iSyi.] Notices of Books. 265 



present dimensions ; and became records at once of the sun's 

 might as a ruler — for without his overruling attraction the 

 material which formed these planets would never have approached 

 the system — and of the richness of the chaos of matter from 

 which his bulk and theirs were alike evolved. Nor is the con- 

 sideration without a mysterious attraction that, in thus looking 

 back at the past history of our system, we have passed after all 

 but a step towards that primal state whence the conflict: of matter 

 arose. We are looking into a vast abysm, and as we look we 

 fancy we recognise strange movements, and signs as if the 

 depths were shaping themselves into definite forms. But in 

 truth those movements show only the vastness of the abysm ; 

 those depths speak to us of far mightier depths within which 

 they are taking shape. ' Lo ! these are but a portion of His 

 ways ; they utter but a whisper of His glory.' " 



The third chapter treats of " Analysing Sunlight." The 

 certainty with which we may assert the presence of this or that 

 element in the sun or other heavenly body, is well shown by the 

 fact that no less than 450 iron lines have been recognised in the 

 solar spectrum. Now, the possibility of any such relationship 

 being the result of chance, " is less than a fraction whose 

 numerator is unity, and whose denominator consists of no less 

 than 136 figures." The rest of the chapter treats of the appli- 

 cation of the spectroscope to the examination of various portions 

 of the sun's surface, — of the faculas, prominences, &c. 



The next chapter gives an account of the various observations 

 which have been made with a view of studying the surface of 

 the sun. Firstly of sun spots, to illustrate which we have two 

 coloured plates, showing, respectively, a portion of the sun's disc 

 observed in May, 1870, and the sun as seen by the author on 

 September 25th, 1870. Faculae (/acuta, a small torch) were first 

 studied by Herschel, in 1792 ; he borrowed the name from 

 Hevelius, and applied it to elevated bright places on the sun's 

 surface, an excellent representation of which is given on p. 180. 

 An account is given in some detail of the researches of Schwabe 

 and Carrington on sun spots, and the more recent papers of 

 Stewart, De la Rue, and Loewy. By the application of photo- 

 graphy, a record of the appearance of the sun's surface on every 

 clear day is now obtained. No less than 1137 sun spots have 

 been detected. The above-mentioned physicists have, in summing 

 up their recent researches, expressed the following opinion : — 

 " Solar faculse, and probably also the whole photosphere, consist 

 of solid or liquid bodies of greater or less magnitude, either 

 sinking slowly or suspended in equilibrium in a gaseous medium. 

 A spot, including both umbra and penumbra, is a phenomenon 

 which takes place beneath the level of the sun's photosphere." 

 Several admirable woodcuts of sun spots are given in this 

 chapter, notably one (Fig. 48) which represents a group of spots 

 and the solar willow leaves. Mr. Dawes was the first to detect 

 the appearance of cyclonic motion in a spot, as if a solar 



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