34 NKW THKOkY oK THK oKKilIN OK THK KAHTH. 



back to a time when oui- solai'systeni did not exi,>-t. ()tlicr .^ysteiiiS. 

 countless millions of them, no (lonl)t, were scattered throughout 

 space, but ours had not taken shape. We may reasonably ^\\])- 

 pose that our system is one of the youngei sons of the stellar 

 family, because our sun is as a tallow candle to ini ;nc light iii 

 comparison with others in the heavens. 



Let us go back, )n the wings of thought, to the time when he 

 was the only member of our system, alone in his glory, say one 

 thousand millions of years ago, shining in solitary state, and 

 with no planetary train of dependents. We are not (tonceriied witli 

 his origin. How he got there, so far away from his fellows in the 

 firmament, is not what we are to consider to-night. He mav. 

 like the scriptural Prodigal Hon. have gone forth from his father's 

 house to spend his substance in a far country, or he may have 

 grown into manhood where he is. Let us rest, on extended wings, 

 about three thousand millions of miles from him, and make 

 observations. The ether between us and him is robbed of some 

 of its natural translucency by vast quantities of [)lanetarv seed, 

 stellar dust, matter in a diffused state, Avithout form an*' void, 

 vaguely seen or altogether invisible to our eyes. And, even as we 

 gaze, a dust cloud gathers within the field of vision, and grows 

 ever larger and larger, and denser and denser, as it attracts the 

 vagrant particles of matter to its bosom. We gaze upon it, greatly 

 interested in its growth, and turn aside at times — once in a mil- 

 lion 3^ears or so — to note that other dust clouds have formed and 

 grown into revolving spheres. Now we hear loud explosions, and 

 see mountain peaks of flame rising from them. The}' have grown 

 so large that the pressure of gravity has caused internal heat, and 

 the volcano has begun its work. But the internal fire does not 

 consume them. The fuel that feeds it is indestructible. If we 

 could invent a furnace that could be run on an equally economical 

 basis our coal bills would be small. But our devices are defective 

 and wasteful, and nature's are perfect and economical. There is no 

 waste, no loss of energy, in the economy of nature — endless 

 transitions and transformati )ns, but no such thing as destruction. 



