454 TRANSACTIONS OF THE CANADIAN INSTITUTE. [Vou. VIII. 
by this big circus with which we are identified. 1 hinted a little ago at two 
aspects of those nebulous clouds, viz. one descending, the other ascend- 
ing, and this involves a necessity for a few remarks on a phase of this 
subject which I was trying to avoid: we can conceive, I may take for grant- 
ed, a system of worlds in the long run of ages, becoming worn out, 
as everything else wears out, all its vital energy lost, its heat eliminated 
and in consequence its motion stayed, its fluids resolved into their ele- 
ments, its minerals and earths crumbled into dust. So far, we can in a 
manner follow, but that is only a part of the process. The chemist comes 
along with his crucible, lens and retorts and he does what it is supp~sed 
nature is engaged in doing all the time. He can take hold of this stuff, 
now to us invisible and by some process, utterly to me unknown——divice 
and subdivide these fine particles of dust until it becomes absolutely in- 
comprehensible to ordinary beings. He takes the hydrogen or chemical 
atom and splits it up into a thousand, takes one of the thousand and makes 
another thousand and so on down, one would say, to nothing. Prof. Kirsch- 
man can follow these divisions, if I understand him, until the matter under 
examination is so small as to be altogether beyond the power of all “‘at- 
tractive or gravitating influences,’ and (he says) ‘‘we may as well call 
these very minute particles” the elementary physical and psychical 
entities, or centres of energy, no longer in the form of solid, liquid, or gas, 
and do not correspond to any of the chemical elements,’’ We may con- 
cede that whatever the chemist can do Nature can do better, give her 
time, and so we allow that the old material which had done duty so far as 
we can see alternating from eternity and for which we are now waiting 
to again come in sight, might have remained in that immaterial state for an 
indefinite time undergoing a process it may be, which it cannot enter 
into the heart of man to conceive, until it reaches its terminal, rounds its 
pole, and begins its return journey to material crystallization, having been 
to all intents and purposes dead and buried (to sense) waiting the returns 
‘of its resurrection morn. Wemust pass over eons of time until we have 
our material emerging from that hypothetical state, assuming concrete 
form, being as it were reincarnated in a material body, enveloping its 
‘‘vital entities’? with nebulous cloud, now seen as a nebula among the 
stars. Having received its commission to take up the appointed role, and 
being re-endowed with new life to that end, atom joins atom by molecular 
attraction and forms molecules. These are drawn to each other and form 
masses, with the formation of masses the erstwhile quiescent force, called 
gravitation, is aroused into action, and the entire mass is alive with energy. 
A new force is now being developed. It is known that compressure of 
matter evolves heat, and that mysterious element, being as I conceive 
the primal source of motion, the agitation in our cloud mass will become 
