1^ m^ '^ojnvj-jo^ &Aavjian-i^ ^^Anvaan-i^ ^WEUNIVER5"/A v>;lOSANCElfj> ^WEUNIVERS/A o o ^aaAiNft-awv" AWEUNIVER5"/^ ^vWSANCElfj> A^lllBRARYOr^ -^ILIBRARYQ^ '^«i/0JIlV3J0>' .^;OF-CAIIFO% ^OFCAIIFO/?/)^ '^^ii3DNv-soi^^ %a3AiNn3WV^ "^^AavaaiH^ '^>&Aavaan-i'^ ^ILIBRARY^^ ^^IIIBRARYQ^ AME-UNIVERi-//. vlOSANCElfj> ^ -^^lllBRARYQ^ ;lOSANCElfj> A^^lUBRARY^c. ^^l•lIBRARYQ^. "^Aa^MNn-aWV^ %OJI1V3-J0^ '^itfOJlWDJO^ ^' vvlOSANCELfTx o & 5 %il3AINn-3\V^ ^OfCAlIFO/?^ ^OfCAlIFO/?,)^ >&Aavaaiii^ *^- RYO^ ^^lIBRARYQc, AWE-UNIVERSy/i ^lOSANCElf/^ H^P "^^i/ojiivjjo^ Q ■^mw-m^ '^^/smmi^ s> v:y ^10SANCEI% -^^l-UBRARYa<; -^ -^^l-UBRARYQ^^ 501^ "^/yjiMiNnmv^ %ojnv3jo'^ ^ojiwdjo"^ |1 ER% ^lOSANCElfj>. ^OFCAllF0/?,<^ ^0FCA1IF0% ^ nti I ufj/K» 45^ ru.1 1 \jn/y^ NEW WORKS PUBLISHED BY WILLIAM TAIT, EDINBURGH. In two vols. 8vo, with Portraits, &c. price £1, 5s., LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE OE DAYID HUME. From the Papers bequeathed by his Nephew, to the Royal Society of Edinburgh ; and other Original Sources. By JOHN HILL BURTON, Esq. Advocate. Besides a large collection of Unpublished Letters by Hume, this work contains Diaries, Extracts from Note-Books, and other Origi- nal Papers ; including an Essay on the Authenticity of Ossian's Poems, Letters from Hume's Eminent Contemporaries, — Gibbon, Adam Smith, Blair, Smollett, Montesquieu, D'Alembert, Diderot, &c. In Post 8vo, with a Portrait, price 8s. 6d. lECTUEES ON ETHICS, OR MORAL PHILOSOPHY. By Dr. THOMAS BROWN. With a Preface by Dr. CHALMERS. Fifteenth Edition, in One Vol. 8vo, price 18s. BROWN'S PHILOSOPHY OF THE MIND. With a Memoir, by Dr. WELSH. SIXTEENTH EDITION. In large type, and beautifully printed, in 4 vols. 8vo, price £2, 2s. BROWN'S PHILOSOPHY OF THE MIND. Carefully revised with the original MS. ; with a Portrait, Lndex, and Memoir of the Author, by Dr. WELSH ; (all wanting in the previous editions in 4 vols.) " An inestimable book." — Dr. Parr. 2 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY W. TAIT, EDINBURGH. In one very large vol. 8vo, with a Portrait and Memoir of the Author, price 21s., JAMIESON'S SCOTTISH DICTIOMEY. ABRIDGED BY JOHN JOHNSTONE. Containing all the words in the Dictionary and Supplement, in four vols. 4to, incorporated in one alphabet ; with the various meanings and the etymons ; and embodying the proverbial sayings, and a brief description of the usages and manners of Scotland. In Eight Parts, to form Four Volumes 4to, price £8, 8s. JAMIESON'S SCOTTISH DICTIONARY AND SUPPLEMENT. New Edition, Improved and Edited by JOHN JOHNSTONE. In Post 8vo, with Eleven Portraits, price 10s. 6d., A GAllEUY OE LITERAEY POETEAITS. By GEORGE GILFILLAN. Exhibiting the following distinguished writers : Jeffrey, Godwin, Hazl'tt, Hall, Shelley, Chalmers, Carlyle, Foster, De Quincey, Wilson ; Irving, and the Preachers of the day; Landor, Campbell, Brougham, Coleridge, Emerson, Wordsworth, Pollok, Lamb; Cunuingiiam, and the Rural Poets; Elliott, Keats, Aird. Macaulay, Southey, Lockhart. " This is an eloquent book." — Mr. De Qmncey, in TaWs Maqazine for November ; where appeared the First of a Series of Papers by Mr. De Q. on " Gilfillau's Gallery." Third edition, in small Svo, price 5s. THE POEMS OE EOEEET NICOIL, LATE EDITOR OF " THE LEEDS TIMES." A new and greatly Augmented Edition ; with a Memoir of the Authoi. In royal 18mo, with above Forty Wood-cuts, Second Edition, price 4s. 6d. THE STEAM-ENGINE; Being a Popular Description of the CJonstruction and Mode of Action of that Engine. By HUGO REID, Lecturer on Chemistry, &c. " A very admirable little book, — scientific, learned, and perfectly lucid." . — Spectator. BOOKS PUBLISHED BY W. TAIT, EDINBURGH. HISTORY OF SCOTLAND. By PATRICK FRASER TYTLER, Esq. A New Edition, (the Third,) ia Seveu Volumes demy 8vo, to range with other Historical Works ia Gentlemen's Libraries, price £4, 48. Also, — The Cheap Stereotyped Edition, ia 9 vols, post 8vo, price £2, I4s. Single volumes of the Stereotyped edition ; and vols. 6, 7, 8, 9, of the first edition, to complete sets, may still be liad. " The standard History of Scotland." — Qtatrtcrly Review. In Crown 8vo, with 21 Plates and many Cuts, price lOs. 6d. a New Edition (the Fifth) of VIEWS OF THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE HEAVENS. By J. P. NICHOL, LL.D. Professor of Practical Astronomy in the University of Glasgow. Also a New Edition of THE SOLAR SYSTEM. By Professor NICHOL. In crown 8vo, greatly improved, with many new Plates and Cuts, price 10s. 6d. In 8vo, with Plates and Cuts, price 53. 6d. THE PRINCIPLES OF PHRENOLOGY. By SIDNEY SMITH. " The boldest book, and the best, on this subject." — Leeds Times. LORD EROUGHAM'S SPEECHES, &c. Handsomely printed in four large volumes 8vo, under his Lordship's immediate superintendence. Price £2, 8s. In 8vo, price lOs. 6d. INQUIRY INTO THE TAXATION AND COMMERCIAL POLICY OF GREAT BRITAIN. With Obsei-vations on the Principles of Currency and of Exchangeable Value. By DAVID BUCHANAN. 4 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY W. TAIT, EDINBURGH. In a large Yolume 8to, price 15s. THE PRINCIPLES OF POLITICxiL ECONOMY. By J. R. M'CULLOCH, Esq. Third Edition, enlarged and corrected throughout. NEW AND CHEAPER EDITION. Now ready, SMITH'S WEALTH OE NATIONS. Edited by J. R. M'CULLOCH, Esq. With a Life of the Author, an Introductory Discourse, Notes, and Supplemental Dissertations. In one large and beautifully printed volume, with Two Portraits, price ]6s. This Edition contains elaborate Notes on the Corn Laws, the Poor Law Act, the Colonies, &c. In Twenty-two Parts, large 8vo, price 9s. each, — The WORKS OE JEREMY EENTHAM. with MEMOIRS of the AUTHOR, by JOHN BOWRING; an Analytical Index to the Works and Memoirs, and an Introduc- tion to the Study of Bentham, By JOHN HILL BURTON, Esq. one of the Editors. In Post 870, with a Portrait of Bentham, price 6s. BENTHAMIANA, Or, Select Extracts from the Works of Jeremy Bentham; with an Outline of his Opinions on the Principal Subjects discussed in his Works. Edited by JOHN HILL BURTON, Esq. " The selection is admirably made."—" One of the most delightful single volumes in the language." — Exaviincr. In post 8vo, with a Portrait, &c. price 8s. 6d. THE CORRESPONDENCE BETWEEN BURNS AND CLARINDA; With a Memoir of Mrs. M'Lehose (Clariuda.) Arranged and Edited by her Grandson, W. C. M'LEHOSE. BOOKS PUBLISHED BY W. TAIT, EDINBURGH. MRS. JOHNSTONE'S TALES, NOW COMPLETE. In large 8vo, bound in cloth, gilt, price 4s. 6d. THE EDINBUR&H TALES, Volume I. containing Nineteen Stories by Jlrs. Johnstone, (the Conductor,) Mrs. Fraser, Mrs. Gore, Miss Mitford, Mrs. Crowe, Miss Tytler, Mr. Howitt, Mr. Quillinan, Colonel Johnson, Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, &c.; and an amount of letter-press et^ual to that of nine Tolumes of the ordinary novel size. Von'MK II. containing Stories by Mary Howitt, Mrs. Gore, Hoff- mann, John Mills, Miss Mitford, Robert Nicoll, and Mrs. Johnstone. Volume III. containing Twelve Stories, by Miss Mitford, Mrs. Gore, the author of " Mount Sorel," Sir Thomas Dick Lauder, Bart. Maurice O'Connell, Esq. M. P. and Mrs. Johnstone. HIGHLAND SOCIETY'S GAELIC DICTIONARY. Two large vols. 4to, published at £7, 7s., now offered at £1, lis. 6d. Only a small number can be sold at that rate. Third Edition, in small fivo, price 2s. 6d. PRODUCTIVE FARMING; Or, A FAMILIAR DIGEST of the RECENT DISCOVERIES of LIEBIG, DAVY, and other Celebrated Writers on VEGETABLE CHEMISTRY ; showing how the results of English Tillage might be greatly augmented. By JOSEPH A. SMITH. In large 8vo, bound in cloth, price Ss. 6d. SUSAN HOPLEY; OR, THE ADVENTURES OF A MAID-SERYANT. Cheap Genuine Edition. This Novel was originally in Three Volumes, at £1, lis. 6d. TAIT'S EDINBURGH MAGAZINE. Price One Shilling monthly ; or Twelve Suillings a-year. Each Number contains as much letter-press, by a number of the ablest writers of the day, as at the rate charged for New Novels would cost 17s. 6d. Each Volume would, at the same rate, cost Ten Guineas instead of Ticelte ShiUinijs. " Of all the periodicals of the day, there is none equal to Tait in its admirable analysis of new books. In this department — and a most valuable one it is — Tail stands