A VOYAGE TO THE RINGED PLANET. 79 



sea is traversed by a series of cross-ripples, whose sun- 

 illurnined crests form a shifting network of light. 



After traversing the width of the inner bright ring, 

 we reached the so-called gap between the rings. But 

 this is no real division. It is very similar indeed to the 

 dark ring, and only appears darker than the neighbour- 

 ing rings because it is occupied by few satellites, whereas 

 they are formed of many. It is remarkable, however, that 

 during the time of our stay in this part of the ring-system 

 we did not perceive a single satellite within it whose 

 course was parallel to the sides (or, if one may so speak, 

 the shores) of the dark ring; every satellite we saw 

 passed from the inner bright ring outwards, or from the 

 outer bright ring inwards ; and moreover, every such 

 satellite returned to the ring from which it had come 

 not one passing athwart the whole breadth of the dark 

 region. 



We passed through the outer bright ring, noticing 

 nothing that in any remarkable degree distinguished it 

 from the inner bright ring. In both these rings the 

 satellites showed a tendency to travel in long flights, so 

 as to form as it were subordinate rings, or rather parts 

 of rings, for these nights nowhere extended more than 

 a few thousand miles in length. 



All the most interesting part of our voyage was now, 

 as we supposed, past. We had only to pay a hasty visit 

 to each of Saturn's eight satellites, and then to return, 

 heartily disappointed, so far as our main object was 

 concerned, to the world we had left in such high hope. 



As Mimas, the innermost satellite, was close by the 



