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V£ RY POPULAR SCIENCE.
By HERR SCALPER.
Although It may not be within the personal
knowledge of any of ub that the dead can
reviBit us, many eminent men have hold that
It is within the power of the living to visit
foreign places, to which the dead are supposed
to go. Thus, Sir Godfrey ICneller, the
eminent painter, a little while before his
death, related to Pape'how, In some Bart of a
dream, he bad visited Heaven and held a
conversation with both St, Peter and St,
Luke.
Dante took a far more praotlaal view of
ex-mundane flights, and asserted that, con.
ducted by Virgil, he had visited hell itself
where he bad seen several of hlB political
antagonists undergoing the penalties of
miadeedB committed during their miserable
careers,
Others have claimed to have visited very
extraordinary places. Gulliver, for example,
looked in at Laputu ; and Mr Jnlea Verne has
bad a multitude of experiences of a similar
kind.
Within tho last few years an occurrence took
plaee of a far more wonderful character, mid
it can be vuuehed for by authorities whom
the world looks up to with that respect whiah
is born of groBs credulity.
The Grand Architect of the Universe, for
seme wise purpose of His own, not yet
raver-led to man, created a new planet in
pricisely tho same time, manner and conditions
as those laid down ill tho Biblical record of
creation. Proctor says stars havo disappeared,
and, therefore, it is no outrage on science to
a.iy that one appeared.
A Celestial Being acting, no doubt, undee.
instructions, cast a Bleep or stupor upoua num
ber of veiy nice scientific gentlemen, and in
that oondition translated them into his
presence in the new Bphere where, in a quiet,
unassuming way, he restored them to their
Hensse, and allowed thorn an interview, whioh
I had the honor to attend and report.
Amongst the groat savans who wore prosent,
I noticed Huxley, Darwin, Ssdgeficld, AgAssiz,
Owen, Lyell, Jukes, Matthew Arnold, John
Stuart Mill, Bishop Golenso, the authors of the
Speaker's Commentary, Professor M'Coy, Mr
Prcotor, tho President of tho Spiritualist
Association, Mr Denkin, M.P., nnd of course
Arthur Patohett Martin and Marcus Clarke,
&c., &c.
The Celestial Being was affable and
genial, and a merry twinkle in his far-
seeing eye led me to expect important mani
festations. Rising from his seat he opened a
eice door and introduced Adam, ns fine a speci
men of teal manhood ub the world has ever
gazed upon.
"Now, gentlemen," said tho Celestial
Being, " i wish yon to tell me, as nearly as
science will enable you, tho exact age of this
gentleman, a very particular friend of
mine."
Huxley: I should any about thirty. You
see lie has whiskers, beard aud moustache
in profusion. There ore a few grey stragglers
at tho baok part of the whiskers, whioh,
according to science, appear in the first
imt nice about the age I havo mentioned. i
seo that he is fully developed, and this occurs
at the age stated.
The C. B. : You are mistaken, Mr Huxley.
Scieaco, suoh as you know it, teachos n great
many errors. I'or example, pour soieaoe
tenches that i/oiii' generation of man is evolved
from the monkey. ThiBman had.no such ances
tors, I assure you.
Huxley : Indeed 1 i am amazsd. I should
- like to hoar what Professor O wen thinks of
the gentleman,
Owen : May I bo permitted to feel the gen
tleman '!
Tho C. B.: Certainly.
Owen : And examine his mouth ?
The C. B,: Undoubtedly.
Professor Owen here examined the arms and
legs of Adam, punched his ribs scientifically,
ran biB thumb along his spine, and then took
a careful view of his teeth. After avhieh in
spection, ho said, with an air of triumph, " I
liavo it. This gentleman is about twenty-
six. His bones have goue through the carti
laginous stage, and are fairly formed ; but
at thirty tboy and the joiuts will be
firmer. As regards his teeth, his month Is full,
ndptrango to say, there is no sign of any deoav.
i see ho has cut his wisdom teotb, which rarely
occurs before twenty-ono, and they seem to
have undergone a certain amount of wear and
oar, for whioh I nllow five years. I name
im twenty-six years at present."
