CHAPTER XII. 

 ABOUT THE LONG PAST 



"The cold and silent past."— Whittier. 



" Thou coveredst it with the Deep as with a garment ; the 

 waters stood above the mountains." — Ps. civ. 6. 



T^HE very long past — how long no man can 

 ■^ say. Some rash attempts have been made 

 to name the numbers of thousands of years which 

 may have elapsed since this or that particular 

 stage in the world's geological history. Such 

 reckonings can possess little or no true value. 

 It is better to confess frankly that we cannot fix 

 dates. We only know that certain changes did 

 come about — very long ago. 



Our Earth has not always been as she is now. 

 She has altered greatly. She is altering still. 

 Development has gone on through the ages. 

 Development goes on still. 



Continents and parts of Ocean have, so to 

 speak, changed places. Mountains have risen ; 

 and tablelands, high uplifted, have sunk low. 



no 



