FOURTH EVENING.

PARTICULARS CONCERNING THE PLANETS VENUS, MERCURY, MARS, JUPITER AND SATURN.

The dreams of the Marchioness did not assist her; they represented nothing that did not bear a resemblance to what we see here. I had the same complaints to make as certain people, whose paintings are always fanciful and grotesque, do at the sight of our pictures,—Pshaw, say they,these are all men; here are no objects of imagination. We therefore resolved to content ourselves with the conjectures we should be able to make concerning the inhabitants of the planets as we continued our journey: we had last night got as far as Venus. We are assured, said I, that Venus turns on her axis, but it is not ascertained in how long a time, consequently we cannot tell the length of her days. Her years lasts but about eight months, as she is not longer than that in performing her revolution round the sun. She is of the same size as the earth, therefore the earth and Venus appear equally large to eachother. I am glad of that, said the Marchioness; then I hope the earth is to Venus the shepherd's star, and the parent of love, as Venus is to us. These appellations can be proper only for a pretty little, brilliant, gay looking planet. True, answered I; but do you know what makes Venus look so beautiful at a distance?—it is the effect of her being very frightful when near. With good telescopes it has been seen that she is covered with mountains, much higher than ours, sharp-pointed, and apparently very dry.[33]This kind of surface is the best calculated to reflect the light with great brilliancy. Our earth, whose surface is very smooth, compared with that of Venus, and partly covered with water, probably looks less beautiful at a distance. So much the worse, said the Marchioness; I should like her to preside over the loves of the inhabitants of Venus; they must certainly understand what love is. Oh! undoubtedly, I replied; the people in that planet, are all Celadons and Sylvanders, and their every-day conversations are finer than the most admired in Clelia. Their climate is very favourable to the tender passion. Venus is nearer to the sun than we; and receivesmore light and heat: she is about two thirds the distance of the earth, from the sun.

[33]M. Herschel's observations contradict this idea. Venus has a very dense atmosphere, which prevents us from distinguishing any thing on her surface; the brilliant appearance of this planet arises from her proximity to the earth.

I can see, interrupted the Marchioness, what sort of people the inhabitants are. They are much like the Moors of Granada: a little dark, sun-burnt people, scorched with the sun; full of wit and animation, always in love, always making verses, listening to music, having galas, dances and tournaments. Give me leave to tell you, madam, answered I, that you know but little of the inhabitants of Venus. Our Moors of Granada when compared with them would appear as cold and stupid as Greenlanders.

But what must the inhabitants of Mercury be? We are above twice the distance from the sun that they are. They must be almost mad with vivacity. Like most of the negroes, they are without memory; never reflecting; acting by starts and at random: in short Mercury is the bedlam of the universe. The sun appears there nine times larger than it does to us: the light they receive is so brilliant that our finest days would be but twilight in comparison of theirs; perhaps they would find them so dark as not to be able to distinguish one thing from another. The heat to which they are accustomed is so intense, that they would be almost frozen in our Africa. In all probability our iron, silver and gold would be melted in their world, and only be seen in a liquid state, as we in generalhave water, which in some degrees of cold becomes a solid body. The inhabitants of Mercury would not imagine that in another world those liquors, which perhaps form their rivers, are the hardest of all bodies. Their year lasts but three months. The length of their day is not known to us, because Mercury is so small and so near the sun, that it exceeds the art of all our astronomers to observe him with sufficient accuracy to determine what sort of motion he has on his centre: the inhabitants, I think, must wish it to be performed in a short time, for scorched as they are with the fierceness of the sun, the coolness of night is undoubtedly very desirable to them. The part which by rotation is deprived of the sun's light, is illumined by Venus and the earth, which must appear very large. As to the other planets, being farther off than the earth, they, seen from Mercury, appear much smaller than to us, and afford very little light to that planet.

I don't feel so much for its inhabitants on that account, replied the Marchioness, as from the inconvenience they must suffer from such excessive heat. Let us try if we can't relieve them in some way. Is it not probable they have long and plentiful showers, such as we are told fall continually for four months together, in our hot countries, at the seasons when the heat is most intense?

