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so many seeming breaks in the chain of development. It should 
be remembered that the remaining links in this chain represented in 
themselves not any line of direct descent from any one form, but, as 
it were, a very broken and indistinct reflection. The objections to 
Mr. Darwin’s theory were numerous, and were generally based upon 
misconception and prejudice. As an instance of the former, it might 
be noted that it had often been confounded with that of Lamarck, 
a French naturalist, who lived towards the close of the last century, 
and whose theory, though it might perhaps in some measure re- 
semble that of Mr. Darwin, still presented important points of 
difference, as, for instance, with regard to what are called rudi- 
mentary organs, which Lamarck considered as organs coming into 
use, while Darwin applied the term to cases of the survival of 
organs the use of which was no longer needed. As examples, the 
ostrich of Africa and the emu of Australia might be mentioned, 
allied as they were to each other, and taking each other’s place in 
different regions in which they were found. These birds having 
gradually lost the use of their wings by the action of natural 
selection, were now all reduced to the condition of running birds. 
The bustard family, found in the eastern part of England, and 
chased by greyhounds, was another example; while, as a striking 
instance of organs which seemed to have only lately become 
useless, and which would, doubtless, in the course of time, become 
rudimentary, the ground parrot of New Zealand might be mentioned, 
which, while having fully-developed wings, seemed to have lost the 
use of them—doubtless from the same causes as those noted above. 
Again, with regard to the origin of certain alterations in structure, 
as length of neck, &.; Lamarck believed that as in proportion as 
any organ was used it increased in size, so it was with length of 
neck and other peculiarities—and that in proportion as an animal 
stretched its neck it would naturally become longer by an extension 
of the vertebre ; while Darwin held that supposing by reason of 
these slight varieties in structure which were continually arising both 
in the vegetable and the animal world, any animal having a slightly 
longer neck than others, if this were an advantage in the struggle 
of life it would be laid hold of by the principle of natural selection, 
and the animal would be more likely, by reason of this variation, to 
flourish under circumstances which to others would be prejudicial. 
This advantage would be continued by the law of heredity, which 
signified the perpetuation, under favourable conditions, of any 
-advantage in an ever-increasing ratio to its descendants, until, in 
course of time, the difference in structure became confirmed, thus 
giving rise to what was called a difference in species. For holding 
these views the anathemas of the Church had been launched at the 
devoted head of Mr. Darwin; he had also been subjected to a kind 
of Protestant excommunication, and his theory had been condemned 
by men, who, were it not that their eyes were blinded by dogmatic 
