PREFACE. 5 



may be safely said, that we know more about its laws and 

 their consequences than we do about those which deter- 

 mine the fall of a stone to the ground. 



I end this essay which has been more of pleasure than 

 of toil fully conscious of the errors and inconsistencies 

 which must be in it. At every turn there have been tan- 

 gled skeins to unravel, whereof the true clews have, no 

 doubt, often been missed ; diverging roads, where one 

 selects a path never without misgivings. But with all 

 due submission, I venture to believe that a faithful effort, 

 even if misdirected, is better than none at all, although in 

 that consciousness may well lie the only justification for 

 this book. 



PARK BENJAMIN. 



