192 BOOK OF THE DAMNED 



But that the science of Astronomy suffered the slightest in 

 prestige? 



It couldn't. The spirit of 1877 was behind it. If, in an embryo, 

 some cells should not live up to the phenomena of their era, the 

 others will sustain the scheduled appearances. Not until an embryo 

 enters the mammalian stage are cells of the reptilian stage false 

 cells. 



It is our acceptance that there were many equally authentic re- 

 ports upon large planetary bodies that had been seen near the sun; 

 that, of many, Leverrier picked out six; not then deciding that all 

 the other observations related to still other large, planetary bodies, 

 but arbitrarily, or hypnotically, disregarding or heroically disre- 

 garding every one of them that to formulate at all he had to ex- 

 clude falsely. The denouement killed him, I think. I'm not at all 

 inclined to place him with the Grays and Hitchcocks and Symonses. 

 Fm not, because, though it was rather unsportsmanlike to put the 

 date so far ahead, he did give a date, and he did stick to it with such 

 a high approximation 



I think Leverrier was translated to the Positive Absolute. 



The disregarded: 



Observation, of July 26, 1819, by Gruthinson but that was of 

 two bodies that crossed the sun together 



Nature, 14-469: 



That, according to the astronomer, J. R. Hind, Benjamin Scott, 

 City Chamberlain of London, and Mr. Wray, had, in 1847, seen a 

 body similar to "Vulcan" cross the sun. 



Similar observation by Hind and Lowe, March 12, 1849 (L f 

 Annie Scientifique, 1876-9). 



Nature, 14-505: 



Body of apparent size of Mercury, seen, Jan. 29, 1860, by F. A. R. 

 Russell and four other observers, crossing the sun. 



De Vico's observation of July 12, 1837 ("Observatory," 2-424). 



L'Annee Scientifique, 1865-16: 



That another amateur astronomer, M. Coumbray, of Constanti- 

 nople, had written to Leverrier, that, upon the 8th of March, 1865, 

 he had seen a black point, sharply outlined, traverse the disk of the 

 sun. It detached itself from a group of sun spots near the limb of 

 the sun, and took 48 minutes to reach the other limb. Figuring upon 

 the diagram sent by M. Coumbray, a central passage would have 

 taken a little more than an hour. This observation was disregarded 

 by Leverrier, because his formula required about four times that 



