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The Pamphlet Collection of Sir Robert Stout: Volume 86

No More Mystery

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No More Mystery.

No. I.—The Electric Universe.—What is Material?—What is Fire?—Astronomers in error.—The Sun not a fiery orb, but a beautiful world.—The source of Solar Light and Heat explained.—Aurora Borealis and Southern Lights: What are they?—What holds Revolving Worlds in space.—What is on the other side of the Moon.—The Harmony of Nature.—The possibility of Man visiting other Planets by a new motive force "explained."—Meteors and Comets.—The Earth in the embryo of its existence.—On the eve of Wonderful Discoveries, etc., etc.

Man may have handled in a more masterly way, and penned in a much more brilliant style, and books may have been printed more elaborate and imposing, but never did thought flash upon a subject so stupendous, or of such thrilling interest, or of greater moment, and which will act as the key to open the door of mystery, that beams of light may pass through and illumine much that before was obscure, and could not be explained by the reasoning of man—this will no longer bo shrouded in darkness, but the wonderful wisdom, order, and harmony of creation made plain by Electricity, in a light that has not been considered before.

The Electricity of the Universe; of Man in the Material State; of all Materialism.—And while I speak of these things ill the language of certainty, 1 do not pretend to be in all things absolutely correct, for I know man is a progressive being, and if progressive not perfect; for if he were perfect he would no longer be progressive, and, therefore, he is not infallible, and, not being infallible, his ideas, as well as doings, are sometimes in error; so, although I do not pretend to be in all things absolutely correct, I do, nevertheless, write what I honestly believe to be true, and it is not for me to prove a negative; those that think I am wrong, let them prove it. While I write, I wish to explain myself in such language that all can understand me, that it will not take others to explain what I mean, and then someone else to explain what they mean, and so no end of explaining, as is often the case with the writings from the supposed advanced minds of the day. It page 6 is a pity they will so often dig up from the far distant ages of the dark past quotations in the dead languages that few only can understand. Yes, we may well call them dead; and why not let them remain at rest, sepulchred in the past, without mixing up portions of the dead with the living present? We can go, if we wish, and visit and examine them, and, when we have done so, let us speak to others of the tilings we have learnt in the beautifully expressive language that has evolved, developed, and advanced from them—the language of the living day.*

Electricity in a New Light.—When I speak of Electricity, I speak of it in a very broad and general sense, as you would

* "Learning does not consist, as the schools now make it consist, in the knowledge of languages, but in the knowledge of things to which language gives names.

The Greeks were a learned people, but learning with them did not consist in speaking Greek any more than in a Roman speaking Latin, or a Frenchman speaking French, or an Englishman speaking English. From what we know of the Greeks, it does not appear that they knew or studied any language but their own, and this was one cause of their becoming so learned. It afforded them more time to apply themselves to better studies. The schools of the Greeks were schools of science and philosophy, and not of languages, and it is in the knowledge of the things that science and philosophy teach that learning consists. Much of the scientific learning that now exists comes to us from the Greeks, or the people that spoke the Greek language. It therefore became necessary for the people of other nations, who spoke a different language, that some among them should learn the Greek language, in order that the learning the Greeks had might be made known in those nations, by translating the Greek books of science and philosophy into the mother longue of each nation.

"The study, therefore, of the Greek language (and in the same manner for the Latin) was no other than the drudging business of a linguist, and the language thus obtained was no other than the means, as it were the tools employed to obtain the learning the Greeks had. It made no part of the learning itself, and was so distant from it as to make it exceedingly probable that the persons who had studied Greek sufficiently to translate those works such, for instance, as Euclid's 'Elements' did not understand any of the learning the works contained.

"As there is now nothing new to be learned from the dead languages, all the useful books being translated, the languages are become useless, and the time expended in teaching and learning them wasted."

I have taken the above note, and also the note on science that appears at the top on front cover, from the writings of one I consider numbering amongst the greatest of men I insert them as a small tribute of respect to him that has been so scandalously libelled—one that has been so little understood by his fellow-men. Thousands have spoken most severely against him and his writings, but, questioning at times some of those that spoke so bitterly. I found out they knew nothing at all about him, and that they bad never read any of his writings, but, like the Pharisees of old, had joined in the hue and cry of others, "whose untruthfulness and unreasonableness he had attacked;" same as numbers did of One they knew nothing at all about—one of the greatest of men, whom they could not have known, or they would not have joined in the cry of "Crucify Him!" I think it best not to give the name here, for there has been such prejudice against it: those that have read his writings will know whom I am speaking of. I do not for one moment prelend to say that his writings are all perfect, for no man is perfect, and then certainly his works cannot be; but I do mean to say that we have from the works 1 am speaking of some of the grandest logic and reasoning that was ever argued out. I will speak of him more openly in some future work I intend publishing.

page 7 speak of the flowers of the field. You then speak of every kind of flower, but if you speak of a rose, lily, tulip, violet, etc., you speak of a particular kind of flower. I believe Electricity has its many elements; when I speak of gold, silver copper, iron, tin, or any proper material besides metals, I simply speak of one of the elements of Electricity condensed into a solid. Fire is the dispersion again of these elements, flying off so rapidly to once again where they came from," that immense friction takes place in the immediately surrounding atmosphere of the thing in combustion, and thus is brought about light and heat. All materialism is different elements of Electricity condensed to a greater or lesser degree. Electricity is the instrument used by the infinite mind of the Great Architect of the mighty universe, by which revolving worlds were created, and gigantic suns, each the centre of its own system of resplendent glory; and it is by Electricity, as I will endeavour to show, that those revolving worlds are kept out in space at their orbit distances from their central suns, and by which system on system, through eternal space, each in its own cycle, undisturbing the others, go rolling on.

Are things what they appear to be, and what we have been taught to believe? 1 think not. It seems to me so extraordinary the thought and belief that has been held by man through ages past, that the sun is a vast fiery something, either consuming itself, or fed by a fuel they know not how, or where from. Some philosophers and learned savants have gone into volumes of figures calculating the time it will take for the sun to consume itself till it becomes like a smouldering fire, having so much of its former heat lost that the present state of existing life in our system will become annihilated; and now, further on again, we see it like a dying ember, and then again, and the last spark goes out, and yet there is a great something left, hideous in the greatness of its charred blackness—the ashes of that once fiery world, no longer imparting its glorious light and life-giving heat to rolling worlds around it, and either existing in the intense blackness of its eternal and total darkness, with the then black spheres of its system still pursuing their course, and only known, "not seen," by the noise that might be heard as they race on in their pathway without light through endless time. This would be the ultimate of the present teaching, or else all chaos.*

* By exposing a surface of ice to ihe direct action of the sun's heat when the sun was nearly vertical, was the system used by which one of the greatest astronomers determined by the thickness of ice melted in a given time, and so calculated that there was as much combustion per hour on each square foot of the suns surface as we could find in one hundred and thirty thousand pounds of coal, and so based a calculation of the time it would take for the sun to consume itself. What kind of coal we are not told. We know that a pound of coal from some mines gives out twice as much heat as the same quantity will from other mines; so how little would the above figures prove!

