noon
From this delicate subject he glanced off to certain general considerations suggested by the extraordinary history he had been reading . He began by speculating as to the possibility of the personal presence of an individual making itself perceived by some channel other than any of the five senses . The study of the natural sciences teaches those who are devoted to them that the most insignificant facts may lead the way to the discovery of the most important , all-pervading laws of the universe . From the kick of a frog 's hind leg to the amazing triumphs which began with that seemingly trivial incident is a long , a very long stride if Madam Galvani had not been in delicate health , which was the occasion of her having some frog-broth prepared for her , the world of to-day might not be in possession of the electric telegraph and the light which blazes like the sun at high noon . A common-looking occurrence , one seemingly unimportant , which had hitherto passed unnoticed with the ordinary course of things , was the means of introducing us to a new and vast realm of closely related phenomena . It was like a key that we might have picked up , looking so simple that it could hardly fit any lock but one of like simplicity , but which should all at once throw back the bolts of the one lock which had defied the most ingenious of our complex implements and open our way into a hitherto unexplored territory . It certainly was not through the eye alone that Maurice felt the paralyzing influence .