324: THE COMING OF AGE OF 



whole classes from each other for instance, of birds 

 from all other vertebrate animals by the belief that 

 many animal forms of life have been utterly lost, 

 through which the early progenitors of birds were for- 

 merly connected with the early progenitors of the other 

 vertebrate classes." * 



Adverse criticism made merry over such suggestions 

 as these. Of course it was easy to get out of the dif- 

 ficulty by supposing extinction ; but where was the 

 slightest evidence that such intermediate forms between 

 birds and reptiles as the hypothesis required ever ex- 

 isted ? And then probably followed a tirade upon this 

 terrible forsaking of the paths of "Baconian induc- 

 tion." 



But the progress of knowledge has justified Mr. Dar- 

 win to an extent which could hardly have been antici- 

 pated. In 1862, the specimen of Archceopteryx, which, 

 until the last two or three years, has remained unique, 

 was discovered ; and it is an animal which, in its feathers 

 and the greater part of its organisation, is a veritable 

 bird, while, in other parts, it is as distinctly reptilian. 



In 1868, I had the honour of bringing under your 

 notice, in this theatre, the results of investigations made, 

 up to that time, into the anatomical characters of cer- 

 tain ancient reptiles, which showed the nature of the 

 modifications in virtue of which the type of the quad- 

 rupedal reptile passed into that of a bipedal bird ; and 

 abundant confirmatory evidence of the justice of the 



* " Origin of Species," p. 431. 



