TWO YEARS LATER. 43 



sun. She was so placed with respect to the sun that,, 

 had his globe been eclipsed, she would have been seen 

 near the edge of the coronal light. Of course her un- 

 illumined side was turned towards us. It appeared 

 darker than the background on which it was projected. 

 Whence came that light which illumined the back- 

 ground ? Or rather, what light was it which the globe 

 of Venus concealed ? Something beyond Venus un- 

 doubtedly else how could she conceal it ? Obviously, 

 then, there is some light where we see the corona when 

 the sun is eclipsed, and that light comes from a region 

 farther off than Venus is when nearest to us. Here is 

 another evidence to strengthen our conviction that the 

 corona is an extra-terrestrial phenomenon, supposing 

 any faint doubts to remain after the evidence already 

 adduced. 



We have gone to Venus, seemingly so little 

 associated with the corona, for evidence respecting that 

 phenomenon. Turn we now to other objects which 

 seem at first sight even less likely to give us any in- 

 formation. 



Consider thoughtfully the meteor which flashes 

 across the dark background of the sky at night. We 

 know now quite certainly that every falling star has 

 travelled before reaching our atmosphere along an orbit 

 of enormous dimensions. It has been proved further 

 respecting all the meteors whose real path has been 

 determined, that their orbits are very eccentric, inso- 

 much that though they cross the earth's path other- 

 wise, of course, we should never see them they pass 