It may be the case, answered I; and we have another way of giving them relief. There are some parts of China which from their situation ought to be very hot, and yet, even in the month of July and August the weather is so cold that their rivers freeze. This coldness arises from the quantities of salt-petre with which the countries abound; the exhalations, drawn up in great abundance by the heat are of a cold nature. Mercury, if you please, shall be a little planet made of salt-petre, and the sun, by attracting the cooling exhalations, will thus prevent the evil it would otherwise be the cause of. However, we may rest assured that nature would not place beings where it was impossible for them to exist; and that habit, and ignorance of a better climate, render this situation agreeable: Mercury therefore may perhaps do very well without salt-petre, or abundant rains.

After Mercury, you know, we find the sun. We cannot possibly place inhabitants there: thewhy notfails in this case. We conclude from the earth being inhabited that other bodies of the same nature must be so too: but the sun does not resemble the earth, and the rest of the planets. He is the source of all that light which the planets only reflect to each other after they have received it from him. They make exchanges, if I may so express myself, with one another, but none of them can bestow an original light. Thesun is the sole proprietor of that treasure; which he distributes freely on every side. The light, thus issuing from the centre, is reflected from every solid body it meets, and from one planet to another it proceeds in bright streams that intermix, and cross each other in a thousand directions, forming a splendid tissue of the richest materials. The grand luminary by being placed in the centre is in the most advantageous situation for animating each planet with his heat and radiance. The sun, then, is of a peculiar nature, but what that nature is, we find it difficult to imagine. Formerly it was believed to be a pure fire, but lately we have been undeceived by observing spots on the surface. As certain new planets had just before been discovered, (I shall give you an account of these planets hereafter;) which entirely engrossed the attention of the philosophers, a sort of mania for new planets seized their minds, and they immediately concluded these spots were some; that they performed a circle round the sun, and necessarily concealed some part of his light by turning their dark side towards the earth. The learned already, through these planets, complimented the different princes of Europe. Some gave them the name of one prince; some of another, and perhaps in time there would have been a great contest to know who had the best right to name these spots.

I don't like their plan, said the Marchioness. You told me, the other day, that the different parts of the moon were named after learned men; I thought that very proper: as princes monopolize the earth, it is but fair that astronomers should have the sky for their share, and not suffer princes to intrude on their domain. Allow them, however, I replied, if territory should be wanting, to consign to them some planet, or some part of the moon. As to these spots on the sun, they can make no use of them; for instead of planets, we find they are only clouds of smoke or dross arising from the sun. Sometimes these clouds are greatly accumulated, sometimes we see little of them, and at other times they totally disappear. Sometimes a number of them are combined together, then they are separated into small parts; at one time they are very dark, at another they grow pale. It appears as if the sun was some kind of liquid; many people think it is melted gold, in a continual state of ebullition, producing impurities, which the rapidity of its motion casts up from the surface; they are afterwards consumed and others produced. Only think what amazing bodies these are. Some of them are seventeen hundred times[34]larger than the earth, foryou must know, the earth is more than a million times smaller than the sun.[35]Imagine therefore what must be the quantity of this liquid gold, or the extent of this ocean of light and fire!

[34]The largest of the sun's spots are scarcely three times larger than the diameter of the earth, or twenty-seven times its bulk.[35]The earth is only a hundred, or to speak with more exactness, a hundred and eleven times, smaller.

[34]The largest of the sun's spots are scarcely three times larger than the diameter of the earth, or twenty-seven times its bulk.

[35]The earth is only a hundred, or to speak with more exactness, a hundred and eleven times, smaller.