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How different the thoughts I am now going to suggest. That the sun is not this great fiery body that is generally supposed, but an immense and beautiful world, as much more beautiful as it is much more greater than our own, and possibly inhabited by intelligences as much superior to those we find upon the earth, enjoying similar conditions to ourselves; and that the inhabitants of the sun are as dependent for light and heat from the planets that revolve around them as the inhabitants of those planets are dependent for their light and heat from that magnificently beautiful orb—the sun of our system. How wonderful it seems; how different to what has been believed "just the opposite." The sun in itself not hot, but cold; in itself not light, but dark; and this I believe to be absolutely true, and will try and make plain much that before has been cloaked in mystery,

We will go to the only infallible teacher and guide man has, where the Great Author and Builder alone makes His laws known, and reveals the wonderful truths of creation to His children. I speak of the great book of nature, and there find written upon its pages everywhere, not disorder and confusion, but harmony. I find, with but few exceptions, the same laws pervading everything that is around me; this wonderful harmony, and the few exceptions I will speak of anon. And these few exceptions to the general laws were positively necessary for the present state of existing life, and these necessary exceptions are sufficient proof to me of an infinite, superior intelligence, and in my finite mind I will not attempt to conjure up in my imagination His personality. You may call Him by what name you like, I myself can only think of Him as the Great Unknown.

Professor Rymer Jones says :—"If we place a single drop of water under a microscope we will find there in countless numbers living beings moving directions with considerable swiftness, apparently gifted with sagacity, for they readily elude each other in the active dance they keep up. ... Increase the power of our glasses, and you will soon perceive inhabiting the same? water other animals, compared to which the former were elephantine m dimensions, equally voracious and equally gifted. Exhaust the art of the optician, your eyes to the utmost till the aching sense refuses to perceive quivering movements that reveal the presence of life, and you will find that have not exhausted nature." If the microscope reveals in every atom or drop of water a world of countless living creatures, does it not seem possible, yes, more than probable, that those gigantic worlds, which are continually revolving in the endless star roads of heaven, if we can prove the possibility that they may similar conditions to our own planet," are not teaming with myriads of living creatures, possibly having intelligence as much superior to ours as their own world is greater in magnitude.

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All astronomers have been compelled to acknowledge that, up to the present time, no satisfactory account has been given of the origin of the solar light and heat; whence comes the inexhaustible supply, scattering itself so lavishly into space Let us try and solve the mystery. Certainly if the sun was a gigantic fire, the nearer we got to the fire the greater warmth would we experience; but we find that the result in approaching the sun is often the reverse. Astronomers admit that in the month of December we are about 3,000,000 of miles nearer the sun than we are in the month of June; and as all objects appear larger as we get nearer to them, so the sun's apparent diameter is known to be in December 32′ 47″, while in June it was only 31′ 40″. And yet in the Northern Hemisphere, take the British Isles for example, although they are nearly 3,000,000 of miles nearer to the supposed great fire, yet it is then they experience the greatest cold, and it is then the depth of their winter. But this, astronomers tell us, is through the sun's rays falling obliquely upon that part of the earth. I can understand a ray of light or a sunbeam, but I never could understand a ray of heat from a fire. You remember the old maxim call a spade a spade." Certainly a fire is a fire, whether it be the fire of a burning world or the fire in a grate in a room. Suppose we go into a large hall where there is an open fire burning in the centre, I want to know where we should get to to have what they call the rays of heat falling obliquely upon us? The only way I know to experience less heat from a fire, is to get farther away from it. Now let us go to a part of the earth Where the sun's rays are falling perpendicularly, and there we will commence to ascend a high mountain. We are going high up now, nearer to the sun, and as we get nearer to the sun and higher up in our atmosphere, we find it is getting colder. We have now changed our position on the earth's surface, and those that teach that the sun is a great fiery body, change their position of argument and tell us that we now experience this cold through the atmosphere being more rare. To this I reply that if the sun was a fiery body, the warmth we experience from it at any time could be felt as much high up in the atmosphere as down where the air is more dense; just the same as a fire will give out the same heat on the mountain top as a fire of like dimensions will where the air page 10 is more dense, down in the valley.* Heat travels upon the same laws as light or sound travels, only light travels much more quickly than heat, and heat can travel much more quickly than sound. I must explain this so that you may see that if the sun was this fiery world, we should experience as much, or more heat high up, where the air is more thin and rare, than we would down where it is more dense.

There is no such thing as nothing! Let us try and grasp at nothing; let us go to what part of eternal space you like, where you say at any rate there is the least, and there we take a cubit inch; we then have something: we have a cubic inch of ethereal vapour, and this is a mass of atoms, so minute, that in their minuteness it is beyond what our imagination can grasp. Now let us go to the starting-point of noise, that noise strikes upon the atoms that are immediately around, they echo to the atoms that are farther away, and these again re-echo to those that are farther on, and thus sound is carried to the ear. Light travels by continually reflecting from one atom to another till it roaches the sight; and heat from fire travels by first heating those atoms that are immediately around the point of combustion, these warm the others that are outside them again, and these again extend their warmth still farther to others; and so it keeps on, extending and dispersing itself, till ultimately it becomes lost to the senses. Now you will see upon the law that heat from fire travels, that if the sun is this fiery body, the particles or atoms that are high up in our atmosphere must have a greater heat than those particles that arc farther away from the sun, or nearer the earth plane, for those that are nearer the earth's surface would have to be warmed by the heat imparted from the atoms above.

The question now may be asked, if the sun is not a ball of fire, where does all the heat and light come from? I will try and explain.

I have said that Materialism is the building up of different elements of Electricity, and condensed into a solid to a greater or lesser degree. Electricity as a whole can be divided into two great parts: positive and negative, or male and female. The

* We certainly experience as much heat from a fire in the beautifully pure and clear atmosphere of New Zealand as they do in the dense and foggy atmosphere of many of the cities of Europe.

