12 BROWN : THK STAR VAULT. 



meridian, merely taking care not to be in the track of 

 on-coming terrestrial protrubances. 



Nor must he in his wholly unaccustomed freedom from the 

 influence of gravity forget, lest his records fall into confusion, 

 that a straight line drawn through him away from the centre of 

 the earth is said to point upwards, and through him towards 

 the centre of the earth, downwards -^ wherever he may be. 



L,et his first stop be at the Arctic Circle at the time of the 

 summer solstice. If he have moved down the meridian away 

 from the sun he will, at the halt, find the sun in his northern 

 horizon. But the horizon is here the ecliptic of the heavens, 

 as set forth elsewhere ; and it follows that as long as he 

 remains over the polar circle he will see the sun make yeaiiy 

 circuit of the horizon ; never rising, never setting. The sur- 

 face of the earth moves away eastward beneath him at the 

 rate of more than 400 miles per hour, and he does not distin- 

 guish objects. 



But when he has reached the latitude of the equator, all is 

 flying beneath him at the rate of a thousand miles an hour, 

 and is reduced to one uniform color and surface ; though he 

 may, possibly, distinguish land from sea. He looks up and 

 finds that one half the stars he saw when at the pole have dis- 

 appeared from view and others have moved up from the oppo- 

 site quarter to fill their places. They are all now moveless, 

 as before. 



The moon and the planets order themselves as when he 

 was at the pole, but at difl^ereut levels. 



The sun rises in Pisces and sets in \'irgo after six months ; 

 but the altitude he reaches is 66° 30' above the horizon, 

 instead of 23"^ 30'. 



And, now, when our privileged associate has assured him- 

 self by the faithful witness of the eye concerning these and 

 many other wondrous things which he knew before by theory, 

 and when he has duly steeped his soul in the tremendous lone- 

 liness of his position, he may, if he sees fit, return to his 

 natiye latituile and drop back among his friends. 