Other philosophers say, and with great plausibility, that the spots, or at least the greatest part of them, are not newly produced, and then destroyed after a certain time; but large, solid, masses, of irregular forms, always subsisting; sometimes floating on the surface of the sun, sometimes partly, or entirely buried in the liquid substance, and presenting to our view different projections according to the size of the part that remains uncovered. Perhaps they may be parts of some great mass of matter which serves as aliment to the fire of the sun. However, let the sun be what it will, it does not by any means appear habitable.[36]It is a pity; the situation would be advantageous: placed at the centre, its inhabitants would see the planets going round them in regular orbits, whilst to us their motions seem to have perplexing varieties, which aremerely the effect of our not observing them from the best place; that is, the centre of their circles. What a sad thing it is: there is but one spot where the study of the celestial bodies would be extremely easy, and at that spot there is nobody to pursue the study. You forget yourself, answered the Marchioness. Were any one placed on the sun, he would neither see the planets nor the fixed stars; would not the light of the sun efface every other object? The inhabitants would doubtless think themselves the only people in existence.

[36]Some natural philosophers have however thought that the sun might be the cause of heat without being itself hot; and that there was a possibility of its being inhabited. M. Herschel believes its population very abundant. Trans. Philos. 1795. Décade Philosophique.

I acknowledge my error, I replied: I was thinking of the situation of the sun, without considering the effect of such an excessive light: but although you have so properly corrected my mistake, yet you must allow me to tell you that you have fallen into one yourself. The inhabitants of the sun would not see any thing: they would be either incapable of enduring so immoderate a light, or, were their eyes sufficiently strong, of receiving it unless they were at some distance; therefore the sun could only be a habitation for people without sight. In short, we have abundant proofs that this luminary was not intended to be a dwelling-place; and therefore we may as well continue our planetary journey. We are now stopping at the central point which is always the lowest part in any thing that is round; and, by the way, I should tell you that in going fromour world to this centre we have travelled thirty-three millions of leagues. We must now return the way we came. We pass by Mercury, Venus, the Earth and the Moon; all which we have visited. Then we arrive at Mars. I don't know that there is any thing remarkable in this planet. The days there are about half an hour longer than ours; and the years twice the length of ours, except a month and a half. Mars is four times less than the earth,[37]and the sun appears rather smaller and less brilliant than it does to us.—In short, Mars contains nothing calculated to arrest our attention.

[37]Its volume, or bulk is five times smaller.

But what a beautiful object is Jupiter, surrounded by his four moons, or satellites! These moons are four little planets which, whilst Jupiter revolves in twelve years round the sun, constantly go round him as the moon does round the earth. But, interrupted the Marchioness, how is it that there are planets which go round other planets, no better than themselves? It seems to me that there would be much more regularity and uniformity in assigning to all the planets but one sort of orbit in which they should move round the sun.

Ah! madam, I replied, were you but acquainted with the vortices of Descartes; thosevortices, so terrible in name, and so charming in the ideas they give rise to; you would not talk in this way. My wits must all go, said she, laughing. I must know what these vortices are. Make me quite mad at once: now I have dipped into philosophy I can't trouble myself about the care of my senses: spite of the world's laughter, we will talk of the vortices. I did not know you had so much enthusiasm, said I; 'tis pity it has no other object than vortices.

What we call a vortex is a quantity of matter, whose detached parts move all in the same direction, but allowed at the same time to have some little movements peculiar to themselves, provided they still pursue the general course. A vortex of wind, for instance, is a vast number of little particles of air, turning all together in a circular direction, and involving whatever comes in their way. The planets you know are borne along by the celestial fluid, which is prodigiously subtle and active. All the celestial matter, from the sun to the fixed stars, constantly turns round, carries the planets along with it, and makes them proceed round the sun in the same direction, but in longer or shorter periods, according to their distance from the centre. Even the sun is made to turn on his axis by being exactly in the midst of this moving matter; you will therefore observe, that if the earth were in thecentral situation she could not be exempted from this rotation.

