And much the good it will do us to repeat.
But at least temporarily we shall have an impression of a historic
fiasco, such as, in our acceptance, could occur only in a
quasi-existence.
In 1859, Dr. Lescarbault, an amateur astronomer, of Orgeres, France,
announced that, upon March 26, of that year, he had seen a body of
planetary size cross the sun. We are in a subject that is now as unholy
to the present system as ever were its own subjects to the system that
preceded it, or as ever were slanders against miracles to the preceding
system. Nevertheless few text-books go so far as quite to disregard this
tragedy. The method of the systematists is slightingly to give a few
instances of the unholy, and dispose of the few. If it were desirable to
them to deny that there are mountains upon this earth, they would record
a few observations upon some slight eminences near Orange, N.J., but say
that commuters, though estimable persons in several ways, are likely to
have their observations mixed. The text-books casually mention a few of
the "supposed" observations upon "Vulcan," and then pass on.