"How wonderful it all is!" said Lawrence, as
they stood on the platform, waiting for the train.
"It is truly wonderful," replied the Doctor.
"When we consider the many uses to which glass is applied, its
cheapness, it purity, its beauty, we find that it possesses the
valuable qualities of nearly all the metals;-- incorruptible as
gold, clear as silver, useful as iron, what would our houses be
without it? It keeps the cold out, it lets the light in. We drink
out of it, and we see ourselves in it. Besides fulfilling a
thousand common and domestic uses, it is made into gems that rival
the brilliancy of the diamond, and into lenses which give new realms
to human vision. It restores eyesight to the aged, and remedies the
defective eyesight of the young. It magnifies objects invisible to
the naked eye, so that they can be distinctly seen and studied; and
it brings the heavens near. To it we owe our intimate acquaintance
with the stars. The telescope is the father of modern astronomy,
and the soul of the telescope is glass."
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