THE AVOXDERS OF THE SHORE. \) 



ecary, and his museum) ; great excuses for Vol- 

 taire, when he classes the collection of butterflies 

 among the other " bigarrures de I'esprit humain." 

 For, in the last generation, the needs of the 

 world Avere different. It had no time for butter- 

 flies and fossils. "While Buonaparte was hover- 

 ing on the Boulogne coast, the pursuits and the 

 education which were needed were such as 

 would raise up men to fight him ; so the coarse, 

 fierce, hard-handed training of our grandfathers 

 came when it was wanted, and did the work 

 which was required of it, else we had not been 

 here now. Let us be thankful that we have 

 had leisure for science ; and show now in war 

 that our science has at least not unmanned us. 



Moreover, Natural History, if not fifty years 

 ago, certainly a hundred years ago, was hard- 

 ly worlhy of men of practical common sense. 

 After, indeed, Linnc', by his invention of ge- 

 neric and specific names, had made classification 

 possible, and by liis own enormous labors had 

 shown liow much could be done wlicii once a 

 method was esfa])lislied, the science has grown 

 ra[)idly enough. But before him little or noth- 

 ing lia<l been put into form definite enough 

 to allure tlioso wlio (as tlic many always will) 



