But a new method of defining its disc was presently afforded me.

I was, in fact, when looking through the lower window, in the same position as regards the Earth as would be an inhabitant of the lunar hemisphere turned towards her, having no external atmosphere interposed between us, but being at about two-thirds of the lunar distance.

And as, during an eclipse, the Lunarian would see round the Earth a halo created by the refraction of the Sun's rays in the terrestrial atmosphere--a halo bright enough on most occasions so to illuminate the Moon as to render her visible to us--so to my eyes the Earth was surrounded by a halo somewhat resembling the solar corona as seen in eclipses, if not nearly so brilliant, but, unlike the solar corona, coloured, with a preponderance of red so decided as fully to account for the peculiar hue of the eclipsed Moon.

To paint this, unless means of painting light--the one great deficiency which is still the opprobrium of human art--were discovered, would task to the uttermost the powers of the ablest artist, and at best he could give but a very imperfect notion of it.

To describe it so that its beauty, brilliancy, and wondrous nature shall be in the slightest degree appreciated by my readers would require a command of words such as no poet since Homer--nay, not Homer himself--possessed.