s chair was
upholstered with velvet. It was not a complicated observatory
like the worldly ones.... I removed the cap of the great
telescope, covering the object-glass, and then uncovered the
eye-piece. As I looked around the heavens to find the great
spiral of planets (the planetary chain told about) I heard a
voice from the lens of the telescope saying: "This is the
way. Follow me."

I looked through the lens and there I saw a long spiral of
planets leading heavenwards. The spiral gradually arose, not
making any indication of steps, but the close connection of
the rise was like the winding around of the threads of a
screw. Towards the top, the spiral began to get larger until
it was beyond sight. Presently I heard the voice again: "This
no doubt is a complicated affair to you."

"Yes."

"Focus your telescope and then look and see if it is any
clearer."

I did so, and upon looking through the glass, I saw a large
globe. It was cold and blank-looking. It seemed to be all
rocks and upon close examination I found that it was mostly
mineral rocks. That globe drifted away and left a small trail
of light until another came in sight. On this globe, there
was a green over-tone, luxuriant vegetation. Everywhere there
were trees and vegetable growths of all kinds. This one
gradually drifted away like the preceding. The third was
covered with animals of every description--a mass, a chaos of
animals. The fourth was similarly crowded with hairy men in
battle, the next two showed the development of these
men--gradual refinement and civilisation. The seventh I did
not see.

I was staring into the dark abyss of the heavens, when I
heard the voice again:

"I suppose you are still amazed."

"Yes."

"Well, then, listen to me and I'll try to explain it all. The
great spiral of planets represents the way man progresses in
the life eternal. Man's life on this earth is the life of a
second, compared with the long evolution. In these six globes
you saw when the telescope was focussed, is represented the
evolution of man. The rocks were first. As they broke up and
melted into earth, vegetable life formed, crawling things
emerged from vegetable life and animals from them. Man grew
and lifted out from the form of lower a