EVOLUTION THE MASTER-KEY 



which Empedocles guessed so many centuries ago. 

 The atoms with which we are now acquainted- 

 some eighty or so in number are those that have 

 survived of many more which have attempted to 

 gain a place for themselves during countless past 

 aeons. Professor Thomson s theory is consistent 

 not only with itself, but also with the facts. It il 

 lumines the known electrical characters of the 

 elements, it furnishes a rational explanation of the 

 facts of chemical combination, and it accords with, 

 and places on a rational basis, the famous periodic 

 law of Mendeleef, the great chemist of St. Peters 

 burg. It brings with it, therefore, abundant evi 

 dence of its truth, evidence which is accumulating 

 every day, and it may be confidently asserted to 

 demonstrate the truth of the doctrine of evolution 

 in regard to the elementary constituents of the ma 

 terial universe. 



