The Evolution of Organisms 141 



events remains whether we are scientific evolu- 

 tionists or not — we find that the patience of the 

 palaeontologists has been gradually disclosing a 

 majestic pageant, an age-long, ever-changing pro- 

 cession of faunas and floras across the stage of the 

 earth. If we had a series of instantaneous daily 

 photographs of all that has taken place since life 

 began to be, a complete pictorial history of the 

 past would be possible, and evolution would be 

 verified. If even complete remains of past ages 

 had been safely buried in great treasure houses, 

 such as Frederic Harrison has proposed should 

 henceforth be made for the enlightenment of pos- 

 terity, then palseontology would be an easier busi- 

 ness than it is. Then a genealogical tree connect- 

 ing the Protist and Man would be possible, and we 

 should have under our eyes what is now but a 

 dream — a complete record of the past. As it is, 

 we have to eke out our palaeontology with hints 

 from comparative anatomy and comparative em- 

 bryology, which require to be used very carefully. 

 The fossil-containing rocks have often been com- 

 pared to a library, with the oldest books on the 

 lowest shelves, but what a library! Spoilt by fire 

 by water, by earthquake, by decay, here half a 

 shelf awanting and there a series of volumes with 

 most disappointing gaps; pages out of books; 

 words missing in sentences, and the vowels awant- 

 ing like the points in Hebrew. We are troubled 



