipse of the Moon, at which Nicias and all
the rest were struck with a great panic, either
through ignorance or superstition. As for an
eclipse of the Sun, which happens at the Conjunction,
even the common people had some idea
of its being caused by the interposition of the
Moon; but they could not easily form a conception,
by the interposition of what body the
Moon, when at the full, should suddenly lose her
light, and assume such a variety of colours. They
looked upon it therefore as a strange and preternatural<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_200" id="Page_200">[200]</SPAN></span>
phenomenon, a sign by which the
gods announced some great calamity.” And the
calamity came to pass, but only indirectly was
it caused by the Moon!</p>
<p>Plutarch and Pliny both mention that eleven
days before the victory of Alexander over Darius,
at Arbela in Assyria, there was an eclipse of the
Moon. Plutarch’s words (<i>Life of Alexander</i>) are,
that “there happened an eclipse of the Moon,
about the beginning of the festival of the great
mysteries at Athens. The eleventh night after
that eclipse, the two armies being in view of each
other, Darius kept his men under arms, and took
a general review of his troops by torch-light.”
This seems to have led to a great deal of disorderly
tumult in the Assyrian camp, a fact
which was noticed by Alexander. Several of his
friends urged him to make a night attack on the
enemy’s camp, but he preferred that his Macedonians
should have a good night’s rest, and it
was then that he uttered the celebrated answer,
“I will not steal a victory.” Plutarch enters
upon some rather interesting moral reflections
connected with this answer, but which of course
are foreign to the subject of this volume. This
eclipse happened on September 20, 331 <small>B.C.</small>, and
was total, the middle of the eclipse being at about
8.15 p.m. It follows therefore, that the celebrated
battle of Arbela was fought on October 1,
331 <small>B.C.</small></p>
<p>In 219 <small>B.C.</small> an eclipse of the Moon was seen
in Mysia, according to Polybius.<SPAN name="FNanchor_123_123" id="FNanchor_123_123"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_123_123" class="fnanchor">[123]</SPAN> The date of
September 1 has been assigned for this eclipse<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_201" id="Page_201">[201]</SPAN></span>
which is said to have so greatly alarmed some
Gaulish Mercenary troops in the service of
Attalus, King of Pergamos, that he had to get
rid of them as soon as he could—make terms
with them to go home.</p>
<p>On the eve of the battle of Pydna when
Perseus, King of Macedonia, was conquered by
Paulus Æmilius, there happened an eclipse of the
Moon. Plutarch in his <i>Life of Paulus Æmilius</i>,
speaking of his army having settled down in
a camp, says:—“When they had supped and
were thinking of nothing but going to rest, on
a sudden the Moon, which was then at full and
very high, began to be darkened, and after
changing into various colours, was at last totally
eclipsed. The Romans, according to their custom,
made a great noise by striking upon vessels of brass
and held up lighted faggots and torches in the air
in order to recall her light; but the Macedonians
did no such thing; horror and astonishment
seized their whole camp, and a whisper passed
among the multitude that this appearance portended
the fall of the king. As for Æmilius,
he was not entirely unacquainted with this
matter; he had heard of the ecliptic inequalities
which bring the Moon at certain periods under
the shadow of the Earth and darken her till she
has passed that quarter of obscurity and receives
light from the Sun again. Nevertheless, as he
was wont to ascribe most events to the Deity,
was a religious observer of sacrifices and of the
art of divination, he offered up to the Moon
11 heifers as soon as he saw her regain her
former lustre. At break of day he also sacrificed<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_202" id="Page_202">[202]</SPAN></span>
oxen to Hercules to the number of 20 without
any auspicious sign, but in the twenty-first the
desired tokens appeared and he announced victory
to his troops, provided they stood upon the
defensive.”</p>
<p>The astronomical knowledge ascribed in this
account to Paulus Æmilius, constitutes a very
interesting feature in this record because the
Romans though they were good at most things,
were by no means adepts at the science of Astronomy.
