POLITICAL, LITERARY, AND MORAL. . 425 



" Well, the fate of genius has been balladed time out of mind ; 

 but in what an odd way it sometimes shows its workings ! I see you 

 have friend Williams's Antediluvian Romance' here; what think 

 you of it ? " 



" Yes, and here you see is my old friend Dr. Nares wielding the 

 sledge-hammer of truth against modern geological writings, whilst 

 friend Howitt is taking up the tinsel of fiction to embroider them. 

 It would be nonsense to give an opinion upon such a work as 

 Hewitt's ; a man might as well write a history of the world before 

 the Creation. It can serve no purpose either good, bad, or indif- 

 ferent ; and it is a pity to see a good deal of very fair writing so 

 utterly thrown away." 



" Does the Doctor contrive to break the heads of the antediluvian 

 'stonemasons' against their wonderful works? It has always 

 struck me, as a most extraordinary mark of mechanical genius 

 the way in which these people build up their monsters from bits 

 of bone." 



" He gives them some hard knocks, and administers some bitter 

 food, which will be found hard to swallow. I say with him, let 

 geology perish, if its researches are to weaken one tittle of our faith in 

 Revelation. The disclaimers so vehemently made by its professors 

 amount to nothing, as their very aim seems to be to overthrow the 

 Mosaic account of Creation the corner-stone on which rests the 

 structure of the Christian religion. The way in which they talk of 

 millions of years, and the strange forms with which they people their 

 succession of worlds, is the absurdity of romance, and will range well 

 with friend Hewitt's book." 



" Mantell, not long ago, gave me a viva voce description of some 

 particular era he has chosen for his hobby ; and when he had 

 finished, looked at me with huge satisfaction, saying, ' Isn't strange ?' 

 My answer was, ' Very strange, if true ; ' and his reply was, ' True I 

 who can deny it ?' " 



" I like that; this fixing upon periods, of which there is neither 

 traditional nor recorded accounts, is very good, and puts me in mind 

 of my aunt Jane's beauty. You know she is as ugly and curious a 

 model of humanity as can be conceived ; and yet she insists upon it, 

 that she was once beautiful, exceedingly.' She is an excellent- 

 tempered creature ; and when I ask her for some proof of this 

 M.M. No. 4. 31 



