'Fly off at a tangent!' All hail to thee, most noble mathematical phrase! Here is another fine mathematical expression, plainly exemplifying the action of centrifugal force. The faster the wheel turns, the greater is the velocity of the discarded particles which fly off along the line, perpendicular to the radius of the circle. The world travels very fast now; the increased velocity of the transit of earthly bodies, the rate at which they live, the multiplicity of engagements, etc., have made the social world revolve so fast that the speed would have startled the torpid life of the last century. And what is the result? Men's thoughts fly off at a tangent; they are unable to concentrate their minds on any given subject; they are content with hasty generalisms, with short magazine articles on important subjects, which really require large volumes and patient study to elucidate them fully. What we want to do is to increase the attractive force, in order to prevent this tangential motion--to increase the _force of gravity_. 'Well,' says the young lady who loves to revel in the 'Ghastly Secret of the Moated Dungeon,' or the 'Mysteries of Footlight Fancy,' 'you are _grave_ enough. Pray don't increase your gravity!' Thank you, gentle critic. I will, in turn, ask you one favour. Leave for once the 'Mysteries of Footlight Fancy;' seek to know no more 'ghastly secrets,' and increase _your gravity_--your mental weight; and hence your attraction in the eyes of all who are worth attracting will be marvellously increased, by understanding a little about Newton's law of universal gravitation, and don't fly off at a tangent. * * * * *