Livy<SPAN name="FNanchor_124_124" id="FNanchor_124_124"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_124_124" class="fnanchor">[124]</SPAN> tells us that Sulpicius Gallus, one
of the Roman tribunes, foretold this eclipse,
first to the Consul and then, with his leave, to
the army, whereby that terror which eclipses
were wont to breed in ignorant minds was
entirely taken off and the soldiers more and
more disposed to confide in officers of so great
wisdom and of such general knowledge. This
eclipse is often identified with that of June 21,
168 <small>B.C.</small>, but Johnson gives reasons why this
cannot be the case and that the eclipse in
question was that which happened on the night
of June 10-11, 167 <small>B.C.</small>, and commenced about
midnight, whereas the eclipse of 168 <small>B.C.</small> was
nearly over when the Moon was above the
horizon at Rome. Stockwell, however, fixes on
the eclipse of September 3, 172 <small>B.C.</small> as that
which was connected with the Battle of Pydna.</p>
<p>Josephus<SPAN name="FNanchor_125_125" id="FNanchor_125_125"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_125_125" class="fnanchor">[125]</SPAN> speaking of the barbarous acts of
Herod, says:—“And that very night there was
an eclipse of the Moon.” There has been some
controversy respecting the identification of this<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_203" id="Page_203">[203]</SPAN></span>
eclipse (the only one mentioned by Josephus)
which also is associated with Herod’s last illness,
it not having been easy to reconcile some discordant
chronological statements connected with
the length of Herod’s reign and the date when
he began to reign. On the whole, probably,
we shall be safe in saying that the reference
is to the eclipse of March 13, 4 <small>B.C.</small> This was
a partial eclipse to the extent of less than half
the Moon’s diameter, a defalcation of light sufficient,
however, to attract public notice even
at 3 a.m., seeing that no doubt, even at that
hour, the streets of Jerusalem were in a state
of turmoil owing to the burning alive by Herod
of some seditious Rabbis.</p>
<p>It should be stated, however, that Hind assigns
the account by Josephus to the eclipse which
occurred on January 9, 1 <small>B.C.</small> On this occasion
the Moon passed nearly centrally through the
Earth’s shadow soon after midnight, emerging
at 2.57 a.m. on the early morning of January 10,
local Mean Time at Jerusalem.</p>
<p>Tacitus<SPAN name="FNanchor_126_126" id="FNanchor_126_126"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_126_126" class="fnanchor">[126]</SPAN> mentions an eclipse of the Moon as
having happened soon after the death of Augustus.
This has been identified with the eclipse of September
27, <small>A.D.</small> 14. Tacitus says:—“The Moon
in the midst of a clear sky became suddenly
eclipsed; the soldiers who were ignorant of the
cause took this for an omen referring to their
present adventures: to their labours they compared
the eclipse of the planet, and prophesied
‘that if to the distressed goddess should be
restored her wonted brightness and splendour,<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_204" id="Page_204">[204]</SPAN></span>
equally successful would be the issue of their
struggle.’ Hence they made a loud noise, by
ringing upon brazen metal, and by blowing
trumpets and cornets; as she appeared brighter
or darker they exulted or lamented.”</p>
<p>There was an eclipse of the Moon on the generally
recorded date of the Crucifixion of our
Lord, April 3, <small>A.D.</small> 33. Hind found that our
satellite emerged from the Earth’s dark shadow
about a quarter of an hour before she rose at
Jerusalem (6h. 36m. p.m.), but the penumbra
continued upon her disc for an hour afterwards.</p>
<p>On Jan. 1, <small>A.D.</small> 47, a total eclipse of the Moon
was seen at Rome, and on the same night an
island rose up in the Ægean Sea.</p>
<p>The total eclipse of Feb. 22, <small>A.D.</small> 72, noted by
Pliny,<SPAN name="FNanchor_127_127" id="FNanchor_127_127"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_127_127" class="fnanchor">[127]</SPAN> is the first in which it is recorded that
Sun and Moon were both visible at the same
time, the eclipse occurring when the Sun was
rising and the Moon setting.</p>
<p>Trithenius speaks of an eclipse of the Moon
observed in the time of Merovæus. Johnson
identifies it with the eclipse of Sept. 15, 452 <small>A.D.</small>
It was from Merovæus that the line of French
kings known as Merovingians received their name.</p>
<p>On April 16, <small>A.D.</small> 683, according to Anastasius
the Papal historian, the Moon for nearly the
whole night exhibited a blood-red appearance,
and did not emerge from obscurity till cockcrowing.</p>
<p>In <small>A.D.</small> 690 an eclipse of the Moon was observed
in Wales. We are told<SPAN name="FNanchor_128_128" id="FNanchor_128_128"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_128_128" class="fnanchor">[128]</SPAN> that “the Moon<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_205" id="Page_205">[205]</SPAN></span>
was turned to the colour of blood.” This would
seem to be the first eclipse of the Moon recorded
in Britain.</p>
<p>The <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> tells us that in <small>A.D.</small>
734 “the Moon was as if it had been sprinkled
with blood, and Archbishop Tatwine and Beda
died and Ecgberht was hallowed bishop.” The
intended inference apparently is that the Moon
had something to do with the deaths of the two
ecclesiastics, but this theory will not hold water.
