72 LIGHT SCIENCE FOR LEISURE HOURS. 



showed that the sun's distance, instead of being about 

 95,000,000 miles, is little more than 91,500,000 miles. 

 And recently a re-examination of the observations 

 made upon Venus in 1769 led Mr. Stone to believe 

 that they point to a similar result. 



Doubtless, however, we must wait for the transit of 

 Venus in 1874 before forming a final decision as to 

 the estimate of the sun's distance which is to take its 

 place in popular works on astronomy during the next 

 century or so. Nothing but an unlooked-for com- 

 bination of unfavourable circumstances can cause the 

 failure of our hopes. Certainly, if we should fail in 

 obtaining satisfactory results in 1874, the world will 

 not say that the generosity of the English Government 

 has been in fault, since it would be difficult to find a 

 parallel in the history of modern science to the munifi- 

 cence of the grant which has been made this year for 

 expeditions to observe a phenomenon whose interest 

 and importance are purely scientific. 



(From St. Paul's, October 1869.) 



BRITAIN'S COAL CELLARS. 



IT would have been deemed a strange thought in the 

 days of the Tudors to suggest that England's greatness 

 would one day depend, or seem to depend, on her 

 stores of coal, a mineral then regarded as only an 



