STELLAR ASTRONOMY 425 



land of the stars. The enterprise is no doubt a very arduous one. It 

 will require unity of scientific effort. Given that unity, however, 

 towards which these congresses must powerfully contribute, hope is 

 brighter now than it was ever before. We may be certain of import- 

 ant results. No doubt, as soon as, with the combined power of 

 scientific men, we penetrate into the promised land, new difficulties 

 will be met, new problems will arise, which will require modifications 

 in the plan of campaign. If it were not so, the struggle would soon 

 lose its fascinating charm. 



On the other hand, every inch of firm footing gained will facilitate 

 further operations. 



We may be sure that new and unexpected points of view will open 

 on every side. Such is the richness of nature that the experience of 

 Saul, who went out to look for his father's asses and found a king- 

 dom, is rather common in scientific research. Already now that a 

 beginning has been hardly made, there is promise that it will be so in 

 the present case. 



For, if it be true that the stellar system, as we know it, consists 

 of two streams coming from widely separate regions of infinite space, 

 and if we find no generic difference between the members of the two, 

 either in their chemical composition or in their motions, then surely 

 we shall have come a step nearer to the full conviction of unity of 

 nature and of its laws throughout the universe. 



May these congresses promote in this field of work the same cooper- 

 ation and emulation that they are sure to bring about in so many 

 other fields. 