Beda, it may be remarked, is the correct name of
the man generally known to us as the “Venerable
Bede.” It is evident that from the description
of the Moon it exhibited on that occasion the
well-known coppery hue which is a recognised
feature of many total eclipses of our satellite.
This eclipse occurred on January 24, beginning
at about 1 a.m.</p>
<p>On the night of January 23, <small>A.D.</small> 753, “the
Moon was covered with a horrid black shield.”
This is the record of an eclipse. It occurred at
about midnight, and apparently we are entitled
to infer that on this occasion the Moon disappeared
altogether, instead of being discoverable
during the total phase by exhibiting a coppery
hue.</p>
<p>In <small>A.D.</small> 755 [or 756 in orig.], on November 23,
there happened an exceedingly interesting event
which stands, I think, without a precedent in the
annals of science—an eclipse of the Moon contemporaneous
with an occultation of a planet by
the Moon. This singular combination is thus
described in the annals of Roger de Hoveden<SPAN name="FNanchor_129_129" id="FNanchor_129_129"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_129_129" class="fnanchor">[129]</SPAN>:—<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_206" id="Page_206">[206]</SPAN></span>“On
the 8th day before the Calends of December
the Moon on her 15th day being about
her full, appeared to be covered with the colour
of blood, and then the darkness decreasing
she returned to her usual brightness; but, in
a wondrous manner, a bright star followed the
Moon, and passing across her, preceded her when
shining, at the same distance which it had followed
her before she was darkened.” The details
here given are not astronomically quite correct,
but let that pass; the writer’s intention is fairly
clear. Calculation shows that the eclipse occurred
on November 23, and that the planet, which was
Jupiter, was concealed in the evening by the Moon
for about an hour from 7h. 30m. to 8h. 30m. p.m.,
the immersion taking place about the end of the
total phase. This is the first occultation of a star
or planet by the Moon observed and recorded in
England.</p>
<p>Under the year 795 the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>
says:—“In this year the Moon was eclipsed
between cockcrowing and dawn on the 5th of
the Calends of April; and Eardwalf succeeded
to the kingdom of the Northumbrians on the
2nd of the Ides of May.” This signifies that
the eclipse happened on March 28 between 3h.
and 6h. in the morning, the method of dividing
the hours of night into equal portions of three
hours each being still in use. There was no
eclipse in 795 on the date in question but there
was one in 796, so we may suppose an error in
the year. This assumed, Johnson found that the
eclipse began at about 4h. a.m., was total for
nearly an hour, and ended at about 7½h., so<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_207" id="Page_207">[207]</SPAN></span>
that the Moon set eclipsed. But the above
assumption is dispensed with by Lynn who
substitutes one of his own.<SPAN name="FNanchor_130_130" id="FNanchor_130_130"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_130_130" class="fnanchor">[130]</SPAN> For “5th of the
<i>Calends</i>” he reads “5th of the <i>Ides</i>,” which means
April 9; and on that day in 795 he says there
was an eclipse of the Moon, but I have not found
any other record of it.</p>
<p>In the year <small>A.D.</small> 800, according to the <i>Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle</i>, “the Moon was eclipsed at the
2nd hour of the night (8h. p.m.) on the 17th
day of the Calends of February.” Johnson
finds that there was an eclipse of the Moon on
Jan. 15. The middle of the eclipse occurred at
8h. 34m., <span class="above">9</span>⁄<span class="below">10</span>ths of the Moon’s upper limb having
been obscured.</p>
<p>Under the date of 806 the <i>Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle</i> says:—“This year was the Moon
eclipsed on the Kalends [1st] of September;
and Eardwulf, King of the Northumbrians, was
driven from his kingdom, and Eanberht, Bishop
of Hexham, died.” This eclipse was total, the
totality lasting from 9h. 37m. to 10h. 59m. p.m.</p>
<p>On Feb. 15, 817, according to the <i>Annales
Fuldenses</i>, an eclipse of the Moon was observed
in the early evening at Paris, and on the same
night a Comet was seen. This Comet is described
by another authority as a “monstrous”
one and as being in Sagittarius on Feb. 5. The
Chinese date it for Feb. 17, and place it near the
stars <i>α</i> and <i>γ</i> Tauri.</p>
<p>In 828 two lunar eclipses were seen in Europe,
the first on July 1 very early in the morning,
and the second on the morning of Christmas<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_208" id="Page_208">[208]</SPAN></span>
Day. The <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> thus speaks of
the second eclipse:—“In this year the Moon was
eclipsed on Mid-winter’s Mass-night, and the
same year King Ecgbryht subdued the kingdom
of the Mercians and all that was South of the
Humber.” The totality occurred after midnight.
