Page:Gods Glory in the Heavens.djvu/60

44 towards the valleys. They seek the lowest level, or, in other words, the point least distant from the centre of gravity.

In the case of the moon, the side turned to us is virtually one enormous mountain, and the opposite side the corresponding valley. We could not expect to find traces of air on the summit of a terrestrial mountain 134 miles high. The conclusion, therefore, is, that though the near hemisphere is a lifeless desert, having neither water nor air to sustain life, the hidden hemisphere may have a teeming population, rejoicing in all the comforts and amenities of life. The imagination is set free to picture broad oceans, bearing on their bosom the commerce of this new world, rivers fertilising the valleys through which they flow, a luxuriant vegetation, and buildings of colossal size.

This, however, only increases the mystery, and the longing to see farther round the limb of the moon. If there was mystery before, when life was not dreamt of, how much is that mystery increased, when we now know that there may be life—that there may be another world the counterpart of our own! Everything on this side of the moon, is fixed in the rigidity of death. No movement, indicating life or action, is observed. How different would be the other side, were we only permitted to obtain a glimpse! Its ever-changing atmosphere would be a source of continual interest. We could study its weather, as easily as our own; and, if the atmosphere was not