"They were so furious with Galileo for trying to tell them the truth that they cast him in prison. When he showed them how the moons of Jupiter travelled around it in an orbit, just as the moon went around the earth, people began to think seriously of his statements. Some said Galileo was a magician and had bewitched his telescope, or else had bewitched his followers. After a time, however, they were forced to admit that he was right, and since then every one reveres the name of Galileo as that of a wonderful astronomer."
"I'd like to find Mars! Please don't any one else take it 'cause I was born under that planet!" said Zan, during the period of silence that followed Miss Miller's talk.
"Oh, no, Zan, you were not born under any planet! You surely have not mentioned such foolish ideas to your father, have you?" cried Miss Miller, surprised at the girl's statement.
"Why, no, I never gave it a thought, except what I heard read from a New York paper. They print horoscopes and tell about governing planets and signs of the zodiac. Is it foolish?"
"I should say it was! I know that a certain newspaper, so-called, makes a circulation-booster of a section devoted to the study called astrology, for silly folks to read and worry over. It seems all wrong to me for any one to waste a thought on such trivial things when profounder studies are right at hand awaiting our choice. It is true that according to certain laws of gravitation and natural law, the tides of the ocean are affected by the moon and planets, and farmers plant crops at certain seasons of the zodiac, but to lay claim to a star or planet having power or intelligence to control our lives and future acts, is to become a necromancer. As you can read in the first Book of the Bible, God made all things and he gave man all dominion over all created things. Man, as His child, was given power and intelligence like unto God, made in His image and likeness, and nowhere in the Bible can you read where He refuted that government and dominion! We still have power over stars and planets, and I, for one, refuse to be domineered by a light, shining millions of miles away from me. What kind of a guardian do you suppose that planet would make?"
"Then why do folks call Mars the Planet of War, and say that it is always a blood-red for a long time before a war or national strife occurs?" asked Zan.
"No one really knows that Mars is more war-like in its office than Venus or Jupiter. But I will not tell you more of Mars until Zan has found him and told us what she knows," said Miss Miller.
"I see Mars—but Zan wants the privilege," said Nita, in a whisper.
"Oh, no, Nita; if you've found him first, you have prior claim. I'll go on star-gazing and find something new!" said Zan.