the perforations of the outer envelopes? Or may we still regard the body as comparatively dark, while the photosphere underlying the red stratum is to be regarded as an opaque, liquid substance, comporting itself, as to radiation, like a solid body? Is the red stratum, with its rose-coloured prominences, or the corona above it, the region of the gaseous atmosphere in which the various substances are diffused? The luminous envelope can no longer be regarded as a gaseous body, but then the phenomena which it presents are altogether inconsistent with the supposition that it is solid. Neither does the idea of continuous liquidity furnish a satisfactory solution. But does not the analogy of other parts of the solar system furnish a clue? If we suppose it to consist of discrete meteoric matter, as in the case of Saturn's rings, the principal phenomena will receive an adequate explanation. The condition of solidity is satisfied, and the porous structure is accounted for. The zones of meteoric matter round the sun, the limits of the mass of which have been determined by Levenier, indicate the sources from which it is fed. The visible envelope of Saturn has probably a similar constitution, and if incandescent, as it probably once was, would, with his rings, present a complete analogue to the photosphere of the sun and his encircling zones. These unsettled questions shew, that our theories regarding the constitution of the sun have been
