PLANETESIMAL THEOKIES OP THE EARTH'S ORIGIN. 213 



this question he can join hands with the astronomer and the natural 

 philosopher." {Op. cit. p. 97.) 



Haeckel and his school may claim all that for their " Monism " ; but 

 I hope we may see that it is all included in that still higher monism 

 which is involved in the theistic conception of creation contained in 

 the Bible. 



From Rev. J. Rate, M.A. : — My dear sir, I have read with 

 interest Mr. Upham's paper on Laplace's Nebular Hypothesis, He 

 says that R. A. Proctor asserts that there is an improbabilit}^ of the 

 existence and permanence of the rings of Saturn as either solid or 

 liquid. This must have been written before the discovery of the 

 dark inner transparent ring next to the body of the planet, seen by 

 Laplace in his reflector, and by Dawes in his achromatic, and by Sir 

 David Brewster in Lord Ross' great reflector. Sir David says, 

 Optic*, p. 4 99, "I have enjoyed the great privilege of seeing 

 through this noble instrument the satellites and belts of Saturn, the 

 old and new ring which is advancing with its crest of waters to the 

 body of the planet." " Laplace has already discovered the 

 transparency of the new ring of Saturn," Brewster's Optics, p. 500. 



" We understand that this telescope " (Rev. M. Craig's achromatic) 

 " exhibits satisfactorily the new ring of Saturn, which Laplace 

 and Dawes have found to be transparent, as the body of 

 Saturn is seen through it, but that the correction for spherical 

 aberration in that of Mr. Craig's is not perfect, and that it is 

 necessary to stop the central part of the object glass." Sir D. 

 Brewster's Optics, pp. 507-8. 



I myself spent a clear night in 1852 with Lord Ross at his great 

 6 feet (in diameter) reflector, of 57 feet focal length, in which I saw 

 nebula? which had never before been seen by mortal eye — except in 

 that telescope, and, in his 3 feet reflector, of 26 feet focal length, I 

 saw the planet Saturn with his rings. 



I thank you much for sending me the proof of Mr. Upham's paper, 

 and for your able fulfilment of the duties of Secretary to the Victoria 

 Institute. 