There is some confusion in the year of this
eclipse, the <i>Chronicle</i> giving it as 827, whilst
calculation shows that it must have been 828.
Lynn defines “Mid-winter’s Mass-night” as Christmas
<i>Eve</i>.</p>
<p>Under the date of 904 the <i>Anglo-Saxon
Chronicle</i> says:—“In this year the Moon was
eclipsed.” There were two total eclipses of the
Moon this year, one on May 31, and the other
on Nov. 25, and it does not appear which one
is referred to in the <i>Chronicle</i> cited. Another
writer, Cedrenus, speaks of a great eclipse of
the Moon this year which he says foretold the
death of a kinsman of the Emperor.</p>
<p>On October 6, 1009, there was a total eclipse
of the Moon which presumably is referred to
in the statement that “this year the Moon was
changed into blood.”</p>
<p>On Nov. 8, 1044, there was a large partial
eclipse in the morning. Raoul Glaber<SPAN name="FNanchor_131_131" id="FNanchor_131_131"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_131_131" class="fnanchor">[131]</SPAN> (a
French chronicler who died about 1050) comments
upon it thus:—“In what manner it happened,
whether a prodigy brought to pass by the
Deity or by the intervention of some heavenly
body, remains known to the author of knowledge.
For the Moon herself became like dark
blood, only getting clear of it a little before the<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_209" id="Page_209">[209]</SPAN></span>
dawn.” Truly those times were the “Dark
Ages” in which ignorance and folly were rampant,
seeing that more than 1000 years previously
the Greeks knew all about the causes of eclipses.</p>
<p>Under 1078 the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i> says:—“In
this year the Moon was eclipsed 3 nights
before Candlemas, and Ægelwig, the ‘world-wide’
Abbot of Evesham, died on St. Juliana’s Mass-day
[Feb. 16]; and in this year was the dry summer,
and wildfire came in many Shires and burned
many towns.” Johnson found that a total eclipse
of the Moon happened in the early evening of
Jan. 30.</p>
<p>On May 5, 1110, in the reign of Henry I.,
there occurred a total eclipse of the Moon during
which, says the <i>Anglo-Saxon Chronicle</i>, “the
Moon appeared in the evening brightly shining
and afterwards by little and little its light waned,
so that as soon as it was night it was so completely
quenched that neither light nor orb nor
anything at all of it was seen. And so it continued
very near until day, and then appeared
full and brightly shining. It was on this same
day a fortnight old. All the night the air was
very clear, and the stars over all the heaven were
brightly shining. And the tree-fruits on that
night were sorely nipt.” The totality occurred
before mid-night. It is evident that this was
an instance of a “black” eclipse when the Moon
becomes quite invisible instead of shining with
the familiar coppery hue.</p>
<p>In 1117 there were two total eclipses, the first
on June 16, and the second on December 10.
