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Blackmore；　shrugged　their　shoulders　mysteriously；　and　said；　〃Poor　

fellow！〃　till　they　opened　the　book　itself；　and　discovered　to　their　

surprise　that　it　read　like　any　novel。　　And　then　came　a　burst　of　

confused；　but　honest　admiration；　from　the　young　squire's　〃Bless　me！　

who　would　have　thought　that　there　were　so　many　wonderful　things　to　

be　seen　in　one's　own　park！〃　to　the　old　squire's　more　morally　

valuable　〃Bless　me！　why；　I　have　seen　that　and　that　a　hundred　times；　

and　never　thought　till　now　how　wonderful　they　were！〃



There　were　great　excuses；　though；　of　old；　for　the　contempt　in　which　

the　naturalist　was　held；　great　excuses　for　the　pitying　tone　of　

banter　with　which　the　Spectator　talks　of　〃the　ingenious〃　Don　

Saltero　（as　no　doubt　the　Neapolitan　gentleman　talked　of　Ferrante　

Imperato　the　apothecary；　and　his　museum）；　great　excuses　for　

Voltaire；　when　he　classes　the　collection　of　butterflies　among　the　

other　〃bizarreries　de　l'esprit　humain。〃　　For；　in　the　last　

generation；　the　needs　of　the　world　were　different。　　It　had　no　time　

for　butterflies　and　fossils。　　While　Buonaparte　was　hovering　on　the　

Boulogne　coast；　the　pursuits　and　the　education　which　were　needed　

were　such　as　would　raise　up　men　to　fight　him；　so　the　coarse；　

fierce；　hard…handed　training　of　our　grandfathers　came　when　it　was　

wanted；　and　did　the　work　which　was　required　of　it；　else　we　had　not　

been　here　now。　　Let　us　be　thankful　that　we　have　had　leisure　for　

science；　and　show　now　in　war　that　our　science　has　at　least　not　

unmanned　us。



Moreover；　Natural　History；　if　not　fifty　years　ago；　certainly　a　

hundred　years　ago；　was　hardly　worthy　of　men　of　practical　common　

sense。　　After；　indeed；　Linne；　by　his　invention　of　generic　and　

specific　names；　had　made　classification　possible；　and　by　his　own　

enormous　labours　had　shown　how　much　could　be　done　when　once　a　

method　was　established；　the　science　has　grown　rapidly　enough。　　But　

before　him　little　or　nothing　had　been　put　into　form　definite　enough　

to　allure　those　who　（as　the　many　always　will）　prefer　to　profit　by　

others'　discoveries；　than　to　discover　for　themselves；　and　Natural　

History　was　attractive　only　to　a　few　earnest　seekers；　who　found　too　

much　trouble　in　disencumbering　their　own　minds　of　the　dreams　of　

bygone　generations　（whether　facts；　like　cockatrices；　basilisks；　and　

krakens；　the　breeding　of　bees　out　of　a　dead　ox；　and　of　geese　from　

barnacles；　or　theories；　like　those　of　elements；　the　VIS　PLASTRIX　in　

Nature；　animal　spirits；　and　the　other　musty　heirlooms　of　

Aristotleism　and　Neo…platonism）；　to　try　to　make　a　science　popular；　

which　as　yet　was　not　even　a　science　at　all。　　Honour　to　them；　

nevertheless。　　Honour　to　Ray　and　his　illustrious　contemporaries　in　

Holland　and　France。　　Honour　to　Seba　and　Aldrovandus；　to　Pomet；　with　

his　〃Historie　of　Drugges；〃　even　to　the　ingenious　Don　Saltero；　and　

his　tavern…museum　in　Cheyne　Walk。　　Where　all　was　chaos；　every　man　

was　useful　who　could　contribute　a　single　spot　of　organized　standing　

ground　in　the　shape　of　a　fact　or　a　specimen。　　But　it　is　a　question　

whether　Natural　History　would　have　ever　attained　its　present　

honours；　had　not　Geology　arisen；　to　connect　every　other　branch　of　

Natural　History　with　problems　as　vast　and　awful　as　they　are　

captivating　to　the　imagination。　　Nay；　the　very　opposition　with　

which　Geology　met　was　of　as　great　benefit　to　the　sister　sciences　as　

to　itself。　　For；　when　questions　belonging　to　the　most　sacred　

hereditary　beliefs　of　Christendom　were　supposed　to　be　affected　by　

the　verification　of　a　fossil　shell；　or　the　proving　that　the　

Maestricht　〃homo　diluvii　testis〃　was；　after　all；　a　monstrous　eft；　

it　became　necessary　to　work　upon　Conchology；　Botany；　and　

Comparative　Anatomy；　with　a　care　and　a　reverence；　a　caution　and　a　

severe　induction；　which　had　been　never　before　applied　to　them；　and　

thus　gradually；　in　the　last　half…century；　the　whole　choir　of　

cosmical　sciences　have　acquired　a　soundness；　severity；　and　fulness；　

which　render　them；　as　mere　intellectual　exercises；　as　valuable　to　a　

manly　mind　as　Mathematics　and　Metaphysics。



But　how　very　lately　have　they　attained　that　firm　and　honourable　

standing　ground！　　It　is　a　question　whether；　even　twenty　years　ago；　

Geology；　as　it　then　stood；　was　worth　troubling　one's　head　about；　so　

little　had　been　really　proved。　　And　heavy　and　uphill　was　the　work；　

even　within　the　last　fifteen　years；　of　those　who　stedfastly　set　

