Among cultivated nations, a total eclipse of the sun is recognised, from the exactness with which the time of occurrence and the various appearances answer to the prediction, as affording one of the proudest triumphs of astronomy. By astronomers themselves, it is of course viewed with the highest interest, not only as verifying their calculations, but as contributing to establish, beyond all doubt, the certainty of those grand laws, the truth of which is involved in the result. I had the good fortune to witness the total eclipse of the sun of June, 1806, which was one of the most remarkable on record. To the wondering gaze of childhood it presented a spectacle that can never be forgotten. A bright and beautiful morning inspired universal joy, for the sky was entirely cloudless. Every one was busily occupied in preparing smoked glass, in readiness for the great sight, which was to be first seen about ten o'clock. A thrill of mingled wonder and delight struck every mind when, at the appointed moment, a little black indentation appeared on the limb of the sun. This gradually expanded, covering more and more of the solar disk, until an increasing gloom was spread over the face of Nature; and when the sun was wholly lost, near mid-day, a feeling of horror pervaded almost every beholder. The darkness was wholly unlike that of twilight or night. A thick curtain, very different from clouds, hung upon the face of the sky, producing a strange and indescribably gloomy appearance, which was reflected from all things on the earth, in hues equally strange and unnatural. Some of the planets, and the largest of the fixed stars, shone out through the gloom, yet with their usual brightness. The temperature of the air rapidly declined, and so sudden a chill came over the earth, that many persons caught severe colds from their exposure. Even the animal tribes exhibited tokens of fear and agitation. Birds, especially, fluttered and flew swiftly about, and domestic fowls went to rest.