The latter is thus referred to in the <i>Anglo-Saxon<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_210" id="Page_210">[210]</SPAN></span>
Chronicle</i>:—“In the night of the 3rd of the Ides
of December the Moon was far in [during a long
time of] the night as if it were all bloody, and
afterwards eclipsed.” The totality commenced
at 11.36 p.m.</p>
<p>It is recorded by Matthew Paris<SPAN name="FNanchor_132_132" id="FNanchor_132_132"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_132_132" class="fnanchor">[132]</SPAN> in connection
with the death of Henry I. that “the Moon
also was eclipsed the same year on the 29th of
July” [1135]. These words seem to indicate a
total eclipse of the Moon. Johnson gives the date
as Dec. 22, 1135. If this is correct the text of
the <i>Chronicle</i> must be corrupt. The whole eclipse
was not visible in England, the Moon setting
before the middle of the eclipse. Stephen had
been crowned king the same day, namely Dec. 22.</p>
<p>On June 30, 1349, there was a total eclipse
of the Moon visible at London to which some
interest attaches. Archdeacon Churton<SPAN name="FNanchor_133_133" id="FNanchor_133_133"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_133_133" class="fnanchor">[133]</SPAN> connects
it with the following incident:—“The
worthy Abp. Bradwardine, who nourished in
the reign of the Norman Edwards, and died <small>A.D.</small>
1349, tells a story of a witch who was attempting
to impose on the simple people of the time.
It was a fine summer’s night, and the Moon was
suddenly eclipsed. ‘Make me good amends,’
said she, ‘for old wrongs, or I will bid the Sun
also to withdraw his light from you.’ Bradwardine,
who had studied the Arabian astronomers,
was more than a match for this simple<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_211" id="Page_211">[211]</SPAN></span>
trick, without calling in the aid of the Saxon law.
‘Tell me,’ he said, ‘at what time you will do this,
and we will believe you; or if you will not tell
me, I will tell you when the Sun or the Moon
will next be darkened, in what part of their orb
the darkness will begin, how far it will spread,
and how long it will continue.’”</p>
<p>An eclipse of the Moon which happened when
Columbus was at the Island of Jamaica proved of
great service to him when he was in difficulties
owing to the want of food supplies which the
inhabitants refused to afford. The eclipse was a
total one, and so far as the description goes the
eclipses of April 2, 1493, and March 1, 1504,
both respond to the recorded circumstances: both
were total and both occurred soon after sunset.
But, inasmuch as in the life of Columbus written
by his son the incident is placed nearly at the
end of the work, there can be no doubt that it is
the later of the above eclipses which was the one
in question. The story is very graphically told
by Sir A. Helps<SPAN name="FNanchor_134_134" id="FNanchor_134_134"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_134_134" class="fnanchor">[134]</SPAN> in the words following:—</p>
<p>“The Indians refused to minister to their
wants any longer; and famine was imminent.
But just at this last extremity, the admiral,
ever fertile in devices, bethought him of an expedient
for re-establishing his influence over the
Indians. His astronomical knowledge told him
that on a certain night an eclipse of the Moon
would take place. One would think that people
living in the open air must be accustomed to
see such eclipses sufficiently often not to be particularly
astonished at them. But Columbus<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_212" id="Page_212">[212]</SPAN></span>
judged—and as the event proved, judged rightly—that
by predicting the eclipse he would gain
a reputation as a prophet, and command the
respect and the obedience due to a person invested
with supernatural powers. He assembled
the caciques of the neighbouring tribes. Then,
by means of an interpreter, he reproached them
with refusing to continue to supply provisions to
the Spaniards. ‘The God who protects me,’ he
said, ‘will punish you. You know what has
happened to those of my followers who have
rebelled against me; and the dangers which
they encountered in their attempt to cross Haiti,
while those who went at my command made the
passage without difficulty. Soon, too, shall the
divine vengeance fall on you; this very night
shall the Moon change her colour and lose her
light, in testimony of the evils which shall be
sent upon you from the skies.’</p>
<p>“The night was fine: the moon shone down
in full brilliancy. But at the appointed time
the predicted phenomenon took place, and the
wild howls of the savages proclaimed their abject
terror. They came in a body to Columbus and
implored his intercession. They promised to
let him want for nothing if only he would avert
this judgment. As an earnest of their sincerity
they collected hastily a quantity of food and
offered it at his feet. At first, diplomatically
