UNCLE IN ENGLAND. 115 



of both Jews and Gentiles to Christ, and their 

 mutual exultation in his then undivided king- 

 dom." 



. I seized an opportunity of asking my 

 uncle some questions about the beds of coal 

 in the forest of Dean, and I learned that the 

 coal formation there, is an irregular elliptical 

 basin, occupying nearly the whole of the forest 

 tract. It is ten miles long, and six broad ; and 

 all the strata dip uniformly to the centre of the 

 basin. He shewed me the extent of it on a 

 geological map, which he has made of this 

 county ; and which marks in the prettiest man- 

 ner all the principal strata. Each kind of rock 

 has a particular colour, so that its extent is seen 

 at a glance ; and by a section at the bottom of 

 the map, the dip or inclination of the strata, and 

 the manner in which they lie on each other, are 

 very distinctly shewn. He made Caroline and 

 me observe that we could trace on it the moun- 

 tain-lime and old red-sandstone (which enclose 

 the coal-field) across the river Wye into South- 

 Wales : there^ he says, they contain another coal 

 district, of much greater extent ; and he showed 

 it to us in Mr. Greenough's beautiful geological 

 map of all England. I should never have been 

 tired of looking at these maps, if Caroline, who 

 knew how little time my uncle could spare, had 



