The times. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1890-1903, 1893-08-26

a,,id enlarge the circle Of our concep-
',..'on5 ~ our judgments and not limit
100 existences 70 q servlle image Of
visits here below. The terrestrial or
l. f.-ris are due 70 the local causes OF
.l.,et The chemical constitution OF
..ir aud " the atmosphere, temperature,
,..ht density weight, are so many ele-
which have served TO make OR bod
4. our flesh IS composed Of carbon, azote,
'-9r,l,n and oxygen, ombined with the
...te N water and Of some other elements,
.-,.,., which we may mention chloride OF
--1inm The flesh OF animals Is not chem
s..uy different from ours. IL all comes
f.,~, water and air and will return to
1,, The same elements in small guam
,.tie, make up every living being The OK,
,fi,h eafs the grass, forms the same kind
ltfesh a. man, who eats the OK All ter
r..tr.al organic matter is only carbon, com
Noel iauying proportions with hydro
gen. a10te, oxygen, etc.
put we have no right % forbid nature 10
,.f otherwise in worlds where carbon does
III exist A world, for example, where
,tIca would replace carbon, silic acid, car
ionic scd-could il not be inhabited by
t..grs Of an organism altogether different
f-1n those existing on the earth, different
rot o1ly in form but also in substancey In
world where chloride would dominate
rould we not find chloric acid and all the
frtile lomily Of the chlorides fulfilling an
important part Ia the functions Of life?
and bromide. could II not be associated
Qfb other formationsi And why should
re stop az terrestrial chemistry
One thing certain is that the marvellous
reye.atlons Of the spectrum analysis do not
sreus in favor Of unity Of chemical con
,-'ruti9n in the different celestial bodies,
,or of On absolute unity among them
.1y,.. far from H. In our own solar sys-
t.,o We and essential differences between
certain planets I'm the spectrum Of Jupiter,
fr example. we find an unknown substance
,1lcA maniiests itself by a strong absorp-
trD of certain red rays This gas, which
J.es not exist on the earth, shows itself
even more strongly in the atmosphere of
1.iuro and of Uranus. On this last planet
the atmosphere even appears, if we leave
,.ue9rs vapor out Of consideration, TO have
no analogy with ours. Moreover, in the
collar spectrum itself we find substance to
which has been given the name Of helium,
and which We have never found On the
earth.
The relationship Of the planets among
themselves Ia an undeniabie fact, since they
are al daughters Of one father, but they
differ among themselves, not only by loca-
t'ou, position, volume, mass, density, tenn
ruature, atmosphere, but still more by
hdr physical and chemical constitution,
and the point 10 which we call attention
Lore Is that this diversity should not be
considered as an obstacle 90 the manifesto
tons Of life; but, on the contrary, as a new
fli1 open 70 the infinite fecundity of the
universal mother
When. then, our thought takes fight not
oa.y toward our neighbors the moon, We
rrs Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, but even 10 the
myrads Of unknown worlds which gravi
tte about the suns scattered in space, we
lave no plausible reason for imagining
that the inhabitants of these other worlds
n lie skies resemble us in any particular,
vte1er IL form or In organic substance.
we form Of the terrestrial human body is
Due 10 the elements Of our planet, notably
carbon. The terrestrial human form is de
ryd from ancestral animals, from which
hh has gradually elevated itself by the con
tuued progress of the transformation of
bs'nea Beyond doubt, st seems TO us that
tbeanan or "A woman there must be "a
head, heart, lungs, two legs, two arms,
ac Nothing Is less clearly demonstrated.
10 we are constituted, as we are, IL is sim
py because the prosimians had also head,
heart. lungs legs, arms, not by any means
as elegant as yours, madam, but still of the
same anatomy. And little by little we go
back easily today by means Of paleontology
20 The origin Of beings Thus it is certain
that tho bird has developed from the rep
ulthya process OF organic evolution; so also
Nis certain that terrestrial humanity repre-
sauts the summit OF an immense genealog-
ical tree, of which all the branches are
brothers, and the roots Of which plunge
into the very rudiments Of the most ele-
mentary primitive organisms.
All kinds Of imaginable and unimagina-
bic forms should people the multitude OF
worlds Terrestrial man Is endowed with
Eve senses, OF rather with six. Why should
nature have stopped theref Why for ex-
ample should she not have endowed GER
tain moftal- with an electric sensef with
magnetic sensoi with a sense Of locality3
with an organ capable Of perceiving ethe-
real vibrations Of intra rouge and of ultra
violet Of a sense permitting one TO hear
Af AAaNANNfr 10 Sco ttIOukI hhO NnAAo'
We eat and digest like the grOsser animals.
DO there not exist worlds where the nutri-
tive atmosphere dispense5 its Inhabitants
from 50 ridiculous a burdent The smallest
swallow. the dusky bat itself, has the adj
vantage over Us Of flying through the air.
i not our world, where the man Of the
greatest genius, the most exquisite woman,
tats himself or herself nailed 20 the earth
NE tue common caterpillar before It's
meiamorphosis v0ry inferior onei
Well Would il be so disagreeable 70 In
habit q world Of perfume and voluptuous-
hes whore the flowers would toe animated,
Where suns Of many colors-the diamond
lo.le1 10 tue ruby. garnet to the emerald
ead 70 the sapphife-would shine night
AID day-biue nights. scarlet days-in the
G'oiy n an eternal sprinRtime; many col
ora moons sleeping on the mirror OF the
"-itls, phosplOrcscent mountains, aerial
Inhabitants, men, women and perhaps
Cher sexes, perfect in their forms, en-
e.Wod with multiplied sensibilities, luml-
l9as at wili incombustible As asbestus. i'm
b0lta perhapsg Al least lilliputian
tons that We are, once for all let us DO
el'nced that all our Imagination is but
i'enlty IN the midst of the infinite, scarce
seen through the telescope. Camille
4!4umarionin St Louis Globe Democrat
---------------
Parliamentary Popping"