unrivalled. We believe this distinguished feature is one reason why Tait is so exceedingly popular among the middle classes." — Dublin Monitor. b BOOKS PUBLISHED BY W. TAIT, EDINBURGH. The New Edition, price lOs. 6d. of GUIDE TO THE HirrHLAmS AND ISLANDS OE SCOTLAND, Including ORKNEY and ZETLAND ; descriptive of their Scenery, Statistics, Antiquities, and Natural History ; with Numerous His- torical and Traditional Notices ; Map, Tables of Distances, Notices of Inns, and other information for Tourists. By GEORGE and PETER ANDERSON of Inverness. " Their descriptions possess all the freshness and truth of deline- ations taken on the spot by familiar hands Not an object of interest from the Mull of Cantyre to the remote Zetland Islands is left untouched." — Interness Herald. The Times recently, (in a review of " Scotland, its Faith and Features," ) declared " Andersons' Highlands " immeasurably su- perior to the other modern Guide Books. In 8vo, with Plates, handsomely bound in cloth, gilt, price 16s. THE SPORTSMAN'S LIBRARY. By JOHN MILLS, Esq. Author of" The Old English Gentleman," &c. Comprising Instructions on every matter connected with Hunting, Shooting, Coursing, and Fishing ; including the Condition of Horses, Breeding and Breaking of Dogs, Preservation of Game, Destroying of Vermin, &c. " This is a capital and seasonable book for the Sportsman. It has all the appearance of being thrown off by a zealous and sensible sportsman, from his own knowledge."— /Speciaior. NEW INTEREST TABLES. In l'2mo, half bound, INTEREST TABLES AT EIYE PER CENT, From 1 Day to 3G5 Days ; from 1 Month to 12 Months ; from 1 Year to 10 Years. With Tables showing Interest at 5 per Cent reduced to 4g, 4, 34, 3, 2^, and 2 per Cent; Tables of Commission or Brokerage, &c. By JAMES GORDON, Accountant. Cheap Edition, designed for general circulation, of THE POEMS OE EBENEZER ELLIOTT, THE CORN-LAW RHYMER. In large 8vo, closely printed, and stereotyped, with a Portrait of Mr. Elliott, price Four Shillings. The previous edition was in three volumes, and cost 15s. BOOKS PUBLISHED BY W. TAIT, EDINBURGH. 7 la Two Volumes, royal 8vo, price £1, 14s. THE LAW OF EANKEUPTCY, INSOLVENCY, ANl) MERCANTILE SEQUESTRATION, IN SCOTLAND. By JOHN HILL BURTON, Esq. Advocate. " This work reflects credit on the Scottish bar. In fullness and lucidity of general proposition ; in vigour and accuracy of critical inquiry ; in scope of research and terse power of thought and expression, it stands in honourable contrast with the great herd of text-books." — Law Magazine. In small {Jvo, price 3?. Gd. A PLEA EOE WOMAN: Being a Vindication of the Importance and Extent of her Natural Sphere of Action. By Mrs. HUGO REID. In Imperial 4to, bound in cloth, price 18s. YESTIAEIUM SCOTICUM, OR, THE BOOK OF TARTANS; with an Introduction and Notes by JOHN SOBIESKI STUART. A few copies of the ILLUSTRATED EDITION, with beautiful representations of all the Tartans, 75 in number, splendidly bound in morocco, price £10, 10s. In Two Vols. 8vo, with Four Plates, price £1, 8s. HISTORY OE ST. ANDREWS: Episcopal, Monastic, Academic, and Civil; comprising the princi- pal part of the Ecclesiastical Hisiory of Scotland. By the Rev. C J. LYON, M.A. formerly of Trinity College, Cambridge, and now Presbyter of the Episcopal Chapel, St. Andrews. In small 8vo, price 4s. THE SCOTTISH CHURCH: A View of its History, Constitution, Doctrines, and Ceremonies. Edited by ALEXANDER LEIGHTON, Esq. " All these things are expounded with great clearness and impartiality L ' The Scottish Church.' " — Spcdatur. 8 BOOKS PUBLISHED BY W. TAIT, EDINBURGH. In Crown 8vo, with many Illustrative Plates, THOUenTS ON SOME IMPOETANT POINTS RELATING TO THE SYSTEM OF THE WORLD. By J. P. NICHOL, LL.D. Professor of Astronomy in the University of Glasgow. Dr. Nichol has fully explained, in this work, all the modifications in our views regarding the structure of the Universe, which the remarkable discoveries of Lord Rosse have rendered necessary ; and he has also entered on the discussion of important questions con- nected with Cosmology, which have recently attracted considerable attention. MISS TYTLER'S TALES FOR THE YOUNG. In small 8vo, price 5s. each, TALES or MANY LANDS. A New Edition ; with a Frontispiece and Engraved Title-page. TALES OF GOOD AND GREAT KINGS. Containing Lives of James I. of Scotland ; Charles V. of Germany; GusTAVUs Vasa of Sweden ; Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden ; Henri QuATRE of France ; Henry V. of England ; Letter to Arthur and George Rawdon. TALES OF THE GREAT AND BRAYE. Containing Memoirs of Wallace, Bruce, the Black Prince, Joan of Arc, Richard Cceur de Lion, Prince Charles Edward Stuart, Nelson, and Napoleon Buonaparte. TALES OF THE GREAT AND BRAYE. Second Series: containing Memoirs of John Sobieski of Poland ; Peter the Great of Russia ; Washington ; Henri de la Rociie- JAQUELEIN ; Hofer; and the Duke of Wellington. WILLIAM TAIT, PRINTER AND PUBLISHER, 107, prince's street, EDINBURGH. THOUGHTS IMPORTANT POINTS RELATING TO TITK SYSTEM OF THE WORLD. PLATE T THOUGHTS SOME IMPORTANT POINTS RELATING TO THE SYSTEM OF THE WORLD. By J. P. NICHOL, LL.D.. PROFESSOR OK ASTRONOMY rN THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW-. WILLIAM TAIT, EDINBURGH SIMPKIN, MARSHALL, AND CO. LONDON ; AND JOHN GUMMING, DUBLIN. MDCCCXLVI. EDINBURGH : Printed by William Tait, 107, Prince's Street. stack Annex PREFACE. I HAVE been induced to publish this volume by two classes of considerations. In the first place, the action, although only begun, of the great telescopes which Science owes to the genius and labour of the Earl of Rosse, have somewhat altered the views I formerly gave to the public, as the highest then known and generally entertained, regarding the structure of the Heavens : and I deemed it a duty to offer, by way of Supplement to my previous work, a brief and early account of the modifications thereby impressed on the questions it undertook to dis- cuss. These modifications are, in every way, .remarkable in detail ; witness the extraordi- nary revelations regarding the shapes and inter- nal constitution of the Stellar clusters, which, through the kindness of that Noble Earl, I am enabled very fully to present : but, in regard of one VI PREFACE. special and very important point, his Lordship has wholly subverted the opinion of his illustrious pre- decessor. The supposed distribution of a self-lumi- nous fluid, in separate patches, through the Heavens, has, beyond all doubt, been proved fallacious by that most remarkable of telescopic achievements — the resolution of the great Ne- bula in Orion into a superb cluster of Stars : and this discovery necessitates important changes in previous speculations in Cosmogony. What these are, as it appears to me, I have now thoroughly unfolded, — not being disposed, how- ever, to regard such speculations as unwarrant- able in our former state of knowledge, nor agree- ing with many inferences that have recently been drawn from them by Inquirers of very various and opposite views. As I cannot otherwise better express my opinions regarding the general bear- ing of these cosmogonies, I shall take the liberty of repeating a few sentences from my previous work : — " Suppose we are yet mistaken; suppose the Nebular Hypothesis, with all its grasp, not to be the true key to the mystery of the origin and destinies of things, what is gained — what new pos- session — by that course of bold conjecture on which we have ventured to embark ? This, at least, is PREFACE. Vll established on grounds not to be removed. In the vast Heavens, as well as among phenomena around us, all things are in a state of change and PROGRESS : there too — on the sky — in splendid hieroglyphics, the truth is inscribed, that the grandest forms of present Being are only germs swelliuo^ and burstins^ with a life to come ! And if the Universal fabric is thus fixed and consti- tuted, can we imagine tliat aught which it con- tains is unupheld by the same preserving law, that annihilation is a possibility real or virtual — the stoppage of the career of any advancing Being, while hospitable Infinitude remains ? No ! let the night fall ; it prepares a dawn, when Man's weariness will