Tho C.B. : i assure you, Mr Owen, muoh as I
respeot knowledge, and love to see true science
studied, you ara n long way from tha truth,
Mr Darwin : I am afraid Professor Owen
has not made those scientific allowances far
" development," which, under fnvorable con
ditions, is much more rapid thnn under
those of the avoragc. Now, so far
as one can judge, you have a very
agreeable and fnvornble climate, in which a
man would more readily reaoh oompleto de
velopment than in the cold latitudes in which
we have pursued our soientiGo studies. I am
therefore disposed to say that his ego is twenty-
four; and, in saying this, I admit that ha is a
very fine man for hie age.
The C.B. : You are wrong, Mr Darwin,
and eo far out that I should like to know if
there is anyone amongst you who oan tell
within twenty yeotB of his age, when I tell
you he is not yet twenty-five ?
Bhhop Oalonso : i am. fairly astoundoil.
As a mathematician, I know that, subtracting
twenty from twonty-fiva, tho maximum ra-
maindcr will bo five. Now, I ask any of my
learned friends whether It is possible for
a boing suoh ns we have before us to be only
five years of ago t I admit that a monstrosity
of fiv; might possibly qvm? up to bit weight ;
but what about the teeth, tho whiskers, and
again bis powers of speeoh, nnd oxpression of
bis ideas 1 Pardon me for saying that, scientifi
cally, the idea of his being only five years
old, or less, is preposterous, and opposed to
truo soience."
At this stage i passod up a paper to the
C, B. on which i wrote — " i guoaa his age
to bo about an hour or aa hour and a
half."
The C.B. nodded his head affirmatively,
but said nothing. He than led us out to a
forest alose by, where giant gam-treeB spread
their gnarled arms abroad, and Ho asked the
philosophers the age of a gnm-treo. The
same farce was gone through, some declaring
that itjinust havo oome from soed, as it could
not be propagated by slips. ProfesBor M'C iy
bad the tree sawn in two, and counted tho
interior rings visible, from which ho assessed
tho ago at 22 years.
We were next taken to a high hill about a
thousand feet above the ocean, which rolled
anllenly in tho distance. Here wo dug a hole,
and at about ten feet deep wo came on a
quantity of marine shells.
" Ha 1 ha I" said Agasslz, " tho ocean once
rolled over this place, und the great icebergs
deposited the drifts taken up by them on this
spot."
Professor M'Coy eaid that the fossils be
longed tu tho tertiary period.
Too C.B. : Well, gentlemen, I may say
that you are all astray ; but how old do you'
heliove this planet to bo ?
Mr Proctor : Ah ! that is more in my line.
i should say, in round numbers, about twenty-
five millions of years. Of oourso I am uot
particular to a million or two years, mors or
le»B, but it must have taken countless ages to
render it habitable — to fit it for tho support of
human life. Again, when i look at those
dislapt sturs, why, at the rate light travels, it
must havo taken at least twenty thousand years
b fore the light from them oould have reached
' tno earth, Soience, beiog based on mathe
matical calculations, cannot err.
At this period the O. B. smiled kindly on
us all as he said : This earth on which yon
stand ia but a few days old. I created it just
as you see it— just as if it had gone through
all tho various stages which proud sciouce said
it ought to have done — nay, that it has done.
Tho tree is but a few hours old, and Adam ia
no more. You surely will admit that, ii you
allow the Grand Architect of the
Universe the power of creation at
all, you cannot deny Him the power of
creating things as He sees best, and leaving
tbe laws of nature as He has ordained them
to proceed with the work as it is handed it
over to them, Your teachings, your spsc.tlu-
tioni ou both the past aud present of creution,
aru not likely to doany good either to yourselves
or to those who look to you for knowledge. I
have given mankind a revelation ' of the
order of creation which is truo aud amply
sufficient for tbem. When you deny that the
earth ever stopped still, when you deny
those miracleshy whioh I convinced mankind of
my Kolicilude for them, you are only denying
the omnipotence of the C.B,, which is exer-
cited very often for purposes which I do
not deem it necessary to communicate to your
learned societies nnd associations.
The C. B, thon bowed tu tho men of science,
who fell into a state of stupor, and were re-
conveyed to their abodeB on earth.
When they regained their senses thay
declared tbey had had horrible nightmares,
brought on by injudicious use of mockturtle
at tho annual scientific dinner.
In the meantime Air Prootor eaid that
another planet had disappeared from the
heavens, nnd that it was probable it had
dropped into the sun, as he oould detoot a
freeh npot on ono of its limbs about tea
million miles long, by an average breadth of
three and a half inches.
Having a shrewd suspicion of the planet's
djsi ppearanee (because it had fulfilled its mis
sion) I kept tho idea to myself till now.
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