"bless, praise, and magnify the Lord" for the visible. works of Creation, we shall surely find that the Heavens suggest to our conception the grandest symbols of His glory.

So strongly, however, is the idea of the "incomprehensible" associated by many with the aspect of the firmament, that they are habitually prone to regard the teachings of astronomers as little else than scientific guess-work. Nevertheless, the best intellects in all countries assure us, and indeed visibly demonstrate, that within certain limits astronomy is the most exact of sciences, and that, even when it deals with distances and magnitudes which are practically inconceivable, its conclusions, though only claiming to be approximative, have yet no affinity whatever with guess-work. Let such sceptics think of the certainty with which sidereal events are predicted beforehand. Let them reflect on the evidence of the most exact knowledge of the heavenly bodies involved in the calculation of eclipses, in fixing the very moment when the moon's dark outline shall begin to creep over the sun's bright disk, or in predicting the instant when a satellite of Jupiter shall disappear behind that planet. How wonderful the tracking of a comet's wanderings-millions of miles beyond the far off region of Uranus, and foretelling the time of its return after long years of absence! Do not these, and a thousand other equally wonderful feats, attest both the soundness of the principles on which the astronomer works, and the reasonableness of our receiving his assurances with trust, even though it may be impossible for more than a few gifted minds to follow the calculations on which they are based?

Did any of our readers ever happen to bestow a glance upon the Nautical Almanack? It is published by the considerate Government of our country at a very

cheap rate, in order to facilitate its entrance into the cabin of every seagoing ship. Ostensibly it is a voluminous collection of dry figures and curious signs running on interminably page after page; but, in reality, it is a yearly record of the soundness of the teachings of Astronomy, and of the blessings they bring to man. Eclipses of the sun and moon, of Jupiter's satellites, sidereal positions and distances, and a multitude of other heavenly events and matters of the last importance to navigation, are there foretold with the most rigid accuracy. Every single figure and every single sign represents an important sidereal fact, and is charged with a message from the skies for our guidance. On the trackless ocean this book is the mariner's trusted friend and counsellor, and daily and nightly its revelations bring safety to ships in all parts of the world. This mapping out beforehand, literally to a hairbreadth, the exact order and track in which the heavenly bodies will run their course through space, and the precise relative position they will occupy at any given moment when they can be seen in any part of the world, is a feat which, if applicable to the current year only, might well fill us with astonishment. But it becomes infinitely more marvellous when we reflect that the Nautical Almanack is regularly published three or four years in advance, in order that the mariner, during his most distant voyages, may never be without his faithful monitor. It is truly something more than a mere book-it is an emblem of the power and order of the Creator in the government of the Heavens, and a monument of the extent to which His creatures are privileged to unravel the laws of the Universe!

The year 1846 will ever be memorable for having witnessed one of the most striking illustrations of the truth of Astronomy. Few can have forgotten the astonishment with which the discovery of the planet Neptune

was then received, or the fact that it was due, not to a lucky or accidental pointing of the telescope towards a particular quarter of the heavens, but to positive calculations worked out in the closet; thus proving that, before the planet was seen by the eye, it had been already grasped by the mind. The history of its finding was a triumph of human intellect. The distant Uranus-a planet hitherto orderly and correct—begins to show unusual movements in its orbit. It is, somehow, not exactly in the spot where according to the best calculations it ought to have been, and the whole astronomical world is thrown into perplexity. Two mathematicians, as yet but little known to fame, living far apart in different countries and acting independently of each other, concentrate the force of their penetrating intellects to find out the cause. The most obvious way of accounting for the event was to have inferred that some error in previous computations had occurred; and, in a matter so difficult, so abstruse, and so far off, what could have been more probable or more pardonable? But these astronomers knew that the laws of gravity are fixed and .sure, and that figures truly based on them cannot deceive. By profound calculations each arrives at the conclusion that nothing can account for the "perturbation" except the disturbing influence of some hitherto unknown mass of matter exerting its attraction in a certain quarter of the Heavens. So implicit, so undoubting is the faith of Leverrier in the truth of his deductions, that he requests a brother astronomer in Berlin to look out for this mass at a special point in space on a particular night; and there, sure enough, the disturber immediately discloses himself, and soon proves his title to be admitted into the orderly rank of his fellow-planets. The coincidence of two astronomers, Leverrier and our countryman Adams, arriving at this discovery by calculations based on pre

vious observation precludes every idea of guess-work; while such was the agreement between their final deductions, that the point of the Heavens fixed upon by both as the spot where the disturber lay was almost identical. "Such a discovery" says Arago "is one of the most brilliant manifestations of the exactitude of the system of modern Astronomers."

The three Hebrews at Nebuchadnezzar's Court could have known comparatively little of the grandeur of the Heavens, yet even that little amply sufficed to point with its imagery the fervour of their worship. Since their day, the range of Astronomy has been by God's blessing widened, its views soar higher and probe deeper, its truths are better comprehended, its marvellous adjustments have been analysed and traced more clearly upon the understanding. And shall we, with our better knowledge, find less aid in it to rouse our adoration than did the Three Children of old, and shall the more perfect view of the Heavens now vouchsafed to us fall cold and resultless upon our hearts? If this, indeed, be the case, are we not treating with neglect an aid to adoration which God himself has spread out before our eyes, and are we not in some degree frustrating that purpose of praise and glorification for which both they and we were created?

Astronomy is without question the grandest of sciences. It deals with masses, distances, and velocities which in their immensity belong to itself alone, and of which the mere conception transcends the utmost stretch of our finite faculties. In no other branch of science is the limited grasp of our intellect more forcibly brought home to us. Yet, though baffled in the effort to rise to the level of its requirements, our strivings are by no means profitless. Is it not truly a precious privilege to be able to trace, imperfectly though it may be, the hand

of the All-mighty in these His grandest works, and thus to realise a broader consciousness of His Omnipotence? In raising our wonder and admiration other sciences need the help of details and expositions, but in Astronomy the mere enunciation of a few measurements suffices to elevate our ideas of His Power to the highest point to which man's faculties can soar.

The expence of suitable instruments, the preliminary study, the persevering patience, and the long night vigils that are necessary, will probably always prevent the higher walks of Astronomy from becoming a popular pursuit; nevertheless, we earnestly recommend our young readers to seize every opportunity that may fall in their way of having a thoughtful look at the Heavens through a good telescope. That first look is never forgotten and forms an epoch in our life. Our faith in the realities of Astronomy passes with sudden bound from theory into practice; planets and stars become thenceforth living existences in our minds; our doubts vanish, and belief settles into conviction. We behold the mysterious Moon of our childhood mapped into brilliant mountainpeaks, and dark precipices, and softly lighted plains; we see Jupiter shining like another fair Luna, with attendant satellites moving round him in their well-known paths; or we turn with admiration to Saturn encircled by his famous ring, with outlines as distinct as if that glorious creation lay but a few miles off. Perhaps we may behold the beauteous Venus shining with resplendent circular disk, or curiously passing through her many phases in mimic rivalry of the moon. Or, leaving these near neighbours far behind, we may penetrate more deeply into space, and mark how the brightest flashing stars shrink into small, unmagnifiable points. A few evening explorations in propitious weather will suffice to grave these sights and many other precious recol