"Some months before the expected eclipse the board of astronomers notifies the exact date of its appearance to the officials of the board of rites, who in their turn announce its appearance to the viceroys and governors of the provinces. They transmit the message to all their subordinates, so that, when the time arrives, an army of mandarins stand prepared to avert disaster. Their procedure is simple and as neither the sun nor the moon have ever been devoured, it is regarded as efficacious. At the appointed time the mandarins assemble at the yamen of the senior official, and arrange themselves before an altar set up in the courtyard, on which incense is burning. At a given signal, they fall down on their knees and perform Ko-t-ow, after which the attendants beat drums and gongs to frighten away the oppressive monster, while the priests move in a procession round the altar chanting prayers and formulas. To assist the mandarins in their patriotic efforts, the people mount to the roofs of their houses, and add to the din which issues from the yamen by beating everything capable of emitting resounding noises." The Grecians, however, ascribing all things to the gods, thought that the phenomenon was due to Jupiter, who, sometimes wishing to keep his business on earth secret from the other immortals on Mount Olympus, kept them from seeing him by hanging a little covering over the sun. "The Olympian Father hangs a noon-day night O'er the sun's disk and veils its glittering light, Fear falls on man. Hence miracles, before Incredible, are counted miracles no more." --_Archilochus._ (_Trans. by_ SIR CHAS. ABRAHAM ELTON.) CHAPTER XII THE CHILDREN OF THE SUN THE PLANETS WE have just obtained a close view of one of the stars of the Galaxy,--the nearest star, our own sun,--and have gazed in admiration at the pearly setting of its corona, the turbulent waves of its crimson atmosphere, its black spots and moving belts, and our admiration increases as we visualize in our mind's eye, the eight fine planets which swing unceasingly around in its beautiful light. In comparison with the sun, these planets are very small; either the earth, Mars, Venus or Mercury could be dropped into an average-sized sun-spot, or all four into an extra large sun-spot, while a thousand globes huge as Jupiter would scarcely balance the globe of the sun. Indeed, it has been computed that if the total mass of the whole solar system, with the exception of the sun, were called I, then the mass of the sun on the same scale would be 744. All of the planets of the solar system roll as if on a great shield, one orbit set within the other at widely separated intervals. These orbits are not round but elliptical, with the sun shining at one focus of each elliptical orbit.