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The period from 1757 to 1767, during which he enjoyed more leisure, he devoted entirely to astronomical observations and calculations for the Ephemerides, each volume of which, published annually, contained evident proofs of his assiduity. About the same time he published a small work, entitled, "An Introduction towards the useful employment of Artificial Magnets." But however well known Hell's name might be by the accuracy of his observations, by his writings, and by the learned epistolary correspondence which he carried on, a circumstance now occurred which contributed not a little to increase his fame and to render him celebrated as an astronomer. The friends of science in all the civilized countries of Europe were looking forwards with great expectation to a period which seemed likely to be attended with considerable advantage to astronomy. The transit of Venus over the sun's disk, announced for the 3d of June, 1769, was considered as a phænomenon which, if observed in different places of the globe, would furnish data for determining the true distance of the sun and planets from the earth; and some of the ablest astronomers were selected to proceed for this purpose to Cajaneborg, in Finland, to Otaheite, to California, and to Hudson's Bay. Hell also had the honour of being chosen to participate in this undertaking. In the year 1767 he was invited by Christian VII. king of Denmark, to observe the transit in an island of the Frozen Ocean, near Wardöehuus, at the northern extremity of Europe. He had before re-fused two invitations of the like kind; but, notwithstanding the great difficulties and dangers with which this long journey were likely to be attended, and the infirm state of his health, he accepted the offer. The Danish minister, Baron von Thott, to whom the sciences are under so many obligations, had the care of making the necessary preparations, and to his prudent regulations was the philosophical world in a great measure indebted for the successful result of the expedition. Having obtained permission from the imperial court, Hell, accompanied by J. Sajnovics, a member of the same order, who was to act as his assistant, set out on the 28th of April, 1768, and on the 11th of October reached the place of his destination. By arriving at so early a period, he was enabled to employ his leisure time during the winter in constructing an observatory, which was done for the most part by torch-light, as the sun from the 19th of November, the last time he was seen on the horizon, till the 22d of January, 1769, was entirely concealed. Hell carried on the work with so much activity, that the observatory was completed and fit for use on the 23d of December. He then began his observations, which were continued till the 9th of June, 1769. These observations conducted him to several important discoveries, from which he deduced a new theory of the Aurora Borealis, and found out the true cause of the luminous appearance of the Northern Ocean, called by the Norwegians Morild. Some of his observations related to a more accurate determination of the ratio between the diameter of the earth at the equator and that through the poles, and to the depression of the poles; to the perceptible decrease of the Northern Ocean and the increase of the islands and continent

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which thence arises; to the power of refraction under the 70th degree of latitude; the great declination of the magnetic needle in different longitudes and latitudes, and to its continual variation in lat. 70°. He likewise determined the latitude and longitude of various places in Sweden and Norway, the height of mountains, the fall of rivers, the strength and variation of the winds, and the flux and reflux of the sea. His observations were even extended to the history, religion, arts, and language of the inhabitants of these little known regions of the North; to natural history, and particularly to that of shells, grasses, and moss. On this occasion Hell thought that he could discover a similarity between the language of the Laplanders, the Hungarians, and the Chinese. When the necessary preparations had been made, Hell's first care was to determine the position of Wardöehuus, and he found the latitude of his observatory to be 70° 22′ 36". During the winter months, from October to May, he could make observations only in his apartment, as the weather at that time was so tempestuous that his assistants were every moment afraid of being buried under the ruins of their wooden habitation. No person durst venture out: the strongest men would have been in danger of being driven into the sea, as was the case with the clergyman of Wardöehuus, who must have infallibly perished, had he not thrown himself on the ground, and held fast by a rock for several hours, till the violence of the wind had abated. The wind often changed its direction, but for the most part it was West and South-west, which were much colder than the North-east and East winds. The latter traversed an open unfrozen sea, whereas the former passed over the high-frozen and snow-covered mountains of Lapland: the North and East winds were always the sharpest. The snow fell incessantly, and in such quantity, that it once entirely covered the fortress of Wardöehuus, and made it like a mountain, so that the inhabitants were obliged to cut their way through the snow over the walls, which were twelve feet in height. For three weeks from the beginning till near the end of January, the drifting snow occasioned such obscurity that people could not see each other at noon without the help of a lamp. The island was continually covered with snow and ice till the month of May: from June to September, however, the snow melts; but even during this period it sometimes falls so thick as to cover the whole island. According to observations made with the thermometer, the cold in this island was not greater than that usual at Vienna during moderate winters; that is to say, about ten degrees below zero, except on a few days from the 27th of January to the 1st of February, when the mercury fell to 14o, which is not uncommon at Vienna, and on the night between the 29th and 30th, when for a few minutes it was 18°. The cause of this moderate temperature Hell ascribes to the situation of the island, as the sea by which it is surrounded being kept in continual motion by the wind, can never freeze; and the case is the same along the whole coast of Finmark. During the time he resided here he saw only once, during the above cold night, a crust of ice of the thickness thickness of the finger around the island, but it did not continue more than a day. Though from six o'clock in the evening of the 2d of June to six in the evening of the 3d, the sun, concealed behind thick clouds, seemed to preclude all hope of being able to accomplish the object of his journey, Hell and his assistants got every thing ready for this important observation. About eight in the evening a gentle west wind sprang up, and having dispersed the clouds, about nine the heavens were so serene, that Venus and the solar spots could be distinctly seen. The observation, therefore, was successful beyond what had been expected. The ingress took place at a quarter past nine at night, and the egress at a quarter after four in the morning of June 4th. The eclipse of the sun on the 4th of June was observed with the same precision. The observers sent to other parts of the earth were equally successful; but as the results did not entirely agree, Hell on this account was involved in a literary contest, and particularly with Lalande. The object of the observation, however, was so far attained, that the astronomical knowledge of the earth and solar system was improved by it, and it will always form an important event in the history of astronomy.

