Of late years, in fact ever since the foundation of the British Association, there has been a constantly increasing interest in the wonders of nature; and the specialist has responded to this popular interest in his scientific labors by speaking in language that an intelligent child can comprehend. People as a rule prefer to read of the habits, instincts, intelligence, and movements of animals and plants, rather than of their organs and structure. Thus the study of Natural History has received a great impetus from the writings of such men as Darwin and Lubbock; and Astronomy has been rendered more attractive to the lay reader by Flammarion, Gore, Proctor, and Ball. Every traveler who returns from remote or hitherto unknown Arctic or Torrid Zones has something fresh to tell us of the phenomena and life of our universe, which adds fresh stimulus to the popular interest in the Natural Sciences. The Story of the Universe naturally falls under the following four heads: First, the bodies moving in infinite space, including stars, dark and lucid, planets, nebulæ, comets, and meteors. Second, the Earth, considered as a separate world and the only one of which we have precise detailed knowledge. In this chapter we learn of the past of our globe from the evidence afforded by the rocks of which its crust is composed. The varying conformations of its present surface are described, as is its atmospheric envelope and attendant phenomena. The ocean and its movements and depths are likewise fully considered. Third, the Earth’s Garment—its flora. In this chapter we are told of the wonders and beauties of plant-life, its development and distribution. Fourth, the Earth’s Creatures. Here we have a general view of animal life, from the mighty mammoth to the fairy fly: even the beings visible only to the microscope are not forgotten. Special attention is also paid to man, from his origin to the present day. I have made the selections from authentic editions of the writings of the scientists; and have taken no liberties with the text, with the exception of occasional cutting. In the Introduction I have given a short sketch of the development of the Natural Sciences, from the dawn of written history to the present day. E. S. NEW YORK, _March, 1905_. INTRODUCTION The knowledge of the Natural Sciences among the Greeks and Romans was derived principally from the Egyptians and Babylonians. The Phœnicians in their voyages, also, necessarily paid considerable attention to Astronomy. Their Cynosura consisted of the tail of the Little Bear, by which they steered. The great names in Greek Astronomy are Aratus, Hipparchus, and Ptolemy.