don by ye Conservators and other Officers of State at St. John de Lateran; and now the table on wch they say our Blessed Lord celebrated his last supper is set out, and the heads of the Apostles. In every famous church they are busy in dressing up their pageantries to represent the Holy Sepulchre, of which we went to visite divers.'

31.-GOOD FRIDAY.

This day commemorates the sufferings of Christ, as a propitiation for our sins. Holy Friday, or the Friday in Holy Week, was its more antient and general appellation; the name Good Friday is peculiar to the English church. It was observed as a day of extraordinary devotion. Buns, with crosses upon them, are usually eaten in London and some other places on this day, at breakfast. We cannot forbear, on this occasion (observes our valuable clerical correspondent from Cambridge), to mention the late Dr. Rambach's (of the University of Giessen) Meditations and Contemplations on the Sufferings of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, in one volume, 8vo, intended to be read either in the Passion Week, or, to those who have little spare time, during the whole season of Lent. It is an admirable devotional work. Dr. Knowles's shorter volume on the transactions of the Passion Week, and Mr. Mant's Lectures for the same, are excellent works likewise. For an account of ceremonies in various places, consult T. T. for 1815, p.88, and T. T. for 1817, pp. 89-91. We here introduce an additional illustration.

'On this day,' says Mr. Evelyn,' we went againe to St. Peter's, where the Handkerchief, Launce, and Crosse were all exposed and worshipped together. All the confession-seates were filled with devout people, and at night was a procession of several who most lamentably whipped themselves till the blood stained their clothes, for some had shirts, others upon the bare back, having vizors and masks on their faces; at every 3 or 4 steps dashing the

knotted and ravelled whipcord over their shoulders, as hard as they could lay it on, whilst some of the religious orders and fraternities sung in a dismal tone, the lights and crosses going before, making altogether a horrible and indeede heathenish pompe." -(Memoirs, vol. i, p. 163.)

Astronomical Occurrences

In MARCH 1820.

THE Sun enters Aries at 18 m. after 4 on the afternoon of the 20th of this month; and the Sun will also be eclipsed on the 14th; but the eclipse will not be visible in this country, as he will appear in conjunction at 20 m. 40 s. past 1 in the afternoon in 11 s. 23° 55', the Moon's latitude being 43 south. The Sun will be centrally eclipsed on the meridian at 0 h. 465 m. in longitude 11° 42' west, and latitude 56° 32 south. He rises and sets during the same period as in the following

TABLE

Of the Sun's Rising and Setting on every fifth Day. 1st, Sun rises 36 m. after 6. Sets 24 m. after 5

March

6tli,

26 16

Equation of Time.

44

54

4

14

24

The numbers in the following table being added to the time as exhibited by a good sun-dial, will give that which ought to be indicated by a well regulated clock at the same instant, viz.

TABLE.

m. s.

Wednesday, March 1st, to the time by the dial add 12 36

Monday,

Saturday,

6th, 11th,

Thursday,

21st, 26th, 31st,

· 11 29

10 13

8 49

7 19

5 47

4 14

The eclipse of the Moon, which takes place on the 29th of this month, will only be partially visible in England, as is sufficiently evident from the following particulars: viz.

Digits eclipsed 6° 12′ from the south side of the Earth's shadow, or on the Moon's northern limb.

Moon's Passage over the Meridian.

The Moon will pass the first meridian of this country at the following times during this month, and will therefore afford good opportunities for observation, if the atmosphere be only free from fog and clouds.

Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites.

There will be five eclipses of Jupiter's first and three of his second satellite this month; but none of them are visible at Greenwich.

Other Phenomena.

Mercury will attain his greatest elongation on the 25th of this month; and Saturn will be in conjunction at 45 m. after 5 in the morning of the 24th. The Georgium Sidus will also be in quadrature at past 9 in the morning of the 19th. The Moon will be in conjunction with a in Virgo at 50 m. after 12 on the 3d; with a in Scorpio, at 3 m. past 4 in the morning of the 7th; with Saturn, at 57 m. after 2 in the morning of the 15th; with Mercury, at 43 m. past 1 in the afternoon of the 15th; with Venus, at 11m. after 6 in the morning of the 17th; with ẞ in Taurus, at 20 m. past 5 in the afternoon of the 20th; with Pollux, at 5 in the morning of the 23d; with a in Leo, at 59 m. after 6 in the morning of the 26th; and with α in Virgo, at 58 m. after 6 in the afternoon of the 30th. The Moon will also be in perigee on the 13th, and in apogee on the 26th.

On the late COMET.

α

This late brilliant stranger appears to have made its appearance within the limits of our optical powers rather unexpectedly; at least, we are unacquainted with any predictions of its arrival in those lower regions of space; and this is confirmed by the dissimilarity in the elements of its orbit, and those of the comets that had been previously computed. But though its visit was not only unexpected but transient, the interest it excited was general and lively. This comet appears to have been first seen at Palermo, by the celebrated astronomer Piazzi, who announced its appearance to the Duchess de Berri. It was soon afterwards seen at Paris; at both of which places, the air is often more clear and suitable

for astronomical observations than in England. It is said to have been first seen at both York and Leeds on the 1st of July; and when at its lowest depression below the north pole, it was only a few degrees above the horizon; but it does not appear to have been observed in the neighbourhood of the metropolis till the 3d of that month. On that evening, however, its brilliancy was sufficient to render it visible to the naked eye, soon after the stars began to appear in the evening. Of this, the writer was himself a witness, a very few miles north of London; and thus it continued till the light of the morning caused it to be hid from our observation. Its nucleus appeared to be well defined, and its tail extended several degrees towards the zenith, and, when seen through a good telescope, seemed to have a slightly curling divergency towards the extremity. The length of the tail was estimated by some observers at 15 degrees.

The observations made at the Royal Observatory, in the night of the 3d of July, at 12 h. 6 m. 55'3 s. of mean time, were as follow, viz.

The comet having passed its perihelion, at the distance of about 23 millions of miles from the Sun, and 73 millions from the Earth, was then moving with the amazing velocity it had acquired in its descent to its lower apsis; and though, from the small daily increment of its visible latitude and longitude, it appeared nearly stationary in the heavens, yet, from its great geocentric velocity, it was evidently fast receding from the solar system into the boundless regions of space. On the evening of the 7th, however, about 9 o'clock, it appeared about 26° west of the