Such is the great vortex of which the sun is master; but the planets, at the same time, form little vortices in imitation of the sun. Each of them whilst turning round the sun, turns likewise on itself, and carries in its motion a certain portion of the celestial matter, which is ready to receive any impulse that would not prevent it from following the general course: this is a vortex of any particular planet, and it extends as far as the motion of this planet has any influence. If a smaller planet comes within the vortex of a larger one, it is irresistibly carried round that larger one, and altogether, the large, and the small planet, and the vortex that encloses them, perform their revolution round the sun. Thus at the commencement of creation we obliged the moon to follow us because she came within the influence of our vortex, and was by that mean subjugated to our will. Jupiter, the planet we were speaking of, was more fortunate, or more powerful than the earth. Four little planets were in his neighbourhood, and he became master of them all; and we, who are a planet of some importance, would probably have felt his power if we had been near him. He is a thousand times larger than theearth;[38]and would easily have drawn us into his vortex, and made us one of his moons; instead of this we have a planet to attend on us: so true is it that the situation into which we are thrown decides the fate of our lives.

[38]We may even say thirteen hundred times.

And how do we know, answered the Marchioness, that we shall always remain where we are? I begin to tremble lest we should be foolish enough to approach such an enterprizing planet as Jupiter, or that he should come to us, for the sake of drawing us into his vortex; for I can't help thinking, from your description of the agitated state of this celestial fluid, that it must move the planets irregularly, sometimes urging them nearer together, sometimes sending them to a greater distance. We may as well expect to gain as to lose by such an eccentric motion, said I; perhaps we may make a conquest of Mercury or Mars, which are smaller planets, and incapable of resisting us. However we have no occasion for either hope or fear; the planets will remain in their places; and, like the former kings of China, they are forbidden to aim at conquest. You have observed that when oil is mixed with water, the oil swims at the top. Put any substance that is extremely light on both these, and the oil will support it, so that it shallnot touch the water: but put a heavier body, of a certain weight, it will pass through the oil, which is too weak to stop it, and keep falling till it meets the water, which has sufficient force to bear it up. Thus two liquors put together, being of unequal weight, will not mix, but place themselves in different situations; and neither will one rise, nor the other descend: pour on these other liquors which are of a nature to remain separate, and the same effect is still produced. In like manner the celestial matter which fills this grand vortex, is in separate strata, encircling each other, and of unequal weight, like oil and water, and some other liquors. Some planets likewise are heavier than others,[39]each therefore stops in the layer which has the degree of force necessary for supporting it, and keeping it in a state of equilibrium; and you must be convinced that it can never go beyond this stratum.

[39]The Cartesians carried their illusion so far as to believe that so solid a mass as a planet could be steadily supported by the ætherial fluid, the most subtle of all fluids.

I understand, replied the Marchioness, that the different degrees of weight are sufficient to keep them in their proper ranks. I wish with all my heart there was some such regulating power among us, that would serve to fix peoplein the situation most suitable to them! You have quite removed my uneasiness with regard to Jupiter. I am very glad he will let us remain quietly with our little vortex, and single moon. I feel very well contented with one attendant, and do not envy him his four.

You would do wrong if you did, said I; he has no more than are necessary. He is five times farther from the sun than we, that is, a hundred and sixty-five[40]millions of leagues distant from it, consequently his moons receive, and reflect, but a feeble light: the number therefore compensates for the little effect produced by each: were they not separately so inefficient, four moons would appear unnecessary, as Jupiter turns on his axis in ten hours, and of course the nights are very short. The satellite which is the nearest to Jupiter, performs its circle round him in two-and-forty hours; the next in three days and a half; the third, in seven; the fourth, in seventeen; and by the inequality of their progress, they form a most pleasing spectacle for this planet. At one time they rise all four together; then, almost immediately separate; sometimes they are all at the full, placed in a line, one above another; afterwards they are seen at equal distances in the sky; then when two are risingthe other two will set. Above all I should like to see the perpetual variety of eclipses among them, for there is not a day passes in which they do not eclipse each other, or the sun.[41]Surely as eclipses are so familiar to the inhabitants of that world, they must be considered a subject of amusement, rather than terror, as they are here.

[40]Calculating with more exactness, 179.[41]Or; we may add, in which they are not eclipsed by the shadow of Jupiter, which happens the most frequently.

