The Aurora Borealis conforms not to any of these tests. It has been seen for centuries, and is confined to the northern portions of the globe; having rarely, if ever, been seen so far north as the thirtieth degree of north latitude. And, as we have before remarked, the darkness of 1780 was confined principally to New England. And from a careful examination of all the accounts we have been able to collect of meteoric showers of the last and present century, the whole of them together have occupied a space on the globe less than one eighth of its surface. The shower of 1799 was probably the most extensive. Its centre was near the middle of the Atlantic; its edges touched the northern parts of South America, the coast of Labrador and Greenland, and the western shores of Europe and Africa. That of 1833 may be represented on a six-inch globe by the space occupied by a dollar. Such magnificent scenes are calculated to impress the mind with awe; yet it is surprising that many intelligent persons should suppose them to be the precursors of the final conflagration. If the simple but reasonable tests we have given be correct, they are disarmed of their character as ominous of the destruction of the world. With regard to any changes in the order or succession of the heavenly bodies, it is only necessary to observe, that hundreds of scientific men, in Europe and America, have for many years been employed in exploring the material heavens with the most powerful telescopes. Many are employed, by the governments of Europe, in astronomical observations, scattered over the earth, for the express purpose of making new discoveries, if possible, and of furthering the interests of science. No phenomenon escapes their notice; and should any thing extraordinary occur, it would appear before the public, vouched by names that would command universal credence. It may be unnecessary to add, that no such changes in the planets and fixed stars, as have been proclaimed to the world by some of the second advent preachers, have been observed by learned astronomers and men of science. CHAPTER XV. INTERCOURSE WITH DEPARTED SPIRITS.