hesitating, Columbus presently affected to be
softened by their entreaties. He consented to
intercede for them; and, retiring to his cabin,
performed, as they supposed, some mystic rite
which should deliver them from the threatened<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_213" id="Page_213">[213]</SPAN></span>
punishment. Soon the terrible shadow passed
away from the face of the moon, and the gratitude
of the savages was as deep as their previous
terror. But being blended with much awe, it
was not so evanescent as gratitude often is; and
henceforth there was no failure in the regular
supply of provisions to the castaways.”</p>
<p>Tycho Brahe observed a lunar eclipse on July
7, 1590. He writes:—“In the morning about
3¾h. the Moon began to be eclipsed: in this
eclipse it is notable that both luminaries were
at the same time above the horizon; a like case
which Pliny cites. For the centre of the Sun
emerged when the Moon was 2° elevated above
the Western horizon, and when her centre was
setting, the centre of the Sun was elevated
nearly 2°.”<SPAN name="FNanchor_135_135" id="FNanchor_135_135"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_135_135" class="fnanchor">[135]</SPAN></p>
<p>On August 16, 1598, there occurred a total
eclipse of the Moon, observed by Kepler,<SPAN name="FNanchor_136_136" id="FNanchor_136_136"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_136_136" class="fnanchor">[136]</SPAN> in
which during totality a part of the Moon was
visible and the rest invisible. He says, that
while one-half of the disc was seen with great
difficulty the other half was discernible by a
deep red light of such brilliancy that at first
he was doubtful whether our satellite was immersed
in the Earth’s shadow at all. This is
an instance of the simultaneous operation of
those causes (whatever they may be) which result
in a totally-eclipsed Moon being sometimes wholly
invisible and sometimes entirely visible as a
copper-coloured disc.</p>
<p>An eclipse of the Moon which happened on<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_214" id="Page_214">[214]</SPAN></span>
the morning of July 6, 1610, may be mentioned
as having been the first to be viewed through
a telescope. The eclipse was only a large partial
one. The following record of the fact is due to
Tycho Brahe.<SPAN name="FNanchor_137_137" id="FNanchor_137_137"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_137_137" class="fnanchor">[137]</SPAN> “The beginning of the eclipse
of the Moon as observed through the Roman
telescope, appeared like a dark thread in contact
with the shadow”—a description which cannot
be said to be unduly explicit.</p>
<p>In 1620, on June 15, there was a total eclipse
of the Moon, when during the total phase “the
Moon was seen with great difficulty. It shone,
moreover, like the thinnest nebula, far fainter
than the Milky Way, without any copper tinge.
About the middle of the second hour nothing
at all could be seen of the Moon with the naked
eye, and through the telescope so doubtfully was
anything seen that no one could tell whether
the Moon was not something else.” It is expressly
stated, however, that the sky was quite
clear. Kepler also observed this eclipse, and
says that the Moon quite disappeared, though
stars of the 4th and 5th magnitudes were
plainly visible.<SPAN name="FNanchor_138_138" id="FNanchor_138_138"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_138_138" class="fnanchor">[138]</SPAN> In this same year 1620, there
was on December 9 another total eclipse, when
“the Moon altogether disappeared so that nothing
could be seen of it, though the stars
shone brightly all around: she continued lost
and invisible for a quarter of an hour more or
less.” This observation seems to have been
made at Ingolstadt.</p>
<p><span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_215" id="Page_215">[215]</SPAN></span>Wendelinus mentions the eclipse of April 14,
1623, in connection with the question of the
visibility of the Moon when totally eclipsed.
He says, “but sometimes it so far retains the
light derived from the Sun that you would
doubt whether any part of it were eclipsed.”
This eclipse was observed by Gassendi, and if
the above record is correct, it is the more remarkable
seeing that the eclipse was not total,
only <span class="above">11</span>⁄<span class="below">12</span>ths of the Moon’s diameter being obscured.</p>
<p>On April 25, 1642, on the occasion of a total
eclipse, Hevelius<SPAN name="FNanchor_139_139" id="FNanchor_139_139"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_139_139" class="fnanchor">[139]</SPAN> noted that the Moon wholly
disappeared when immersed in the Earth’s
shadow. Crabtree is stated by Flamsteed<SPAN name="FNanchor_140_140" id="FNanchor_140_140"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_140_140" class="fnanchor">[140]</SPAN> to
have observed this eclipse, but he does not
plainly state that he lost sight of the Moon.
