CHAPTER II. 

 WORLD-MAKING. 



EOLOGICAL reading, especially when of a strictly 

 VJT uniformitarian character and in warm weather, some- 

 times becomes monotonous ; and I confess to a feeling of 

 drowsiness creeping over me when preparing material for a pre- 

 sidential address to the American Association for the Advance- 

 ment of Science in August, 1883. In these circumstances I 

 became aware of the presence of an unearthly visitor, who 

 announced himself as of celestial birth, and intimated to me 

 that being himself free from those restrictions of space and 

 time which are so embarrassing to earthly students, he was pre- 

 pared for the moment to share these advantages with me, and 

 to introduce me to certain outlying parts of the universe, 

 where I might learn something of its origin and early history. 

 He took my hand, and instantly we were in the voids of space. 

 Turning after a moment, he pointed to a small star and said, 

 "That is the star you call the sun ; here, you see, it is only about 

 the third magnitude, and in a few seconds it will disappear." 

 These few seconds, indeed, reduced the whole visible firma- 

 ment to a mere nebulous haze like the Milky Way, and we 

 seemed to be in blank space. But pausing for a moment I 

 became aware that around us were multitudes of dark bodies, 

 so black that they were, so to speak, negatively visible, even 

 in the almost total darkness around. Some seemed large 

 and massive, some a mere drift of minute particles, formless 

 and without distinct limits. Some were swiftly moving, others 



