large open space where no objects were present to afford this secondary reflection, we should find the object immersed in the shadow to be almost entirely invisible. Reasoning thus in the case of the Moon and the Earth, we find a strict analogy: a flood of light is shed by the Sun on the Moon at m, by which its front surface is wholly illuminated, and its hinder surface kept in the shade: there is also a shadow cast behind the opaque body of the Moon, the extent of which shadow depends conjointly on the sizes of the Sun and Moon and the distance between them. This shadow is of two kinds, the umbra and the penumbra; the former being the darker of the two: the reason of this difference is, that the umbra covers a portion of space wholly deprived of the Sun's light, while the penumbra covers that portion of the Earth's surface which has a view of part of the Sun's disk. Were the Sun but a luminous point, this distinction would not occur; but, as he has a very considerable diameter, and the Moon is very small compared even with the Earth, it follows that there will be no eclipse to places out of the penumbra; that places in the penumbra will have the Sun partially eclipsed; and that places in the umbra will see a total, or an annular, eclipse of the Sun; the latter depending upon the distance of the Moon from the Earth. The first of the two foregoing figures represents a total, the second an annular eclipse.

The Moon m being exactly between the Earth and the Sun, throws her dark conical shadow ma towards the Earth, which shadow, in the first case, reaches the Earth, and in the second falls short of it.

If now we suppose an inhabitant of the Earth to be situated at the point a, (fig. 18,) he would witness a total eclipse of the Sun: he will be situated in the shadow of the Moon, and the body of the Moon will completely hide the Sun from his sight; this will be evident, when it is seen that he will be in the shadow, between the lines d a, e a. If another inhabitant of the Earth were situated at any point between b and a, or a and c, he would see a partial solar eclipse, that is, the black disk of the Moon would appear to cut off a portion of the luminous surface of the Sun. The parts of the Earth beyond b and c, on either side, are out of the effects of the eclipse: the people beyond b and c see the whole disk of the Sun, as is plain by observing the direction of the lines be and c d.

If the Moon were at a constant distance from the Earth, and the Earth at a constant distance from the Sun, a central eclipse of the Sun would always present the same features to an inhabitant of the Earth; but such is not the case: the Earth is about three millions of miles nearer to the Sun in December than in June, on account of her being at that end of her elliptical orbit which is nearest to the Sun; consequently the Sun appears larger, or subtends a larger angle, at the former period than at the latter. Again, the Moon's orbit round the Earth is likewise elliptical; and although we are accustomed to say that the Moon is about 240,000 miles distant from the Earth, yet, when we wish to determine the distance in different times, it is found that the Moon's greatest distance from the Earth is about 251,000 miles, and her least about 227,000. Now, if the Moon were in perigee (that part of her orbit nearest to the Earth), and the Earth were in aphelion (that part of her orbit farthest from the Sun), at the time of a central solar eclipse, the eclipse would be total, because the apparent diameter of the Moon, as seen from the Earth, would be

Umbra is the Latin for a shadow; penumbra implies a partial shadow.

greater than that of the Sun. But if the reverse were the case; if the Moon were at her greatest, and the Sun at his least, distance from the Earth, at the time of a central eclipse, then the eclipse would be annular; that is, a ring of the Sun's light would seem to surround the dark body of the Moon, in consequence of the Sun having at that time a larger apparent diameter than the Moon. These differences would not occur, were it not that the apparent dimensions of the Sun and Moon, as seen from the Earth, are so nearly equal.

Hence it will be seen, by inspecting the second figure, that, in an annular eclipse, no part of the Earth can be enveloped in the Moon's umbra, owing to its not reaching the Earth; and the solar ring can be seen only by that part of the Earth where the umbra would have failen, if the Moon had been nearer the Earth; that is, under the point a, where a straight line would reach which had passed through the centres of the Sun and Moon. The part of the Earth out of this spot, but between b and c, sees only a partial eclipse, and those beyond b and c none at all. In order to obtain some means for estimating the magnitude of an eclipse, the diameter of the Sun or Moon is supposed to be divided into twelve equal parts, called digits; so that when it is said that such a number of digits was eclipsed, the meaning is at once known: the Moon was not in a node at the time of the eclipse, the eclipse was therefore partial, not central, and the number of digits indicates to what extent of surface the eclipse advanced.

Calculations have been made as to the longest time that a solar eclipse can be either central, or annular, under the most favourable circumstances; and it has been found that 12 minutes 24 seconds is the longest time of an annular eclipse, and 7 minutes 58 seconds the longest time of a total eclipse.

