52 THE CREATION OF MATTER 



making all nature a whirlwind of whirlwinds, to which 

 the mightiest hurricane even of a thousand miles an hour 

 would have been hut a light "breeze. But whatever may 

 be the constitution of the ether, in the advance of wave 

 motion, no perceivable force is exerted. Air wave motions, 

 generated by lightning, strike the ear as loudest thunder, 

 but not as gentlest wind. And so light and colour and 

 sound are conveyed in such a way as to be themselves 

 perfected, are conveyed with a velocity transcendently 

 great, and yet do no harm, are conveyed with the wisdom 

 of the serpent and harmlessness of the dove. They are a 

 divine solution of the problem, how to obtain the maximum 

 of forward velocity with the minimum of forward force. 



The waves. The order which reigns is still further 

 illustrated when we consider the waves. They are 

 measured; they are of different lengths, yielding the 

 seven colours. The waves of the same colour are of 

 the same length. The ether is so perfect in its action 

 that under the influence of the energies beating on it, 

 it forms throughout the waves of red of their special 

 length, and of each colour of its special length. In every 

 line of light stretching from the sun to the earth or 

 coming from the most distant star, the number of waves 

 is proportional to the distance traversed. In numbers so 

 vast this is surely a most impressive fact. 



The wave lengths are so accurately measured that it 

 has been proposed to adopt those of one colour as afford- 

 ing a perfect standard of measure. Nothing is more 

 difficult to obtain than such a standard, one that shall be 

 exact, and continue the same for all generations. Science 

 has been called into play for the devising of it, and the 

 French determine the length of their metre from the 

 dimensions of the earth ; the British our yard from 

 the second's pendulum. Both these, however, would be 



