The White Pine news. [volume] (Treasure City, Nev.) 1868-1906, 1888-07-21
rug As rRoNoMER's DREAM
Translated for the PRESS from the Frcnc b
by NJ. n. M

I
by N. n. Nj
In his poetic manner, the eminent
French Astronomer Camille Flammar-
ion SAYS; IL had dream which was
no. all y dream. In IL | found my.
self observing people who about a
hundred millions of years ago inhao-
tied a planet situated in tho cortegc
of one of the remote stars IN space, III
the midst of sideral universe anal
ogous to that which now exists, though
not the same, because the universe Of
that time is destroyed and the universe
of to-day did not then exist. There
were, US In our epoch, considerations
aud stars, but they were not the same
stars. There wtre suns, moons, lnhao-
tied worlds, days, nights, seasons,
years, centuries, beings, Impressions,
thoughts, facts; but they were not the
same.
Our earth WAS not yet formed. The
materials which composed il were
floating in space ia state OF dlffused
nebuIosity, gravltating around solar
center. which WIS gradually eonden
sing. There was neither water, nor
air. nor soil, mr. stones, nor Vegetables.
nor animal, nor even any of the bodies
reputed simple by the chemist, as 0xy-
gen, hydrogen, azote. carbon, iron,
lead, copper, etc. The gas winch
would by its condensaiions AMI ute
rior transformations give birth to the
divers substances gases, liquids or
solids. which 1t the present time con-
stitute the earth and it's inhabitants,
was n single gas, homogeneous, con-
tanning in itself unconscious chrysalis,
the possibilities of future times.
BUT NO PROPHET COULD FORECAST
The unknown which was slumberiDg
In its mystery. Our planet presented
then, the aspect of those vague ne
bul@ of gas, which the telescope dis
covers In the depth of the skies, aud
which the spectreseope analyses. 10
the midst OF the stars the nebulous
sun was floating in process of conden-
sation. Humanity, with all its his
tory, each one IF Us with all his ener-
gies, all terrestrial beings were in
germ in that nebule and in those
forces; but the beings and the things
that we know were only To exist after
. long incubation of centuries. In
the place OF what was to be the Earth,
there was nothing but gas, floating
IN the starred immensIty. Yet it was
not In the actual place where we are
at present, because the Earth, the
planets, and all the solar system came
from atar and travel speedily.
In the history OF creation, LOG. 000,-
600 of years pass like day; like a
fugitive dream they are effaced, and
vanish into the bosom of enternity,
which absorbs all. > Though
our planet did not then exist, there
we're, to-day, stars, suns, solar systems
aud inhabited worlds. The beings
that peopled those worlds lived their
lives as we live ours.
II was an exciting spectacle for the
thinker to contemplate the great labor
of all those beings. In indifference,
or In passion, in pleasure or 10 sorrow,
IN smiles or in tears, they were liv-
Ing, sgitating, reposing, combating,
Pardoning, accusing, forgetting, low
ing, hating; swept away in the fatal
wbirlwlnd; coming into the world,
dying; succeeding each other blindly'
through generations and centuries;
Ignorant of their origin and of the
inture fate of monads and Of souls;
sports OF nature which initiates worlds
and beings, stars and atoms, centuries
and minutes, like those bubbles of
soap which child blows in the air.
IL was the spectacle which the earth
presents to US to-day; multitudes wag-
ing battle for life and ending only