THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 2 // 
putting as much space between them and itself 
as possible. To restrain its fierceness, God di¬ 
lutes the quantity diffused over the surface of 
the earth with more than two-thirds as much of 
an inert gas, equally as repellant as the other. 
Composed of these elements, the air comes with 
a soft and delicate quickening to the panting 
lungs, truly the God-given breath of life to 
man. 
“ Free, the gases composing the atmosphere 
have a tenuity so fine that all means used to 
detect the ultimate molecule have utterly failed ; 
yet they are so infinite in number, and have 
such a capacity of expansion, that they envelop 
the surface of the globe to a depth of forty or 
more miles. Soft and yielding, as we who 
move through them and inhale them with every 
breath know they are, yet their power of resist¬ 
ance to changes of temperature and pressure 
are wonderful almost beyond conception. In¬ 
deed, it was thought until quite recently that 
it was impossible to modify their gaseous con¬ 
ditions. 
“ We knew that the atmosphere exerts a 
pressure equal to sixteen pounds to the square 
inch, and that some of the gases had been 
24 
