, 1890-04-25
THE VERY BEGINNING
Something About tho Formation Of This
World n 1t 'whirIsd in Space"

Something About the Formation Of This
World ~ 1t "whirIed in Space"
In the burning mass that composed
our earth at first, there existed copper,
sulphur and all the other substances
that are on and in our earth now, only
all were in a gaseous state. The cold
had not vet hardened them into solids.
They tell us that this collection of
burning material belonged originally
to the sun, and was thrown off from 1t
in consequence of a natural law, and
sent ''whirling in space" Do you un-
derstand what that word space"
meansl This globe of ours is wrap
ped up in a huge cloak, some forty
miles thick, called the atmosphere.
Beyond this thick envelope stretches
far away that unknown region called
space What are its boundaries, no
one can tell US. Whether it holds
other worlds than ours we can only
guess. But one thing about it is known
for certain, which is. that it is very
cold. Its temperature is about 200
dogs. below zero; so we have need Of
our thick, warn atmosphere.
What effect did this intense cold
have upon the mass of fiery gas, sent
spinning out through its depthsi Just
the same effect that the cold mountain
peaks have upon the vapor of water.
Ii cooled the gases upon the outside,
hardened them, and in the course of
time formed "A thin crust. This was
Gods first day of creation, and some
men think it was equal TO thousands
and thousands Of our y~ears-maybe
millions-because this forming of the
crust must have been slow work.
First, little patches of gas became
solid. Then these loated together and
perhaps succeeded in making one crust
joined all overland a hot rumpled
crust it wasl Then the boiling, seeth-
ing mass inside broke through, and
the work had to be done all over
again.
When the vapor of water was con
densed, rain began TO fall.
Then came another struggle. AS
quickly as the rain fell on the hot
crust, it was changed into vapor again,
and sem up into the air TO repeat its
work. What boiling, steaming, hot
ball this world must have beenl
During all this time there were ter
rifle peals of thunder and flashes of
lightning. Whenever any liquid is
changing into a vapor, electricity is
produced; and when so vast n guam
tity of water was changing into steam,
the intensity aud frequency Of the
lightning must have been immeasura-
bly, beyond anything we a imagine.
If only we could have been at "A safe
distance above this steaming world and
looked down. on it, what "a sight we
should have seen, and what deafening
peals of thunder we should nave heard
Even though the rain was almost
Immediately changed into vapor, it
must have cooled the earth's crust a
little, coming directly from the icy
realms of space. And at last came "A
day when the cold conquered the heat,
and the rust became cool enough for
the water TO stay down. 1t filled up
all the cracks and crannies, and there
was so much of it that only a little bit
of the earth's crust could peep above
its surface. OF our own continent,
only n narrow strip of land, extend
ing from what is now Nova Scotia to
where the great lakes were to be, and
thence westward to the region now
called Alaska, remaining above the
waters. In the place now occupied
by Europe, there were many little
patches, but no land so extensive as
the strip in the western hemisphere.
Thick, dark vapors brooded over the
earth and shut out the light of the sun.
And these gloomy vapors, the little
pieces of dry, hot crust and the surg
ing, boiling waters, were the begin
nings out of which God was TO make
our beautiful world, with its pure air,
its blue sky and snowy clouds, its dense
woods and fertile fields, its hills and
valleys, its lakes and rivers.
There could have been no life in
those days neither plant life nor ami
NAL life. In the first place the crust
was too hot; neither animal o plant
could live on it, nor in the waters that
touched it. In the second place, ami
mails and plants cannot live without
sunlight; and no sunlight could
pierce those masses of heavy vapor.-
Teresa &. Crofton in st. Nicholas.