These positive and negative elements might be subdivided again as take a magnet which, of course, has its positive and negative poles, You now divide and sub-divide this magnet into many pans as you like, and every part will still have its positive and negative stale. I mention this to show that although the earth is negative to the sun, it is possible for the earth as well as the sun to positive to the moon.

page 11 suns are principally positive elements; the planets that revolve around them, of negative elements. Everything has, too, its own atmosphere, or magnetic aura. This atmosphere is made up by atoms of ethereal vapour that are in affinity with the objects themselves; for example, our planet the earth is of certain elements, and, upon the law of like attracting like, attracts from the ethereal vapours of far distant space the like elements to itself; and thus we have an atmosphere which becomes of certain extent and density according to the size or power of attraction of the planet or object, and of the same form as the object. Thus our planet will have a greater depth of atmosphere at the equator than it will at the poles, and naturally, by this law of attraction, the atmosphere would become more dense as you approach the surface of the planet, and as you go farther away, less and still less, until it is lost in the ether of eternal space.*

Electricity was never generated or made by man, or through any of his inventions, but man's inventions have simply been the means of collecting and applying it, or letting loose and dispersing it, as we do when we take the zinc and copper, or any other positive and negative combination—which are simply male and female elements of electricity that are pent up, or condensed into a solid; and when we place them together and start a certain chemical action upon them, we then commence to let loose these pent-up elements, and so conduct them with our wires, and apply the force where necessary or required; and, as we are using the force, the plates are getting smaller anti lighter, for they are dispersing the elements that they are made of, and these elements return again into ethereal space from whence they came, ready once more to be concentrated in the course of time by the affinity of attraction; ready, again, to be used at nature s call; and so continually.

A sun and its system of planets might be called one among the countless millions of the stupendous electric batteries of the mighty

* They tell us our atmosphere is about 40 miles high. I maintain it is impossible for any of us to a lino where our atmosphere commences or where it leaves of I believe also all the elements that arc to be found in our atmosphere are drawn from the ethereal vapour, only in our atmosphere we have them in a still more dense slate; all the elements we have in our atmosphere we have in the water, hut in the water in a still more dense slate; all the elements we have in the water we have also in the earth, but here in a slate that the atoms, by the affinity of attraction, have become massive according to their own kind, and so we can better distinguish one element from the other. The destruction of any of these elements in mass by fire or other means, is simply the dispersion again of those elements back to where they came from, and thus they complete their cycle.

page 12 universe. The law in all electric currents is that they fly off from the positive to the negative, and return again from the negative to the positive, making their complete cycle—" everything goes in cycles." The sun being the positive of our system, the electric currents fly off from it at the poles, and with more than lightning speed dart across the intervening space of millions of miles towards the negative points of its system, the planets which are attracting it; and as it approaches the different planets now with greater velocity still it rushes on, faster and yet faster it comes, till the currents that are approaching our earth, coming on with such velocity and force, strike our atmosphere, and the ethereal atoms there being more dense, there is greater friction through the electric currents rushing through them. And this, to us, is the commencement of solar light and heat—"all friction will create light and heat." And as the currents approach still nearer our earth, the density of our atmosphere being greater, the friction is still greater, and so we experience more light and heat from the electric ray. After the electric currents have passed through our atmosphere, they now begin to penetrate the earth's crust, and the friction becomes greater still, the heat increasing one degree in every 50 to 100 feet, as it goes down into the bowels of the earth [which see Geological works], till, by and by, the heat towards the centre of the earth becomes so great that everything now becomes in a molten state; still the electric current rushes on till it finds the centre of the earth's attraction; and then, for the smallest decimal of time, its speed is somewhat stayed, as it commences to turn in the extremity of its orbit, and now it passes out where there is the least resistance, at the northern and southern poles of our planet, and, as it returns, it gradually increases in velocity, till it rises up in our atmosphere faster and still faster, till the friction becomes so great again that we once more see the effects in the beautiful Southern Lights, and Northern Aurora, until it passes still higher into those stratas of our atmosphere which are more rare, and then we see the extremity of our polar lights, because then there is not so much friction; and now, upon the wings of godlike speed, the electric currents quicker and still quicker fly on their homeward course through the light ethereal vapour, across the ninety or more millions of miles, till, rushing into the suns atmosphere, it once more fulfils its glorious mission, giving light and heat to intelligences probably existing there, and so page 13 completes the cycle only to go forth again and again, continually.*

Electricity in itself is cold, and only when it is set in motion it becomes hot by the rapidity of its motion and consequent friction that is brought about. The electric currents that are rising in our atmosphere on their homeward course, from the poles of our planet, are only just passing the point of negative attraction, so they have not yet gained velocity, and this partly accounts for our frozen Arctic and Antarctic regions; but as it rises in our atmosphere, it increases in speed; thus the greater friction brings about our Northern and Southern Lights. But the warmth from these heated particles is not experienced on that part of the earth's surface, but carried upwards away from the earth, because the electric currents are flying upwards and off from the earth,

Sometimes the Northern Lights, or Aurora Borealis, is seen in England, in the south of Europe, and United States; and the Southern Lights, or Aurora Australis, is seen in New Zealand and Australia, &c. This is when a disturbance happens in the returning electric currents; they are waved down towards us, and we then truly say we have an electric storm. You will always notice at this time a disturbance is reported upon the sun's surface: it is through the disturbance in the returning current being waved across, just the same as if you have hold of the end of a string, say ninety or more yards long, and I have hold of the other end, and, by suddenly

* Phenomena that is seen during a total eclipse of the sun sustains the hypothesis of a solar atmosphere. There hursts out from the jet black disc the moment the eclipse becomes total a sort of halo or glory radiating on every side, and presenting a spectacle of wonderful grandeur. I have read of the eclipse of July, 1842, witnessed at Pavia, that the entire populace burst out into a shout of wonder and admiration at this glorious spectacle.

Wherever electric currents are forcing into anything, that brings about heat; where they are leaving, the opposite is experienced—cold. This seems to be a general law. What may be worth knowing in a hot country :—It you take some butter, the hottest day in summer if you like, when it is liquid like oil, and put it into a stone jar, with cover; then wrap several layers of wet cloths all round the jar; he careful that no part of the jar is exposed; hang the jar to one of those roasting jacks that are made for twisting things round; then hang this before a fierce fire so as to cause a quick evaporation. As the moisture flies off from the cloth the butter is cooling, and becoming harder inside the jar, and much more pleasant for the table; but you must be careful that the cloths do not become dry, by putting more wet cloths on to supply the waste that is going on through evaporation. As long as the moisture is flying off the butler is becoming colder and still colder, till by and by it will become hard like stone. It is this same law that cools the water in the canvas bag as is used in India and other hot countries. A close woven canvas bag, suitable lor the purpose, is filled with water and hung in the verandah or some convenient place The water in the bag keeps the canvas moist, and the hotter the day the colder the water will be in the bag, for the greater will he the evaporation flying off from the bag. The illustrations that can bo given of this law are very numerous, and are known, I suppose, to almost everyone.

page 14 moving your hand, to start a wave at your end, the effect would not cease till it reached me. So the disturbance in the returning currents is waved across, and, rushing into the sun's atmosphere in greater volume in some parts than it does, or at the expense of, others, gives the appearance of uneven light, or darker spots of unusual form.*

In the law of attraction, it is always the larger body that attracts the smaller one. The sun of a system is larger than the aggregate of the planets that revolve around it, and so they are held by its attraction, from flying off beyond their orbit distances. They are kept at their distance from the sun by the electric currents that are flying off from the sun towards them, striking them with such force that they are held out in space, like a ball is held up in the air by a jet of water from a fountain, while the earth attracts that ball, keeping it from going entirely away.