themselves　to　the　task　of　proving　and　of　asserting　at　all　risks；　

that　the　Maker　of　the　coal　seam　and　the　diluvial　cave　could　not　be　

a　〃Deus　quidam　deceptor；〃　and　that　the　facts　which　the　rock　and　the　

silt　revealed　were　sacred；　not　to　be　warped　or　trifled　with　for　the　

sake　of　any　cowardly　and　hasty　notion　that　they　contradicted　His　

other　messages。　　When　a　few　more　years　are　past；　Buckland　and　

Sedgwick；　Murchison　and　Lyell；　Delab坈he　and　Phillips；　Forbes　and　

Jamieson；　and　the　group　of　brave　men　who　accompanied　and　followed　

them；　will　be　looked　back　to　as　moral　benefactors　of　their　race；　

and　almost　as　martyrs；　also；　when　it　is　remembered　how　much　

misunderstanding；　obloquy；　and　plausible　folly　they　had　to　endure　

from　well…meaning　fanatics　like　Fairholme　or　Granville　Penn；　and　

the　respectable　mob　at　their　heels　who　tried　（as　is　the　fashion　in　

such　cases）　to　make　a　hollow　compromise　between　fact　and　the　Bible；　

by　twisting　facts　just　enough　to　make　them　fit　the　fancied　meaning　

of　the　Bible；　and　the　Bible　just　enough　to　make　it　fit　the　fancied　

meaning　of　the　facts。　　But　there　were　a　few　who　would　have　no　

compromise；　who　laboured　on　with　a　noble　recklessness；　determined　

to　speak　the　thing　which　they　had　seen；　and　neither　more　nor　less；　

sure　that　God　could　take　better　care　than　they　of　His　own　

everlasting　truth。　　And　now　they　have　conquered：　　the　facts　which　

were　twenty　years　ago　denounced　as　contrary　to　Revelation；　are　at　

last　accepted　not　merely　as　consonant　with；　but　as　corroborative　

thereof；　and　sound　practical　geologists　…　like　Hugh　Miller；　in　his　

〃Footprints　of　the　Creator；〃　and　Professor　Sedgwick；　in　the　

invaluable　notes　to　his　〃Discourse　on　the　Studies　of　Cambridge〃　…　

have　wielded　in　defence　of　Christianity　the　very　science　which　was　

faithlessly　and　cowardly　expected　to　subvert　it。



But　if　you　seek；　reader；　rather　for　pleasure　than　for　wisdom；　you　

can　find　it　in　such　studies；　pure　and　undefiled。



Happy；　truly；　is　the　naturalist。　　He　has　no　time　for　melancholy　

dreams。　　The　earth　becomes　to　him　transparent；　everywhere　he　sees　

significancies；　harmonies；　laws；　chains　of　cause　and　effect　

endlessly　interlinked；　which　draw　him　out　of　the　narrow　sphere　of　

self…interest　and　self…pleasing；　into　a　pure　and　wholesome　region　

of　solemn　joy　and　wonder。　　He　goes　up　some　Snowdon　valley；　to　him　

it　is　a　solemn　spot　（though　unnoticed　by　his　companions）；　where　the　

stag's…horn　clubmoss　ceases　to　straggle　across　the　turf；　and　the　

tufted　alpine　clubmoss　takes　its　place：　　for　he　is　now　in　a　new　

world；　a　region　whose　climate　is　eternally　influenced　by　some　fresh　

law　（after　which　he　vainly　guesses　with　a　sigh　at　his　own　

ignorance）；　which　renders　life　impossible　to　one　species；　possible　

to　another。　　And　it　is　a　still　more　solemn　thought　to　him；　that　it　

was　not　always　so；　that　aeons　and　ages　back；　that　rock　which　he　

passed　a　thousand　feet　below　was　fringed；　not　as　now　with　fern　and　

blue　bugle；　and　white　bramble…flowers；　but　perhaps　with　the　alp…

rose　and　the　〃gemsen…kraut〃　of　Mont　Blanc；　at　least　with　Alpine　

Saxifrages　which　have　now　retreated　a　thousand　feet　up　the　mountain　

side；　and　with　the　blue　Snow…Gentian；　and　the　Canadian　Sedum；　which　

have　all　but　vanished　out　of　the　British　Isles。　　And　what　is　it　

which　tells　him　that　strange　story？　　Yon　smooth　and　rounded　surface　

of　rock；　polished；　remark；　across　the　strata　and　against　the　grain；　

and　furrowed　here　and　there；　as　if　by　iron　talons；　with　long　

parallel　scratches。　　It　was　the　crawling　of　a　glacier　which　

polished　that　rock…face；　the　stones　fallen　from　Snowdon　peak　into　

the　half…liquid　lake　of　ice　above；　which　ploughed　those　furrows。　　

AEons　and　aeons　ago；　before　the　time　when　Adam　first





〃Embraced　his　Eve　in　happy　hour；

And　every　bird　in　Eden　burst

In　carol；　every　bud　in　flower；〃





those　marks　were　there；　the　records　of　the　〃Age　of　ice；〃　slight；　

truly；　to　be　effaced　by　the　next　farmer　who　needs　to　build　a　wall；　

but　unmistakeable；　boundless　in　significance；　like　Crusoe's　one　

savage　footprint　on　the　sea…shore；　and　the　naturalist　acknowledges　

the　finger…mark　of　God；　and　wonders；　and　worships。



Happy；　especially；　is　the　sportsman　who　is　also　a　naturalist：　　for　

as　he　roves　in　pursuit　of　his　game；　over　hills　or　up　the　beds　of　

streams　where　no　one　but　a　sportsman　ever　thinks　of　going；　he　will　

be　certain　to　see　things　noteworthy；　which　the　mere　naturalist　

would　never　find；　simply　because　he　could　never　guess　that　they　

wer