Page:Life in a thousand worlds.djvu/81

 acknowledges the existence of Deity. Atheists are scarce under this severe ruling.

You may well know how I was startled to see such summary action taken in regard to unbelievers. At first I prided myself that I belonged to a world of free thought and free speech, but when I saw the magnetic effect of these Jupiter regulations I was in doubt as to the superiority of our religious and irreligious liberties.

The soil of Jupiter yields abundantly. The animals are all large and of species unknown to us. They have animals that resemble our elephant and ox; these they use for food. Common birds, as large as geese or turkeys, flourish in the extensive forests and furnish about one-third of the food for the giants.

The vegetation is after the order of our world, except that the curse of weeds and thistles is only one-fourth as great. But the people of Jupiter have learned more than we of the use of these weeds, and certain of them are cultivated to a wide extent.

I spent a long time on the planet. I saw the fiery lakes that are fed by subterraneous streams of lava, and the geysers of blue