Even these bodies, as we understand, are changed only in the combination of molecules, and by that change the immortal spirit, that is as imperceptible as the wind, of which we are told we cannot tell “whence it cometh nor whither it goeth,” is set free; the Bible teaching us its eternal destiny. The greatest and best things that men here possess are love and goodness, and should not the Almighty possess these virtues beyond any of His creatures? Possessing these how could He otherwise than send to Earth His Son for their salvation from sin; for we find men here, even, who are willing to peril their lives for the salvation of their fellows, and would undoubtedly be kind to an inferior animal, though an ant or worm, had they created it and knew it loved and worshiped them. Akin to this, we believe, is man’s relation to his Creator and the Creator of this mighty and seemingly everlasting Space. [Illustration: Decoration] FOOTNOTES: [10] For example: Take two rooms and heat one as hot as the sun now is what must the cold in the next room be to equalize the heat to 300° below zero? [11] We do not inquire how the original nebula came into being; our history must commence with the actual existence of this nebula. There is, let it be confessed, a great deal of obscurity still clinging to the subject. Though we may be sure, that the great nebula once existed we cannot with much confidence trace out the method by which the planets were actually formed. Sir Robert Ball, “In Starry Realms,” p. 348. CHAPTER V. THE EARTH’S CRUST. Were earth’s crust no thicker in comparison than the skin of an apple or peach, or 1/100 of its radius even, still man has never penetrated to one-twentieth of that depth; for I know of no place where he has as yet reached one mile below earth’s general level, unless it be in ocean-soundings. In most places the mines or gorges have been in the mountains high above the valleys, consequently we know little of what is far beneath the earth’s surface. How could we judge of the inside of nuts, fruits, grains, or vegetables if we had penetrated to but one-twentieth of their coverings? Take, for instance, a chestnut that all boys are familiar with, and see what we may learn from it. We find that it is covered with a tough, brown shell which in turn is enclosed in a large prickly burr ten times the size of the nut. This protects it until ripened and then opens to let the nut fall. The burr is fastened to a large forest tree whose roots are deep in the ground; a tree that had been growing for years before the chestnut was produced, and first started from another nut of its kind. From the time its growth began there was nothing in root, trunk, limb, or leaves for years that in any way resembled a chestnut; nor in the blossom or burr even, until the nut ripened and fell to the ground. Could one think, who had never before seen the nut, that from such a tree a chestnut could be produced?