LITERARY NOTICES. 



247 



from it to the greater parts, this simultaneity 

 of transformation is equally manifest ; that, 

 while each individual is developing, the 

 society of which he is an insignificant unit 

 is developing too ; that, while the aggregate 

 mass forming a society is becoming more 

 definitely heterogeneous, so likewise is that 

 total aggregate, the Earth, of which the soci- 

 ety is an inappreciable portion ; that, while 

 the Earth, which in bulk is not a millionth 

 of the solar system, progresses toward its 

 concentrated and complex structure, the solar 

 system similarly progresses ; and that even 

 its transforations are but those of a scarcely 

 appreciable portion of our sidereal system, 

 which has at the same time been going 

 through parallel changes" (p. 260). "The 

 more I can understand of the manner of 

 Evolution, the more am I impressed with its 

 unity of purpose, even in full view of its 

 multiplicity of parts, and manifoldness of 

 stages. From increase of such knowledge 

 I rise into higher perceptions. I see rhythm 

 in every motion on the earth, rhythm there- 

 fore in combined motions, a wonderful 

 rhythm pervading the Cosmos" (p. 259). 

 " What can we say of Evolution ? if we treat 

 it reverently, and not atheistically, we can 

 only say that it presupposes an evolver, and 

 that such an evolver must be Divine " (p. 

 257). " The manner of his unfolding is the 

 true and limited province of physical in- 

 quiry ; yet a noble province it is, rich in 

 results, fair with flowers by the wayside, 

 and abundant in promise for future ages. 

 Men are observers of natural development ; 

 whether or not included in it ; they watch 

 its progress in other existences with deep 

 interest. Every advance in it is fitted to 

 impress the beholder with admiration, and 

 to direct him not only to the advance itself, 

 but to convert him from a mere interpreter 

 of stage after stage into an obedient ser- 

 vant and reverent worshipper of the grand 

 Evolver." 



The Ancient Stone Implements, Weapons, 

 and Ornaments, of Great Britain, by 

 John Evans, F. S. A., Honorary Secre- 

 tary of the Geological and Numismatic 

 Societies of London, etc., etc. 



The author of this work is the highest 

 authority in England perhaps the highest 

 in the world upon the subject of which it 

 treats. A gentleman of extensive means 

 and a laborious student, he has taken up 

 that "great division of Prehistoric Archce- 

 ology which deals with the vestiges of man 

 in the age of stone, and in the present vol- 



ume we have the matured and comprehen- 

 sive results of his inquiries. He has con- 

 centrated his main attention upon England, 

 and given an exhaustive presentation of the 

 evidence that has now been gathered, re- 

 garding the primitive state of the inhabi- 

 tants of that island, when their implements 

 of war and peace were chiefly constructed 

 of flint. The volume is a valuable contribu- 

 tion to the obscure but interesting question 

 of the antiquity of man, and the primeval 

 conditions of his life. Mr. Evans is not a 

 partisan, or a propagandist of any extreme 

 views upon this subject, but deals with it 

 simply as a scientific question, to be eluci- 

 dated by the painstaking accumulation of 

 the relics of antiquity w T hich yet remain, and 

 which are becoming more varied and abun- 

 dant with increasing search and observation. 

 He ha3 figured in his pages about 800 ob- 

 jects arrow-heads, daggers, knives, axes, 

 hammers, adzes, picks, chisels, gouges, 

 drills, scrapers, whetstones, stone-vessels, 

 buttons, rings, necklaces, bracelets, and 

 various other things stating their locality 

 and under what circumstances they were 

 found. Great care has been taken with the 

 illustrations, Mr. Evans having spared no 

 expense in procuring the best artistic talent 

 in order to secure the highest accuracy of 

 representation. The book is valuable for the 

 fidelity of its preparation, both in a scientific 

 and artistic point of view, and, as it contains 

 most of the information at present available 

 with regard to the class of antiquities of 

 which it treats, it will at once take eminent 

 rank among treatises upon this branch of 

 the natural history of man. 



A Manual of Microscopic Mounting, 

 with Notes on the Collection and 

 Examination of Objects. By John 

 II. Martin. Philadelphia : Lindsay & 

 Blakiston, 1872. 



The necessity of the microscope to the 

 naturalist and physician, and its wide em- 

 ployment as a means of recreation and 

 study by the non-professional, have created 

 a demand for something that shall serve as 

 a guide in the delicate operations connected 

 with its use. So far as the management of 

 the instrument itself is concerned, this has 

 been supplied in various treatises ; but, with 

 the exception of incidental directions, wide- 