The periods which the Earth and Moon take to perform their respective revolutions, and the degree of obliquity between their orbits, have enabled astronomers to calculate how many eclipses may occur in a year. There must be two eclipses of the Sun in every year, and the number may be as high as five, but it cannot be greater. No solar eclipse is visible in every part of the portion of the Earth which is turned towards the Sun, because the shadow of the Moon is too narrow to take in the whole diameter of the Earth at once, as may be seen in the preceding figures. A solar eclipse cannot be total at the same moment to a portion of the Earth more than 180 miles in diameter; but it may be partial at the same moment to a portion of the Earth 4900 miles in diameter. We may further observe that a solar eclipse does not happen at the same point of time at all places where it is perceived: it appears earlier to those persons situated towards the west, than to those situated towards the east, because the motion of the Moon and of her shadow is from west to east. Moreover, the extent of solar obscuration is different at different latitudes on the Earth's surface; according as we may suppose a spectator to be more or less distant from the line which connects the three bodies in question.

LUNAR ECLIPSES.

As the solar eclipse was owing to the opaque body of the Moon hiding the light of the Sun from the Earth, and took place when the Moon was new, or in conjunction; so the lunar eclipse is due to the opaque body of the Earth

+ So termed from annulus, the Latin for a ring.

hindering the solar rays from reaching the Moon, and takes place when the Moon is full, or in opposition.

In the subjoined figure, s represents the Sun, E the Earth, m the Moon in opposition. The Sun, shining upon the Earth, causes a shadow to be thrown behind, which has the form of a cone; that is, it tapers to a point like a sugarloaf. The reason why the shadow thus tapers to a point is, that the Sun is so much larger than the Earth. The distance of this point, or the total length of the Earth's shadow, is about 840,000 miles, when the Earth is nearest to the Sun; and about 870,000 miles, when she is at her farthest distance therefrom: it follows, therefore, that if any body pass behind the Earth, in a right line with the Sun and the Earth, and not at a greater distance from the Earth than has just been named, that body will be immersed in the Earth's shadow.

This is the case with the Moon: we have seen that she is, on an average, about 240,000 miles distant from the Earth; and that she revolves round the Earth in a plane nearly coincident with the plane of the Earth's orbit. In our figure the shadow of the Earth is represented as having a conical tendency; if now the Moon m were beyond the apex of this cone, she would altogether escape from the Earth's shadow, but, as part of her orbit (which is represented by the circle,) is between the base and the apex of the shadow, the Moon is necessarily immersed in the shadow, and we thus have the phenomenon known as an eclipse of the Moon. If the Moon happen to be at one of her nodes at the time of full Moon, then we have a central and total eclipse; but if she be at any part of her orbit not exceeding 11° 21' from the node, the eclipse will be partial. In this case, the three bodies cannot be in a perfectly straight line; so that the Moon dips more or less of its body into the shadow of the Earth, but not the whole of its body.

Some time before the commencement of an eclipse of the Moon, she is seen to be partially obscured, as if a mist covered the illuminated surface: this arises from the circumstance that she has to go through the Earth's penumbra, or partial shadow, before her immersion in the umbra, or real shadow. In our figure, rays of light from the two extreme edges of the Sun a a', pass by the edges of the Earth bb', (having previously crossed at c,) and go on in the direction bd and b'e: but still the upper part of the penumbra dbf, receives light from the upper part of the Sun, although the Earth prevents it from receiving light from the lower part; and, again, the lower part gb'e of the penumbra receives light from the lower part of the Sun, although the upper rays are also excluded by the Earth. From this circumstance, therefore, the real shadow is surrounded by a partial shadow, which imparts to the Moon the dusky appearance just mentioned, which duskiness becomes more decided as the Moon approaches the real shadow, and so receives fewer rays from the Sun. If there be inhabitants in the Moon, they, of course, see a solar eclipse; and, while they are in the Earth's penumbra,.the Sun appears to them partially eclipsed, which solar eclipse increases until the Moon enters into the Earth's umbra; when the Sun appears to the Moon, and the Moon appears to the Earth, totally eclipsed.

By comparing the foregoing circumstances, we find that a solar eclipse can be visible to only a portion of the enlightened hemisphere of the Earth: while a lunar eclipse may be seen by half the globe of the Earth. Moreover, a lunar eclipse always begins on the eastern edge of the Moon, because her motion is from west to east; so that her eastern edge first enters into the shadow of the Earth: but, in the case of a solar eclipse, the dark body of the moon appears first on the western limb of the Sun, on account of the motion of the Moon from west to east, as mentioned in the former case.

During a total, or large partial eclipse of the Sun, the dark side of the Moon is not wholly invisible. We can, therefore, descry its general outline, owing to the Sun's light being reflected strongly from the surface of the Earth to the Moon; and this reflected light is again reflected from the Moon, and constitutes the faint light on her surface seen during a solar eclipse, and also in a very interesting manner, when the Moon is only two or three days old. The disk of the Earth appearing to the Moon nearly thirteen times as large as the Moon appears to us, the light which the Earth gives the Moon must be very great. Now, when the Moon is two or three days old, the Earth appears as a large gibbous figure of light to the Moon; and so we see not only the sun-lit part of the moon, but also the rest of its disk, seeming of a dirty white plaister colour. As the light of the Sun increases upon the disk of the moon, the Earth's light to the Moon wanes, and we no longer notice this appearance.