have ceased, and his soul be re- freshed and restored. — To Come ! — To every Creature these are words of Hope spoken in organ tone : our hearts suggest them, and the stars repeat them, and, through the Infinite, Aspira- tion wings its way, rejoicingly as an eagle follow- ing the Sun." I have recently seen also, with some astonish- ment and not without much concern, the unex- pected prevalence, manifested in various forms, of the most strangely inaccurate and conflicting views VI II PREFACE. as to tlie couuexioii of larger inquiries regarding the Order of Nature, with points of the deepest interest to man, viz. his conception of his own position and duties amid the Universe, and, as a matter of course, his relation, as well as that of all things, to the Providence of the unchange- able Creator ; and from these, in the one way as in the other, I rejoice exceedingly to find an opportunity of expressing my decided hut respectful dissent. The reasons of that dissent, will be understood by any one who shall favour me by perusing carefully the following pages ; nor perhaps can I give a better expression to my feelings than in the brief words of a valued friend yet destined to hold, if he is spared in life and health, one of the most distinguished places in the science and literature of the country, " God literally creates the Universe every moment. Every instant is a new morning of Creation. He is the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the ending ; the Creator, the Sustainer, the Provider, 'in whom we live, move, and have our being.'" PREFACE. IX When I thought it advisable — now ten years ago — first to introduce to the British public a notice of these great truths in Astronomy, I placed the following words at the beginning of that treatise, " I have been induced to make public this brief series of letters, because of a regret which, I believe, is widely felt, that the discoveries of recent years, which have thrown most unexpected light upon the constitution — present and remote — of the Stellar Universe, should longer continue comparatively unknown, or concealed amid the varied and massive collec- tions of our Learned Societies." The times, how- ever, have vastly changed sine* then ; indeed in so much, that whether through inspection of original documents or not, those views are now found generally unfolded in books touching on any question concerning the Nature of Things ; and they are discoursed of in almost every popular periodical, as having passed w'ithin the domain of common knowledge. The necessity that induced me to attempt this course of exposition, has there- fore ceased to exist; and unless leisure permit that, in performance of an old promise, I can execute during next autumn, a specific book on Geologi- cal Phenomena and their cai'ses, I intend to PREFACE. intermeddle with these peculiar themes no more — having ah-eadj lingered among them, perhaps, too long ; and shall therefore, with all gratitude, offer my respectful Farewell. In reference to the Plates in this volume, I must acknowledge my great obligations to Lord Rosse. The remarkable Spiral Nebula is now published for the first time, through his kindness ; and I am .glad to state, that — aided by willing and ingenious artists — my rather venturous attempt to re- present these masses of stars in the light in which they appear -*- viz : white on a dark ground, has been considered by his Lordship to be successful. CONTENTS. PART I. THE MATERTAL UNIVERSE, AS REPRE- SENTED IN SPACE AND TIME BY THE GRANDER PHENOMENA OF THE HEAVENS. Chapter I. — Glimpses of Knowledge regarding the Structure and Extent of the Sidereal Arrangements. .... Page 1 Chapter II. — Herschel's Speculations regarding a Nebulous Fluid; their grounds and over- throw. — Extension of our Ideas concerning the variety of the Stellar Creation — La- place's views as to the Genesis of the Solar System, in their connexions with Herschel's Theory — Fundamental Idea of these Cosmogonies. ..... 39 Appendix to Chapter II.— Laplace's Cosmogony un- folded by Pontecoulant. ... 69 Chapter lII.^The Vitality of the Sidereal Universe, considered as a Scheme of Galaxies — Relation of these Great Forms to Time and to the Infinite. .... 87 Xll CONTENTS. Paga Notes to Part I. Note A. — Calculations regarding the Profuadities of the Stars 121 Note B. — Facts regarding the Sidereal Universe not yet consolidated into a System ; the Phenomena of the Variable Stars. — The Unexplained Parts of our Solar System : Comets; The Zodiacal Light, and Streams of Meteors; The Inter-planetary Ether. 122 PART II. THE MATERIAL UNIVERSE, AS REPRE- SENTED IN TIME BY THE EVOLUTION OF INDIVIDUAL GLOBES. Chapter IV. — Analogy of the Planets with the Earth. — Instability of the Earth. — Epochs of Evolution through which it has passed. 145 Appendix to Chapter IV. — Views concerning ultimate problems in Geology 191 Chapter V. — The Nature of Material Evolutions, as manifested by the Phenomena of Life. — Restrictions and uses of Speculative Cos- mogony. — Conclusion 215 Note on Causation. 241 ERRATA. Page 95, line 3 from below, for Ursa, read Ursse. At the bottom of page 111, an expression — imperfectly worded — may be misinterpreted. It is not meant that the globular clusters have changed since HerschePs time ; but that, as we must now accept the Nebulous Stars as Clusters, we have before us a series of a per- fectness which even he did not admit. PLATES. Plate I. ..... . facing page 18 — II — 19 — Ill — 20 — IV — 21 — V. Frontispiece, facing Title. — VI. ..... between pages 22-23 — VII. ..... facing page 30 — VIII - 61 — IX — 60 — X — 146 — XI — 148 — XII — 162 — XIII — 173 — XIV _ 178 PART I. THE MATERIAL UNIVERSE. AS RKPRESKNTED IN SPACE AND TIME BY THE GRANDER PHENOMENA OF THE HEAVENS. CHAPTER I. GLIMPSES OF KNOWLEDGE REGARDING THE STRUCTURE AND EXTENT OF THE SIDEREAL ARRANGEMENTS. Though it is less the object of this first part of my volume to recount the knowledge we have acquired regarding the arrangements and struc- ture of the Heavens, than to illustrate in how far our previous conceptions are likely to be modified by the course of discoverj'^ on which our age is happily entering, I yet feel the special facts to be in themselves so marvellous, and seemingly removed so far beyond the sphere which man can definitely explore, that I must crave leave, at the outset, to recapitulate certain general principles which I have elsewhere fully discussed, and by whose aid alone we can speculate concerning Forms distributed amongst the deepest profundi- ties of Space. B THE TELESCOPE. I. The power to pass beyond the limits of natural vision, we owe to the Telescope. Now, the principle on which that power depends, is extremely simple; so much so, that the first and rudest instrument contained a full and manifest expression of it : but, as usual with every acquisition of man, it was only after tlie continued efforts of centuries — not, in- deed, until our own times — that we have seen elaborated its complete and probably ultimate efficiency. In order to the irritation of the nerve of vision in the human eye, or to the production of the sense of seeing, it is necessary that a cer- tain intensity of light enter its small pupil. But, since the magnitude of that pupil remains always nearly the same, and since — in consequence of the fact that the rays issuing from any luminous object pass from it in straight lines — the mass of light diffused by it over a given surface becomes gradually thinner as the distance of that PHINCIPI.E OF THK TELESCOPE. S surface froni the shining point is increased ; (as much light, for instance, falling on the straiglit line a b, as is spread over the whole of the much larger one A li,) ; — it is clear that, as the eye retires farther and fartlier from the neighbourhood of S, it must, through effect of the diminishing intensity of the pencil that can enter it, receive from it less and less light at exery consecutive stage ; and that a point of remoteness would soon be reached beyond which that pencil could suffice no longer for the pur- poses of human vision, and where the stars would therefore necessarily pass from among perceptible objects, into the dark unknown. In regard of the