he system to take cognizance of what
passed inside the atmosphere of any planet.

SATURN and PALLAS rose together. (Cries of "New member!" and the former
gave way.) The latter, in a long and eloquent speech, praised the
liberality with which he and his colleagues had at length been relieved
from astronomical disqualifications. He thought that it was contrary to the
spirit of the laws of gravitation to exclude any planet from office on
account of the eccentricity or inclination of his orbit. Honourable
luminaries need not talk of the want of convergency of his series. What had
they to do with any private arrangements between him and the general
equations of the system? (Murmurs from the opposition.) So long as he
obeyed the laws of motion, to which he had that day taken a solemn oath, he
would ask, were old planets, which were now so well known that nobody
trusted them, to....

The FOCAL BODY said he was sorry to break the continuity of the
proceedings, but he thought that remarks upon character, with a negative
sign, would introduce {304} differences of too high an order. The
honourable luminary must eliminate the expression which he had brought out,
in finite terms, and use smaller inequalities in future. (Hear, hear.)

PALLAS explained, that he was far from meaning to reflect upon the orbital
character of any planet present. He only meant to protest against being
judged by any laws but those of gravitation, and the differential calculus:
he thought it most unjust that astronomers should prevent the small planets
from being observed, and then reproach them with the imperfections of the
tables, which were the result of their own narrow-minded policy. (Cheers.)

SATURN thought that, as an old planet, he had not been treated with due
respect. (Hear, from his satellites.) He had long foretold the wreck of the
system from the friends of innovation. Why, he might ask, were his
satellites to be excluded, when small planets, trumpery comets, which could
not keep their mean distances (cries of oh! oh!), double stars, with
graphical approximations, and such obscure riff-raff of the heavens (great
uproar) found room enough. So help him Arithmetic, nothing could come of
it, but a stoppage of all revolution. His hon. friend in the focus might
smile, for he would be a gainer by such an event; but as for him (Saturn),
he had something to lose, and hon. luminaries well knew that, whatever they
might think _under_ an atmosphere, _abo