STAR GAZERS ALL

For today, the world has turned astronomer. All other interests are eclipsed in the face of this singular phenomenon. The shopgiri forgets her gum, the vamp her powder, and the schoolboy his sied. Even the captive student is granted an hour's respite from examinations.

From earliest times the eclipse has been an occasion of awe and wonder. Savages used to abase themselves before the frown of God, and a religious ritual is still celebrated by Mohammedans on these days. Civilized man smiles at primitive superstition, and yet he is not different from his ancestor, for he still feels within himself the same quiver of respect. But with it is mingled a vast pride in man-made science which charts out and predicts even the minutest movements of the planets. The scientist, on this day, receives the full meed of popular awe before his divination.