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perturbations in the course of the planet Uranus, it was supposed that another planet was in existence beyond it; and two competitors set to work to calculate its size, situation, etc. The result was, the discovery of this other planet within a few minutes of the place pointed out by them, and its size, etc., not very different from what they estimated it at. But besides this, astronomy includes matters more intimately mixed up with our everyday affairs. In the Nautical Almanacs, which are constructed for several years in advance, the situations and nearly everything connected with the different planets are calculated for every day in the year, and can be found, if required, for any minute in any day you please, for 10,000 years to come. Also the eclipses of the sun or moon, with the exact moment at which they will commence or end, at any spot on the earth; the exact portion eclipsed, or, in fact, anything about it you like to mention for any given number of years in advance. Not only this, but you can find the eclipses of Jupiter's moons with the same precision. Now is there anything to be compared with this? But if astronomy led to no other end than the mere gaining of knowledge, or the assistance of commerce, it would take a far lower stand than it is really entitled to. As the great object of the science is the correction of error and the investigation of truth, it necessarily leads all those that feel an interest in it to a higher appreciation and desire for truth; and you will easily perceive that a man having a knowledge of all these vast worlds, so much more extensive than our own, must be capable of forming a far higher estimate of that Almighty Being who created all these wonders, than one who knows nothing more than the comparatively trifling things that surround us on earth. I send you 3 pounds, with which you are to get the following books for yourself and the girls: Dr. Lardner's Museum of Science and Art, in six double volumes: 1 pound 1 shilling. Chambers' Mathematics, Parts 1 and 2, and Chambers' Mathematical Tables, each: 3 shillings 6 pence. A Nautical Almanac for next year: 2 shillings 6 pence. The Art of Reasoning, or the Principles of Logic, by Samuel Niel: 4 shillings 6 pence. Twelve planispheres, forming a guide to the stars for every night in the year, with an introduction: 6 shillings 6 pence. Lardner's Museum of Science and Art is one of the best books that has ever been wri
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