Chapter 15

⁠​​​‌​​​​​‌‌‌​‌‌‌‌​​​​​‌‌‌‌‌‌​‌​‌​​​​‌‌‌​​​‌‌‌‌​‌​‌‌​​​‌​‌​‌‌​‌‌​⁠The summer passed away, and autumn, with its infinite suite of tints, came creeping on. Darker grew the evenings, tearfuller the moonlights, and heavier the dews. Meanwhile the comet had waxed to its largest dimensions,—so large that not only the nucleus but a portion of the tail had been visible in broad day. It was now on the wane, though every night the equatorial still afforded an opportunity