PHILOSOPHY. 91

‘Yes, it was much lighter than it had been,
but it was not as light as it is at noon.”

“No,” said Robert; “I only meant it was
broad daylight.”

“Tt was much lighter than it was in the night,
I have no doubt,” said Lucy’s mother; “so
light, in fact, that you could not see the other
stars. But this looks brighter than any other
stars.”

“ Why?” asked Lucy.

“ One reason is,” replied her mother, “ because
it is nearer to us; and another reason is, that it is
very near the sun, and so is strongly illuminated
by his rays.”

“ But you said that the sun was not up,”

“No; but still he was where he coulg shine
on Venus.”

“ Venus?” repeated Lucy..

“ Yes,” replied her mother; “that’s the name
of it. It is very bright. It looks like a little
moon when you look at it through a telescope.”

“ Does it?” said Lucy. “How big does it
took ?”

“That depends upon the power of the tele-
scope,” replied her mother.

“I mean to.get up to-morrow morning, and see
it,” said Lucy. .