THE BODIES OF SPACE, THEIR ARRANGEMENTS AND FORMATION. It is familiar knowledge that the earth which we inhabit is a globe of somewhat less than 8000 miles in diameter, being one of a series of eleven which revolve at different distances around the sun, and some of which have satellites in like manner re volving around them. The sun, planets, and satellites, with the less intelligible orbs termed comets, are comprehensively called the solar sys tem, and if we take as the uttermost bounds of this system the orbit of Uranus (though the comets actually have a wider range), we shall find that it occupies a portion of space not less than three thousand six hundred millions of miles in diameter. The mind fails to form an exact notion of a portion of space so immense; but some faint idea of it may be obtained from the fact, that, if the swiftest