On the 27th of June, 1769, Hell set out on his return, proceeding to Drontheim by sea, and thence to Copenhagen, where he resided seven months, and communicated, besides other things, to the Academy of Sciences, the observations he had made of the transit, which were published, and afterwards reprinted in the Ephemerides for 1771. On the 20th of May, 1770, he left Copenhagen, and returned by Hamburgh and Gottingen to Vienna, where he arrived in August. Here he collected and arranged the fruits of his journey, with intention of communicating his discoveries to the learned, under the title of "Expeditio literaria ad Polum Arcticum," part of which was prepared for the press at a considerable expence, but it never made its appearance. The cause of its suppression is not known. Hell laboured for three years on the establishment of an Academy of Sciences, which, according to his plan, was to be under the direction of the Jesuits; but this design was not carried into execution. He then superintended the building of a new observatory at Erlau, in Hungary, at the expence of the bishop, Count Charles of Esterhazy, and undertook two journies thither, to direct the operations and to arrange a valuable collection of instruments which had been sent to him from England. Hell led a life so simple, that the events of each day were merely a repetition of those of the preceding, and he suffered very little either in his health or spirits from the crosses and disappointments he experienced. In the month of March, 1792, he found himself indisposed with a catarrhal affection and cough. A physician being called in, declared his disorder to be an inflammation of the lungs, which producing a suppuration, put an end to his life in the course of a few weeks. Hell is certainly entitled to a place among those who have rendered essential service to the science of astronomy. The Ephemerides Astronomicæ ad meridianum Vindohonensem, begun in the year 1767, and continued till his death, forms a valuable astronomical calendar, which contains a great many interesting papers. His literary labours were confined to his favourite science and its different branches. In the other branches of knowledge, and particularly theology, he was a firm adherent to the principles he had been taught in his youth, and which he strenuously defended. He was warmly attached also to the order into which he had entered at an early period: the dissolution of it gave him great uneasiness, and he always flattered himself with hopes of its revival. He possessed a benevolent heart, and was always ready to assist those in distress to the utmost of his ability; he in particular endeavoured to relieve the sufferings of the poor, and with this noble view expended almost the whole of his property.

W. J.

ORIGINAL POETRY.

BOLE-HILL TREES:

A Plantation of Sycamores, encircling a School-house and Play-ground, on a barren eminence, facing the High Moors of Derbyshire on the one hand, and on the other overlooking a richly-cultivated, well-wooded, and mountainous district; near the Seat of a Gentleman, where the Writer has spent many pleasant hours.

NOW peace to His ashes, who planted yon trees,
That welcome my wandering eye!

In lofty luxuriance they wave with the breeze,

And resemble a grove in the sky:

On the brow of the mountain, all barren and bleak,

They flourish in grandeur sublime;

Adorning its bald and majestical peak,
Like the lock on the forehead of time.

A land-mark they rise:--to the stranger forlorn,
All night on the wild heath delay'd,
'Tis rapture to spy the young beauties of morn,
Unveiling behind their dark shade:
The homeward-bound husbandman joys to behold,
On the line of the grey evening scene,
Their branches yet gleaming with purple and gold,
And the sunset expiring between.

The maidens that gather the fruits of the moor,

As weary and fainting they roam,

Thro' the blue dazzling distance of noon-light explore

The trees that remind them of home:

The children that dwell in the valley suspend

Their sports, and in ecstacy gaze,

When they see the broad moon from the mountain ascend,

And the school-house and grove in a blaze.

Ah!

Ah! sweet to my soul is that beautiful grove,
Awakening remembrance most dear;

-When lonely in anguish and exile I rove,
Wherever its glories appear,

It gladdens my spirit, it soothes from afar,

With tranquil and tender delight,

It shines thro' my heart, like a hope-beaming star

Alone in the valley of Night.

It tells me of moments of innocent bliss,

For ever and ever gone o'er;

Like the light of a smile, like the balm of a kiss,
They were-but they will be no more:

Yet wherefore of pleasures departed complain,

That leave such endearment behind?

Tho' the sun of their sweetness be sunk in the main,

Their twilight still rests on the mind.

Then peace to His ashes who planted yon trees!
Supreme o'er the landscape they rise,
With simple and lovely inagnificence please
All bosoms, and ravish all eyes:
Nor marble nor brass could emblazon His fame
Like his own sylvan trophies, that wave
In graceful memorial, and whisper his name,
And scatter their leaves on his grave.

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Ah! thus, when I sleep in the desolate tomb,
May the laurels I planted endure,
On the mountain of high immortality bloom,
'Midst lightning and tempest secure!
Then ages unborn shall their verdure admire,
And nations sit under their shade,
While my spirit in secret shall move on my lyre
Aloft in their branches display'd.

Hence, dream of vain glory! -the light drop of dew

That glows in the violet's eye,

In the sun-beams of morn, to a fugitive view,

May rival a star of the sky;

But the violet is pluckt, and the dew-drop is flown,

The star unextinguish'd shall shine:

Then mine be the laurels of virtue alone,

And the glory of Paradise mine!

Sheffield, July 25, 1807.

VOL. III.

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