utual perturbations.
Indeed, he should be very sorry to see any interruption of the harmony of
the spheres. (Applause.)

The several articles of the New Nautical Almanac were then read over
without any comment; only we observed that Saturn shook his ring at every
novelty, and Jupiter gave his belt a hitch, and winked at the satellites at
page 21 of each month.

The MOON rose to propose a resolution. No one, he said, would be surprised
at his bringing this matter forward in the way he did, when it was
considered in how complete and satisfactory a manner his motions were now
represented. He must own he had trembled when the Lords of the Admiralty
dissolved the Board of Longitude, but his tranquillity was more than
reestablished by the adoption of the new system. He did not know but that
any little assistance he could give in Nautical Astronomy was becoming of
less and less value every day, owing to the improvement of chronometers.
But there was one thing, of which nothing could deprive him--he meant the
regulation of the tides. And, perhaps, when his attention was not occupied
by more than the latter, he should be able to introduce a little more
regularity into the phenomena. (Here the honourable luminary gave a sort of
modest libration, which convulsed the meeting with laughter.) They might
laugh at his natural infirmity if they pleased, but he could assure them it
arose only from the necessity he was under, when young, of watching the
motions of his worthy primary. He then moved a resolution highly laudatory
of the alterations which appeared in the New Nautical Almanac.

The EARTH rose, to second the motion. His honourable satellite had fully
expressed his opinions on the subject. He joined his honourable friend in
the focus in wishing to pay every attention to the Nautical Almanac, but,
{303} really, when so important an alteration had taken place in his
magnetic pole[658] (hear) and there might, for aught he knew, be a
successful attempt to reach his pole of rotation, he thought he could not
answer for the preservation of the precession in its present state. (Here
the hon. luminary, scratching his side, exclaimed, as he sat down, "More
steamboats--confound 'em!")

An honourable satellite (whose name we could not learn) proposed that the
resolution should be immediately despatched, corrected for refraction, when
he was called to order by the Focal Body, who reminded him that it was
contrary to the moving orders of t