The philosophy of this reasoning against the sun being a fiery world at once expands the mind to the beautiful thought of harmony in all the wondrous works of the Great Unknown. Mercury and Venus, that are so much nearer the sun, are not kept in a liquid state by the intense heat of a fiery world, which they would be if such was the case; but enjoy a temperature of light and heat similar to ourselves, and where it might be possible for us to exist; while Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, and Herschel, that are much farther away, do not experience such intense cold that even the water would be solid like iron and harder than the hardest rock, but enjoy, if possible, a climate far superior to our temperate zones, where the most tender and delicate amongst us might be invigorated, as they bask, say upon some part of the planet Herschel, there nestled amongst its luxuriant verdure, enjoying its light and heat.

"Man, bear thy brow aloft! view every grace
In God's great universe, beauteous Nature's face."

Speaking of the possibility one day of one from our earth plane standing in some flowery field upon the planet Herschel, inhaling the balmy breeze, dazzled with the brilliancy of the electric ray, and comforted by its life-sustaining warmth, enjoying and much interested in the magnificence of the surrounding landscape, of its mighty mountains and the music of its rushing cataracts and waterfalls; of

* All disturbances are brought about by a disarrangement of force. A storm, whether it be an electric storm, a storm of wind. &c., or a social storm, is the working of the disarranged forces to bring about an equillibrium again, and when takes place the storm is over, and everything once more serene.

page 15 its grassy plains, where are grazing innumerable herds and flocks of animals of graceful form, with the sporting of the water-fowl upon the bosom of its crystal lakes; with the splendour and luxuriance of the foliage of the immense trees of its great forests, and delighted with its lovely flowers of such unusual fragrance, brilliance of colour, and beautiful form; fascinated with the note of some warbling bird, as it sings its morning song, and now, startled and struck with wonder, as he sees coining across the field towards him, one from whose brow Hashes the light of intellect: it is a man of the planet Herschel; and now you see his eyes sparkle with love, as he extends the hand of fellowship and welcome to the stranger from the planet Earth, and they go walking arm in arm towards one of the great cities of Herschel, interested in each other's conversation, as each imparts the knowledge of his sphere. They are brothers, for they are children of the one Great Father, and they show to each other by every word and act that they feel this tie of affection; but they are men in advance of the present day, and how different!

I expect some of my readers will be much surprised when I tell them that I believe the knowledge of man is as yet like the dawning day; that by-and-by, in the bright future, what is now considered almost the apex of the attainment of man's scientific knowledge will be far, far surpassed and eclipsed by the wonders and discoveries that will be made. Our printing machine of the present day, telegraph, steam engine, electric light, &c., &c., will then be looked upon as mere pigmies of scientific knowledge; that in the distant future, too, when we become more acquainted with and thoroughly understand the law of electric currents as they exist in the great universe, and which sends worlds with such speed along their pathway through space with such unerring exactness, I do not think it improbable that man will then bo able to travel by these electric currents, and possibly visit the other planets of our system, and perhaps even of other systems, and with a speed as if upon the wings of lightning, and with less danger than we experience now in crossing our seas from one continent to another. Our balloons of the present day are nothing more than like the canoe of the ancient savage—a mere plaything, only suitable to sport about in the calm waters close to the shore, to the great aerial ships of the future voyaging through ethereal space.

The Moon, and exceptions to General Law.—There seems to be another general law throughout the broad domain of nature; it is, that all spheres revolve, showing their different sides to things around.

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The sun rotates upon its axis, continually showing its different sides to the planets that revolve around it; the planets continually rotate upon theirs, showing their different sides to the sun. A single particle of water is a sphere, and these spheres roll as anything passes through them, or as they pass through anything, so the different sides of these atoms are continually turning to the atoms around, The atoms of ethereal vapour rotate and roll as the electric currents pass through them, and thus we may truly say that Electricity travels upon the chariot-wheels of eternal space; but we have in the moon a great exception to this general law. The moon certainly revolves upon its axis in space, and towards the sun, but it does not revolve upon its axis, turning its different sides to the earth, as the earth does to it. "Why this wounderful and extraordinary exception?

The moon is only distant from the earth about 237,000 miles, it is a very narrow span of space, less than ten times the circumference of the earth, and the earth being so near to it and so much larger, the atmosphere on that side of the moon showing itself to the earth is largely diawn away by the earth's attraction, and become so thin and rare upon that part of the moon's surface, that it would be impossible for any of the advanced stages of life, under the material condition, to exist there (at any rate if life on other planets is like ours). If the moon revolved upon its axis, showing its different sides to the earth, the greater portion of its atmosphere from every part would then be drawn away; but as it is, it will have an atmosphere much more dense upon the other side that is turned from the earth, than it has on this. I know it has been argued by many that have been looked upon as great authorities in these things, that the moon has no atmosphere; but phenomena has been noticed that leads to a different opinion.* I am perfectly satisfied

* "On the 27th of March, 1882, Mr. Stanley Williams, an English observer, was looking al the moon in the early evening with a telescope of considerable power, and giving particular attention to that very singular oval valley known to astronomers by the name of Plato. This valley is about sixty miles broad, remarkably level, and surrounded by a ring of mountains averaging something less than 4,000 feet high, but shooting up here and there into peaks nearly as high as Ætna When the sunlight strikes; across the summits of the mountains on one side it throws the shining peaks into splendid relief, but all the valley within remains shrouded in darkness. The sun was just vising upon this mountain ring when Mr. Williams made his observation of Plato and his eye al once detected a strange appearance. The interior of the valley, which usually appears totally dark at such times, was illuminated with a faint phosphorescent light, making its level floor dimly visible. It was not the effect of reflection from the illuminated mountains, because the interior of the valley was protected from such reflection, borne passing clouds in our atmosphere shut out this interesting scene from the sight of the observer for about an hour. When the sky cleared again, Mr. Williams looked once more and saw that the strange light had disappeared. Mr. Williams had made a similar observation, in the same spot, about live years ago. About seven weeks after Mr. Williams's observation, which we have described, there was a total eclipse of the sun, and a parly of French and English astronomers went to Egypt to observe it, as the line of totality ran across that country. When these astronomers turned their spectroscopes upon the edge of the moon as it hid the sun, on the 17th of May, they perceived indications, in the strengthening of certain lines of the spectrum, of the existence of an atmosphere on the moon. This observation, though not unprecedented, was hailed with satisfaction by those who had always contended that the moon was not as dead as it seemed. The existence of an atmosphere would explain the phenomenon which Air. Williams witnessed in the valley of Plato, as well as various other equally singular observations which have been made by students of the moon from time to time, But this was not all. On the 19th of May, two days after the eclipse, John G. Jackson, of Delaware, while studying the moon, as he had been accustomed to do for years, with a reflecting telescope, was surprised to see near the western edge of the disc, and over a portion of the flat region known as the sea of Crisis, something which he described as a feathery-looking cloud. Just two months later he saw a similar appearance in the same place. And now Mr. L. E. Trouvelot, a well-known astronomer, commenting upon Stanley Williams's observation, says that he has more than once witnessed similar appearances upon the moon's disc, He has seen lunar landscapes lose their distinctness as if thin clouds were floating over them, once, around the crater of Kant, he saw what may have been a rare vapour slightly tinged with purple, He has also seen another large crater illuminated with a faint purple light. Mr. Trouvelot thinks these various appearances are manifestations of a lunar atmosphere of a nature not unknown."

