Bath.

Also an ancient British pile,
On Salisbury's fine plain,

Let now your industry search out,
And memory retain ;

Then do, as oft before you've done,
And instantly appears,

A planet which about the sun

Revolves once in three years.

* The Santa Casa, or House of Nazareth, in which Jesus was brought up. Tradition says that it was carried by angels into Dalmatia, and thence to the place where it now stands.

KEY TO ENIGMA No. 24.

Miltiades.

A bercrombie.
Young.

Making the enigmatical word May. The following correspondents have answered correctly: W. Clayton, Frosterley; H. Eggleshaw, Silston; E. Smith, Bath; M. T. Wigham, Langley Mills; J. G. Robinson, Frosterley; M. P. Davison, Hexham ; A. Bellingham, Hereford; J. King, Bottesford; J. Baldwin, Ludlow; T. Fullerton, Wooler; D. E. Carr, Felkington; C. Jones, Ludlow; W. Cooper, Edgmond; S. A. Stubbs, Presteign; and F. Russell, Ludlow.

N.B.-The following correspondents answered No. 23 correctly, but by some unaccountable oversight their names were omitted from the list: S. A. George, Oswestry; H. Eggleshaw, Selston; W. Y. Chishome, Allendean; A. Wigham, Langley Mills; W. Stout, Middleham; J. Tibbetts, Cradley Heath; G. Moyls, Blackheath; M. P. Davison, Hexham ; G. Horkenheath, Alkington; E. Bowen, Wem; C. Ockwell, Cricklade; J. Powell, Shawbury; S. Howell, Clay Cross; M. E. Weatherill, Lockington; A. Bellingham, Hereford; J. King, Bottesford; E. Smith, Bath; and B. Upton, Newport, Isle of Wight.

THE earth is a globe. It is not perfectly round, but is flattened at the poles like an orange. Many people, I dare say, imagine it to be a plain, diversified a little by hill and dale; but this is a false idea. Hence, when a ship is approaching the land the first thing seen is not the hull, but the masts and rigging. If the water were perfectly flat the largest part of the ship would be first seen, and then the masts. Sailors, when they want to descry land, climb into the rigging for the survey. The elevation they get by the ascent compensates for that portion of the rotundity of the earth which is between them and the object they want to see. Persons by travelling might go round the earth. Let a man start from London and keep in a certain direction, he will find himself in London again. Just as a fly starting from a certain point on an orange, by travelling

inwards, would find itself at that point again. Again, when the earth gets between the sun and the moon what is called an eclipse of the moon is brought on; you may then see the dark shadow of the earth cast on the moon ; and the shadow is round.

The men living in Australasia are called the Antipodes. This word comes from two Latin words: anti, signifying against, or in opposition to; and pedes, feet. They have their feet towards ours. The sky appears above their heads as it does to us, and the earth under their feet. Many ignorant people, not being able to comprehend this, have stoutly denied it.

This ponderous earth with all its vast furniture is poised in the air. In this region it has been twisting and floating for thousands of years. Its position is firmer than if it were built in a vast pyramid of granite. It cannot shift or be displaced until the great band that binds the universe together snaps. The Hindoos and other heathen nations have some very childish notions about the foundation of the world. They represent the earth as resting upon the backs of huge beasts. Their sacred books teach these things. It therefore follows that when the people get correct ideas of the creation they will lose faith in their shasters and priests. How eloquently and correctly did Job, thousands of years ago, speak on this point. This patriarch tells us that God "hung the earth upon nothing and spread the north over the empty place." And Paul in his epistle to the Hebrews, when speaking of Jesus Christ says, he "Upholdeth all things by the word of his power." An expression denoting the infinite ease with which all things are maintained in their proper places.

A few hundred years ago astronomers taught that the earth was the centre of the universe; that the sun and moon and all stars moved round it. This was at length found to be a great mistake. The sun is the centre of what is called the solar system; and our world, with a number of others, is found to revolve round this great body. The

earth has two motions, one on its axis; this is performed every twenty-four hours. Hence our day and night. And one in a path called its orbit. This it performs once a year. Hence the variations of the seasons, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Thousands cannot conceive how the earth can go round-say like a fly-wheel, and men and things on the surface remain in their places. It is said that an old man to demonstrate the absurdity of this resolved one night to fill a pot with water and hang it on the hooks over his fire place. If the water remained in the pot then the earth had not moved; but if the water was shed and the pot turned topsy-turvy the opinion in relation to the revolution of the earth on its axis was exploded. We need not say what the result of this very philosophical experiment was. I dare say the old man and many of his neighbours would consider the argument quite complete. There are laws in operation in this world, of which this homely experimentor would be totally ignorant, that kept the water in the pot, though the earth during the time had made a partial revolution. The two motions of the earth may be illustrated thus: a boy takes a ball in his hand with a view to toss it in the air, as it leaves his hand he imparts to it a twirling motion, and the ball spins. This is a motion on its axis, at the same time it has another motion, it makes progress, it passes to a certain height through the air.

There are many more questions about this home-earth of ours that we cannot now touch upon for the want of space, but we hope to return to the subject in a future number.

P. P.