26 MICROSCOPIC OBJECTS. 



activity of the human mind, to elevate and enlarge our 

 conceptions, and to soften and improve our affections. 

 The study of fossils in particular carries back our thoughts 

 to a time when the British Isles had no place, in their 

 present form, on the map of the world, and when land 

 and sea, mountains and rivers, valleys and plains, 

 continents and oceans, must have been arranged in a way 

 entirely different from what we now behold. While 

 their extreme antiquity commands our veneration, their 

 immense numbers and inconceivable variety and beauty 

 impress us with sentiments of wonder and gratitude at 

 so great and so marvellous a design." 



