296 THE POPULAR SCIENCE MONTHLY. 



imagination tires in winging its way to these star-clusters, so far re- 

 moved from us that each one may be called another universe of God. 

 From them nothing comes to us but the faint, palpitating throb of an 

 ethereal wave ; no tidings cross that gulf save what flew throughout 

 the universe when He who made these systems first said, " Let there be 

 light.'''' And, if thought falters and figures fail in the presence of these 

 infinitudes of distance, no less do they when the dimensions of these 

 nebulous fields are contemplated. The nearest star, viewed with a 

 power of 6,000 diameters, shows no proper disk, and is still only a brill- 

 iant point. Its diameter, though perhaps greater than that of our own 

 sun, is still at least 6,000 times too small to come within the limits of 

 unaided vision. But many nebula?, though almost infinitely farther 

 removed, are still of extent sufScient to more than fill the telescopic 

 field. Who, then, can estimate their absolute dimensions ? 



Such, then, are the magnitudes and distances which the godlike 

 human intellect has undertaken to determine. And still art vies with 

 science to fashion lenses that shall gather at their focus still more and 

 more of that luminous intelligence that discloses to the mind of man 

 the secrets of the outside universe. But as the space-penetrating power 

 of the telescope is increased, and the bright spots of light are resolved 

 into groups of brilliant stars, more nebulous haze comes up from the 

 deep distance, indicating that the visual ray is not yet long enough to 

 fathom the mighty depths. There is still haze behind, independent of 

 those nebulae shown to be gaseous by the spectroscope. The telescopic 

 ray has not yet shot entirely through the mighty distance, leaving only 

 the deep, dark heavens beyond as the background of the brilliant pict- 

 ure. The words uttered by David spring to our lips with fuller mean- 

 ing when we look out upon the glorious heavens illumined by the con- 

 centrated light of these latter days : " When I consider thy heavens, 

 the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars which thou hast or- 

 dained ; what is man, that thou art mindful of him ? or the son of man, 

 that thou visitest him ? " 



HEEBERT SPENCER BEFORE THE E:N^GLISH COPY- 

 EIGHT COMMISSION.' 



QUESTION {Chairman). I need hardly ask, you are a writer of 

 philosophical and scientific books ? 

 Answer. I am. 



Q. Would you give the commission your experience of the terms 

 on which you published your first book ? 



' Tuesday, March 6, 1877 : Lord John Manners, M. P., in the chair. Members of the 

 commission present, Sir Henry T. Holland, Sir Louis Mallet, Sir Julius Benedict, Farrer 

 Herschell, Dr. William Smith, J. A. Froude, Esq., Anthony TroUope, Esq., F. R. Daldy, 

 Esq. 



