arth, and forms these
cometic meteors. But how these meteors come to describe orbits round the
sun, and to become capable of having their returns predicted, is not
explained.

A NEW PHASE OF MORMONISM.

The Mormon, New York, Saturday, Oct. 27, 1855.

A newspaper headed by a grand picture of starred and striped banners,
beehive, and eagle surmounting it. A scroll on each side: on the left,
"Mormon creed. Mind your own business. Brigham Young;"[149] on the right,
"Given by inspiration of God. Joseph Smith."[150] A leading article on the
discoveries of Prof. Orson Pratt[151] says, "Mormonism has long taken the
lead in religion: it will soon be in the van both in science and politics."
At the beginning of the paper is Professor Pratt's "Law of Planetary
Rotation." The cube roots of the densities of the planets are as the square
roots of their periods of rotation. The squares of the cube roots of the
masses divided by the squares of the diameters are as the periods of
rotation. Arithmetical verification attempted, and the whole very modestly
stated {70} and commented on. Dated G. S. L. City, Utah Ter., Aug. 1, 1855.
If the creed, as above, be correctly given, no wonder the Mormonites are in
such bad odor.

MATHEMATICAL ILLUSTRATIONS OF DOCTRINE.

The two estates; or both worlds mathematically considered. London,
1855, small (pp. 16).

The author has published mathematical works with his name. The present
tract is intended to illustrate mathematically a point which may be guessed
from the title. But the symbols do very little in the way of illustration:
thus, x being the _present value_ of the future estate (eternal happiness),
and a of all that this world can give, the author impresses it on the
mathematician that, x being infinitely greater than a, x + a = x, so that a
need not be considered. This will not act much more powerfully on a
mathematician by virtue of the symbols than if those same symbols had been
dispensed with: even though, as the author adds, "It was this method of
neglecting infinitely small quantities that Sir Isaac Newton was indebted
to for his greatest discoveries."

There has been a moderate quantity of well-meant attempt to enforce,
sometimes motive, sometimes doctrine, by arguments drawn from mathematics,
the proponents being persons unskilled in that science for the most part.
The ground is very dangerous: for the illustration often turns the other
way with greater power,