are the laws of gravitation and centrifugal force. We must therefore
presume that the gases, the metals, the earths, and other simple
substances, (besides whatever more of which we have no acquaintance,)
exist or are liable to come into existence under proper conditions,
as well in the astral system, which is thirty-five thousand times
more distant than Sirius, as within the bounds of our own solar
system or our own globe.

Matter, whether it consist of about fifty-five ingredients, or only
one, is liable to infinite varieties of condition under different
circumstances, or, to speak more philosophically, under different
laws. As a familiar illustration, water, when subjected to a
temperature under 32 degrees Fahrenheit, becomes ice; raise the
temperature to 212 degrees, and it becomes steam, occupying a vast
deal more space than it formerly did. The gases, when subjected to
pressure, become liquids; for example, carbonic acid gas, when
subjected to a weight equal to a column of water 1230 feet high, at a
temperature of 32 degrees, takes this form: the other gases require
various amounts of pressure for this transformation, but all appear
to be liable to it when the pressure proper in each case is
administered. Heat is a power greatly concerned in regulating the
volume and other conditions of matter. A chemist can reckon with
considerable precision what additional amount of heat would be
required to vaporise all the water of our globe; how much more to
disengage the oxygen which is diffused in nearly a proportion of one-
half throughout its solids; and, finally, how much more would be
required to cause the whole to become vaporiform, which we may
consider as equivalent to its being restored to its original nebulous
state. He can calculate with equal certainty what would be the
effect of a considerable diminution of the earth's temperature--what