page 17 myself that the moon must have an atmosphere. I cannot conceive anything material without its own atmosphere or magnetic aura, and this will be of such extent and density according to the powers of attraction of the object, or opposing influence it has to contend with. Not only suns, planets, and their satellites have their own atmosphere; but even smaller objects of creation, every man, woman, and child have their own atmosphere or magnetic aura, and we influence each other largely by the blending of these auras, as I will endeavour to prove when we have man under consideration, in Part II. Every little flower of the field, too, has its own atmosphere, and when you smell the perfume of the rose, it is because you are brought into the atmosphere of the rose. The moon, then, having an atmosphere, it is quite possible that it is inhabited, and if it is inhabited, it would be upon the other side, where the atmosphere is more dense; and I believe it is inhabited, or why this strange exception to the general law? It must be for some wise purpose, and there is no waste in nature.—I think you will allow that 1 have reasonable grounds to speculate that the moon is inhabited. Astronomers and scientists have speculated, in their own theory of things which we have, in some instances, proved to be false, and we have made clear, with reason, much that before has been wrapped in mystery. So I do not think they should altogether withhold from me, that which they have so lavishly indulged in themselves, page 18 "speculation;" but if they should wish to do so, let them do as I have done (in reference to the sun being a fiery world) prove a negative.

Another great exception to general law might be observed in the freezing of water. It is a law acknowledged in the wide domain of science, that all bodies expand upon being heated and contract as they get cold; but in water we have a great exception. Water certainly expands when heated; but it also expands when freezing. The effect on all other bodies heated is just the reverse to that when cold; but here in water we find it stands an isolated exception to everything else known in nature, and what would follow as a natural consequence we have here arrested; and it is a necessary exception for the preservation of life. When water freezes, a sudden expansion takes place; this is the reason of water-pipes bursting during frost. If the pipes will not stretch they must crack, and when the thaw melts the ice the damage appears; this is the reason that ice floats on the surface. If water contracted while freezing, the ice would then be heavier than the water, and so sink to the bottom of the rivers, lakes, and seas, and the warmer summer atmosphere would not be able to get at the ice to melt it, and this would go on accumulating, winter after winter, till in a short time, more than half the world would become as uninhabitable as the Arctic Region.

Now, I have been giving exceptions to the general law, let me give an example of what this general law, or wonderful harmony and order is, which exists in all the material creation that we see around us, and then you will see that where 1 have been making speculations, they were brought about by the reasoning from de duction.

The harmony of the Universe.—I will speak briefly of this harmony here, and, although we only take a glance, it will be sufficient to excite in some, that interest and curiosity which will take them to the great book of nature, and learn from this unerring guide its wonderful lessons. To give an idea of this harmony, and to simplify, and for convenience' sake, we will call some of these strange and harmonious laws, the Mystic Numbers of Nature. Expressing myself then in this way, I find them to be, two, three, five, and seven. One or more of these are to be found in almost everything around us. The great primary mystic number is three, and it prevails in almost everything, as far as 1 can see; and if we find the same law and order pervading everything that we see around us, we might reasonably expect and argue from page 19 deduction, that the same law and order exist in those things we cannot see through. Perhaps you would not expect to find similar order in our English language as we find in the different objects of Materialism. Some say our English language has come together much by chance. I do not think that this word is often correctly applied that is called chance is generally the working out of some natural law : it was simply chance to those that did not understand it. I may here say, too, once for all, as we are speaking of natural laws, that I do not believe in the miraculous; everything is done by natural laws, only when we did not understand those laws, the thing done we have sometimes called miraculous. Nature's laws are the laws that are laid down by the great God of the universe : they are eternal like himself, and all that is done, is done by those laws, or they would not be unalterable.

Well, in reference to our language, do we not, according to our phraseology, divide the heavens into three great parts, and call them sun, moon, and stars; the elements in which living creatures exist into three great parts, and call them earth, air, and water; living creatures themselves into three great parts, and call them birds, beasts, and fishes; man, woman and child; body, soul, and spirit; and you can keep on reducing it, if you like, even to the great thing of commerce—pounds, shillings, and pence. We have seven notes in music, the eighth is only a repetition of the first; we have three primary notes in music. We have seven colours in nature, the seven prismatic colours; we have three primary colours in nature. I was saying that man in the material state is constituted of three different parts. I must explain myself here, as many I know think that the soul and spirit are synonymous; certainly the body is that which you see, the soul is that which infuses life into that material form, giving it apparent feeling or sensation, appetites or desires. The spirit is the more noble part, which reigns supreme over the whole; for example, you may have a desire for certain things, but the spirit says, not so, this is the better road to walk. So man under the material condition can be divided, or may be said to be constituted, of three great parts, body, soul, and spirit.* [See foot note.] Everything can be divided into two, positive and negative, or male and female, light and darkness, summer and winter, sour and sweet, &c., &c.; there can be no reality existing in nature without an opposite. Man himself is a dual being, all in duplicate; he has two brains, the

* There will be proved most conclusively this threefold nature in man in Part II., which treats upon "Man, an Epitome of the Universe."

page 20 cerebrum, which is the brain of voluntary motion, and the cerebellum, which is the brain of involuntary motion; two eyes, with two optic nerves; two nasal cavities, with two olfactory nerves; two glands of taste; two arms; two hands; two lungs; the heart is a double muscle, haring two auricles and two ventricles; two legs; two feet The circulation of the blood, which is the cumulation of the material man; the circulation of electricity, which is the circulation of the spiritual man; so a material being and a spiritual being, &c., &c., In reference to five, nearly all true star flowers, lifting their heads to the sun, have five points, all the geraniums, sweet-williams, pansies, forget-me-nots, &c., &c.—If you pull a rose to pieces, you will find that all the leaves go round in tiers of five; man he has five senses, &c. You will find, incarnated in man, all those wonderful harmonious laws by which the mighty universe is governed. Man is an epitome of the universe, his material form is like the material universe, and his spirit, which controls the material form, is like the God of that universe; and so man is created in the likeness of the Great One. Socrates had this idea when he was reasoning with his friend Alcibiades.

