The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1871-03-30

SpAcE-The other day on Western railroad
two men journeyed as perhaps men never jour-
neyed before. Sixty miles an hour in car Is
fearful speed. Eighty miles an hour is compu-
ted as the speed of clouds in the blast of hur-
ricane. But these two men were on runaway
lumber car on down grade, and for eight or
ten miles, until long ascending grade brought
them to halt, it was thought that they flew at
the rate of over hundred miles an hour
They dashed through the towns like thunder
bolt, and the bystanders said it seemed not
car, but cannon-ball that shot by them. Yet
cannon-ball goes sometimes at the rate OF 900
miles an hour.
Suppose we could stand outside our world
somewhere, and see the earth move by in its
yearly journey round the sun-a cannon-ball
not eight inches in diameter-we should see 1t
rush BY, if indeed we could see it at all, flying
at so fast speed, not at 500 miles an hour, but
at the rate of si1ty-eight thousand miles an
hour for that is the rate at which we 60, all of
u.s. swimming through the ether, voyaging
among the stars, night and day, every hour, as
gently as the thistle down on the evening
zephyr, so soft and even is our'pace,-but six
ty-eight thousand miles real distance made,
good measure, every hour. But this only car
ries us around our own sun once IN whole
year. We must travel faster than this to get
about much among the stars Well, harness
the light to our chariot, and go literally in
How fast should we 60 then7 Say two hum
dred thousand miles an hour2 100000 miles
minute3 Faster Faster; sixty times as fast !
Yes; no matter though the brain whirls at the
thought of it, 100000 miles q second, eight
times around the world while your heart beats
once, or your eye winks.
With such speed set out, and let not your
winged coursers tire till you draw rein, and
alighting, step off upon one of the nearest and
most brilliant of the fixed stars. Nine years
and thee months at this breathless speed you
have been travelling to get there, and then you
have but just begun your travels, for this fixed
star, as we call it. for so it appears to us, is it
self q SUN of another system, and while 1t has
its planets revolving around it, it is itself
whirling with astonishing velocity around some
mightier, more distant orb in far-of center,
and if we would go with it, we must get aboard
at the rate of 1908 millions of miles an hour,
without however, even rufling the air, so quiet,
so easy is its motion, and in one short year ac-
complishing a journey of 120 millions of mil
lions of miles, And this, remember, is what
we learn visiting one of the nearest of the stars
visible to the naked eye, but back OF these, fur
ther off, are worlds behind worlds, more numer-
GUS far than those our unassisted eyes can see.
So that in breadth of the sky no larger than
that which the apparent size of the moon will
cover more stars are seen by telescope power
than our eyes, unaided, can see in the whole
vault of heaven In seven minutes onco, as
Herschel's telescope was aimed at the sky, over
$4,000 stars swept in silent glory across its field
of view.g Armed with an instrument of 5000
times magnifying power, We peer out in one
fardistant orbs at illimitable distances beyond.
Look in the opposite--in any direction, and 1t
is the same. .,,-.,.
To our poor finite minds this seems infinite,
but there is nothing infinite except God, the
maker and upholder Of all this grandeur.