109 



In this present communication, it is my wish to make some remarks 

 on the last of these subjects. Public attention has been lately direct- 

 ed to that subject, by a volume of considerable merit, published ano- 

 nymously, under the title of 'Vestiges of the Natural History of 

 Creation.' There is little, very little, of novelty in the book ; yet it 

 will probably make the subject more popular, more talked about, and 

 even more thought about, than any previously published work has 

 done. The ' Vestiges ' has exactly the character and qualities which 

 are required in a really " popular work." The style is remarkably 

 good and readable — the subject is great and interesting — the illustra- 

 tions are mostly found in those facts which have been made familiar 

 by public lectures and elementary works — the leading argument of 

 the whole volume, " progressive development," is single, and it is sel- 

 dom lost sight of by digressions — plausibility is sought, and carried 

 even to case-pleading, rather than any critical balancing of pros and 

 cons — the reasoning is obvious and direct, leaning more to the super- 

 ficial than to the profound. Thus, the reader finds himself interested 

 and drawn onward ; his mind is neither wearied by dulness, nor ex- 

 hausted by any serious tax on its powers ; he believes that he sees 

 the whole argument or theory clearly made out and established ; and 

 he is self-flattered by the supposition of having thus easily acquired a 

 new and important truth, 



I allude here, of course, to the " general " reader, who is conversant 

 with the natural sciences to that limited extent which may now be 

 easily attained by attending lectures at a ' Literary, and Scientific In- 

 stitution,' or by the perusal of elementary treatises and other books 

 expressly written for general readers. The judgment of those who 

 have more thoroughly trained themselves in scientific investigation, 

 will not be quite so favourable ; although they may pronounce the 

 work to be one of high merit in its class — namely, the class of " po- 

 pular works." The pretensions to originality, and the success of the 

 argument or evidences, will scarcely be acknowledged by parties who 

 possess a sufficient knowledge of the natural sciences, to render their 

 judgment worthy of much respect. Still, we may allow that the au- 

 thor has embodied an idea, not new in itself, in a more substantial- 

 looking form than it had previously assumed ; while he has also given 

 a fi-eshness and fulness to his principle, by tracing its application 

 through many departments of science, and making each yield illus- 

 tration or evidence in support of the theory. 



The author's idea is, that in all departments of Nature — from the 

 origin of a planet or a whole solar system, down to the production of 



