THROUGH LIBRARY WINDOWS 201 



lions of miles distant from us. Light travels 

 186,000 miles per second. It is the aerial sprite 

 that carries our measuring rod across the awful 

 spaces of utter darkness revealing their pres- 

 ence and number and size and distance and 

 orbit and cycle. The highest velocity we can 

 give a rifle-ball is 2,000 feet a second. We can- 

 not compact force enough behind a piece of 

 lead to keep it flying ; but light flies unweariedly 

 and without a diminution of speed. It comes 

 from the sun in eight minutes, but from some 

 of the more distant stars it requires more than 

 a thousand years to reach us, and yet its wing 

 is not wearied, nor its rapidity slackened, nor 

 its brilliance undimmed, or its power abated ! 



Light has no color; color is in the eye or at- 

 mosphere and is the result of the various veloci- 

 ties of vibration or dust particles. Violet is the 

 highest and red the lowest of color vibrations, 

 hence color is a constant creation. Light comes 

 to the eye as tones to the ear. Light shines — 

 does it not also sing? What of the older 

 poetry which says, "the morning stars sang to- 

 gether" at creation's dawn, artd that other line, 

 "Thou makest the outgoings of the morning 

 and the evening to sing?" Were our senses 

 fine enough we could hear the separate keynote 