[40]Calculating with more exactness, 179.

[41]Or; we may add, in which they are not eclipsed by the shadow of Jupiter, which happens the most frequently.

You will not fail, I suppose, said the Marchioness, to people these four moons, though they are only little subaltern planets, intended merely to give light to another during the night. Undoubtedly not, I replied. These little planets are not unworthy of inhabitants because they are unfortunate enough to be subjected to a larger planet.

I think, then, answered she, these satellites ought to be like colonies to Jupiter; that their inhabitants should, if possible, receive from him their laws and customs, and in return, render him some degree of homage, and always consider the great planet with respect. Would it not be needful, said I, for the moons occasionally to send deputies to Jupiter, who should take an oath of fidelity to him? I must own the little superiority we possess over the people in our moonmakes me doubt whether Jupiter has much influence over the inhabitants of his satellites, and I think the only superiority he can aspire to is that of impressing them with awe. For of what a terrific size he must appear! To the planets nearest to him he looks sixteen hundred times larger than our moon appears to us.[42]Truly if the Gauls in ancient times were afraid the heavens would fall and crush them to death, the inhabitants of this moon may with greater propriety apprehend the fall of Jupiter. Perhaps, she replied, that is the subject of alarm to them instead of the eclipses, which you assure me they see without fear;[43]for as they are exempt from one folly, they must be subject to some other. Undoubtedly, answered I. The inventor of a third system, which I mentioned the other day, the celebrated Tycho Brahe, one of the greatest astronomers that ever lived, felt none of the vulgar terror at an eclipse; he was too much accustomed to study the nature of such a phenomenon; but what do you think he was afraid of instead?—If when he first went out of doors the first person he saw was an old woman; or if ahare crossed the path he had taken, Tycho Brahe thought the day would be unfortunate, and returning in haste to his apartment, he shut himself up without venturing to engage in any occupation whatever.

[42]Thirty-six times larger than we see the moon: and they receive from him one thousand two hundred and ninety times more light.[43]Their solar eclipses are of much longer duration than ours.

[42]Thirty-six times larger than we see the moon: and they receive from him one thousand two hundred and ninety times more light.

[43]Their solar eclipses are of much longer duration than ours.

It would be unjust, said she, if such a man as he could not with impunity overcome the fear of an eclipse, for the inhabitants of the satellite we were speaking of, to be exempted from it on easier terms. We will not spare them: they shall submit to the general doom; and if they escape one error they shall be liable to another.

A difficulty has just occurred to me, continued she, you must remove it if you can: if the earth is so small in comparison of Jupiter, are we visible to the inhabitants of that planet? I am afraid we are unknown to them.

Really I think so, answered I; the earth is certainly too small to be distinguished by them.[44]

[44]The earth at that distance must appear only three seconds and a half in diameter, as the planet Herschel does to us; but our nearness to the sun necessarily prevents them from seeing us at all.

We can only hope that in Jupiter there may be some astronomers who, after taking great pains to compose very excellent telescopes, and availing themselves of the finest nights for making their observations, may at length discover a verylittle planet which they had never seen before. At first the learned give an account of it in their journal; the rest of the people either hear nothing about it, or laugh at it when they do; the philosophers are discouraged and resolve not to mention it again, and but a few of the inhabitants who are more reasonable than the others will admit the idea. By and by they examine again; they see the little planet a second time; they are then assured of its reality, and even begin to think it has a motion round the sun. After observing it a thousand times, they find out that this revolution is performed in a year: and at last, when the learned have been at great pains to investigate the subject, the inhabitants of Jupiter know that our world is in the universe. The curious eagerly look through their telescopes, and with all their looking, can scarcely discern it.

Were it not disagreeable, said she, to know that from Jupiter we can only be seen through telescopes, I should amuse myself with the idea of all the glasses being pointed towards the earth as ours are towards him, and the mutual curiosity with which the two planets examine each other, and enquire,What world is that? What sort of people inhabit it?

