The Fairy-Land of Science
Arabella B. Buckley
Lecture I The Fairy-Land of Science; How to Enter It;
How to Use It; And How to Enjoy It
Lecture II Sunbeams, and the Work They Do
Lecture III The Aerial Ocean in Which We Live
Lecture IV A Drop of Water on its Travels
Lecture V The Two Great Sculptors - Water and Ice
Lecture VI The Voices of Nature, and How We Hear Them
Lecture VII The Life of a Primrose
Lecture VIII The History of a Piece of Coal
Lecture IX Bees in the Hive
Lecture X Bees and Flowers
Week 1
I HAVE promised to introduce you today to the fairy-land ofscience - a somewhat bold promise, seeing that most of youprobably look upon science as a bundle of dry facts, while fairy-land is all that is beautiful, and full of poetry andimagination. But I thoroughly believe myself, and hope to proveto you, that science is full of beautiful pictures, of realpoetry, and of wonder-working fairies; and what is more, Ipromise you they shall be true fairies, whom you will love justas much when you are old and greyheaded as when you are young;for you will be able to call them up wherever you wander by landor by sea, through meadow or through wood, through water orthrough air; and though they themselves will always remaininvisible, yet you will see their wonderful poet at workeverywhere around you.
Let us first see for a moment what kind of tales science has totell, and how far they are equal to the old fairy tales we allknow so well. Who does not remember the tale of the "SleepingBeauty in the Wood," and how under the spell of the angry fairythe maiden pricked herself with the spindle and slept a hundredyears? How the horses in the stall, the dogs in the court-yard,the doves on the roof, the cook who was boxing the scullery boy'sears in the kitchen, and the king and queen with all theircourtiers in the hall remained spell-bound, while a thick hedgegrew up all round the castle and all within was still as death.But when the hundred years had passed the valiant prince came,the thorny hedge opened before him bearing beautiful flowers; andhe, entering the castle, reached the room where the princess lay,and with one sweet kiss raised her and all around her to lifeagain.
Can science bring any tale to match this?
Tell me, is there anything in this world more busy and activethan water, as it rushes along in the swift brook, or dashes overthe stones, or spouts up in the fountain, or trickles down fromthe roof, or shakes itself into ripples on the surface of thepond as the wind blows over it? But have you never seen thiswater spell-bound and motionless? Look out of the window somecold frosty morning in winter, at the little brook whichyesterday was flowing gently past the house, and see how still itlies, with the stones over which it was dashing now held tightlyin its icy grasp. Notice the wind-ripples on the pond; they havebecome fixed and motionless. Look up at the roof of the house.There, instead of living doves merely charmed to sleep, we haverunning water caught in the very act of falling and turned intotransparent icicles, decorating the eaves with a beautifulcrystal fringe. On every tree and bush you will catch the water-drops napping, in the form of tiny crystals; while the fountainlooks like a tree of glass with long down-hanging pointed leaves.Even the damp of your own breath lies rigid and still on thewindow-pane frozen into delicate pa