neighbourhood of Grantham. 61 



higher one, and we must endeavour to advance as much as pos- 

 sible those nobler and more enduring pursuits which enlarge the 

 mind and benefit our fellow-creatures. Every one, however 

 limited his acquaintance with science in general, has it in his 

 power even in his daily walks to observe the structure and na- 

 ture of the animate and inanimate world. Beautiful and varied 

 too as the wide field of nature is, it seems almost culpable to pass 

 by unnoticed the many wonders which it contains, though the 

 choicest arc often hidden from the unobservant eye. Yet there 

 are flowers rich and rare, and gems of costly price, the tempting 

 rewardf of meritorious zeal and diligent research. A new flower, 

 a new insect, a habit or an instinct in the higher animals not be- 

 fore noticed, may be discovered by a mere beginner, and one re- 

 corded fact is worth a thousand hasty generalizations founded on 

 mere negative evidence, or theoretical deductions. There is 

 much yet to be done, not only in geology, but in every other 

 branch of knowledge ; and truth is best elicited, and false rea- 

 sonings most satisfactorily overthrown, by an earnest, patient and 

 laborious search into the novelties and beauties of God's crea- 

 tion, not studied in the closet alone, but amidst the plains and 

 rocks, the woods and streams, and even in the recesses of the 

 " vasty deep." 



In this way, such master-minds as Sedgwick, Murchison, 

 Owen, Lyell, Forbes and others, have read the pages of the 

 book of nature, and have shown us how to unravel its mysteries, 

 and to study and appreciate the glorious handiwork of an Omni- 

 potent Creator. 



