Below is the OCR text representation for this newspapers page.

100 BURKE’S WEEKLY FOR BOYS AND GIRLS. MACON, Ga., SEPT. 28, 1867. Contents of No. 13. Marooner’s Island, by Rev. F. R. Goulding—Chap ter X., —original P age '*7 Clara Bell—poetry The Ten Commandments— poetry 99 The Sleeping Beauty—dramatized by Mrs. E. P. M. original 99 Wanting Friends 99 Editorial : Fishing, (with beautiful illustration); Our Stories ; Eclipse of the Moon; Geographi cal Puzzle; To Correspondents; Your subscrip tion is out; Yellow Fever 199 A Ride, and What Came of It—with five illustra tions, —original..... 191 Little Things—poetry; How to Rise Early 101 Song of the Mountain Leaf, by Mrs. E. P. M.—ori ginal 192 Jack Dobell; or, A Boy’s Adventures in Texas, Chapter Vl,—original, 102 A Dog Story . 102 “ I Wishand I Will,” by Fanny Fielding—original 103 Our Chimney Corner 104 Fishing. The beautiful illustration oh our first page scarcely requires even a word of explanation. It represents a fishing party —disciples of good old Isaak Walton. Os all out-door sports, fishing is the most delightful. “If weary, there is the pleasant bank to sit down upon ; the clear river to look over ; the fresh breeze ever blowing about one’s face ; the arrowy flight of the water-loving swallow to watch; in short, all the luxuries to be found together that throw such a charm around open-air amusements.” ♦*«. Our Stories. AROONER’S ISLAND,” which has A'■ now reached the tenth chapter, increases T in interest. The author has a happy faculty of combining instruction with amusement. Altogether, the new story bids fair to be as popular as its prede- T cessor, The Young Marooners. “ Jack Dobell ” is. becoming more and more exciting as the story progresses. The .present chapter contains an account of the surrender of Col. Fannin’s forces. The next chapter will give an account of the massacre of this unfortunate band of brave men, and the almost miraculous escape of our hero and his two friends ; and then will commence in earnest, the story of our “Boy’s Adventures in Texas,” in his efforts to escape from the bloodthirsty pursuers who were hot upon his track. 1 his part of the story will equal in in terest the most thrilling romance, and yet we are assured that every word of it is true. We have other novelties in store, including a story of the late war in Virginia; a pretty little tale from the pen of Mrs. Ford, whose “Little Woman in Green ” was so popular; several sto nes, poems and dramas from our esteemed cor spondent, E. P. M., of Habersham county ; and others, wfiich we shall publish as fast as we can make room for them. Since writing the above, we have received a pietty story “The Young Jewess”—from our talented friend, Mrs. Jane T. H. Cross, of louston, Texas, whose contributions to the Child dren s Guide were so popular. We are kindly permitted to. enroll her name in the list of our regular contributors. BURKE’S WEEKLY. The Eclipse of the Moon. /T, E suppose most of our little readers saw jpaLlll the ec^Pse ie moon 011 of Xjprjy.iJ this month. In Macon, the night was beautifully clear, and, although the moon did not rise until the eclipse was more than half over, it was a sight well worth seeing. As some of our little friends may not understand clearly what an eclipse of the sun or moon is, we propose to give them a simple explanation of this phenomenon. The moon, you know, owes all her beauty to reflected light. You may wonder how this can be, as she shines in the night, when the sun is not vis ible ; but you must recollect *hat the sun shines somewhere all the time, throughout our night as well as our day. Have you not noticed in the morning that the sun’s rays maybe seen on tall objects—the windows of a house situated on a hill, or the top of a church steeple, for instance —sev- eral minutes before you can see the sun itself? These objects arc reached by the rays of the sun sometime before he rises above the horizon, and they shine with receded light. Just so it is with the moon. She receives the rays of the sun when our side of the earth is in darkness, and reflects them back upon us in the soft, silvery moonlight which renders our nights so beautiful. Now, whenever the position of the earth, sun and moon is such as to throw the shadoic of the earth over the face of the moon, we have an eclipse of the moon. Sometimes the earth’s shadow is thrown completely over the moon, and then we have a total eclipse; at other times the shadow only covers a part of the moon, and we have but a partial eclipse. The sun is eclipsed when the moon comes be tween it and the earth. The moon is an opaque or dark body, although she looks so bright