celestial orbs, it seems, from Sir William Heischers investigations, that if an ave- rase star of the first magnitude were withdrawn into s{)ace to twelve times its present distance from our solar sphere, it would lose its glory and dwindle into a })oint nothing more than percep- tible : so that, speaking generally, the countless luminaries bevond that limit, shining though 4 PRINCIPLE OF THE TELESCOPE. they do through every portion of tspace, and working out untiringly the great purposes of the Eternal, must, had we been unhelped by science, have blazed amid these recesses for ever, without revealing to human perception even the fact of their existence. But happily, by an artificial application of one of the most widely recognised characteristics of Light, this natural limit may be far overpassed, and our relations with the scheme of visible things entirely changed. If, as in the diagram below, by the mere intervention of a peculiar transparent plate, C D, the whole rays falling on its large surface, could, as they pass through it, be turned from their previous courses, and made, on the contrary, to converge or collect themselves at the pupil, into a pencil small enough to enter its narrow opening, it is clear that the eye would now receive the entire mass of light comprised between the two radii A S, B S, instead of the veriest fraction of it, as before : the star, no longer on the verge of invisibility, would shine with the splendour that would have PKINCIPLE OF THE TELESCOPE. O belonged to it luul the spoctator received its wliolr direct bccam at the line cf motion, and the power of being made to pass through the smallest spaces in obedience almost to a touch, are characteristics indispensable to every instrument intended to afford measurements of value : and to ensure them for the six feet mirror, its illustrious maker has felt it necessary n2 10 THE SIX FEET MIRROR PROBABLY to limit the range of its motion ; and lie has con- lined it within two massive parallel walls, be- tween which it travels with an astonishin 2; precision and facility, but thus sweeping only the immediate neisrhbourhood of the creat meridian circle in the Heavens. Now, though the meridian is un- doubtedly that circle whereon any celestial body may, on the whole, be viewed with most advan- tage, it is manifest that the limiting of an instru- ment to any one circle, must, because of the vicissitudes of our unstable atmosphere, vastly diminish the number of hours during which, in any specified time, it can be turned to the heavens with effect : and if, from the hours apparently effective, deduction be made of the many occasions during which, through the con- dition of the air, great magnifying powei-s cannot be employer], I shall not seem unreasonable in despairing of the useful application of specula much larger than what we now possess, to the purposes of discovery. The applicable size of a mirror must, in fact, ever be pi-actically limited by the power of the applicable magnifier or mi- croscope.* The operation of a large reflecting or refracting disc is merely to present the image of an object clothed with an immense increase of OUR ULTIMATE ACHIEVEMENT, 11 splendour ; but this of itself will not lead to a closer knowledge of the structure of the object, unless, by use of eye- pieces correspondingly power- ful, we can diffuse its new illumination, or beat out tlve iinage over a large surface, without im- pairing distinctness of vision. Now, the internal state of the atmosphere, however cloudless it may seem, is very seldom quiescent. Cur- rents of air, of different temperatures and densities, are, in most cases, rising and falling within it, with greater or less of frequency ; and the crossing and constant intermingling of these produce, in regard of tlie external stars seen through so disturbed a medium, that same dan- cing or uneasy motion observed so easily near the surface of the earth during intense sunshine. This dancing or unsteadiness is, of course, magni- fied by the microscope : and so — often when low powers present an image distinct in its general features, and the observer is tempted thereupon to examine it with some higher one — precision and definiteness entirely vanish; and we are told, with sufficient emphasis, tliat there is a Fate the loftiest genius will never vanquish — that which confines man"'s successes within possibilities con- stituted by the conditions of his Earth. 12 FUNDAMENTAL FACTS REGARDING II. I should now examine the exact amount of t'eHainty as well as reach constituted by the Tele- scope, in regard of the aspects of celestial objects : but again I must first advert, with some minute- ness, to what also I hare already explained to the public* — the nature of the grand funda- mental trutli relative to the distribution of the Stars in space. A thoughtful glance at the ap- pearance of the skies on any cloudless night, necessarily excites the suspicion that those orbs are not, according to our earliest and cotnmon notion, strewn indiscriminately and without de- finite arrangement through the abysses of an environing Infinitude. I do not, at present, refer to minor groupings — like the Hyades or the Pleiades, or those other and mani- festly special arrangements scattered over the sky, which, perhaps without much infelicity, have been thought to correspond, however dimly, with the mythic groups or figures that, for so * In my volume entitled, Views of the Architecture of the ] leatens. THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE STARS. 13 long, have been known as the Constellations — but to that remarkable band, studded with visible stars defying enumeration, and with more, so blended together, that they transmit, towards the Earth, only a difiuse nebulous light, — a band surrounding, although with noticeable irregu- larity, the entire vault ; and which has been recognised, in all ages, as the Milky Way. Now, what can we make of this gorgeous cincture — what is its strange and mysterious signiti- cance I If, indeed, we could measure the dis- tances of all these stars, and so place them in their due positions on a plan or chart, the structure of the Heavens might be repre- sented without blemish or mistake ; but, no more than the unaided eye will ever penetrate to the limits of the Universe, shall it, through human Art, be able to take cognizance of quantities so small as shall guide it to the absolute determina- tion of such remotenesses. Abandoning, then, the hope of certainty where that is clearly not to be realized, we must treat the question as one of probabilities ; and a supposition, at least highly probable, meets us on the threshold — viz: that it may be allowed us to judge of the distribution of these orbs, on the ground that the apparent diffe- 14 FUNDAMENTAL FACTS. rence in their magnitudes is, in the main, the effect of varying distance. The supposition, as must be at once confessed, is not rigorously true, for we know, from undoubted facts, that the stars also vary in absolute magnitude ; some being, perhaps, far more majestic than the Sun, while others do not reach one-third of his size : but, that the range of this class of variations is limited, and therefore does not, on the whole, interfere with the foregoing as- sumption, the general appearances of the Heavens readily confirm. For instance, not only does the number of the stars belonging to any magnitude, increase as that magnitude grows less ; but, until we reach the lower magnitudes visible to the naked eye, the number of stars of the different orders corresponds nearly with what should be found at their respective depths, supposing them equably scattered there, and of an absolute average size : nor is the correspondence seriously interrupted, imtil we penetrate near the region of the Milky Way, where all approach to uniformity of distribution gives place to special arrangements. Now, on the assumption that the magnitudes of the stars indicate, in the main, their distances, the general significance of that dazzling zone is not veiled in mystery. It unfolds its peculiar SIGNIFICANCE OF THK MILKY WAV, 15 phenomena, unquestionably because there the starry Heavens that environ us, pierce farthest into the profound. Tn