Of the Rodenta, or Gnawers, the remains of several genera have been discovered in a fossil state, such as the Hare, Mouse, Water-Rat, and Beaver. The same is true of the Carnivora, including the Bear, Tiger, Lion, Hyena, Cat, and Dog; and it is worthy of remark, that the remains of these two classes of mammals principally occur, confusedly mingled together, in the gravel-beds and caverns of the Diluvium, a stratum bearing marks, over the whole of Northern Europe and America, of having been formed by a violent rush of waters from the north, closing the long and tranquil reign of the Tertiary epoch. The fossil relics of Marsupials, which are now mainly confined to New Holland, and wholly to warm latitudes, are found in the deposits of the upper Secondary and Tertiary pe. riods, as far north as France and England; thus indicating a reduction of temperature since this class of animals inhabited these latter countries. But notwithstanding the success of geological research in restoring the fossil history of all these classes of quadrupeds, no remains of Quadrumana, comprising the monkey and ape tribes, were brought to light, until within a few years. They have at length been discovered in France, England, India and Brazil, though not in large numbers. Several species have been made out, all of which, with perhaps a single exception, are ascribed to races now extinct. Some of them are ascertained to have been exceedingly large, measuring four feet in height. The remains of this class are found in the lower Tertiary strata, and they were therefore contemporaneous with the more colossal quadrupeds which we have seen to have been inhabitants of the globe during that epoch.

But where, it will be asked, was Man during the long periods into which we have penetrated, and whose chronology has been kept upon the exhumed relics we have described? The answer is, he was not! he had not yet been introduced upon the face of the earth. In the coun

sels of the Divine Mind, he existed from before the foundation of the world, but his palace was not yet ready! Up to this period, all had been a series of preparation and developement, fitting the globe, by a benevolent succession of revolutions, for his residence and subsistence; in due time, the divine mandate goes forth, and he appears!

We are obliged to ascend a step above the age of the Diluvium, below which we have seen the remains of so many forms of organic life, before we can detect any traces of his existence, either in the relics of his frame, or in the works of his hands. It is only in the superficial deposits of the Alluvium or Modern epoch, that his remains have been discovered, and in these deposits never in a fossil state, at least never in the solid materials the rocky masses in which are entombed the remains of other races of organic beings. The fossil history of the genus Homo remains to be written; it is an order of animated nature which has but just commenced, as it were, its existence. "Man must be regarded by the geologist as a creature of yesterday, not merely in reference to the past history of the organic world, but also in relation to that particular state of the animate creation of which he forms a part;" is the language of the most profound living expositor of this science. "I need not dwell on the proofs of the low antiquity of our species, for it is not controverted by any experienced geologist; indeed, the real difficulty consists in tracing back the signs of man's existence on the earth to that comparatively modern period when species, now his contemporaries, began greatly to predominate." "" 19

19 Lyell, Principles of Geology, i. 249, 282. It is worthy of notice how completely all attempts have failed to prove, from discovered organic remains, that man has existed on the earth as long as the other beings whose remains are found in and below the deposits of the Diluvium. About half a century ago, great excitement was occasioned by the discovery, in Germany, of a set of fossil bones which were thought to be those of a human being. Under the inspection of Cuvier, they proved to be the relics of a large salamander. But the most remarkable case was the discovery of human skeletons in a limestone rock on the shores of Guadaloupe. On being examined by scientific men, however, this limestone was determined to be a hardened concretion of sand, lime and shells of a very recent formation, containing the remains of animals at present existing in the vicinity of Guadaloupe, and is classed by all geologists with the Alluvial deposits. About a year since, much curiosity was excited by the announcement of the discovery, in one of the Western States, of the bones of a fossil human giant, in connection with the remains of the enormous animals of the Tertiary epoch, measuring upwards of thirty feet in height! On a scientific examination, they have turned out to be the bones of a young

mastodon!

