This is the case with water, which as a liquid is to all appearance formless.  When sufficiently cooled the molecules are brought within the play of the crystallizing force, and they then arrange themselves in forms of indescribable beauty.  When snow is produced in calm air, the icy particles build themselves into beautiful stellar shapes, each star possessing six rays.  There is no deviation from this type, though in other respects the appearances of the snow-stars are infinitely various.  In the polar regions these exquisite forms were observed by Dr. Scoresby, who gave numerous drawings of them.  I have observed them in mid-winter filling the air, and loading the slopes of the Alps.  But in England they are also to be seen, and no words of mine could convey so vivid an impression of their beauty as the annexed drawings of a few of them, executed at Greenwich by Mr. Glaisher.

[Illustration:  SNOW-STAR.]

It is worth pausing to think what wonderful work is going on in the atmosphere during the formation and descent of every snow-shower; what building power is brought into play! and how imperfect seem the productions of human minds and hands when compared with those formed by the blind forces of nature!

But who ventures to call the forces of nature blind?  In reality, when we speak thus we are describing our own condition.  The blindness is ours; and what we really ought to say, and to confess, is that our powers are absolutely unable to comprehend either the origin or the end of the operations of nature.

But while we thus acknowledge our limits, there is also reason for wonder at the extent to which science has mastered the system of nature.  From age to age, and from generation to generation, fact has been added to fact, and law to law, the true method and order of the Universe being thereby more and more revealed.  In doing this science has encountered and overthrown various forms of superstition and deceit, of credulity and imposture.  But the world continually produces weak persons and wicked persons; and as long as they continue to exist side by side, as they do in this our day, very debasing beliefs will also continue to infest the world.

Atomic Poles.

“What did I mean when, a few moments ago I spoke of attracting and repellent poles?” Let me try to answer this question.  You know that astronomers and geographers speak of the earth’s poles, and you have also heard of magnetic poles, the poles of a magnet being the points at which the attraction and repulsion of the magnet are as it were concentrated.

Every magnet possesses two such poles; and if iron filings be scattered over a magnet, each particle becomes also endowed with two poles.  Suppose such particles devoid of weight and floating in our atmosphere, what must occur when they come near each other?  Manifestly the repellent poles will retreat from each other, while the attractive poles will approach and finally lock themselves together.  And supposing the particles, instead of a single pair, to possess several pairs of poles arranged at definite points over their surfaces; you can then picture them, in obedience to their mutual attractions and repulsions, building themselves together to form masses of definite shape and structure.