other regions of the sky, though indeed they are all most glorious, those orbs appear as not yet past reckoning, and as if the sphere within which they lie extended to no immeasurable depth. But in the direction of the Milky Way, magnitude succeeds to magni- tude ; and beyond even the clearest vision of the telescope, still there lie masses of that nebulous light — the blended lustre of multitudes of orbs that stretch into profundities which have with- drawn them seemingly for ever from distinct intercourse with man. Is it indeed possible, in contemplation of appearances so emphatic, to resist an impulse, however startling, to connect the conception of shape with our stratum of stars ? Is it not distinctly intimated by these phenomena of the Milky ^Vay, that we are in the midst of a cluster or bed of orbs, thin or narrow at its sides, and inconceivably deep only at its ends, as if it were a flat circular zone, or thin slice of a sphere ? Figure 1, in Plate II., will enable us to realize this unusual and next to overwhelming idea. It is the picture of a remote object, which, as we formerly saw it, seemed 16 THE FINITUDE OF OUR BED OP STARS. almost a fac-simile of our magnificent system. Now, let the imagination transport itself to a world near the centre of that galaxy — for it is a stupendous arrangement of stars at an incon- ceivable remoteness — and fancy the aspect of the Heavens around. In the midst of a bed of stars, exactl}' as we are now, the sky would sparkle on every side gloriously as ours ; but in the direction of the ring alone would they stretch towards depths apparently fathomless : for though to us that whole arrangement seems only as a spot on the cerulean, its real dimensions may well be such as to baffle the longest sounding line. The conception of shape as an attribute of our galaxy, thus leads almost irresistibly to that still more astounding conclusion as to its finitude. No more than with that cluster, whose dim outline shines towanls us across the abysses, are we entitled to imagine that our Heavens, with all their gorgeousness, are other than as one secluded islet amidst the boundless ocean of space ; and it is surely no marvel when this thought, with its manifest concomitants, comes to be realized, that we feel as if the Idea of Existence in its plenitude, and of Infinity in its true awfulness, was for the first time dawning upon the Soul. REMOTER GALAXIES. 17 111. The fact, that the cluster of orbs to which \vc more especially belong, is only a particular ar- rangemeut with a certain form and attributes, naturally leads to the conjecture, that this assem- bling and segregation of the stars into grand groups may be a chief feature in the structure of the sidereal Universe. It is indeed wholly un- likely that our group, as a single instance of a species, should rest alone and forlorn amidst desert untenanted Space ; so that the notification is received without wonder, that the sphere of Infinitude through which the telescope has pene- trated, is thronged with similar clusters, separated far from each other as islands in the great Sea. Now, on entering on the examination of such groupings, in search of intimations as to their general purpose, one difficulty considerably per- plexing, instantly meets us ; and it must be stated to the fullest extent, so that at least we may estimate its value if we cannot overcome it. It is clear that, unless through the forms of these distant groups, nothing satisfactory can be 18 KEMOTEit GALAXIES. inferred regarding their character and meaning : but the question is, how far can we rely that the telescope yields an absolute revelation of these forms^ — to what extent are we safe in speak- ing of what is apparent, as if it were real? The fact, that objects so distant, and in nmny in- stances so refined, M'ould greatly change their appearances according to the power of the instru- ment through which they were viewed, was of course too obvious to escape the notice of any observer ; and it was often adverted to by Sir William Herschel, especially in his memoir of 1818, where he hints at some general principles regarding the nature of this change. This in- quiry, unfortunately, he did nut carry sufficiently far to obtain any important conclusions : but as it is manifestly at. once a legitimate and necessary one, I shall briefly endeavour, by comparing the varying aspects of a few specimen clusters as viewed by different telescopes, to ascertain whether these chan<;es are of a kind that can induce us to conjecture concerning new revela- tions from telescopes yet more perfect, and whether there are any features or characteristics that may even now be eliminated as virtually fixed, and not liable to serious future tnodification. PLVTE I. EFFECTS OF THE TELESCOPE. 1.9 The geuerul variety of aspects prevailing among these remote galaxies, considering them en masse^ is the same for all telescopes. The class nearest us will always exhibit, for the most part, the appear- ance of that gorgeous cluster in Hercules, shown, as figured by Sir John Herschel, in Fig. 1, Plate I., — the individual stars coming distinctly out, and merging, in this case, towards the centre of the group into one blaze of light. The class immediately behind these comparatively proximati* objects, (I infer distance of course, on the ground of our previous assumption,) naturally shows, like Fig. 2, a much dimmer outline, with a far less brilliant development of individual stars, which there shine only as .*t#ar- (/«/«# ,• while those remoter still, present, as indicative of their con- stitution, only the faint granulated aspect of Fig. 3, in the same plate, or the yet more unintelligible appearance of the nebula in Orion, copied in Plate VIII. from the graphic sketches of the same acute observer. The question, however, at pre- sent is, how do the nebulie of each class appear to different telescopes? and this I shall answer by a few descriptive sketches. 1. It is plain that tlie application of additional 20 * RESOLUTION. telescopic power must ever increase the number of resolved or resolvable (that is, granulated) nobulip, at the expense of those which shine only with a dim and diffused light. This, accord- ingly, has already especially characterized the action of Lord Rosse's instruments, as explained by himself in his memoir of 1844; but probably a more interesting result is the complete resolution of others, which — although previously resolved, — for the most part retained in connexion with them, in some regions, a considerable portion of nebulous light. Even in the cluster in Hercules, that rich and gorgeous system, the central stars were not seen with perfect distinctness, so that this part of the group did not appear ■pure ; but now every confusion arising from the blending of separate stars has disappeared, and the structure of the galaxy is wholly un- veiled. In this and similar cases, the telescope must have pierced through the cluster, as well as surveyed its mere apparent surface ; so that we may safely hazard the conclusion, that no farthei' light would be thrown on it by any conceivable increase of telescopic power. 2. The alteration, however, in point of resolva- DISCOVEKY OF FILAMENTS. 21 bility and distinctness which Lord Rosse has already impressed on those remote arrangements, is much less remarkable than the alteration of forra ; which is more striking when the form previously seemed the simplest. Figure 2, in Plate I., is a well-known nebula, and admirably figured by Sir John Herschel. Under the three foet telescope it bursts into the figure of Plate III. — a magnificent illustration of the compara- tive power of that great instrument, as well as of the probable nature of all clusters that we were wont to regard as nearly spherical. But much more strange is the metamorphosis, under the same telescope, of the nebula Sir John Her- schel has represented by the form of Fig. o, Plate I. That dull and obscure ellipse is then changed into the extraordinary object of Plate IV., where the fundamental ellipse is still visi- ble, but which assuredly is far removed from simplicity. Those filaments, or subservient streams of stars, are wholly non-existent in the representation of the smaller instrument : and, since there is still around it a ground of nebular or unexplored light, it is inconceivable what streaks may not be added when it is subjected to the piercing glance of the six feet mirror. In 22 CHANGES OF FORM. both these instances, the most remarkable altera- tion, (besides distinct resolution^') is the revelation of those dim filaments han^^ing, as it were, by the central mass : and the same fact is noticed in regard of objects still more obscure. The circular nebula of Lyra, seen by Sir John Herschel as in Fig. 4, Plate I., has been transformed by Lord Rosse into Fig. .5, of the same plate : by the three feet speculum it was not resolved, although its granulated structure clearly indicated, that resolution was near: so that it, too, is a mighty galaxy, with parts of its stars attached to its mass in these irregular filaments or streams. 