March 21, 1902.J 



SCIENCE. 



449 



ly and humbly admit its existence and its 

 practical impassability. But it is said to 

 be a chasm between things knowable and 

 things utterly and absolutely unknowable, 

 and not a chasm between the things that 

 are known and the things that remain to 

 be known. 



The translator of Haeckel's 'Riddles of 

 the Universe' tells us in his preface, that 

 the chasm has been devised by the Roman 

 Catholic theologians for their own evil 

 ends, but it is not kind to lay upon the 

 backs of these heavy-laden and weary 

 creatures a burden which Tyndall and 

 Spencer and others have shown themselves 

 so eager to bear with jaunty dexterity. 



It is true that the slow and heavy in- 

 tellect of the embryologist cannot aspire 

 to the subtile agility which some show in 

 dodging chasms. 



" And now," says the author of ' Father 

 Tom and the Pope,' " I have to tell you ov 

 a really onpleasant occurrence. If it was 

 a Prodesan that was in it, I'd say that 

 while the Pope's back was turned. Father 

 Tom made free wid the two lips of Miss 

 Eliza. ' ' 



"It is kissing my housekeeper before 

 ray face you are, you villain?" says he. 

 ' ' Go down out of this, ' ' says he to Miss 

 Eliza; "and do you be packing off wid 

 you, ' ' says he to Father Tom, ' ' for it 's not 

 safe, so it isn't, to have the likes of you in 

 a house where there's temptation in your 

 way. ' ' 



"Is it mel" says his Riv'rence; "why 

 what would your Holiness be at, at all? 

 Sure I wasn't doing no such thing." 



' ' Would you have me doubt the ividence 

 ov my sinses?" says the Pope; "would 

 you have me doubt the testhimony ov my 

 eyes and ears?" says he. 



" Indeed I would so," says his Riv'rence, 

 ' ' if they pretend to have informed your 

 Holiness of any such foolishness." 



' ' Why, ' ' says the Pope, " I 'v seen you 



afther kissing Eliza as plain as I see 

 the nose on your face; I heard the smack 

 you gave her as plain as ever I heard 

 thundher. ' ' 



' ' And how do you know whether you 

 see the nose on my face or not?" says his 

 Riv'rence, "and how do you know wheth- 

 er what you thought was thundher, was 

 thundher at all? Them operations on the 

 sinses," says he, "comprises only partic- 

 ular corporal motions, connected wid sar- 

 tain confused perciptions called sinsations, 

 and isn't to be depended upon at all. If 

 we were to follow them blind guides we 

 might jist as well turn heretics at onc't. 

 'Pon my secret word, your Holiness, it's 

 neither charitable nor orthodox to set up 

 the testimony of your eyes and ears agin 

 the characther ov a clergyman. And now 

 see how aisy it is to explain all them phew- 

 nomena that perplexed you. I ris and 

 went over beside the young woman be- 

 cause the skillit was boiling over, to help her 

 to save the dhrop of liquor that was in it ; 

 and as for the noise you heard, my dear 

 man, it was neither more nor less nor my- 

 self dhrawing the cork out of this blissed 

 bottle. ' ' 



"Don't offer to thrape that upon me!" 

 says the Pope; "here's the cork in the 

 bottle still, as tight as a wedge." 



' ' I beg your pardon, ' ' says his 

 Riv'rence, "that's not the cork at all," 

 says he, "I dhrew the cork a good two 

 minutes ago, and it's very purtily spitted 

 on the end of this blessed cork-schrew at 

 this prisint moment; howandiver you 

 can't see it because it's only its real pris- 

 ence that's in it. But that appearance 

 that you call a cork, ' ' says he, ' ' is noth- 

 ing but the outward species and external 

 qualities of the cortical nathur. Them's 

 nothing but the accidents of the cork that 

 you'r looking at and handling; but, as I 

 tould you afore, the real cork's dhrew, and 

 is here prisent on the end of this nate little 



