The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1915. COMETS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 1 October 1915, Page 2

The Chronicle. PUBLISHED DAILY THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 1915. COMETS.

In aN llio en toll of article- on The \\;\- uc have seen nouo regarding com _>is. Thi,v .seems extraordinary, lor the t'ajt is within (he knowledge oi even virtuoso in astronomy that history abounds with instances ol' dicii'.s fears and fsiijXM-sci-(ions regarding tlio.se gaseous nebulae and ilieir alleged influence or mail's i affairs and destiny. humid of ICmzland attn'l)iite<l his defeat by William the Conqueror to the appearance of 'he comet afterwards known as Malh'y's comet; and doubtless Ihe Turk* in l!Ht> attributed to fhe same come! their ill-siicces* against (irooeo, Bulgaria iS'ervia and others of fhe Balkan .Slates which subsequently fought amongst Ihemselves over their subdivisions ol conquered terriiories. The groat war now in progress had no cometary portent to herald it and (so far as we ki10,,-) there is no likelihood of any large comet appearing during its progress, even if u extend over another nine years; as we fear it may if the financiers remain complaisant ami the productivity of the earth be equal to the economic needs of the nations. No doubt the absence oi cotnctei'y di.scoiir.seri is due to the lack ol an appropriate comet to .llunilne the. articles, but for our own pa.'t we make no apology for dragging m the subject, since an article on stellar luminosities i.s as appropriate to-day .as in times of peace. The war is with as willy nilly, and if our relatives are ailing ami dying as other people's are the truth remains that, absorption in thoughts of desolation and of hopelessness is of no avail to the individual or-the dominion or the nation. The world's affairs .should go on a.s ordinarily as possible, and if here and there a one feels iineijiial to the strain of participating in public functions or affairs then? is the more reason that those who are able so to do should, carry out their duties with* the greater vigor. And for those who can find in abstracted .speculation a sufficiency of means to repel despondency or poignant regret, the pursuit is commendable. Life has iU needs for hopefulness and calmness even more in times of warring stress than in days of peace. Which philosophic thought impresses ns ■with tho fact that de'tails about comets and our own tncory about their origin and motion would come a.s an anti-climax here, so we reserve for to-morro"w\s issue our article in that regard.