Crabtree or his editor dates this eclipse for
April 4; Ferguson for April 15. There appears
to be some muddle as between “old style” and
“new style.” Ferguson professing to be N.S.
is evidently wrong. Hevelius gives the double
date, <span class="above">15</span>⁄<span class="below">25</span>, which is evidently right.</p>
<p>On June 16, 1666, the Moon was seen in
Tuscany to rise eclipsed, the Sun not having
yet set in the W.</p>
<p>On May 26, 1668, an eclipse of the Moon
was in progress in the early morning, when
the Sun was seen to rise by members of the
Academy of Sciences who were observing the
phenomenon at Montmartre near Paris.</p>
<p>On December 23, 1703, the Moon when totally
immersed was seen at Avignon showing a ruddy<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_216" id="Page_216">[216]</SPAN></span>
light of such brilliancy that we are told it had
the appearance of a transparent body illuminated
by a light placed behind. Johnson finds that
the total phase took place in the early morning,
and lasted from 5h. 36m. to 7h. 22m. a.m.</p>
<p>The lunar eclipse of May 18, 1761, as observed
by Wargentin,<SPAN name="FNanchor_141_141" id="FNanchor_141_141"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_141_141" class="fnanchor">[141]</SPAN> at Stockholm, furnishes a remarkable
instance of the invisibility of the Moon
on certain occasions, when completely immersed
in the earth’s shadow. The total immersion of
the Moon took place at 10h. 41m. p.m. The part
of the margin of the lunar disc which had last
entered the shadow was fairly conspicuous for
5 or 6 minutes after the immersion, and to
the naked eye exhibited a lustre equal to that of
a star of the 2nd magnitude; but at 10h. 52m.
this part, as well as the whole of the rest of the
Moon’s body, “had disappeared so completely,
that not the slightest trace of any portion of the
lunar disc could be discerned either with the
naked eye or with the telescope, although the sky
was clear, and the stars in the vicinity of the
Moon were distinctly visible in the telescope.”
After more than half an hour’s search, Wargentin
at length discovered the whereabouts of the Moon
by means of a faint light, which was visible at the
Eastern edge of the disc. A few minutes afterwards,
some persons of acute vision were able to
discern, with the naked eye, a trace of the Moon,
looking like a patch of thin vapour, but more than
half the disc was still invisible.</p>
<p>An eclipse of the Moon, on March 29, 1801,
was observed by Humboldt, on board ship, off<span class="pagenum"><SPAN name="Page_217" id="Page_217">[217]</SPAN></span>
the Island of Baru, not far from Cartagena de
las Indias, in the Caribbean Sea.<SPAN name="FNanchor_142_142" id="FNanchor_142_142"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_142_142" class="fnanchor">[142]</SPAN> He remarks
that he was “exceedingly struck with the greater
luminous intensity of the Moon’s disc under a
tropical sky than in my native North.” Johnson
makes Humboldt to refer to the greater clearness
of the “<i>reddened</i> disc,” but these words do not
appear either in the German or in the English
version.</p>
<p>A total eclipse of the Moon occurred on June
10, 1816. As observed by Beer and Mädler and
others, the Moon completely disappeared. The
summer of 1816, be it remembered, was very
wet, and probably this had something to do with
the Moon’s invisibility at the eclipse in question.</p>
<p>On October 13, 1837, there happened a total
eclipse of the Moon, of which Sir J. Herschel
and Admiral W. H. Smyth have left us interesting
accounts.<SPAN name="FNanchor_143_143" id="FNanchor_143_143"></SPAN><SPAN href="#Footnote_143_143" class="fnanchor">[143]</SPAN> The changes of tint, both as
regards times and places on the Moon’s disc, recorded
by the latter, are very remarkable. And
the tints themselves varied very much <i>inter se</i>:
The Admiral speaks of “copper,” “sea-green,”
“neutral tint,” and “silvery,” as hues visible in
one part of the Moon or another, and at one
time or another.</p>
<div class="footnotes"><p class="footnotetitle">Footnotes:</p>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_122_122" id="Footnote_122_122"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_122_122"><span class="label">[122]</span></SPAN> Dan. ix. 24.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_123_123" id="Footnote_123_123"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_123_123"><span class="label">[123]</span></SPAN> <i>Histories</i>, Book v., chap. lxxviii.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_124_124" id="Footnote_124_124"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_124_124"><span class="label">[124]</span></SPAN> <i>Hist. Rom.</i>, Lib. xliv., cap. 37.