﻿CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 



The "Exact" Science of Astronomy... Sun's Distance varied from three- and-a-half 

 Millions to a hundred and four Millions of Miles ! ... The Velocity of Light... The Daily 



Telegraph and the Greenwich Astronomer Astronomers' "Corrections" Eev. C. 



Pritchard's advice ... Sound versus Sense Mr. Hind's version, — 122,000,000 of Miles 



cut off Neptune's Distance, at one stroke !... " Parallax" ... Eev. R. Main's " Proofs"... 



Suppositions. ..Dr. Lardner and the " Planet" Dr. Lardner's Concave Convexity !... 



Mr. Glaisher's Balloon "Observation" a flat Contradiction ... R. Burchett, Esq. on the 

 View from a Balloon, &c....Lord Brougham and Sir D. Brewster ...Rev. D. Olmsted : — 

 his ingenuity !...The " Spherical Loadstone"... Supposition and Delusion. 



CHAPTER II. 



Galbraith and Haughton's Manual ... What is Theory ?...The one thing needful : — 

 simple and direct proof.. .Figure of the earth. ..The Horizontal Line ... Arguments are 



useless when based on assumptions The Traveller and his money Belief versus 



Knowledge. ..Dr. Mann. ..His "Large Round Ball!". ..Rev. J. G. Wood. ..The Boundary 

 of the Sensible Horizon on a Level Plain... Extraordinary Navigation... Reasoning in a 



Circle. ..The Fly on the Orange Dr. Mann's argument upset. ..Is there no distinction 



between level and convex? ... Mr. Willard ... His "Proof" shown to be no Proof- 

 like every other Mr. Glaisher's Observations Corrected and Remodelled in the 



Leisure Hour...M. Fontenelle on Hypothesis &c. 



CHAPTER in. 



The 'onusprobandi' on the Astronomers' shoulders. ..Is water level, or is it not?... 

 Webster's Propositions examined ... What a level surface really is ... An observation by 



Mr. W. T. Lynn, of Greenwich Observatory Ponds, Lakes, and Oceans level The 



" True" and the "Apparent" level of Astronomers What is a spherical level ?... Its 



absurdity... Joyce's Scientific Dialogues ... The Reverend gentleman says, the true level 

 is not a straight line but a curve !... The allowance said to be made by Surveyors... The 

 Cat let out of the Bag... Surveyors' Back and Fore-sight ... A Delusion or a Cheat. ..The 

 surface of the Earth all top... The new Brass Plate in the wall of Greenwich Observatory 

 ...Common Sense versus Mr. Thornton... Which end of a Survey is it that curvates ? — 

 Nobody knows... Southern Cross and Polar Star seen at one time — How could this be ? 

 ...The Standing Order.. .One more so-called Proof of Rotundity gone. ..Excelsior! 



CHAPTER IV. 

 Sir John Herschel takes the Copernican system "for granted.". ..A bold step : but 

 proved to be a wrong one... "Iconoclast" and Mr. Woodman ... Travelling " more than 

 a hundred thousand miles" in a few minutes ! ... An Astronomical Joke...M. Arago and 



his want of confidence in his own senses "As the Old Cock crows, the Young Cock 



learns"— The Tailor and his Coat...Sir John Herschel's "Thread" and "Pearls"... The 

 First Step in the Wrong Road ... An Earthly Body said to be the Chief of the Heavenly 



Ones! ... Astronomical Arguments, Schemes, Tricks, and Conclusions Mr. Glaisher 



once more ... Sir John Herschel himself testifies that Astronomy is founded on Imagin- 

 ation.. .Truth must out sometimes. ..A Word of Advice, &c. 





