If however the Reader will take the trouble to refer to the passage
in which Recognition by Feeling is stated to be universal,
he will find this qualification--"among the lower classes."
It is only among the higher classes and in our more temperate
climates that Sight Recognition is practised.
That this power exists in any regions and for any classes is the result
of Fog; which prevails during the greater part of the year in all parts
save the torrid zones. That which is with you in Spaceland an unmixed evil,
blotting out the landscape, depressing the spirits, and enfeebling the health,
is by us recognized as a blessing scarcely inferior to air itself, and as the
Nurse of arts and Parent of sciences. But let me explain my meaning,
without further eulogies on this beneficent Element.
If Fog were non-existent, all lines would appear equally
and indistinguishably clear; and this is actually the case
in those unhappy countries in which the atmosphere is perfectly
dry and transparent. But wherever there is a rich supply of Fog,
objects that are at a distance, say of three feet, are appreciably
dimmer than those at the distance of two feet eleven inches; and the
result is that by careful and constant experimental observation
of comparative dimness and clearness, we are enabled to infer
with great exactness the configuration of the object observed.
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