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_125_125" id="Footnote_125_125"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_125_125"><span class="label">[125]</span></SPAN> <i>Antiq.</i>, Lib. xvii., cap. 6, sec. 4.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_126_126" id="Footnote_126_126"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_126_126"><span class="label">[126]</span></SPAN> <i>Annales</i>, Lib. i., cap. 28.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_127_127" id="Footnote_127_127"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_127_127"><span class="label">[127]</span></SPAN> <i>Nat. Hist.</i>, Lib. ii., cap. 3.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_128_128" id="Footnote_128_128"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_128_128"><span class="label">[128]</span></SPAN> <i>Annales Cambriæ</i>, Rolls ed., p. 8.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_129_129" id="Footnote_129_129"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_129_129"><span class="label">[129]</span></SPAN> <i>Annales</i>, Rogerus de Hoveden, Bohn’s ed., p. 5.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_130_130" id="Footnote_130_130"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_130_130"><span class="label">[130]</span></SPAN> <i>Observatory</i>, vol. xv. p. 224. May 1892.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_131_131" id="Footnote_131_131"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_131_131"><span class="label">[131]</span></SPAN> <i>Historiarum sui Temporis</i>, Lib. v., cap. 3.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_132_132" id="Footnote_132_132"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_132_132"><span class="label">[132]</span></SPAN> <i>Chronica Majora</i>, Rolls ed., edited by the Rev. H.
R. Luard, vol. ii. p. 161. Another version of this work is
in circulation under the name of Rogerus de Wendover,
<i>Flores Historiarum</i>. The passage here quoted appears in
vol. i. p. 482, Bohn’s ed.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_133_133" id="Footnote_133_133"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_133_133"><span class="label">[133]</span></SPAN> <i>History of the Early English Church</i>, 1870 ed., p. 271.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_134_134" id="Footnote_134_134"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_134_134"><span class="label">[134]</span></SPAN> <i>Life of Columbus</i>, p. 247.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_135_135" id="Footnote_135_135"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_135_135"><span class="label">[135]</span></SPAN> <i>Historia Cœlestis</i>, vol. i. p. xci.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_136_136" id="Footnote_136_136"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_136_136"><span class="label">[136]</span></SPAN> <i>Astronomiæ Pars Optica</i>, p. 276; <i>Opera Omnia</i>, vol. ii.
p. 302; Frisch’s edition.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_137_137" id="Footnote_137_137"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_137_137"><span class="label">[137]</span></SPAN> <i>Historia Cœlestis</i>, vol. ii. p. 921.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_138_138" id="Footnote_138_138"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_138_138"><span class="label">[138]</span></SPAN> <i>Epitomes Astronomiæ</i>, p. 825; <i>Opera Omnia</i>, vol. vi.
p. 482; Frisch’s edition.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_139_139" id="Footnote_139_139"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_139_139"><span class="label">[139]</span></SPAN> <i>Selenographia</i>, p. 117.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_140_140" id="Footnote_140_140"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_140_140"><span class="label">[140]</span></SPAN> <i>Historia Cœlestis</i>, vol. i. p. 4.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_141_141" id="Footnote_141_141"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_141_141"><span class="label">[141]</span></SPAN> <i>Phil. Trans.</i>, vol. lii. p. 210. 1762.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_142_142" id="Footnote_142_142"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_142_142"><span class="label">[142]</span></SPAN> <i>Cosmos.</i> Trans. Sabine, vol. iii. p. 356; vol. iv.
p. 483. Bohn’s ed.</p>
</div>
<div class="footnote"><p><SPAN name="Footnote_143_143" id="Footnote_143_143"></SPAN><SPAN href="#FNanchor_143_143"><span class="label">[143]</span></SPAN> <i>Cycle of Celest. Obj.</i>, vol. i. p. 144; transcribed in
G. F. Chambers’s <i>Handbook of Astronomy</i>, vol. i. p. 329.</p>
</div>
</div>
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