sky, discerns in its starry expanse only a spangled canopy stretched for a covering over his head; or bending down to the grassy sod sees only a green carpet spread for his feet; and well we wonder that his eye can wander over such speaking oracles of Creation's power, unaroused to some accordant influences. But not less strange is it that civilized men, with intellects trained to a far-piercing mental sight, should, nevertheless, live the inhabitants of a terrestrial sphere so wonderfully framed and endowed, and yet remain insensible, as so many do, to the antique marvels of his own loved dwelling-place. What, in very truth, is this terrestrial abode he now, in his course, inherits? It is the repository of exhaustless mysteries; the chronicled archive of unnumbered epochs; the sepulchre of an infinite series of by-gone beings; the antique storehouse of long-elaborated appliances for human uses-displaying in its vast mysterious whole the noblest sanctuary yet opened to our view of the Almighty's goodness, and of His unsearchable skill. We lose much indeed of benefit and blessing, accessible to all, by this strange oversight of the wonderful matters abounding in this earthy globe we live on-yes, much is lost, that might expand our conceptions, and lead our thoughts heavenward, would we but read the records of former economies of the world on every rock we pass, and trace on every fossil relique our hands may

touch the sculptured memorials of long passed away creations of beings

The just Creator condescends to write

In beams of unextinguishable light,

His names of Wisdom, Goodness, Power, and Love,
On all that blooms below, or shines above;

To catch the wondering notice of mankind,
And teach the world, if not perversely blind,
His gracious attributes.

It is

True it is indeed, that this strange, rich page in Nature's chronicles, has only recently been laid open, in any discernible manner, to our observation. but in late years that the researches of science have been directed so to penetrate into the buried records of the Earth, as to display the added testimony its monuments of deep antiquity yield to the great Creator's power. At no long distant period those terrestrial phenomena were only very dimly shadowed out, which, it has been reserved for investigators of the present day, to have clearly revealed to their view.

There is something singularly indicative of a peculiarity in the action of Divine Providence, in this gradual development only, which seems permitted, of the traces of the Creator's footsteps through His universe. One age has unfolded to it one extraordinary revelation of His creative wisdom, and to another age a farther advancing display of what He has done, is vouchsafed: each progressive manifestation more and more evidencing a unity of design

throughout all, and a simplicity of action in all, which bespeak one grand efficient First Cause as the ever-living, ever-actuating source of the whole stupendous plan. Now it would seem to have been the purpose of Divine Providence, in these His dealings with mankind, that each succeeding period of the world should have the Almightiness of Divine agency in some particular field of Nature specially unveiled to its view-tending thus as generation follows generation to keep the intellectual powers, in adoring amazement always awake by these fresh insights, ever and anon, to each age opened, into the arcana of God's workmanship in the universe. At one time we see the human mind taking a widening sweep over the regions of space, and bringing down the starry worlds, as it were, to the very earth, opening new springs for adoring intelligence in the wonders of Astronomy. At a succeeding time we see the hand of scientific research penetrating into the very minutiæ of Nature's mysteries, and by the combinations of elementary things entering through the operations of Chymistry almost into the laboratory itself of the world's primal constituents. At another time we see investigation bringing to light the hidden springs and working of the human frame, and by the revelations of Physiology evidencing the beautiful laws that govern and sustain all animal economies. At a more recent period, that sphere of Nature's ope

rations more particularly in course of development, may be said to be, the exhumed wonders of an Archaic Earth, with all its long-revolving series of past economies, and its continuous successions of sentient creations, as revealed by the researches of modern Geology. This branch of Natural Science in its very infancy was in aspect, a giant, from the almost supernatural amplitude of its vast pretensions; indeed, it drew forth to light, at once, from the secrecies of nature, more objects of startling novelty, more subjects of mysterious wonder, than had ever before, at one step, been adduced, by any prior investigation of her hidden sanctuaries. For while Astronomy, penetrating into the illimitable regions of Space, had brought back to us wondrous intelligence of other worlds upon worlds, revolving there besides our own, Geology, on the other hand, penetrated into the illimitable regions of Time, and thence brought back intelligence of multitudinous worlds having evolved through unmeasured epochs on our little globe-the theatre, as she disclosed it to be, of unnumbered distinct races of living beings, during immensely distant periods, and pointing to the successive revolutions, and the accumulated reliques of these ancient systems, she thence revealed the source of that deep crust of the Earth, thus long, in bygone ages, elaborated for our present human abode. Men had previously, from a long study of the starry heavens, some slight

glimmerings of the newly-revealed celestial economies, and hence the discoveries modern Astronomy unfolded were received with wonderment indeed, but not with a general repugnance.—But it was altogether different with the more recent terrestrial discoveries of modern Geology. No conception of the marvellous facts thereby disclosed had, in aforetime, been entertained; an entirely new field of vision burst at once upon the human mind; that which just before had been conceived of only as a confused amorphous mass of rock, unyielding in usefulness, save as materials for our own proud habitations, was, in an instant, found teeming with reliques of living creatures, and possessing a regular organization, and successive periods of evolution, which, by their vastness, reduced to very nothingness in comparison our own tiny existences. Where before, therefore, was chaos, light sprung forth: it was like opening all at once an illumined chamber to a previously darkened eye; the mind was confused; the senses shocked! men stood amazed to be, in an instant, called to admit as indubitable truths certain advanced facts and inferences at variance with their preconceived notions of things. Especially the Christian stood in awe, in doubt, in oppugnance, when such new and astounding demands were made upon his belief, and so many changes required in his interpretations of things, by these new researches of Science. For, necessarily it