Rensselaer Union, Volume 1, Number 48, Rensselaer, Jasper County, 26 August 1869 — Humors of the Eclipse. [ARTICLE]

Humors of the Eclipse.

The Cincinnati Qazette says of the eclipse incidents in that city : The occasion was productive enough of quiet jokes. At the Sixth street market house four or five newsboys raised their smoky glasses to their youthful eyes and began to utter exclamations of surprise and wonder. The eclipse was just begimiing, and the example of the amateur astronomers was soon followed by three or four hundred bystanders. Among the rest, the hucksters forsook for a time all thoughts'of sordid gain, and turned their eyes and {Mention to the heavpns. As the obscuration became’'greater and greater they gave up everything, and thought of nothing but the sublime phenomeon. But the Arabs were on other things intent, and a gret coup <f etat they had planned they soon began to execute. No sooner was the attention of the bystanders thoroughly taken up, than the boys stole round to the now vacant stands, and helped themselves to whatever kind of fruit pleased theif fancy or which they thought would tickle their palate. It was not.until, the awe-stricken fruit venders had seen the light’ of the growing sun’B disc and had turned again to think of earth, that they learned at what precious price the glorious sight had been purchased. Meantime the boys were eating the fruit of their strategem. On Vine street, below Third, some enterprising merchants managed to get possession of a huge pipe, and into the extremity of the monster they fitted a piece of t)p, mounted it qji some iripodal arraugemeat, and then tq-vered the great fellow' With a piece l ©f All

who passed were invited to ** take a free look" through the Uilesoope, and, of course-, with the laudable, desire which *ll ha®, ot seeing everythin;; that was to be seen, the invitation win* generally accepted. But everyone who looked through the deceitful lustrufueuL saw only a tallow candle shining, and flooding witli its dim wick light the word “ sold. All __seemed to feel that, though they'had taken “a free look,” they had, indegd, paid a heavy price. Two printers went out on a lark, and became, to the disgrace of their craft, be it said, quite drunk. They concluded t" make so scientific observations; so they took a station near the Fifth street nuirket house, and‘procuring some glass and some paper, rigged up in an unknown way a quaint contrivance that bore some distant resemblance to the mysterious instruments of astronomers. Their preparations soon began to attract the attention of the bystanders, and by the time they had till their unearthly arrangements completed, t[ie crowd pressing anil jostling in upon them was numbering four or live hundred. With the gravity that comes in a state ol disgraceful intoxication, these twodrunken fellows soberly went to work and began to talk in language which was intended to be astronomical, but which sounded like the gibberish of the Choctaw*. As the throng grew denser, they dignifiedly requested it to “ keep lack, gentlemen. At length they even allied in the assistance of two policemen. But this presumption proved the ruin of the young inebriates, for their foul deceit was discovered, and the young pretenders were sent away to suffer the condign punishment of shame and mortification.

A gentleman was fishing near Plainville, and there happened to be,, at the same place encamped an old countryman, who’ with his family had gone out for a day’s quiet sport. The Cincinnatian began about three o’clock to smoke, not his cigar, but his glass, and the proceeding was watched with curious looks by the man from the country. Finally he could control his desire for knowledge no longer, and bluntly asked the smoker what he was doing. When told that he was making preparations to view the eclipse, the man's desire for information was in no wise lessened, and he wanted to know what was meant by that. The Cincinnatian tried to tell the old gentleman about the phenomenon, but it was all to no purpose, for when at last the moon began to slowly creep across the sun, and the rustic fisher was offered the glass, and then saw with his own eyes that a part of the sun had apparently been removed, his astonishment knew no bounds. But astonisTunenf gave place to dread when he was told flat the end was not yet. He shook his head sadly but earnestly, and then sat down on the green grass, with the quiet and silent resignation of a stoic, determined to stand with brave daring and stout heart all that was coming. As the eclipse continued, he still held liis place, but it was quite evident liis soul was severely tried His head was occasionally observed to be solemnly shaken, and he muttered once in a while to himself, but open word never spake he. But when the light again flooded the bills, he heaved a great sigh of relief, and then fell to dancing a jig of joy.