3. Turning to the dimmer objects; tliose which heretofore — half known and half only con- jectured of — have rested on the very verge of the sphere of observation ; it is there tliat we have chiefly been astonished by the feats of the new instruments. The Dumb Hell nebula is known over the world by the excellent drawing of it by Sir John Herschel, which I have attempted to re- produce in Fig. 2, of Plate IT. Look at it in Plate v., {Frontispiece,) where it is as I have seen it with Lord Rosse"'s three feet mirror ! No lonoei- distinctness or completion of form, but a strange j:ie Con- THE SPIRAL NEBULA. 23 mass, internally most irregular, clustering ap- parently around two principal nuclei or knots of stars, and presenting, where it merges into the dark, the utmost indetiniteness of outline ! But, in comparison with the object I have now to present, the metamorphosis of the Dumb Bell must move little wonder. The nebula formerly referred to, (Fig. 1, Plate II.,) situated in the Dog's Ear, seemed a portrait astonishingly close, of what we might conceive our own galaxy to be ; and, although unresolved, it was by common consent considered a mighty cluster. Lord Rosse has seen it by aid of iiis six feet mirror ; and Plate VI. exhibits its leading appearances. This plate, which is copied from the sketch shown by his lordship at the recent meeting of the British Association, (1845,) is an eye sketch only — unverified by micrometrical measurements ; thouffh these, when made, will alter no essential feature.* I do not insist on the mere fact of its * This object is not singular in tlie Heavens. Lord Rosse lias detected another of exactly the same character. It is very strange that shapes so odd should thus be reproduced. Another Nebula — the apparently simple form of .32 Ilerscliel,has turned out a most fantastic figure, something like 8. The odd configu- rations of the cactus tribe in the vegetable world, would thus seem repeated among the stars ! 24 THE SPIRAL NEBULA, resolution ; for, although in one sense nothing can be more memorable than the conversion of these dim streaks of light into burning and rolling orbs, even a feat so grand and triumphant, in regard of the science and art of Man, has an attraction infinitely less than the transforming of a shape apparently simple, into one so strange and complex that there is nothing to which we can liken it, save a scroll gradually unwinding, or the evolutions of a gigantic shell ! How passing marvellous is this Universe ! And unquestion- ably that form would seem stranger still, if, rising farther above the imperfections of human knowledo^e, we could see it as it reallv is — if, plunging into its bosom and penetrating to its farther boundaries, we could develop the structure of its still obscure nebulosities, which doubtless are streams and masses of gorgeous related Stars ! REVIEW OF THE STELLAR GALAXIES. 25 IV. Under the guidance of the foregoing facts, it will now be in our power to undertake a review of the positive character of those magnificent groups. Warned by the changes undergone by their forms when seen by different degrees of telescopic power, we shall avoid the hazard of generalizing on the ground of vvhat is apparent only, and not real or essential : but, by a cautious and reverential criticism, enough of stability may still be discovered, even amongst these shifting shapes, to intimate something of the high ordinances of the Eternal in regard of his grandest development of the Imagery of the Material World. It is not, however, to be for- gotten, that we are here adventuring within the region of the onward twilight, and can reasonablv hope for no more, than to trace, in dim outline, the forms of the august objects it contains, 1. Among the clusters of simpler form, it is difficult to doubt the preponderance of great ceu- c 26 GREAT CENTRAL MASSES. fral masses — iii all likelihood resultinii: from that ])ower of tmiversal attraction which prevails both in Earth and among the Heavens, as far as we have succeeded in unfolding their motions; — a power which may have originally determined the tendency of the orbs to segregate themselves into distinct groups, but which certainly seems to have a strong sway, at least over their present character. Whatever the irregularity of outline wherewith deeper telescopic insight has surround- ed clusters which, like Fig. 2. Plate 1., at first seemed so simple; there yet uniformly appears as in the new form of that cluster in Plate III. a decided central mass, more or less compact; whose features are, in all respects, reconcileable with the energy of an extensive clustering power; and on which mass tlie irregular branches or filaments seem to depend. This may be said to be the case even with the cluster of Plate IV., and certainly it is true, with regard to Hercules, (Plate I. Fig. 1,) and all others approximately spherical. This same conception of the prevalence of a clustering power. Sir William Herschel conceived indicated by another feature of those globular masses. The light at their central parts, arising from the degree of compression among CLUyTERING I'UWER, the orbs there, is not unitonii, and bears nu luiiforni relation to the size of the sphere within wliich tlie object is contained. It manifests, therefore, not a varying apparent concentration about their central regions, but a veal variation : with this illustrious Observer, (for whose sagacity any more than for his daring, no speculation was too high,) it went to establish, amongst those groups, a series of aspects, eacli of which is a step in some stupendous evolution, to which, as the ages roll, they may be subject — bearing them onward from the condition of collections of stars comparatively sparse, to ripened spheres whose centres approach towards an uninterrupted blaze of light. The elevation to wiiich this idea leads us is, indeed, a dizzy one, far aloft from the usual haunts of human thought : and yet why not the empire of Mutability, even over those dread Infinitudes, as well as among the mere shows and transiencies of Earth ? Those galaxies are not the woik of Man : — they arc part of the ordinances of one below whose awful Un- changeableness, even processes whose solemn steps seem to occupy Eternities, may yet be, as before human vision, the opening of a leaf of the evanescent flower ! 28 LAW OF COMPLEX CLUSTERS. 2. It is equally manifest, however, that, — consi- dering them as wholes or unities^ — we cannot, in our present condition of knowledge, discern in the interior constitution of more complex clusters any trace of law or order whatsoever. The pro- ducts of the power just spoken of are essentially simple, provided they are complete, or are tending towards completion : their character is typified by the rain-drop, the shape of a planet, the compact regularity of the solar system, or by the cluster in Hercules : — Far other aspects greet the eye, Avhen it gazes on the nebula of Plate V., or still more on the scroll nebula of Plate VI., with its countless dissevered parts and their capricious arrangements ! But is the question unnatural or far-fetched — ought we to regard such systems only as compact and completed unities ? May we not, by examining them by parts, obtain glimpses, however dim, of processes affecting their nature ? Doubtless, with all their com- plexity, they also, even in their entireness, are schemes internally harmonious ; in which each part has its relative as well as its own proper significance ; but the meaning of these wider relations may lie far beyond our reach, just as we shall never know the whole of the Universe's L.WV OF COMPLEX CI.U!STERS. 