ch like Mercury in his
transits.

March 22, 1876--

But to point out Leverrier's poverty-stricken average--or discovering
planets upon a fifty per cent. basis--would be to point out the low
percentage of realness in the quasi-myth-stuff of which the whole system
is composed. We do not accuse the text-books of omitting this fiasco,
but we do note that theirs is the conventional adaptation here of all
beguilers who are in difficulties--

The diverting of attention.

It wouldn't be possible in a real existence, with real mentality, to
deal with, but I suppose it's good enough for the quasi-intellects that
stupefy themselves with text-books. The trick here is to gloss over
Leverrier's mistake, and blame Lescarbault--he was only an amateur--had
delusions. The reader's attention is led against Lescarbault by a report
from M. Lias, director of the Brazilian Coast Survey, who, at the time
of Lescarbault's "supposed" observation had been watching the sun in
Brazil, and, instead of seeing even ordinary sun spots, had noted that
the region of the "supposed transit" was of "uniform intensity."

But the meaninglessness of all utterances in quasi-existence--

"Uniform intensity" turns our way as much as against us--or some day
some brain will conceive a way of beating Newton's third law--if every
reaction, or resistance, is, or can be, interpretable as stimulus
instead of resistance--if this could be done in mechanics, there's a way
open here for someone to own the world--specifically in this matter,
"uniform intensity" means that Lescarbault saw no ordinary sun spot,
just as much as it means that no spot at all was seen upon the sun.
Continuing the interpretation of a resistance as an assistance, which
can always be done with mental forces--making us wonder what
applications could be made with steam and electric forces--we point out
that invisibility in Brazil means parallax quite as truly as it means
absence, and, inasmuch as "Vulcan" was supposed to be distant from the
sun, we interpret denial as corroboration--method of course of every
scientist, politician, theologian, high-school debater.

So the text-books, with no especial cleverness, because no especial
cleverness is needed, lead the reader into contempt for the amateur of
Orgeres, and forgetfulness of Leverrier--and some other subject is taken
up.

But our own acceptance:

That these data are as good as ever they were;

That, if someone of eminence should predi