other and more subtle forces are pressed by man into his service. 

 The mysterious needle that tends ever toward the polar star, guides 

 him in his pathless track upon the ocean. Clouds may shut out the 

 friendly stars, nor land nor hght direct his com-se, but following this 

 uneriing guide he passes straight on his way to the desired haven. 

 Danger is thus avoided where the wisdom and skill of man alone 

 would be powerless to direct, time is saved, and the labor of all that 

 go down to the sea in ships is utihzed by the magnetic needle. 

 Take from every ship that httle finger of steel by which the earth 

 points out the track across her own pathless waters, and the dan- 

 gers and expenses of aU ocean transportation would be double. As 

 though this were not enough of magic, the same force that points 

 the needle, darts from city to city and along the ocean's bed from 

 continent to continent, whispering in every hamlet the news of the 

 morning from every quarter of the globe. The former work of 

 weeks and months is pressed into hours and minutes. It tells us 

 of the coming storm, while yet the skies are fair and winds are still. 

 Chemical force at the command of man imlocks elements held in its 

 grasp, and leaves them free to give their energy to his service. The 

 mingled carbon and nitre fired by a single spark, lets loose the 

 imprisoned gases to change the face of nature and the destinies of 

 nations. With gunpowder, man makes his way through mountains of 

 stone, and shakes the affrighted earth as he tears out tre.asirres fi'om 

 the rocks in the deepest mines . He hurls the messenger of freedom 

 and with thunders of the cannon and bursting shell proclaims the 

 arm of the oppressor broken and the reign of imiversal hberty and 

 equal laws. 



In all these achievements, we see a partial fulfillment of man's des- 

 tiny when created the possessor and lord of the earth. He was to 

 have dominion over the earth, and created in the image of God, 

 this dominion could only be complete when he had pressed into 

 service all those forces through which the Creator carries on the 

 changes in this physical universe. Not a single force is there now 

 in operation in the earth or aii', not a single force or agency has- 

 there been, in all geologic time, that man cannot in some way, even 

 now, make minister to his comfort or multiply his power. Every 

 year he enters more fully into this great inheritance. Every year 

 he compels the forces of nature to hghteu manual labor. Every 

 year does he gain greater mastery over these unwearied and 

 exhaustless agencies in operation, and thus reahze more nearly his 

 likeness to his divine Creator. 