In a total eclipse of the Moon this body is still seen, even when enveloped in the shadow of the Earth, by reason that the rays of light from the Sun are bent round the margin of the Earth by the refracting power of its atmosphere, and are thus carried on through space till they arrive at the Moon; from the surface of which they are again reflected. It is further evident that an eclipse of the Sun cannot be identical as to time and appearance, to any two spectators situated at different points on the Earth's surface; because the sun loses no light, but is only hidden, as it were, by a screen, scarcely, or just big enough to hide it: but an eclipse of the Moon is identical as to time and appearance, because it loses its light, and that too, at a certain precise point of time:-that is to say, we may see the Sun at the time of a solar eclipse, and be ignorant that he is eclipsed; but a lunar eclipse is seen by all, who see the moon.

Hence, though the solar eclipses are more numerous than the lunar, the latter are more likely to be observed, being visible to a whole hemisphere. The usual number of eclipses is about four, two of the Sun and two of the Moon; but there cannot be more than seven, nor fewer than two when there are only two, they will be of the Sun, as is the case next year.

A lunar eclipse cannot last longer than 5 hours, from first entering into the Earth's penumbra to quitting it: she cannot be eclipsed partially and totally more than 3 hours and she cannot be totally eclipsed more than 1 hours.

The subject of the Earth and Moon will be continued and concluded in our next paper.

THERE is much historical interest attaching to the old chapel, of the north side of which we here give an original sketch. Though situated in the midst of a thickly-peopled neighbourhood, its very existence is but little known, being sunk from view, on the west side of Ely Place, Holborn. The name of this "Place" marks it as the original site of the once magnificent London residence of the Bishops of Ely. In former times, most of the bishops had seats, or, as they were commonly called, places, in or near London, in which they resided during their attendance on parliament, &c.; and at the periods of this town residence they were accustomed to exercise jurisdiction in their town places, just as in their own dioceses in the country. The Bishop of Bangor had anciently a palace in Shoe Lane, Holborn; and the Bishop of Lincoln possessed one in the village of Holborn, or Oldbourne. Most of these episcopal houses, however, were either exchanged, or divided into private dwellings. Winchester Place, Southwark, once a splendid palace of the bishop of that see, was replaced by a house at Chelsea, which has also long ceased to be thus appropriated. Lambeth Palace, indeed, still fulfils its original purpose as the seat of his Grace the Primate. VOL. XIII.

By far the most extensive "citie habitation" of this kind, which was, in fact, an appendage to another see, though placed in the very heart of the metropolis, was that of the Bishop of Ely, on the spot which we are describing. And, although, since the year 1772, the successive bishops of Ely have occupied a house in Dover Street, Piccadilly, which was then annexed to their office, in lieu of the old Ely Place, there is still a small piece of property belonging to the see in the parish of St. Andrew's, Holborn, namely, the Charity School House in Hatton Garden, and a slip of ground running behind the houses in Kirby Street, in the same parish. The titles of this garden and street, together with those of Christopher Street, Mitre Court, Saffron Hill, Field Lane, suggest materials for illustrating the subject before us; but before we proceed to a particular mention of the Palace, which has long been levelled with the ground, or speak of its garden of strawberries, its vineyard, or the green meadows which it once boasted, let us turn to the sole relic of antiquity at present existing on this remarkable site, namely, the antique chapel of St. Etheldreda. Newcourt, in his Repertorium Londinense, written in 1700, says of Ely Chapel, " It is

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to this day a very fair, large, old chapel." This venerable structure, called after the name of the foundress of the monastery at Ely, may be considered to be of about the date of 1320; though an ecclesiastical building occupied its site at an earlier period. The rich and highly decorated Eastern window, as seen from Ely Place, affords a pleasing specimen of the style of the fourteenth century. The Western window is of four mullions with cinque-foil arches; and above these, a circle filled with three roses and two quatre-foils. It is not less beautiful than that at the east end; but it is choked up with buildings, so as to be inaccessible from without, and is also greatly obscured by the west gallery within. The floor of the chapel being raised ten or twelve feet above the level of the ground in Ely Place, the access to it is by a flight of stone steps, which lead to two small doors under the great east window, the wall having been pierced for doors where there were once niches for statues. These steps and doors did not exist in 1772; the entrance having been from the south-east the only approach is now from the east. The chapel is a parallelogram, in length ninety-one feet, and in breadth thirty-nine. It contains about 550 sittings, upwards of half of which are free. In consequence, however, partly, of the peculiar situation of the chapel, amidst a row of houses, beyond which is no thoroughfare, it is less known than it ought to be; and there is far more than sufficient room for the worshippers who attend the morning and evening services.

