Narrative and Miscellaneous PapersDe Quincey, Thomas
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Narrative and Miscellaneous Papers
De Quincey, Thomas
English essays; English fiction
This point settled, let it now be remarked, that Herschel's resources
enabled him to unmask many of these _nebulæ_: stars they were, and stars
he forced them to own themselves. Why should any decent world wear
an _alias_? There was nothing, you know, to be ashamed of in being an
honest cluster of stars. Indeed, they seemed to be sensible of this
themselves, and they now yielded to the force of Herschel's arguments so
far as to show themselves in the new character of _nebulæ_ spangled with
stars; these are the _stellar nebulæ_; quite as much as you could expect
in so short a time: Rome was not built in a day: and one must have
some respect to stellar feelings. It was noticed, however, that where a
bright haze, and not a weak milk-and-water haze, had revealed itself
to the telescope, this, arising from a case of _compression_, (as
previously explained,) required very little increase of telescopic power
to force him into a fuller confession. He made a clean breast of it.
But at length came a dreadful anomaly. A 'nebula' in the constellation
_Andromeda_ turned restive: another in _Orion_, I grieve to say it,
still more so. I confine myself to the latter. A very low power sufficed
to bring him to a slight confession, which in fact amounted to nothing;
the very highest would not persuade him to show a star. 'Just one,'
said some coaxing person; 'we'll be satisfied with only one.' But no:
he would _not_. He was hardened, 'he wouldn't _split_.' And Herschel
was thus led, after waiting as long as flesh and blood _could_ wait,
to infer two classes of _nebulæ_; one that were stars; and another
that were _not_ stars, nor ever were meant to be stars. Yet _that_ was
premature: he found at last, that, though not raised to the peerage of
stars, finally they would be so: they were the matter of stars; and by
gradual condensation would become suns, whose atmosphere, by a similar
process of condensing, would become planets, capable of brilliant
literati and philosophers, in several volumes octavo. So stood the case
for a long time; it was settled to the satisfaction of Europe that there
were two classes of _nebulæ_, one that _were_ worlds, one that were
_not_, but only the pabulum of future worlds. Silence arose. A voice was
heard, 'Let there be Lord Rosse!' and immediately his telescope walked
into Orion; destroyed the supposed matter of stars; but, in return,
created immeasurable worlds.
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