THE STORY OF NINETEENTH-CENTURY SCIENCE 



has been more than verified, and that the fragments of 

 matter dissociated from planetary connection which he 

 postulated and was declared atheistic for postulating 

 have been shown to be billions of times more numerous 

 than any larger cosmic bodies of which we have cog- 

 nizanceso widely does the existing universe differ from 

 man's preconceived notions as to what it should be. 



Thus also the " miracle " of the falling stone, against 

 which the scientific scepticism of yesterday presented 

 " an evil heart of unbelief," turns out to be the most 

 natural of phenomena, inasmuch as it is repeated in our 

 atmosphere some millions of times each day. 



ii 



If fire-balls were thought miraculous and portentous 

 in days of yore, what interpretation must needs have 

 been put upon that vastly more picturesque phenom- 

 enon, the aurora? "Through all the city," says the 

 Book of Maccabees, " for the space of almost forty days, 

 there were seen horsemen running in the air, in cloth 

 of gold, armed with lances, like a band of soldiers : and 

 troops of horsemen in array encountering and running 

 one against another, with shaking of shields and multi- 

 tude of pikes, and drawing of swords, and casting of 

 darts, and glittering of golden ornaments and harness." 

 Dire omens these; and hardly less ominous the aurora 

 seemed to all succeeding generations that observed it 

 down till well into the eighteenth century as witness 

 the popular excitement in England in 1710 over the 

 brilliant aurora of that year, which became famous 

 through Halley's description. 



But after 1752, when Franklin dethroned the light- 



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