CIIAPTI 



\KETB AND COMETS 



heavenly bodied to which Hcrscbel 

 really turned his eyes with the longing of a traveller 

 in an untrodden land of romance, appears to have been 

 the planet Saturn. He was then forging the instru- 

 ments which were destined to disclose the hidden 

 things of creation, and to give an impulse to the - 



ni, that has gone on from wonder to wonder till 

 tin- praani -lay. !! \\a- keeping * journal HMJdBf 

 entries of what he saw, and laying a foundation for 

 future progress. But his method of writing was some- 

 \\liat peculiar. His papers were to a large extent 

 copies of entries made in 1 il <r the impressions 



bo received at the moment while sun or star or planet 

 was under bis eye. There was thus room for mistakes, 



i it is not surprising that he fell into; the wonder 

 is that he fell into so few. Of mistakes resulting from 

 this luusty method of working he was himself conscious; 

 1'iit it led to aiiuthrr inconvenience. He did not delay 

 I>ulli>hin^ his views till he was perfectly sure of their 

 accuracy. The result was diffuseness of statement 

 and unnecessary returning to the same subject To 

 \vs in the order of time would thus be 

 wearisome and useless. We shall keep to the order of 

 subjects, bringing them, as far as possible, to a focus. 



