nly 1/1000 part of the whole, and these infinitesimal parts he has
called corpuscles, which he considers are the carriers of the electric
current.

If, therefore, it can be philosophically proved that the hypothesis of
an atomic, gravitating, and condensing Aether can satisfactorily account
for the physical existence of all atoms, and therefore of all matter,
the dream of old-world philosophers will be helped on its way to a
successful realization.

We have already suggested, that nebulae are formed out of the
condensation of the electro-magnetic Aether that fills the Universe; and
as that nebula, according to the Nebular Hypothesis, ultimately resolves
itself into a sun, or planet, or satellite, as the case may be, it
follows that the condensation of this electro-magnetic Aether forms the
basis of all the various elements, as Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen and the
other seventy elements of which those bodies are composed. Thus the
conclusion that we are compelled to come to in regard to the ultimate
nature of matter, in its primordial condition, is, that all matter which
exists in its varied forms throughout the entire Universe finds its
physical origin and source in the universal electro-magnetic Aether,
which is itself atomic, and possesses all the essential properties of
matter.

With the conception of the Aether as advanced in this work, this
hypothesis is perfectly philosophical and logical. For the conception is
simple, in that it supposes one form of matter to spring out of another
form, that is, from an aetherial form to gaseous, in a similar manner to
that in which a gaseous form changes into a liquid form, that is, by
condensation, or a closer drawing together of the aetherial elastic
envelopes that surround each atom; each particular gas, as Hydrogen,
Nitrogen, or Oxygen, representing different quantities of aetherial
condensations, as will be seen in the next article.

The aetherial constitution of matter has received recognition from the
hands of such scientists as Lord Kelvin and Dr. Larmor. The latter, in
his _Aether and Matter_, writes on the subject as follows (page 7):
"Matter must be constituted of isolated portions, each of which is of
necessity a permanent nucleus or singularity in and belonging to the
Aether, of some such type as is represented for example by a minute
vortex ring in a perfect fluid, or a centre of permanent strain in a
rotational elastic medium." And again on the same page he adds