6 W. J. MCGEE 



other country — nearly as well as all the rest of the world. 

 Most of our rapidl}^ growing universities have their own observ- 

 atories. Twenty years ago the installation of Lick observa- 

 tory was an event in the scientific world, and attracted such 

 public attention as to leave little for the two observatories in- 

 stalled within the year — Flower observatory in Pennsylvania, 

 and Yerkes observatory, an adjunct of the University of 

 Chicago. Fifty years ago astronomy was a sober and slug- 

 gish science, far removed from practical everyday interests, 

 cultivated respectably in Europe and beginning to attract 

 serious attention in this country. To-day its data are doubled 

 and its activity is tripled; it touches industry and the public 

 welfare at many points, and advances more rapidly than ever 

 before; and a fuU share of this progress is due to American 

 genius and industry. 



Half a century ago, Dr. Joule, of England, was engaged 

 in a series of physical experiments, beginning with solids and 

 ending with liquids, which indicated that while force may be 

 controlled, it cannot be created or destroyed. Faraday, 

 Helmholtz, and Grove repeated and extended the experiments, 

 and through the combined efforts of the four masters in phys- 

 ical science the law of the conservation of energy was devel- 

 oped, and a new era in the history of science was opened. 

 Half a century earlier, chemistry had established the inde- 

 structibility of matter, and incidentally proved that the mate- 

 rial world is a world of law, and not of chance. The comple- 

 mentary demonstration of the indestructibility of force com- 

 pleted the groundwork for rational thought, and a phalanx 

 of exponents and defenders of the doctrine of the uniformity 

 of nature, marshaled under John Tyndall, was soon in the 

 field. By timely chance they fell in with an equally vigorous 

 phalanx headed by Huxley, who were expounding and defend- 

 ing the Darwinian doctrine of derivation, or the law of the 

 uniformity of nature applied to organic species; and the joint 

 forces quickly consummated the most sweeping intellectual 

 revolution in history. Unhappily, ecclesiastic ism was aroused 

 and for a time Tyndall and Huxley were denounced as de- 

 stroyers of the eternal peace of their converts ; but the balm 

 of personal association soon smoothed the acerbities and aided 



