of revolution of the sun spots, as seen from the earth, while the sun is always changing its position, relatively to the earth, in moving around it. The question now arises,What are the absolute periods of these sun spots; or in what time do they absolutely go around the sun?

We can determine this by reducing the central mass of the sun to a state of restthat is, deprive it absolutely of all rotation, and then note how the sun spots will move relatively to it. We will accomplish our purpose by loosely pivoting the small dark disc D, (at left of figure) to the sun's axis, to represent its central portion. It carries a pointer H, and a weight W on the opposite side, which by the force of gravity will keep it always in the same position--that is, absolutely without rotation, the pointer always being directed upward.

If we now turn the apparatus in the same direction as before, starting with both sun spots exactly at the pointer, and note how they move relatively to it, with no reference to the earth whatever, we will discover that

they not only go round the sun (relatively to the pointer) in the opposite direction to the one they appeared to move in before, as seen from the earth, but that the inner spot will now complete its circuit first, by coming to conjunction with the pointer again in just 29 days, while the outer, or equatorial spot falls behind, and will not come to conjunction with the pointer under three days more; making its absolute period 32 days, while that of the inner spot is but 29 days.

This result, it will be seen, completely obliterates the Copernican paradox; as the sun spots now move in the order we might expect them to move, thereby accounting in a natural way for that mysterious factor in the sun's rotation, its apparent Equatorial Acceleration.

Men of Science! is there not a deep significance in this? Here we have one of the most remarkable phenomena (viewed in the light of Copernicus,)-a condition utterly irreconcilable with his theory, under natural laws, which yet gives evidence, through a fair and positive mechanical demonstration,

of being in natural and perfect harmony with that cosmic system outlined in the Sacred Scriptures.-A system that obeyed the command of a Joshua, and gave heed to the pathetic prayer of a Hezekiah; whose wondrous workings were pondered and extolled by the philosophic Job, and whose praises sung by the poetic David.-A system that survived the wisdom of a Solomon, and was mirrored in the prophetic vision of Ezekiel. Shall a few words soberly and considerately spoken in its defense, be denied a sober and considerate hearing?

CHAPTER VIII.

LECTURE III.-NATURE vs. COPERNICUS.

IN observing the movements of the heavenly bodies, many inequalities have been discovered from time to time,--some of but slight significance, but among them one of that important body, the sun, early became conspicuous, which is of such a magnitude that the Copernican school have given it much attention in the past, and after longcontinued and patient measuring and modifying, trimming and adjusting, they have adapted their theory to fit it very well, and now employ it as one of the strong pillars of its support. I refer to that inequality treated on in astronomical works under title of,

EQUATION OF TIME.

When I first took up this subject, failing to be a good enough mathematician to quite

understand the Copernican solution of the problem, I fell to doubting its correctness; and to settle the matter, I constructed an apparatus (indicated by C, in group of apparatus, page 180) for mechanically testing the same, in which the earth is represented by a globe adapted to move around the suncentre in the earth's supposed annual orbit, complying faithfully with Kepler's law of "equal areas in equal times," and all other conditions of the Copernican theory.

When my device was completed, I confidently expected that it would disclose to me an error; but in this I was disappointed, for as I carefully moved the globe through its orbit, the indicator traced on its surface with strict fidelity those devious transverse paths indicated by the heavy double looped line at the centre of Fig. 8, (the next page), which paths mark those variations of the sun throughout the year from the meridian of mean, or clock time, (the horizontal line SN) which are recorded in our almanacs in the column, 'Sun fast,' and 'Sun slow.'

As it traced this looped circuit, which I