CHAPTER I. 



WHA T MAY BE SEEN IN THE HE A VENS. 



" Blue the sky, 

 Spreads like an ocean hung on high." 



BYRON. 



T may be doubted whether many of the patrons 

 of Mudie's are acquainted with the works of a 

 philosopher, who, in his day, enjoyed no little 

 fame I mean, Robert Boyle (1627-1691), and yet 

 there are passages in them well worth attentive perusal, 

 from the lucidity of their style and the soundness of 

 their reflections. He has, for instance, some observa- 

 tions in his " Considerations on the Usefulness of 

 Experimental Philosophy," which are germane to the 

 general purport and tone of our little book. He re- 

 marks, that the contemplation of the vastness, beauty, 

 and regular motions of the heavenly bodies, the excel- 

 lent structure of animals and plants, besides a multi- 



