THE TELESCOPE AND THE MICROSCOPE. 185 



place ignited a glowing mass of wood, and in all 

 respects behaved like pure oxygen gas." 



Here, then, we pause in our study of organic 

 beings, multitudes of whom are far too minute for 

 the observation of the unassisted eye, and on whose 

 structure and habits so much light has been thrown 

 by the use of the microscope. Well was it said by 

 Dr. Chalmers, as he viewed the telescope in com- 

 parison with that instrument : " The one led me to 

 see a system in .every star ; the other leads me to 

 see a world in every atom. The one taught me 

 that this mighty globe, with the whole burden of 

 its people and of its countries, is but a grain of sand 

 on the high field of immensity. The other teaches 

 me, that every grain of sand may harbour within it 

 the tribes and the families of a busy population. 

 The one told me of the insignificance of the world 

 I tread upon. The other redeems it from all its 

 insignificance ; for it tells me that in the leaves of 

 every forest, and in the flowers of every garden, 

 and in the waters of every rivulet, there are worlds 

 teeming with life, and numberless as are the glories 

 of the firmament. The one has suggested to me 

 that, beyond and above all that is visible to man, 

 there may lie fields of creation which sweep im- 

 measurably along, and carry the impress of the 

 Almighty's hand to the remotest scenes of the uni- 

 verse. The other suggests to me that, within and 

 beyond all that minuteness which the aided eye of 

 man has been able to explore, there may be a region 



N 