and beau tiful to us when she reflects the light of the sun, and when she conies between us and the sun, her dark side is turned towards us, and she appears like a black shadow on his face, slowly hut grad ually passing across it, and for the time shutting out his beams from our sight. When the moon covers the entire face of the sun, as it does at very rare intervals, we have that wonderful phe nomenon known as a total eclipse of the sun. The last total solar eclipse which was visible in this country, occurred many years ago, and the day became so dark that many stars could be seen in the heavens, and in many places the chickens went to roost, thinking that night had come. Some ignorant people were very much frightened, and thought that the world was coining to an end. When the moon is at her average distance from the earth, which astronomers suppose to he about, ‘240,000 miles, she is just about large enough to cover the sun’s disk, or visible surface; and a central eclipse of the sun, with the moon at this distance, would last but an instant. If she is nearer than her average distance, she will cover the sun for a longer time ; but if she is further off than usual, she will not be large enough to cover the entire face, but will leave visible a ring of the sun encircling the moon. This is called an annular eclipse. An annular eclipse of the sun, visible in many places in the South, occurred on the 19th of October, 1805. A total eclipse of the sun is one of the most im pressive and sublime .phenomena of Nature, and is contemplated with fear and astonishment by savage nations. Some of the tribhs of Indians imagined when they saw an eclipse, that a monster was trying to swallow the sun or moon, and made all sorts of noises to frighten him away. Two an cient nations, the Lydians and Medes, who were engaged in a bloody war, about six hundred years before Christ, were so terrified at a total eclipse of the sun, which occured just on the eve of a battle, that they threw down their arms and made peace. An eclipse of the sun can take place only at new moon, when the sun and moon meet in the same part of the heavens, for then only can the moon come between us and the sun; and an eclipse of the moon can occur only when the sun and moon are in opposite parts of the heavens, for at no other time can the moon fall into the shadow of the earth. We could tell you a great deal more about eclipses, but you must get some good work on as tronomy, and read for yourselves. Geographical Puzzle. No. 8. of the Weekly , we offered a prize of a year’s subscription to our paper for ) the best original Geographical Puzzle. Quite a number have been sent in—some of them very good, and all creditable to their authors. We have examined them all with great care, and have decided that the one sent us by Miss Hattie A. D., of Blakely, Ga., is the best, and that she is therefore erflitled to the prize. We sincerely regret that all of our little friends could not have been equally successful, but as only one prize was offered, but one can be awarded. We shall make room for some of the other puzzles, from time to time* To Correspondents. Theodosia R-—ls you will refer to page 77, No. 9 of the Weekly , you will see that we corrected the errors you refer to. Hattie A. D. —Your problem is received and filed for early insertion. Send what you like. “ Our Chimney Corner ” is much crowded now, but we shall try to make room tor all the good things sent. Glad to hear that you are working for an Album —will try to send you a nice one. F. C. Isabella P. —You send no solution with your enigma. Answers must always accompany everything sent for the “ Chimney Corner. C. T. L.—Your “ Geographical Enigma” is too long—the logogriph we accept, with thanks. Shall bo glad to hear from you often. —. —_—_— +»« — Your Subscription is Out. All three months’ subscriptions, which com menced with the first, number, expire with tins is sue. Those who have not renewed, and intend to do so, are earnestly requested to send us a remit tance at once, as it, will save trouble, and ensure all the numbers of the paper. • 4>««- Yellow Fever. We learn, from a private letter, that, our friend and the children’s friend, Mrs. Jane I- E Cross, lias recently had a severe attack from this dreaded disease. She has so far recovered, hou ever, as to lie able to resume her pen, and our lit tic readers will, we are sure, join with us 111 thanks to the good Lord for having spared so off uable a life. ■ JBi#"Names may be added to clubs at any t" iu during the year, at t he regular club rates. Back Numbers. We can still supply back numbers from the be ginning of the volume. ts