THE WONDERS OF THE SUMMER. 101 



highest developed of all known birds. Focussed 

 in the Oolitic ages we see the fossil Archeopteryx 

 the branch of life from which the twig of bird life 

 seems to have sprung. What a link with the 

 past even this little Sedge Bird makes ! Then 

 think of the countless other forms of life, each 

 with a long and eventful history behind it, each 

 the result of this grand plan of development from 

 a lower to a higher, from a simple to a complex. 

 How much more interesting does the study of 

 Nature become when we attempt to peer into her 

 secrets and her history from such a starting-point 

 as this ! Then the question arises : Has Life 

 reached its appointed standard of perfection yet ? 

 Is development still in progress, and what is its 

 ultimate destiny ? It may be that this world of 

 ours has nearly reached the limits of development, 

 and that all things are about to fade away through 

 future ages as insensibly and as beautifully as 

 they appeared ; for it is only reasonable to sup- 

 pose that Planets, like all other objects of the 

 Universe, are called into being, live and flourish, 

 decay and die, such being the grand law which 

 appears to govern all things. 



But the brief night speeds rapidly away, and 

 the dawn once more is being heralded by the 

 various creatures of the day. The wonders of 

 summer, and the grand questions they so beauti- 

 fully illustrate, are endless to a meditative mind, 

 and afford a rich field indeed for observation, 

 contemplation, and research. 



