16 PICTURESQUE SKETCHES 



in a fluid state reposing in the hollows, and form- 

 ing seas, lakes, and oceans. During the whole of this 

 time, and until the existence of water in the liquid 

 state, and the establishment of a sea, and perhaps long 

 afterwards, it is likely that there were no living beings 

 on the earth ; because, so far as we know, neither ani- 

 mal nor vegetable can exist, and perform its functions, 

 at the temperature of water actually boiling,* 

 although, at a temperature not much short of that, 

 some small animalcules, and even some animals of 

 higher organization, would seem capable of enjoying 

 life. Thus, therefore, according to this view, and 

 the reader will understand that it is merely offered 

 as the most probable explanation of certain appear- 

 ances observed, the first period of the existence 

 of the earth as a planet was marked by a chaotic 

 state of igneous fusion, and characterised by fre- 

 quent disturbances of the surface consequent upon 

 cooling from such a state. Let us consider for a 

 moment what kind of rocks are exhibited to us when 

 we examine these earliest records of our globe, and 

 let us see also how far we are able to examine them. 

 In the first place, we often find, as the basis of all 

 other rocks in mountain chains, and throughout some 

 extensive tracts of country, a well-known rock called 

 granite; a rock whose structure is crystalline, and 

 which bears strong marks of having cooled slowly 

 from a state of intense heat. This rock is found in 

 all parts of the world, and sometimes in widely ex- 



* This refers, of course, to the boiling temperature of water at the earth's 

 surface with the present atmosphere. There is no proof of any change in 

 the gaseous condition or pressure of the air, neither do we know what 

 would be the condition of the surface with a steam atmosphere. 



