AN OLD VALENTINE

Evening Post, Volume CXXV, Issue 36, 12 February 1938, Page 20

AN OLD VALENTINE

"I thought you might be interested to know that I have a very old Valentine in my possession. It dates back to 1865 and as you mentioned, it is a serious one. It was- given to -my aunt,-my mother's.^elder sister, by her Sunday School $ teacher, Marianne Farningham, authoress, of Northampton, England. It was a very beautiful thing but now the worse for wear; a circle of white satin, surrounded by gossamer paper of white and *gold; two peacocks, and a dove, embossed in gold. Printed on the satin in black tiny letters are the words: A BLESSING. May the blessing of God await thee; And may the gates of plenty, honour And happiness be ever open to thee; May no sorrow distress thy days; May no grief disturb thy nights; And when the curtain of death Closes around thy last sleep, may The angel of God take care that . The lamp of life shall not receive One' rude blast to hasten its extinction. From "A Grown Up." Lower Hutt. ' ' ... . , <4 ... . # .-■■■■■ MARVELS OF THE SKY » - ■ The study of astronomy is a very fascinating subject. Here are some interesting facts that astronomers have discovered: Saturn is a planet with nine moons. The sun is only one of millions of similar suns. It is composed of hydrogen, oxygen, helium, copper, .iron, silver, lead, and other substances. The stars are so far distant from the earth'that, though they often move with terrific speed, they appear stationary. A meteor or shooting star is. a small heavenly body made white hot by its flight through the earth's atmosphere. Double stars, revolve around each other and appear as one to the naked eye. Astronomy has its uses in discovering and charting of strange lands, and the measurement of time, without which modern business would be impossible. Galileo was the father of telescopic astronomy. Navigators could not steer a true course on the seas unless they knew the motions "of the heavenly bodies. Knowing latitude and longitude enables us to find the exact location of ships in distress.

Alpha Centauri, the nearest star to us, is about 25,600,000,000,000 miles from the earth. Astronomy has given us a knowledge of the tremendous vastness ol! space. It enables us to figure centuries in advance the exact moment of future eclipses and other heavenly occurrences.