Your imagination is too rapid, I replied; when the astronomers of Jupiter become acquainted with our earth, they do not become acquaintedwith us: they will not suspect the possibility of its being inhabited; if any one should venture to express such an idea, how they would laugh at him! Perhaps they would even persecute any philosopher who should maintain the opinion. After all I think the inhabitants of Jupiter are too much occupied in making discoveries on their own globe, to concern themselves about us. Jupiter is of such extent, that if they are adepts in navigation their Christopher Columbus must be fully employed. The inhabitants cannot know, even by reputation, a hundredth part of the other inhabitants. In Mercury, on the contrary, they are all neighbours, living familiarly together, and hardly considering the tour of their world more than a pleasant walk. If we are not visible to Jupiter, much less can Venus be so, who is at a still greater distance;[45]and Mercury must be most out of its reach of all, being the smallest, and the most distant. However, the inhabitants can see Mars, their own four satellites, and Saturn with all his moons. Surely then they have planets enough to perplex their astronomers; nature, in kindness, has hid from them the rest.

[45]Venus is not farther from Jupiter, but more concealed by the rays of the sun.

What! cried the Marchioness; do you considerit a kindness? Without doubt, answered I. This great vortex contains sixteen planets; nature to spare us the trouble of studying the motions of so many, let us see but seven: is not that a favour? But not feeling the value of this mark of consideration, we have, with great pains, discovered the other nine, which had been concealed from us: our curiosity brings its own punishment in the laborious study which astronomy now requires.

I see, she replied, by the number of planets you mention, that Saturn must have five moons.[46]You are right, said I; and it is but just that he should have so many, as he is thirty years in going round the sun; and in some parts the nights last fifteen years, for the same reason that on our globe, which turns in a year, there are nights, beneath the poles of six months' duration. But Saturn, being at twice the distance that Jupiter is from the sun, consequently ten times farther than the earth; his five moons, faintly as they are illumined, would not give sufficient light during his nights, he has therefore a wonderful resource, the only one of the kind we have discovered in the universe: 'tis a large circle orring[47]which environs the planet, and which, being sufficiently elevated to escape almost entirely the shadow of Saturn, reflects the sun's light on the darkened parts, and reflects it more strongly than all the five moons, because it is not so high as the lowest of them.

[46]He has seven, and Herschel six. In all there are twenty-five planets, without reckoning ninety-one comets known in 1800.[47]Its exterior diameter is sixty seven thousand seven hundred leagues.

[46]He has seven, and Herschel six. In all there are twenty-five planets, without reckoning ninety-one comets known in 1800.

[47]Its exterior diameter is sixty seven thousand seven hundred leagues.

Really, said the Marchioness, with an air of deep reflection and astonishment, all this is managed with wonderful order; nature had certainly in these instances a view to the wants of living beings; this admirable disposition of light was not the effect of chance. Only the planets which are distant from the sun have been provided with moons—the Earth, Jupiter, and Saturn; for Venus did not require any; nor Mercury who already has too much light; whose nights are extremely short, and probably considered a greater blessing than even the days. But stop—I think Mars, who is farther from the sun than we, is without a moon. We cannot conceal the fact, I replied; he has none; but he doubtless has resources for the night which we are ignorant of. You have seen phosphorus; matters of that kind, whether liquid or dry, receive and imbibe the light from the sun, which they emit with some force when in the dark. Mars perhaps has highrocks of phosphorus that absorb, in the day-time, light enough to irradiate the night. You must own it would be an agreeable sight for the rocks to light up as soon as the sun was set, and without art, produce the most magnificent illuminations, that with all their radiance, would not have the inconvenience of casting any heat. In America, you know, there are birds which in the dark will afford light enough to read by: how can we tell whether Mars has not a great number of such birds, who, as soon as the night is come, disperse themselves on every side, and give an artificial day?

