INTRODUCTION. 11 



them, and so renders himself independent of the 

 barriers which formerly hindered his progress. Should 

 the proposed tunnels succeed in connecting Southamp- 

 ton and the Isle of Wight, or, as is hoped, England 

 and France, the power of man as an earth trespasser, 

 will, at all events for a while, have attained its acme 

 of perfection. 



But however great his power, he has been anti- 

 cipated by creatures which are still lesser than himself 

 in the scale of creation, and at present he can but offer 

 an humble rivalry to many, while he is infinitely 

 surpassed by others. Some of these I will now lay 

 before the reader, for the purpose of showing the 

 wonderful, though simply-planned modifications of 

 structure which permit them to trespass, and which 

 may, perhaps, give to us some hints for furthering our 

 own progress in the conquest of Nature. 