Socrates.—Hold, now; with whom do you at present commune I Is it not with me?

Alcibiadks.—Yes.

Soc.—And I also with you?

Alcib.—Yes.

Soc.—It is Socrates, then, who speaks?

Alcib.—Assuredly.

Soc.—And Alcibiades who listens?

Alcib.—Yes.

Soc.—Is it with language that Socrates speaks 1

Acib.—What now? of course.

Soc.—We converse anti use language;—are not these the same 1

Alcib.—The very same.

Soc.—But he who uses a thing, and the thing used, are not these different?

Alcib.—What do you mean?

Soc.—A currier, does he not use a cutting knife 1 Is he not different from the instrument used?

Alcib.—Undoubtedly.

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Soc.—In like manner, the lyrist, is he not different from the lyre, the musical instrument on which he plays?

Alcib.—Undoubtedly.

Soc.—This, then, was what I asked you just now. Does not he who uses a thing seem to you always different from the thing used?

Alcib.—Very different.

Soa—But the currier, does he cut with his instrument alone, or also with his hands?

Alcib.—With his hands.

Soc.—He then uses his hands?

Alcib.—Yes.

Soc.—And in his work he also uses his eyes?

Alcib.—Yes.

Soc.—We are agreed, then, that he who uses a thing, and the thing used are different?

Alcib.—We are.

Soc.—The currier and the lyrist are, therefore, different from the hands and eyes with which they work?

Alcib.—So it seems.

Soc.—Now then, docs a man use his whole body?

Alcib.—Unquestionably.

Soc.—But we are agreed that he who uses, and that which is used, are different?

Alcib.—Yes.

Soc.—A man is therefore different from his body?

Alcib.—So I think.

Soc.—What then is the man?

Alcib.—I cannot say.

Soc.—You can at least say that the man is that which uses the body?

Alcib.—True.

You will see that Socrates' logical reasoning here points to the difference between the real or spirit man, and the material form. We will endeavour, in my second edition of "Mystery," to go fully into this matter : Man, what is he? and in the third, Whither is he going?

Before taking up the consideration of comets, meteors, &c., 1 might here mention, in way of diversion for a little while, what has occurred to me, and I daresay you have noticed yourself: the harmony between colour and music. I believe a capital plan to teach children music would be by colour. The seven prismatic colours would be the seven notes, and the blending of those colours into their different shades for part notes, and then the eye would be page 22 with pleasure fed the same time as the ear. There would then be true harmony in colour in a very pleasing way, as well as true harmony in sound; and I think children would he more delighted in learning music in this way than what must appear to them unseemly dots and scratches. In our public schools, they could have a large frame placed in a position that all the children could see it, and little sliding boards of different colours to fix into this frame, so that the master could set up any tune in a few minutes that which he might wish the children to learn or sing, and the attention among the youngest of the little ones would be arrested and focused upon its musical lesson in such a pleasing form, while the labour of teaching them would be greatly diminished, and they would learn their lessons much more quickly. Everyone should learn music. Music tends to ennoble the spirit, and helps to inspire man with aspirations for higher and better things. I wish I could play. What I have called a beautiful garland, and one which often sheds beams of pleasure, and lightens up the pathway of man's existence here, and makes his life a more hallowed one, and often a purer one; it is music, flowers, poetry, and, please forgive me, I was going to add pretty girls, and the man that does not admire this association I think there must be something wrong with him. But I must tell you what I mean by pretty girls. It is not the appearance of a beautiful doll, or to be attained by art, or by the use of ornaments, although becoming ornaments are at all times right to wear. Nature adorns herself with beautiful flowers of many colours and form, so I do not think it wrong for a lady to use a becoming ornament, but ornaments or art will never make them beautiful. True beauty lies in expression, and beautiful expression is only to be attained by nobleness of soul. This is woman's brightest ornament; it is this that will make her at all times beautiful. Woman's mission upon the earth is heaven-born, and with this ornament she will fulfil her destiny well Perhaps you will think I have departed somewhat from my subject, but nature teaches that variety is pleasing, and to divert our thoughts for a little while is sometimes good. The mind is then likely to return to the subject of consideration with renewed vigour.

Comets, Meteors, &c.—Suppose I was to make the bold assertion that comets are future worlds; who is going to deny it? and if any one did deny it, what could they prove? Well, I believe they are future worlds. I cannot go into as large an explanation here as I would desire, for my space is very limited. The elliptical motion of a comet going far, far away into eternal space, outside the apparent limits of page 23 our system, far, far away from other worlds, there by the affinity of attraction gathering, and still gathering, the atoms of the far distant ether; then back, in the course of time, it comes, making its cycle only once more to start out, gathering and still gathering again, and it increases and grows like a child towards maturity, till, by and by, as its weight and volume accumulates, it becomes less and still less elliptical in its orbit, and, later on in the far distant future, it may he seen a beautiful world, revolving in a circular orbit around its central sun, its surface adorned with luxuriant vegetation, ornamented with many kinds of flowers and fruits; indeed, it has become a fit habitation for man, a perfect paradise.

Our earth, I believe, was at one time like one of these comets, and, although millions of years have passed since then, it is now only in its infancy, yes, in the embryo of its existence, for it yet has an elliptical orbit; but its time goes on it is getting less and still less elliptical. This is the cause of the variation of the compass; but in the bright future, when the orbit of the earth becomes circular around its sun, it is only then that it will have arrived at its matured beauty; it is only then it will be perfected; it will then be beautifully finished in its wonderful perfection, an eternal monument of the magnificently wonderful work of the Great Unknown Father. Then, too, and not till then, will the variation of the compass cease, inasmuch as the cause will be removed that produce 1 it. The cause of its variation is the elliptical orbit in which our globe moves, and its continual, unceasing approach to a circle. When this circular orbit is obtained, then all disturbance will cease, and peace will How as a river, and continual good-will will reign among men.