I am not satisfied, answered she, either with your rocks or birds. They would be pretty enough to be sure; but as nature has bestowed so many moons on Saturn and Jupiter, it shews that moons are necessary. I should have been very much pleased to find that all the worlds at a great distance from the sun had some, if Mars had not formed a disagreeable exception. Ah! replied I, if you were more deeply versed in philosophy you must accustom yourself to see exceptions to the best systems. We clearly see that some things are adapted in the most perfect manner to their end; others we accommodate as well as we can, or perhaps are obliged to content ourselves with knowing nothing about them. Let us do so with respect to Mars, sinceour researches are fruitless, and resolve to say no more about him.

We should be very much surprised, were we on Saturn, to see during the night a great ring, extending over our heads in a semi-circular form from one end of the horizon to the other; and by reflecting the light of the sun, would have the effect of a moon at every part of the circle. And are we not to have inhabitants in this great ring? said she, laughing. Though I am disposed to place them wherever I can, answered I, I confess I dare not tell you there are any there; this ring appears too irregular a dwelling. As for the five moons, we can't dispense with inhabitants for them. If the ring, however, were what some suppose, only a circle of moons, following each other very closely, with an equal motion, and the satellites, five of these moons escaped out of the ring, what numbers of worlds would the vortex of Saturn contain! Be that as it may, the people in Saturn are uncomfortable enough, even with the help of their ring. It gives then light, it is true; but what sort of light, at that immense distance from the sun? The sun himself, which appears to them a hundred times smaller[48]than to us, seems but a little pale star, emitting but a feeble light or heat. And could they be transportedto our coldest countries, such as Greenland and Lapland, you would see them ready to expire with the heat. If water were conveyed to their planet it would no longer be water, but a polished stone, and spirits of wine which never freeze here, would become hard as diamond.

[48]Ten times less in diameter.

Your description of Saturn petrifies me, said the Marchioness; though just now you almost threw me into a fever in talking of Mercury. Two worlds, answered I, which are at the different extremities of an immense vortex, must be totally unlike.

Then, replied she, the people are very wise in Saturn, for you told me they were all mad in Mercury. If they are not very wise, answered I, they are at least, I suppose, very phlegmatic. Their features could not accommodate themselves to a smile; they require a day's consideration before they answer any question, and they would think Cato of Atica unmanly and frivolous.

I am thinking, said she, that all the inhabitants of Saturn are slow; all those of Mercury are quick; amongst us some belong to the former class, some to the latter; may not that be in consequence of the earth's being placed just in the middle situation and participating of both extremes? The men of our world have no determined character; some are like the inhabitants of Mercury; others resemble those of Saturn, inshort we are a compound of all the other planets. That's a good idea, replied I; we form such a ludicrous assemblage that it might easily be imagined we had been brought together from a variety of worlds. We are therefore very well situated for studying character, for this is an abstract of all the planets.

At any rate, rejoined the Marchioness, the situation of our world has one great convenience; the heat is not oppressive as at Mercury or Venus, nor the cold so benumbing as at Jupiter or Saturn. And we are in a part of the earth that is not subject to the greatest degrees of heat and cold experienced even on our own globe. If a certain philosopher returned thanks to his Creator for having formed him a man, and not a beast; a Greek and not a Barbarian; I think we ought to be grateful for being born on the most temperate planet in the universe, and in one of the most temperate parts of that planet. You ought likewise, madam, said I, to be thankful for being young, and not old; young and handsome, not young and ugly; a young and handsome French woman, not a young and handsome Italian: there are many things to excite your gratitude besides the temperature of your climate.

Ah! replied she, let us be grateful for every thing, even the vortex in which we are placed. The happiness we enjoy is but little, we mustnot lose any of it; it is well to cultivate an interest in the most common things. If we are only alive to strong emotions our pleasures will be few, seldom attainable, and dearly purchased. Promise me then, said I, that when such animated pleasures are within your reach you will think of the vortices and me, and not neglect us entirely. Very well, said she: but will philosophy always afford me new enjoyments? For to-morrow, at least, answered I: I have the fixed stars in reserve for you, which surpass all that you have yet examined.

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