A VOYAGE TO THE RINGED PLANET. 6$ 



orb of Saturn. We could not at present see the ring, 

 nor, indeed, any sign that the planet is not like other 

 planets. Saturn shone there before us, distinguished 

 only from the stars by his superior brightness, and a 

 certain indescribable contrast between his light and 

 theirs. For though the stars were not twinkling, but 

 shining with ' purest ray serene,' yet was there some- 

 thing in the stellar light which caused it to differ 

 unmistakably from that of Saturn. It may have been 

 partly, perhaps, that, owing to the exceeding swiftness 

 of our onward flight, we unconsciously recognised the 

 comparative nearness of Saturn, and were thus 

 impressed by the distinction between the light from 

 suns millions of times farther from us, and that from 

 an orb which, vast though it is, is yet insignificant 

 compared with the least of the suns which people 

 space. 



We passed through the zone of asteroids, and I 

 could tell you much that would interest you respecting 

 these small bodies ; but it will be better to reserve such 

 details for another occasion. Let it suffice to mention 

 that astronomers have not yet discovered the thousandth 

 part of this family of small planets. Even crossing 

 the zone at one particular point we saw more asteroids 

 than astronomers have yet counted ; though certainly 

 hundreds of those we saw were so small that astrono- 

 mers could not hope to see them with the telescopes at 

 present in use. Not even the largest that we passed 

 presented any signs of being inhabited or fit for 

 habitation. But the asteroids are not fragments of a 