Availing ourselves of the materials furnished us in the labors of the most distinguished cultivators of this new field of science, we have thus presented, as fully as our limits would permit, a view of the results which have been reached by geological research, in counting the strata of the earth, and in classifying the fossils which they are found to contain. That the facts and discoveries, here brought together, are sufficient to enable us to read the entire annals of the earth and of its inhabitants, is not pretended; but no one who duly considers by what painstaking labor and through what severe methods of induction these results have been attained, will be disposed to treat them with neglect, much less with contempt; while, to him who has joined to this knowledge a diligent study of the phenomena of nature, they will furnish the not incredible means of restoring, by enlightened inference, the principal features in the past history of that part of the universe which he is permitted to inhabit. Could we carry ourselves back to the time of her origin, we should probably first meet the earth in a nebulous and perhaps igneous state, just beginning to rotate upon her newlymade axis, and accustoming herself gracefully to move in her appointed orbit. It is probable, too, that she remained unproductive for quite a long period after she began to dance her mazy round with her sisters of the heavens, owing to her immaturity and the undeveloped state of her productive powers. But, in due time, through the influ ence of "the Spirit" that "moved upon the face of the deep," she brings forth the waters, the land, the air, teem with myriad and joyous forms of existence. For a while, at least for the most part, they are more simple in their organization, and at the same time larger in size, than those which appear at a later date; yet, considering the theatre into which they were born, and the objects of their being, all were equally perfect, each having a definite and benev olent part to fulfil in the system of organic nature. On account of the prevalence of a higher temperature in the early ages, the earth was not adapted to the support of the more complex forms which were subsequently introduced; and it was the manifest design of the Creator, without whom there is neither law nor purpose in the universe, by the introduction of different and successive orders of vege

table and animal existence, each with a higher organization, as the earth and its soil became capable of yielding them support, gradually to prepare it for the residence, not only of sentient, but of intellectual and moral beings, a period which it actually reached about six thousand years since, when our own race appeared upon its fair and fertile bosom, endued with the sublime consciousness of being delegated with a rightful "dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the beasts of the field, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."

M. S.

ART. XX.

Crown of Thorns.

The Crown of Thorns: A Token for the Sorrowing. By Edwin A. Chapin. Boston: Published by A. Tompkins. 1847.

THE value of this book is not to be estimated by the unpretending form in which it is given to the world. From the miniature size and the type, we presume it is intended to be, what it truly is, a companion to the author's "Hours of Communion," and like that invaluable book, it will, we doubt not, be the means of confirming the faith and of removing the doubts of many a troubled and anxious heart. The precise design of the present work is indicated by its symbolic title. It aims to present the Christian view of sorrow; to open to the mourner's spirit the sources of consolation which are to be found in the Christian idea of life; to show the influence of affliction in moulding and developing religious character; and in the light of Christ's experience to reveal the truth, that the thorns which are hidden amid the elements of human discipline, and which wound and pierce our finest sensibilities, may still be woven into a spiritual "Crown."

Habitually as ministers mingle with men in their seasons of grief, frequently as they are called to the service of consolation, it is a remarkable, and an unpleasant fact, that there are few good books which may be profitably taken as companions and instructers in times of sorrow. Christian literature is yet very meagre, not in volumes, but in volumes which deserve to be called tokens for the sorrowing. The trouble is, that such books are not fresh enough, and therefore are not winning. The themes are old and hackneyed, the pages are heavy, and the sentences are cold with the formal language of custom and cant. It is too apparent that, for the most part, the thoughts are not animated by the personal experience of the writer, but are dictated rather from memory, and in accordance with rule. And so, where we most need it, Christian books lack the spirit, unction and purity of the gospel, and in consequence become "weary, stale, flat and unprofitable." It is not surprising that popular theology has not been prolific in valuable consolatory works; for it is only from the inspiration of liberal Christianity that they can be produced. To whatever creed a man may have subscribed, the true theory of life which has practical efficacy in reconciling him to the misfortunes and bereavements of experience, must be founded on the doctrines of God the Father, Christ the model of humanity, "made perfect through suffering," and a constant Providence whose law is love. The spiritual beauty of the best pietistic writings of the orthodox school is generally marred by their faith in the Deity of Christ, while the influence of the Saviour's life is prevented from bearing as an example upon the daily experience of the world by the same irreverent homage. And it is, therefore, to the heretical sects, to works like "Martyria," and " Endeavors after the Christian Life," and "Greenwood's Sermons," that we must turn for the best expressions of the spirit of the gospel as the comforter of humanity.

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It is sufficient praise, to say of Mr. Chapin's book that it deserves its title, and may justly challenge a place among the works we have named. It is a fresh book. Its philosophy comes from a mind enlightened by Christian doctrine, and from a heart mellowed by personal acquaintance with the power of the Gospel in assuaging