24 



♦ KNO\VLEDGE ♦ 



[J AX. 12. 18f3. 



with correspondents wlio dispute tlie former. But I am 

 inclined to tliinic it has its dan{;(!rs, and that a little silence 

 is sometimes more prudent. And now I hope to leave this 

 discu.ssion, which has only conlirmed my former conclusion, 

 that all the a priori arguments on this suliject are one way 

 and all the evidence of facts the other. Medical opinions 

 are not facts. A.v OusERvrii. 



./an. 6. 



[I put off my paper to give place to "An Observer's ; " 

 and may, perhaps, omit much which I had written on the 

 artistic aspect of the matter. If lie finds no force in the 

 evidence from statues (of all ages) to show that artists 

 see less beauty in corseted waists than in " natural ones " 

 (how jmich he admits here !), argument would be idle ; 

 and certainly argument is unnecessary for most men. 

 Even the tight-lacers laugh at each others' ridiculous shapes 

 and ungraceful movements. 



My " obviously hasty and dashing note " was written at 

 leisure. I see nothing to alter, except the misprint " to " 

 for " of," and perhaps I might have written " essential to 

 perfect comfort" (more than mei-e comfort was claimed). 

 I aimed only at brevity, not at smartness ; and knowing 

 what a master of fence "An Observer " is, I only touched 

 where I might have thrust. It would seem that I over- 

 rated his quickness of perception (which I should have 

 t' ought .<^'arce possible). Even had I written, "A man's 

 Iceling better in sta)'s, proves stays to be bad for him," I 

 should have expected that he would have seen where my 

 point lay, though a less skilful " opposite " might miss it. 



If " An Observer " is fair in cliaiging me with the silly 

 pretence of editorial infallibility, thtn I must unwittingly 

 have been guilty of what I heartily despise. But I think 

 he is not quite fair, — though I am sure he wishes to be so. 

 A correspondent has said to nie : " When you wrote for 

 the English Mechanic you seemed to be always in the 

 right ; liere you seem to take pleasure in showing where 

 you have been wrong." Yet there is no real difference. 

 In answering the paradox-mongers and other foolish folk 

 who found, and still find, admission there, I had an easy 

 task, though I sickened of it at last, and (after an appeal 

 to have it lightened) gave up the hopeless business. But 

 we want in these columns to get at the truth. I am very 

 much in earnest, I must admit, about this corset question. 

 I believe " An Observer's " views to be mistaken, and 

 most mischievously so, — wondering, moreover, greatly how 

 so keen a reasoner as he is has come to be misled by the 

 arguments of " tailless foxes " against Nature's customary 

 arrangements. — Richard A. Proctor,] 



SUN VIEWS OF THE EAETH ; 



OR, "THE SEASONS ILLUSTRATED." 

 By Richard A. Proctor. 



I GIVE in the accompanying figures four views of the 

 earth at the winter solstice, showing her aspect, as 

 supposed to be seen from the sun on Dec. 21. Strictly 

 speaking, a large tract of the northern hemisphere should 

 ha\e been whitened, to correspond with the extension of the 

 Arctic snows in winter. But as this would have entirely 

 obliterated (Jreat Britain from view in the second figure, 

 showing the earth as she would appear from the sun at 

 noon (London), it seemed better to leave this part of the 

 sun views unchanged. In another figure is given a view 

 of the British Isles as seen foreshortened from the sun in 

 winter time. This may be regarded as a pictorial explana- 

 tion of the cold of winter in the northern hemisphere in 

 December. 