29 fates. If then, with due limitation of purpose, we again look at Plate V., assuredly a portion of its first capriciousness seems to disappear. It contains within it, not one centre of attraction, like the simpler groups, but two ; and around these, the orbs seem to have been clustering. With both the main masses, filaments and neb;]- lous streaks — the remnants of its more uniform diffusion — are connected in abundance ; and the nuclei are still joined by a bright stellar neck ; but there seems no great boldness in the conjecture, that as the epochs of time are un- folded, that mass may separate into two, — with sin)pler features — still engirt by obscure branches — but more nearly approaching their ultimate form. The illustration from Plate VI., however, is much more striking, and bears closely on a pro- blem relating to the structure of our own galaxy. However strong the sympathies pervading all that strange system, it is cognoscible by us, in the mean time, only as a collection of separate masses ; nor can we err in so deeming it, through ignorance of its real, as compared with its apparent structure, inasmuch as it is the manifest tendency of the telescope to deprive these remote objects of apparent uniformity, and endow them with a ■>0 THE SPIKAL NEBULA. roustitution more and more discrete. Now, tliese parts are by themselves somewhat intelligihlo. The central spherical group has the form in which gravity would sustain any mass of stars ; and most of the other segregated portions also can be conceived as partial schemes internally harmo- niou>^, or arranged in obedience to their internal sympathies. But the feature the most remark- able /or us, is the character of the two principal lines of the scroll, or those two leading branches of that Milky Way, wdu-re the stars of the group appear mainly distributed ; — it seems as if these beds of orbs were literally dissolving into frag- ments ; which, in fact, is only a repetition of the most conspicuous characteristic of the zone encircliiu] our own (fdlaxy. That bright circuit is no regular belt, but, on the contrary, a succession of clusters, probably self-harmonious, stretching along its whole course, and separated by lines or patches more or less obscure. An eye-sketch of part of it in Plate VIT. is a good illustration of its entire con- stitution ; so that a vital or essential resemblance between the two objects seems beyond reach of doubt. Nor can it be denied, that the fact referred to in a previous note, viz., the existence of other Spiral NebuL'JH of a similar constitution, appears PLATE YU THE IRREGULiinj, )F THE MILKY WAY THK MILKV WAV. to show that a breaklnfi do/cn, so to .speak, of the masses, is not straii2;e hi the system of the Uni- verse, Have we, then, here an intimation, how- ever dim, of what is passing among- those dread recesses ? Is the apparent separation of our Milkv Way into parts, in truth, as Herschel supposed it, in one of his loftiest moods, a mark (if liow far the shadow has passed along thu dial of Time — a mystic but significant index of how much of the existence of that ijone has gone, and a sure prognostic of its future course ; If it is indeed so, and investigations on which wc shall afterwards enter may confirm it, then we have before us another Infinitude besides that of Space. The marvels in our view must also fill up unfathomable Durations, and have received from their History much of what is mysterious and strange in the present aspects and conditions of their Beini>-. 32 THE ENTIRE STELLAR CREATIOX, V. One subject remains, to which attention must be directed in conchision of our survey of the Sidereal Heavens. What is this system as a WHOLE I Can we discern any law or principle in the distribution or mutual relations of these stupendous clusters as they are located in space ? The question indeed is wholly beyond the reach of man''s highest possible powers : but the endeavour to deal with it will unfold more of the majesty of that Creation, whose aspects we have been regarding. — Let us examine more closely its nature. It was early discerned by Herschel that there are means by which we may arrive at an approxi- mate conclusion regarding the locality in space of any resolved cluster ; although, as in our previous inquiries, these also rest on an assumption. Carrying out the idea that stars are bodies of an average equality of magnitude, it is clear tliat, distancl: of clusters. *3o if the space- penetrating power of tlie telescope which first resolves a cluster, ha^ been distinctly ascertained, no doubt can rest over the remoteness of that cluster in space. Let us take, for instance, the case of one in which tlie individual stars are first seen by the ten feet telescope, whose pene- trating power, compared with that of the eye, is 28 : the eye, reaching a star at the 12th order of distances, it is clearly a legitimate inference that this cluster lies 336 times deeper in space than orbs of the first magnitude. Again, a cluster first resolved by the twenty feet instrument, whose power is 75, would lie at the range of the 900th order of distances ; one first resolved by the forty feet, would belong to the 2o00th order; while those which first reveal their individual stars to Lord liosse''s stupendous mirror, would, if our computations be correct, lie six thousand times farther remote than the sphere of the brijihtest fixed stars ! Herschel, in his Memoir of 1818, discussed this matter at considerable lengtli, and ventured even to draw out a chart of the heavens, embodying the most prominent ob- jects up to those of the 900th order. A fourth part of his chart is represented in the following woodcut, — the dark speck from which the lines c2 34 herschei/h chart. proceed representing the size of all that mass of the stellar sphere taken in by the naked eye. It is difficult, unless by familiar illustration, to make a chart like this useful in conveyinij a true idea of distances. With that object, suppose the visible stellar sjdiere — that is, the whole sjthere within th(^ circuit of the 12th order of distances — I'epresented by a common two feet celestial globe; then the boundaries of HerscheFs chart would reach one hundred and fifty feet beyond its centre, and, wen; one extended as far as Lord Rosse^s instruuKMit can i-arry its resolving power, it must have the immense comparative railios of one tiiousand feet! EXTENT OP CREATION. oO The portion of tJie cliurt now given — similar in all respects to the others — suffices to show thi- entire absence of apparent law, or order, or relation- ship, in the existing distribution of these grand constituent parts of the sidereal universe. And surely that is no marvel; for why should we expect such, in the more fragment that we see- The in- dividual nebula of which we have spoken seemed to us incomplete; because their historii is hidden, and we are privileged to contemplate them in only one transient phase: b\it with regard to this grander ))henomenon, ■ — viz. that Sidereal Universe itself, of which they are merely in- dividual parts, not only has Time not revealed the course alon^ which it has been borne, but we descry no more than a small portion of it as it exists in Space. However potent the telescope, no man dare reckon that all things are taken in by its vision, or that it has penetrated to the outer battlements of this majestic Stellar Creation, any more than that, previously, all things were seen by his unassisted eye. Nay, the telescope itself, in every stage, h.as made A'ery contraiy declarations, and proclaimed how far it lingers behind a comprehension of the riches of Exis- tence, even when unfolding so unexpected 36 KEMOTER SPOTS. wonders. What mean, for instance, those dim spots, which, unknown before, loom in greater and greater numbers on the liorizon of every new instrument, unless they are gleams it is obtaining, on its own frontier, of a mighty Infi- nite beyond, also studded with glories, and enfolding what is seen as a minute and subservient part ? Yes ! even the six feet mirror, after its powers of distinct vision are exhausted, becomes, in its turn, simply as the child, gazing on these mysterious lights with awful and hopeless wonder. I shrink below the conception that here — even at this threshold of the attainable — bursts forth on my mind ! Look at a cloudy speck in Oiugn, visible without aid, to the well-trained eye : that is a Stellar Universe of majesty altogether transcen- dent, lying at the verge of what is known. Well ! if any of these lights from afar, on which the six feet mirror is now casting its longing eye, resemble in character that spot, the systems from which they come are situated so deep in space, that no ray from them could reacli our Earth, until after travelling throuffh the intervenino- abvsses, during centuries whose number stuns the imagination : — there must be some reo-ardino; which that faint illumination informs us, not of their present THE UNIVERSE. 