Worcester daily spy. [volume] (Worcester [Mass.]) 1850-1888, 1872-12-20
TIC lcc,urc senson.


The third lecture in the Mechanics association
course was delivered in Mechanics hall last eve
ning before large audience by Rev. Henry W.
Warren of Philadelphia, The speaker took as
his subject "a trip among the stars" and in
opening said that if he was called upon to ex-
press the spirit of the present age in one word,
that word would be locomotou Every one
travels and hos desire in his travels to 90 as
far as possible, which had been manifested in
the action Of the lecture committee ia selecting
the subject which he was to illustrate The first
object in travelling is to reduce ones baggage,
and he requested his audience to leave their
bodies behind them and let only their thoughts
accompany him on the journey, as he should at
one time take them where it was two hundred
degrees below zero, and at another where it
was three hundred thousand times hotter
than at any time during the past summer. ard
human bodies did not contain the food necessary
for these extremes. The only mode of convey
ance he could ask for was thought, as if a man
were to live $50 years and travel at the highest
rate of speed ever attained upon any railroad,
his dying eyes could look forward over eleven
years that were still necessary to reach the sun,
which was one Of the nearest stopping places,
consequently thought was the only means by
which the projected points could be visited. His
first stopping place was the moon, which goes
entirely around the earth once in twenty
eight days, and is found to be full
of pits from one to three miles in
depth, and one-lourth of a mile across, Sixty
different causes have tendency to make
1t devlate from a direct course, all Of which
must be taken into consideration in calculating
an eclipse We find that in its evolutions it has
tendency each year to draw nearer to the earth,
and wonder is often expressed as TO whether they
will finally meet in collisions but as the time of
its revolutions has only diminished ten seconds
within the past century, no such result is 10 be
feared. Passing from the moon the next stop
ping place was the sun, where intense heat was
encountered. Here he congratulated his COM
panionS upon having left their bodies behind.
as, besides the heat, body Weighing 150 pounds
would have the enormous weight of one ton.
Here storms were found which, compared to the
tornadoes upon the earth make the latter in.
significant. Passing from the sun the Journey
was continued to the different planets,
until Neptune was reached, from which
the sun looks as small as did the
earth when viewed from the latter place.
But here the journey was only begun, and when
the Polar star was reached blaze of light was
found eighty-three times as large as that of the
sun, but such was the distance from the earth
that its light did not reach the latter for forty.
five years. This star was found to be composed
of two distinct suns, each shedding different
light. The last place to which he took his fellow
travellers was to the Pleades, which were found
to be the centre sun of all suns, and around
which the different suns with their worlds are
constantly revolving; but such is the distance
between our world and this sun that millions
upon millions of years are consumed in making
a single revolution. In closing he said
that while science was grasped with
one hand we must extend the other 10
religion, and thus realize the powers of the
Creator The different stages of the journey
were illustrated by drawings upon a blackboard
which gave additional interest to the trip
Previous to the opening of the lecture the audi
ence was entertained with an organ concert by
G. Q. Stearus