Читать книгу Star-land: Being Talks With Young People About the Wonders of the Heavens онлайн

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Let me give an illustration of what I mean. You will go back this dull and cold afternoon to the happy home where your Christmas holidays are being enjoyed. It will be quite dark ere you get there, for the sun in these wintry days sets so very early. You will gather around a cheerful fire. The curtains will be drawn, the lamps will be lighted, and the disagreeable weather outside will be forgotten in the pleasant warmth and light within. Five o’clock has arrived, the pretty wicker table has been placed near mamma’s chair; on it are the cups and saucers and the fancy teapot. Under the table is a little shelf, with some tempting cakes and a tender muffin. Two or three welcome friends have joined the little group, and a delightful half-hour is sure to follow.

But you may say, “What have tea and muffins, lamps and fireplaces to do with the sun? Are they not all mere artificial devices, as far removed as possible from the sunbeams or the natural beauties which sunbeams create?” Well, not so far, perhaps, as you may think. Let us see.