The philosophic mind will at once see, by the former line of argument deduced, that the earth is not an offshoot from the sun, as most geologists have supposed; and the outer crust has not been for ages cooling, and our central fires still gradually diminishing, till by and by they will go out, and hence the earth become cold and barren. No! this is not true. This thought is as cold as the ultimate of its teaching, and I believe as intellectually barren. This teaching is not according to the glorious and soul-inspiring law of eternal progression. Our earth is one among millions of the everlasting nurseries of the spirit spheres, and its inner fires are as great to-day as they were a million years ago, inasmuch as the same cause exists now which first produced them, namely, the friction of the electric currents penetrating the earth's surface. The fiery formation in the rocks we see upon the surface of our earth have page 24 been from the upheaving at different times from these central fires and which takes place in various parts of the earth, to-day while the layers of clay, sand, gravel, &c., of course you all know have been laid by the action of water. I attended some lectures given by one I believe of the most eminent geologists of the day The first lecture was on the fiery beginning, and the lecturer most graphically word-pictured this fiery beginning : how the earth was born and shot out from the sun into space, a molten mass, all liquid with intense heat, and the waters held in vapour a distance away from it, and the material of our earth all boiling, surging, seething, and thus mixing and conglomerating together; and then the cooling of the conglomerate mass upon the outer surface is the crust upon which we exist. At the close of the lecture, an invitation was given to any of the audience who wished to ask any question upon the subject of the evenings lecture to forward it up in writing. A number of questions were forwarded and duly answered, with the exception of one I sent up, and the question was this That if the fiery beginning was true, as the lecturer described, and hence everything conglomerated and mixed together through the surging and seething of this fiery beginning, how did he account for the wonderful order we find in all the ore-bearing rocks of the earth, which are certainly primitive rocks, invariably north and south, or some few exceptions traversing east and west? The question was passed over; it was the only one that was not answered; and I believe the only way we can reconcile this fact, is to admit the action or part that is played by Electricity in the creation of worlds. The electrical creation is the only basis on which will harmonise the phases of Materialism. The gentleman lecturer I refer to, I know him to be a bold warrior for truth, and would not shirk to declare that which he believed to be true. But I must disagree in reference to this fiery beginning as taught by geologists.

We will now consider what might occur by the eccentric movement of some great comet rushing into the sun. The atmosphere of a sun or planet is a shield impregnable, protecting the world that it envelopes from all harm. It acts as its armour, and a very wonderful elastic armour it is, protecting it from any body, no matter how large or how heavy, that might be drawn towards it by attraction. You will notice that everything goes in cycles, elliptical or otherwise: the sun makes its cycle of the constellations; the earth and the planets make their cycles around the sun; seasons go in cycles—there is spring, summer, autumn, and page 25 winter, and it comes back to spring again; vegetation goes in cycles; there is vegetation in life, it decays, and the decayed vegetation supports vegetation again in life, and so on continually in everything. This is a law of harmony taught from the pages of the Great Book. The same unalterable law exists in all heavenly bodies; they are more or less circular in their movements. If we go out some clear night, and watch for a time the starry heavens, we may see all at once a shooting meteor. It does not fall directly towards the earth, but aslant, and a little circular in its motion. The larger meteors seem to go even more across our atmosphere than the smaller ones, and the larger ones are heavier, and yet they do not fall so directly. How is this, and why did they so suddenly appear? These meteors, or small planetary bodies, which are very numerous, and are continually forming in eternal space, and have, either through their own eccentric movements, or crossing the earth's orbit as the earth is coming along in her pathway, struck the denser ether of our outer atmosphere, and consequently, through the friction that would necessarily follow, commence to get hot. Now they are drawn by the earth's attraction farther into our atmosphere, where it is more dense, and thus the friction becomes so great that the meteor glows with heat, and we can now see it like a beautiful shooting star. What is the cause of the fiery glow of this meteor? Friction, brought about by its passing so rapidly through the atmosphere. And what has friction done? Started combustion, and combustion dispersion of those elements of which the meteor was composed, and these elements return again into ethereal space to where they came from, and so complete their cycle. Why the larger meteors shoot more across our atmosphere than the smaller ones is partly through the more or less circular movement of all bodies, and as there are no two things alike in nature, neither do any two bodies ever travel exactly in the same pathway through space, but all have their orbit, either elliptical or otherwise; so these meteors never travel in the exact orbit of the earth, but are crossing it as the earth is approaching that pari, or they have been drawn into it from the side by attraction, and so strike the earth s atmosphere with their sidereal motion, and with the momentum that they are travelling with, and having greater resisting powers through showing more surface, they are more or less buoyed up in our atmosphere, as a ball that is shot from a cannon might rebound for a time on the surface of the water; and this means the larger meteors have to travel a greater distance through our atmosphere, and so combustion is going on longer, page 26 and thus dispersion of their elements, and as they get smaller, and show less resistance, they then sink nearer the earth, and deeper into, and where our atmosphere has greater power of grinding and dispersing them, and before the meteor can reach the earth, it is so wasted away that it has become comparatively harmless, and it is only in, a very few instances that even an atom of them could reach the earth's surface. If it was possible that a planetary body, very much larger than those whose motion we have been illustrating, was attracted to our earth, so much more resisting power in itself being shown through its greater dimensions, it would travel parallel with the earth-plane, far up in our atmosphere, till, if necessary, it even made a circuit of the globe, or till so much of its material had been dispersed, through combustion brought about by friction, that now that it has become so much smaller, it is allowed to sink still nearer to the earth, down in our atmosphere, there to be pulverized and dispersed more quickly, and so on till the once meteor is no more. A comet rushing towards the sun would, before it could touch the sun's surface, be acted upon by the same great and unalterable laws, and in the same way as the meteors falling in our atmosphere, only with greater effect, the sun being a so much larger body, it has greater powers of attraction, and so it has a greater atmosphere to protect it; and if a comet was attracted by the sun to the comet's final destruction, which I do not think possible, it would not rush into the sun while it was of such great volume, but would keep on revolving around the sun in the sun's outer atmosphere, till through the friction, and thus combustion, its dimensions would become smaller, and it would then sink into the atmosphere that is more dense nearer the sun's surface, there to be more powerfully acted upon, and so the process would go on continually, and smaller and yet smaller would it get, till the once great comet, when it had arrived within a few hundred miles of the sun's surface, would have become nothing more than what a meteor is to us, and as it drops down now with rapidity, like a beautiful shooting star, towards the sun's surface, it goes out and is seen no more; notan atom is allowed to touch that great orb of creation, its armour coating was found impregnable and perfect like all the works of the Great Unknown.

