288 TOILERS IN THE SEA. 



by Darwin, and in support of that proposed by 

 Murray. It was evident that the new theory failed 

 to satisfy the majority, it being insufficient to account 

 for all the phenomena, as the old theory had done. 

 Without actually calling in question the facts, the 

 inferences were not held to be warranted, and there 

 were still remaining certain phenomena which the 

 new theory could not account for. 



This reminds us of some observations made by 

 Professor Huxley on the subject of hypotheses, which 

 should always be borne in mind. "Wherever," he 

 says, " there are complex masses of phenomena to be 

 inquired into, whether they be phenomena of the 

 affairs of daily life, or whether they belong to the 

 more abstruse and difficult problems laid before the 

 philosopher, our course of proceeding in unravelling 

 that complex chain of phenomena, with a view to get 

 at its cause, is always the same ; in all cases we must 

 invent an hypothesis ; we must place before ourselves 

 some more or less likely supposition respecting that 

 cause; and then, having assumed an hypothesis, 

 having supposed a cause for the phenomena in ques- 

 tion, we must endeavour, on the one hand, to 

 demonstrate our hypothesis, or, on the other, to upset 

 and reject it altogether, by testing it in three ways. 

 We must, in the first place, be prepared to prove 

 that the supposed causes of the phenomena exist in 

 nature, that they are what the logicians call vera 



