HI EXPEDITION OF THE &quot;CHALLENGER&quot; 109 



her turbulent youth, before we, her children, have 

 any knowledge of her. 



So far as the evidence afforded by the super 

 ficial crust of the earth goes, the modern geologist 

 can, ex animo, repeat the saying of Hutton, &quot; We 

 find no vestige of a beginning no prospect of an 

 end.&quot; However, he will add, with Hutton, &quot; But 

 in thus tracing back the natural operations which 

 have succeeded each other, and mark to us the 

 course of time past, we come to a period in which 

 we cannot see any further.&quot; And if he seek to 

 peer into the darkness of this period, he will 

 welcome the light proffered by physics and 

 mathematics. 



