regions, or confined the sun to either side of the equator?'"



CHAPTER XLII--THE OPINION OF THE ASTRONOMER IS EXPLAINED AND
JUSTIFIED.



"I suppose he discovered in me, through the obscurity of the room,
some tokens of amazement and doubt, for after a short pause he
proceeded thus:-

"'Not to be easily credited will neither surprise nor offend me,
for I am probably the first of human beings to whom this trust has
been imparted. Nor do I know whether to deem this distinction a
reward or punishment. Since I have possessed it I have been far
less happy than before, and nothing but the consciousness of good
intention could have enabled me to support the weariness of
unremitted vigilance.'

"'How long, sir,' said I, 'has this great office been in your
hands?'

"'About ten years ago,' said he, 'my daily observations of the
changes of the sky led me to consider whether, if I had the power
of the seasons, I could confer greater plenty upon the inhabitants
of the earth. This contemplation fastened on my mind, and I sat
days and nights in imaginary dominion, pouring upon this country
and that the showers of fertility, and seconding every fall of rain