37 existence, but only that assuredly they were, and sent forth into the Infinite the rays at present reaching us, at an epoch farther back into the Past than this momentary lifetime of Man, by at least THIRTY MILLIONS OF YEARS I If these majestic revelations, not in the mere rudeness and bareness of outward and obvious forms, but instinct with suggestive powers, gleam fixedly on the Soul, how awful its conceptions of the mysteries within whose lap it lies ! The glories I have described, cannot be ALL : — Shrouded by the veil of day, they would, had the Earth, like the sluggish Moon, turned on its axis only as it revolves in its orbit, have been hidden hopelessly and for ever, by the garish beams of the Sun. Yes ! though their bright haunts are always around us, and in vir- tue of the universal sympathies of things, they play upon our Beings unceasingly through in- fluences and laws not yet unfolded, even their partial and interrupted cognition by the human spirit, flows wholly from a physical character of our globe, which perhaps might not have been ! Is it not possible, then, that through other con- ditions of the Ijife to which we belong, and 88 THE UNKlVOW>f. other limitations of our scheme of Senses, even now we are unconscious of being engirt by other Universes still more real and as vast as the World of Stars ? Wliat are those dream-like and in- scrutable thoughts which start uj) in moments of stillness, apparently as from the deeps — like the movement of the leaves during a silent night, in prognostic of the breeze that lias yet scarce eome — if not the rustlings of near but unseen Infinitudes ? But this theme should not be touched, unless by a master hand : — " MYSTEKIOLS NIUHT ! WHEN OUR FIRST PARENT KNEW THEE, FEOM REPORT DIVINE, AND HEARD THY NAME, DID HE NOT TREMBLE FOR THIS LOVELY FRAME, THIS GLORIOUS CANOPY OF LIGHT AND BLUE ? YET, 'nKATH a CURTAIN OF TRANSLUCENT DEW, BATHED IX THE RAY'S OF THE GREAT SETTING FLAME, HESPERUS WITH THE HOST OF HEAVEN CAME, AND LO 1 CREATION WIDF;\'i> IN MAX's VIEW. WHO COULD HAVE THOUGHT SUCH DARKNESS LAY CONCEAl'i) within thy beams, O sun ! OR WHO COULD FIND, WHILST FLY, AND LEAF, AND INSECT STOOD REVEAl'd. THAT TO SUCH COUNTLESS ORBS THOU MAd'sT US BLIND 1 WHY DO WE THEN SHUN DEATH WITH ANXIOUS STRIFE ? IF LIGHT CAN THUS DECEIVE, WHEREFORE NOT LIFE? 39 CHAPTER TI. HERSCHEL'S SPECULATIONS REGARDING A NEBU- LOUS FLUID : THEIR GROUNDS AND OVER- THROW ; EXTENSION OF OUR IDEAS CONCERN- ING THE VARIETY OF THE STELLAR CREATION. LAPLACE'S VIEWS AS TO THE GENESIS OF THE SOLAR SYSTEM, IN THEIR CONNEXIONS WITH HERSCHEL'S THEORY: FUNDAMENTAL IDEA OF THESE COSMOGONIES. It was while contemplatiuii the subject di.s- eussed in last chapter, that Sir William Her.schol yielded to a speculation, as remarkable, probably, as any of so high a nature to which modern times have given birth, and which, accordingly, has exercised no slight influence over the tone of sub- sequent thought. I refer, as may be conjectured, to his theory of the Nebulous Fluid, founded on a supposed distinction among the nnresohed Nebulae, which induced him to believe that many of these milky spots are not remote galaxies, but. on the contrary, mere accumulations of a self- shining fluid, akin to the Cometic, and probably 40 THE NEBULOUS FLUID. located, at no great remoteness, amid the inter- stellar intervals of our own Heavens. The grounds of this distinction, even though to higher insight thej are at length known to be fallacious, were not, as we shall see, of a nature to discredit the sagacity of this extraordinary man; and his deductions, which grow into a splendid scheme of the genesis of the Universe of Stars, are memo- rials, not to be forgotten, of a Spirit, that with humility unabated, and ever deepening reverence, could rise of its own accord to the contemplation even of the beginnings, progress, and prolfable close of these stupendous material arrangements. The Nebulous Fluid, as imagined by Herschel, could, it is evident, be distinguished from unresolv- ed clusters, neither by the character of its Light, nor by its simple Irresolvability ; for, while the illu- mination it transmits may easily be fancied of pre- cisely the same dim and milky kind that is sent from remote galaxies, the mere attribute of irresolva- bility can avail nothing of itself, towards effecting a separation between classes of objects equally unresolved, and resisting with oqual obstinacy the greatest telescopic energy. Masses of such a Fluid, and the unresolved Clusters, would in- NEBULOUS STARS. 41 deed, when viewed apart, necessarily corres- pond so entirely in every external feature, that the endeavour to discriminate them in this way must be illusory ; but if, on the contrary, objects distinctly stellar, were found in clear and posi- tive connexion with a modification of matter so opposite ; if, for instance, a Star and a Nebu- losity chanced to exist in exactly the same por- tion of space — the star being plunged in the midst of it — it is easy to conceive that distinct evidence of difference of nature might then be deduced from contrast of attributes. Now, it was the belief that he had discovered a phenomenon of this precise and expressive kind, which first startled Herschel from the repose of his previous convic- tions, that all milky spots were clusters unresolved by reason of their remoteness ; for according to liis mode of contemplating them, the Nebulous Stars — that is, objects which he considered to be stars enveloped in circular haloes* — were inex- plicable by any analogy drawn from his former * These objects are very common in the »ky. They present the appearance, precisely, of a regular fixed Star, with a come- tic circular envelope. Those of my readers who have looked at my former work will recollect some of these objects as fii'ured there. i-1 INFERENCE FROM NEBULOUS STARS. knowledge. '' In the first place," says he, speak- ing of a star of the eighth magnitude surrounded by .such a halo, " if the nebulosity consists of stars that are very remote, whidi apjK-ar nebulous on account of the small angles their mutual dis- tances subtend to the eye, whereby they will not only, as it were, run into one another, but also appear extremely faint and diluted; then what must be the enormous size of the central point, which outshines all the rest in so superlative a degree as to admit of no comparison ? In the next place, if the star be no bigger than common, how very small and compressed must be thosf other luminous points, that are the occasion of the nebulosity which surrounds the c(mtralonei As by the former supposition, the luminous central point juust far exceed the standard of what we call a star, so, in the latter, the sliininij matter about the centre will be much too .small to come under the same denomination ; we there- fore either have a central body which is not a star, or have a star which is involved in a shining fluid of a nature totally unknown to us. I can adopt lu) other sentiment than the latter, since the probability is certainly not for the existence of so enormous a body as would be required to INFEIJKNCE FROM NEIJUI.OUS STAKS. 4.*; .sliiiie like a star of tlie eiirhtli ma