Astronomy and the Bible;

THEATMOSPHERICHEAVENS 61

simpleasthatofstandingthetggonits end,yetno
other finite mind had conceived it. Was it with
trembhngexpectation,orinthecalmnessofconscious
strength, that he filled with mercury his glass tube,
four feet in length, sealed at one end, placed his
fingerovertheopenend, invertedthetube, plunged
theopenendinavesselhalffilledwithmercury,and
then—removedhisfinger?
**What werethe emotionswith whichhe sawthe
columnofmercuryfall,and,aftercompletingtheos-
cillationsproducedbyitsmomentum,standataheight
ofbetweentwenty-nineandthirtyinches,inequilibrium
withthepressureoftheatmosphereonthesamearea
ofthemercuryinthevessel;orwithwhichherealized
thefactthattheglasstubeabovethecolumnofmer-
curyinclosedtheabsolutevoid,thenfirstobtainedby
man,sinceonlyapproximationstoitcouldbereached
in thepumpbarrel,and whichwas everaftertobe
knownastheTorricellianvacuum! Andwhatwould
hisemotionshavebeen ifhe couldhaveimagined—
what, indeed, no one can adequately conceive—the
influencethatthisdiscoverywastoexertinprompting
theindustries andthecivilizationofhisrace!
"The discovery ofthepressureof theatmosphere
isoneofthosediscoveriesbywhichtheboundaryof
human knowledgehasbeenenlargedina remarkable
degree. It was a radical discovery; and out of it
therehavesprunganendlessseriesofdiscoveriesand
inventions, which, while theyhave contributedto an
incalculablemeasure tothe welfareof man, have at
thesametimestill furtheraddedtotheextentofhis