We may also add that attentive observation of the indentations visible on the crescent of Venus has shown that the surface of this planet is quite as uneven as that of the earth, and even more so; that there are there Andes, Cordilleras, Alps, and Pyrenees, and that the most elevated summits attain a height of 44,000 metres (27 miles). It has even been ascertained that the Northern Hemisphere is more mountainous than the Southern. Even the study of the geography of Venus has already been commenced. But it is extremely difficult to draw, and the hours of sufficiently pure atmosphere and possible observation are very rare. This difficulty will be easily understood if we reflect that it is exactly when Venus arrives at its nearest to us that it is least visible, since, its illuminated hemisphere being always turned toward the sun, it is its dark hemisphere which is presented to us. The nearer it approaches us, the narrower the crescent becomes. Add to this its vivid light and its clouds, and you may imagine what difficulty astronomers have in dealing with it. [Illustration: Twelve Views of Jupiter Taken at Intervals within Six Consecutive Weeks] However, by observing it in the daytime to avoid the glare, and not waiting till the crescent becomes too thin, by choosing the quadratures, and making use of moments of great atmospherical purity, observers succeed, from time to time, in perceiving grayish spots, which may indicate the place of its seas. Of what nature are the inhabitants of Venus? Do they resemble us in physical form? Are they endowed with an intelligence analogous to ours? Do they pass their life in pleasure, as Bernardin de St. Pierre said, or, rather, are they so tormented by the inclemency of their seasons that they have no delicate perception, and are incapable of any scientific or artistic attention? These are interesting questions, to which we have no reply. All that we can say is, that organized life on Venus must be little different from terrestrial life, and that this world is one of those which resembles ours most. The imaginary travelers to these worlds of the sky have always carried with them their terrestrial ideas. The only scientific conclusion which we can draw from astronomical observation is that this world differs little from ours in volume, in weight, in density, and in the duration of its days and nights; that it differs a little more in the rapidity of its years, the intensity of its climates and seasons, the extent of its atmosphere, and its greater proximity to the sun. It should, then, be inhabited by vegetable, animal, and human races but little different from those which people our planet. As to imagining it desert or sterile, this is a hypothesis which could not arise in the brain of any naturalist. The action of the divine sun must be there, as in Mercury, still more fertile than his terrestrial work, already so wonderful. We may add that Venus and