The Bossier banner. [volume] (Bellevue, Bossier Parish, La.) 1859-1952, 1877-10-25
Chance and Order.

Mr.. r. A. Proctor, the English as
tronomer, when studying the arrange
ment OF the stars in groups, had the
singular idea of trying to discover if any
number of points, or dots, placed on a
sheet of paper completely at random,
would show similar groups. We can
not explain fully the plan he invented
for making the distribution of the points
entirely a matter of chance. 1t involv-
ed his opening a book full of figures,
bringing his pencil down upon the page,
and recording the figure nearest to
which the pencil rested. At first, he
says, there was some appearance of
grouping; but as the work proceeded,
the dots became more uniform, and
when he had recorded some thousands
of points, it was hard to detect any
thing like regular arrangement He
observed whether his pencil rested on
any figure more than on others, and
whether on any less than on others; and
he found that it touched the figure 8
oftenest, and the figures and l the
fewest times. This he explained by the
fact that the figure covers more, and
Z and l cover less space than the other
letters. SEQ. e
1t would be hard to find more strik-
ing Illustration of what some people
call the doctrine of chances, but which
we call the uniformity of the laws by
which God governs the world. 1t con-
vinced Mr.. Proctor, not so much that
there was design in the distribution of
the stars, as that the groups of stars
which we call consultations are real
groups, and that the members of them
have relations to each other. But there
are thousands of examples all about us
of the same uniformity, each of which
teaches us that we are under an intelli-
gent government by wise laws. How
does it happen, else, that there are, in
all countries, where a record has ever
been kept from 104 to 1913 boys born to
every 100 girls? That is the fact, and
it is true of almost every place for al
most every year. We believe there has
not been year since births have been
registered in Massachusetts that the
male births have been less than
81 per cent, or over so per cent.
Another curious fact is that every year
there are from 800 to 2 800 more births
from July to January than from Janu-
airy to July. 1t is the same with the
weather. Look at the thermometer ev-
cry morning at a certain hour for a
whole year, add up the degrees and di-
vide it by the number of days, and you
have the average temperature not only
for that year, but for the one before.
and the one which will follow it. The
hot weather of this week will be COM
pensated by the unusual cold of next
week. If it is unhealthy in the North,
it is likely to be healthy in the South,
and the average number of deaths,
when an epidemic sweeps through the
land, viii probably not be perceptibly
larger than when there is no general
disease. Very rarely do the crops fail
over large section of the country at
once, and never all over the world.
Great Britain, which is always on the
lookout for grain, is never at a loss to
find some place where food is abundant
and cheap.
There is no end to the illustrations
that might be given of the great truth
to which all these facts tend, which is
that there is a ruling, guiding Power
behind all our affairs; that there is a
law which governs every thing, protect
ing us constantly from what is falsely
called chance. individuals suffer, but
Gods great Universe moves on in ma
jestic uniformity.