The galleries on the north and south sides, are supported by plain columns of wood: these, with the ceiling, cornices, &c., which were added at the latter part of the last century, might be styled very neat in a more modern building, but certainly do not agree with the five narrow and elegant windows on each side, and the florid and grotesque ornaments between them, nor with the general aspect of the place. Here, as lately as seventy years since, the Bishop of Ely, like his predecessors, used to sit enthroned in due state. Though one window on each side has been filled up, the chapel is by no means deficient in light. After surveying the interior, the visiter will observe a good door-way at the south-west, which appears to be of the earlier period, or middle, of the fourteenth century. Viewing it from the outside, though rather at a disadvantage, owing to the narrowness of the space, he will also notice at the angle to his left a rude and massive fragment of wall, evidently a portion of the old building, and adjoining it the octagonal turret of the chapel, crowned with a conical top or cap. In the year 1772, when Grose described it, there was a similar turret or buttress at each corner. On the south side were formerly the Cloisters; these, with the quadrangle which they inclosed, covered a space about three times as large as the area of the chapel itself. On the north side of the building, of which the view before us was taken in the present autumn, there are now stables; but anciently, there was a field planted with large and handsome trees, and surrounded by a wall.

The low arched gateway, seen to the north-west in the cut, about which a quantity of earth and rubbish has accumulated, making the ground much higher than formerly, leads into a dark souterrain, or Crypt, which, stretching under the whole extent of the chapel, is stated by Malcolm, to have been formerly used as a burial-place for inhabitants dying within the precinct, when Ely Place was tenanted by the Bishop and his establishment. This is by no means improbable, though there are no adequate grounds for the positive assertion. We have ample

proof of Christenings and Marriages having been solemnized in the chapel, the original registers of which are in existence. It appears, also, that in the times of popery, no fewer than three chaplains were appointed, on certain conditions, to pray within the chapel, for the soul of Bishop William de Luda, who died in 1297, and for the souls of the bishops of Ely for ever. Considering this, and the great extent of the premises, together with the then distinctive character of the place, the persons immediately connected with it would surely find interment within its precincts; and if so, where so likely, especially those of the sacred profession, as in the crypt? This crypt has six windows on the north, answering to as many niches on the south side, but many of the windows are now stopped up. The chief entrance to it is from Ely Place, by an arched doorway under the east window. Eight enormous chestnut posts, with powerful girders, running from east to west, support the floor of the chapel; and though upon these, as well as other parts of the fabric, time has produced a visible effect, there is a massiveness and solidity about the whole edifice which afford a promise of its lasting entire for many years to come.

The earliest date which can be assigned to this place, in connexion with Ely, is that of John de Kirkeby, (appointed bishop in 1286,) who left, by will, to his successors in the see, a messuage and nine cottages in Holborn, which messuage became thenceforth the capital mansion of the bishop of Ely. Bishop De Luda increased the demesne, and bequeathed it, on the condition that his immediate successors should pay one thousand marks, as a fund for the payment of the three chaplains, for the performance of the services above mentioned. He also left three houses for the residence of the chaplains. Bishop John de Hotham, at his death in 1336, added six messuages, two cellars, and forty acres of land, which he gave to the canons of Ely to say masses for his soul. Camden calls Ely Place " a citie habitation of the bishops of Ely, well beseeming bishops to dwell in; for which they are beholden to John de Hotham, bishop of Ely, under King Edward the Third.”

Thomas Arundel, who was consecrated in 1374, and afterwards became Archbishop of Canterbury,. expended great portions of his revenue on the palace. Whether the present chapel was of his building or not, it is clear that a chapel had been in existence here before: and it is more probable, that he improved and beautified it. This munificent prelate not only repaired the palace, but also erected a large front towards the street, in the stone-work of which his coat of arms, sculptured, was to be seen in the time of Stowe.

Having given a description of the Chapel, the subsequent history of which is closely connected with that of the palace itself, we now arrive, in chronological order, at a fact worthy of record; the death of John of Gaunt, duke of Lancaster, father of King Henry the Fourth, at Ely Place. The event is thus noticed by Hollinshed:

A.D. 1399.-In the meane time, the duke of Lancaster departed out of this life at the bishop of Elie's place, in Holborne, and lieth buried in the Cathedrall church of St. Paule, in London, on the north side of the high altar, by the ladie Blanche, his first wife.-HOLLINSHED (Richard II.)

In this palace many sumptuous feasts were held. In Michaelmas Term, 1464, the serjeants at law held their banquet here, to which, among other distinguished persons, the Lord Mayor was invited, with the aldermen, sheriffs, &c. But on the Lord Mayor's looking for the chief seat of state in the hall, as was always the custom, within the city and its liberties, when