“Sweet fields arrayed in living green, And rivers of delight.” But the probabilities are strongly on the other side. So far as we can discover, no atmosphere is there to catch and hold the rays from the burning sun, and hence it seems that all must be cold and bleak and barren. “Distance lends enchantment to the view,” and it were perhaps better that we should thus enjoy its mild light and gentle influence, than cultivate a closer acquaintance. MERCURY. The planet enjoying the distinction of being the nearest to the center of our system is too near the “dazzling brightness” to permit our finding out much about its physical constitution. We suppose, but do not know, that it revolves on its axis. We guess that it has satellites, but no one is certain that he ever saw one of them. We used to think it must be a very warm planet; but now we think it might perhaps be a moderately comfortable place for a mortal to reside. The fact is, what we do not know about it is much more than what we do know; and what we know about it for this month is nearly as follows: On the 1st, 15th, 25th and 30th it will rise after the sun, and will not be visible to the unaided eye; but on the same dates it will set at 6:32, 7:03, 8:37 and 8:35 p. m., respectively, and can therefore be easily seen after sunset from the 20th to the end of the month by anybody who will take the pains to look for it—that is, within the latitude in which most of our readers live. It reaches its most easterly limit (20° 32′) at 9:00 p. m. on the evening of the 25th, and approaches so much nearer to us during the month as to cause its diameter to appear nearly twice as large—that is, to increase from 5″ to 9″. On the 21st at 2:00 a. m. it will be 4° 20′ north of Neptune, and on the 26th at 5:55 p. m., 5° 47′ north of the moon. VENUS, The most friendly of our planets, who comes so close at times as to seem to be within “hailing distance” (only twenty-five millions of miles), is still our delight. She grows brighter and more beautiful as time moves on. Her motion for the month is direct and amounts to 34° 16′ 3″. Her diameter shows an increase of 5.4″. From our present acquaintance we learn that she sometimes shines so brightly as to be visible in daylight to the naked eye, and at night, in the absence of the moon, to cast a shadow. When viewed through a telescope, she presents phases like the moon; and in some respects she is very much like our earth. For example, her size is not more than 4 per cent. less, and her density and force of gravity must be nearly the same. Her days are supposed to be a little shorter than ours, and her years are known to be equal to 224⅔ of our days. On the 1st, 15th and 30th she will rise at 7:32, 7:25 and 7:26 a. m., and set at 10:04, 10:31 and 10:48 p. m., respectively. On the 2d, at 11:00 p. m., she will be nearest the sun; on the 25th, at 11:00 p. m., 4° 13′ north of Saturn; on the 28th, at 2:41 p. m., 7° 53′ north of the moon. MARS.