Most extraordinary and astounding statements were made of the great comet that appeared last year—1882. Many have been startled with prophecies of the quick return of this comet, and making an orbit less and still less, till it finally, with terrible velocity, page 27 rushes into the sun, and causes such disturbance in our planetary system that the starry firmament would disappear to us as a scroll rolled up; and the sun, being supplied with this new fuel, would burn, now glowing with fervent heat, life would be destroyed from the face of the earth, and our planet engulfed in a great fiery vortex.* I am surprised to think that such sensational nonsense could ever have emanated from such minds as these men or prophets, which ever you like to call them, are supposed to have. I believe that such sensational statements are nothing but squibs, let off to play upon the feelings of the people. If the public like this sort of sensation, there is not a town or city, or any place where any one could exist, but what a possible destruction could bo pointed out to those existing there; and it would be a sensational truth, because of the possibility; but these astounding prophecies that have been made, there is no truth in them, and they arc infidel to the harmony in all the works of the great builder of the mighty universe. I was saying that, if the public delight in sensational wonder, there is not a place on earth where man exists but what a possible danger could be pointed out, and as terrible in effect to those existing there, as what it would be if the great comet rushed into the sun, and the after consequences, through the sun being

* The astronomer, Mr. Proctor, was one among the first to prophesy the quick return of this comet, and rushing Into the sun, and bringing about such terrible destruction. Few as yet have dared to challenge the statements of such supposed scientific authorities; but it is time the sciences were looked to and purified from the errors that have crept in, and which have been looked upon as orthodox teaching. I have an extract before me from a journal of Mr. Proctor's that is called Knowledge. The extract is upon Rats. It says It is a remarkable fact that there are no rats in the islands of the Pacific Ocean, Repeated attempts have been made to acclimatise the rodents there, as the flesh is much esteemed by the natives as an article of food. Hut the attempts thus far have failed, as they (the rats) invariably die of consumption A Southern paper referring to this extract asks Is New Zealand an island of the Pacific Ocean? Because we were under the impression that the rat, as a colonist, had been a pretty big success here. The 'consumption' he is afflicted with, farmers will tell you, polishes off all kinds of farm produce except rats, unless of the aboriginal and comparatively harmless species, now almost totally consumed by the imported article." Yes; it is only necessary to live in New Zealand a short time to become acquainted with the fact that rats can and do live and thrive here as well as nearly any other part of the world; and if they could not. New Zealand would not be a very pleasant place for man; for a man could not live where a rat could not exist. A rat will eat any kind of food, and thrive upon it, if it can only get enough and a dry hole afterwards to burrow in, and would multiply under these conditions, with almost any kind of surroundings, excepting, perhaps, the far Arctic and Antarctic regions; and I am not certain but what you will find rats there. And I think there is about as much truth in Knowledge upon Rats as there is in the destruction of the world by a collision of the great comet of last year with the sun. And if Knowledge makes such grave mistakes when treating upon minor things, how can we receive it as an authority upon matters of such great importance?

page 28 supplied with so much new fuel as predicted by the great astronomical prophets. Let me point out one of these possible dangers; I do so, for I am always of an opinion that a simple assertion goes for nothing. I live in Auckland, and I will point out a possible danger around where I live; and while I do so, those who are living around me need not be terrified, for I do not think what I am going to describe will come to pass, and those that are living away need not think they are much or any safer than we are here, for I say there is no spot on earth but what a possible danger could be pointed out of a terrible kind, possible, 1 say, if not probable.

History tells us that Vesuvius, which is often now in a state of eruption, was described by the ancients as a cone-shaped mountain with a flat top, on which was a deep circular valley filled with vines and grass, and surrounded with high precipices. A large population lived on the side of the mountain, which was covered with beautiful woods, and there were fine flourishing cities at the foot, and these peaceful cities had been existing for many years. So little was the terrible nature of the valley on the top understood, that, in A. D. 72, Spartacus, a Roman rebel, encamped there for some time, with thousands of lighting men. There had been earthquakes around the mountain, but no one was prepared for what occurred after the defeat of Spartacus by the Roman soldiers, which battle took place on the top of "Vesuvius. A few years after the battle, suddenly a terrific rush of smoke, steam, and tire belched from the mountain summit, one side of the treacherous valley was blown off, and its rocks, with vast quantities of ashes, burning stones, and sand, were ejected far into the sky, these then spread out, like a vast pall, and fell far and wide. For eight days and nights this went on, and the enormous quantity of steam sent up, together with the deluge of rain that fell, produced torrents on the mountain side, which, carrying onwards the falling ashes, overwhelmed everything in their way; sulphurous vapours filled the air, and violent tremblings of the earth were constant. A city six miles off was speedily rendered uninhabitable, and was destroyed by the falling stones; but two others, Herculaneum and Pompeii—which already had suffered the downpour of ashes—were gradually filled up with a flood of water, sand, and ashes, which came down the side of the volcano, and finally were covered up entirely.

Three hundred years after this, when much of the destruction of the past had been forgot through the long age of calm, beautiful cities again had been built, and grass had been for nearly two page 29 centuries growing once again all over the top of the volcano, and danger was no longer thought of; when of a sudden, with a tremendous noise, the volcano burst forth in terrific eruption, and lava and ashes were poured out and cast forth over a greater part of Europe, so that much fear was caused even at Constantinople, and the cities for miles around the volcano were destroyed and covered up.

Now, who can with truth determine that it is against all possibility (in fact, more probable than a comet rushing into the sun, to the destruction of Auckland), that at any moment, and with the noise of many thunders, the side or top of Mount Eden may not burst forth, and be blown off with terrible violence, hurling destruction over this beautiful city; for is it not possible that we are living over one of the great vents or escape-valves of the accumulating gases from the eternal inner fires of our earth. And as Mount Eden, with its renewed activity, hurls up amidst its flames the boiling lava, and with the earth continually trembling with troubled commotion, may be seen to shoot up columns of fire and smoke from Mounts Hobson, St. John's Smart, Albert, Victoria, and Rangitoto; and as these mounts around us shoot up and girt us about with their columns of fire, and the boiling lava, with its glowing heat like silver streams pour down upon the city; and while the great fiery boulders like bombs from ten thousand cannons are shot out from the summits of the different mounts, and come crushing upon us, great volumes of dense curling smoke and ashes may be seen to ascend and unite as one great cloud and spread as a dark pall over the city, telling of its doom and destruction. But enough of this sensational nonsense; I do not think it will come to pass, and if it was coming to pass, it should not make man afraid. Man should not be afraid of anything as long as he thinks right and does right, because it is right, and not because he is frightened into it. Man will then be possessed of true courage.

And our little ot.es, let them not be at any time frightened into the ways that are supposed to be right by any teaching of terror but let us with love teach them the highest laws of science, as we find them written upon Nature's great book. Let us point out these beautiful lessons in the language of simplicity. Let us teach them one of the lessons taught by the electric laws of the universe: that everything goes in cycles; that I cannot even think evil of another but what that thought will come back to me with accumulated force, for it must make its cycle, and that thought will do me more harm than the one I thought evil of.

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And to man and woman, let there be no height or depth that we shall be afraid to penetrate, for our consideration, with the flash of intellectual thought, that those things that have been wrapped in darkness may be brought out into the light of reason, and error and superstition dispersed, and there will be no more Mystery.

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