t CURIOUS CREATURES. 



the Monotremata now, in a slight degree, connect 

 mammals with reptiles. But no one can, at present, 

 say by what line of descent the three higher, and re- 

 lated classes namely, mammals, birds, and reptiles, 

 were derived from either of the two lower vertebrate 

 classes, namely, amphibians, and fishes. In the class of 

 mammals the steps are not difficult to conceive which led 

 from the ancient Monotremata to the ancient Marsupials ; 

 and from these to the early progenitors of the placental 

 mammals. We may thus ascend to the Lemuridee ; and 

 the interval is not wide from these to the Simiadae. 

 The Simiadae then branched off into two great stems, 

 the New World, and Old World monkeys; and from 

 the latter, at a remote period, Man, the wonder and 

 glory of the Universe, proceeded." 



"We have thus far endeavoured rudely to trace the 

 genealogy of the Vertebrata, by the aid of their mutual 

 affinities. We will now look to man as he exists ; and 

 we shall, I think, be able partially to restore during 

 successive periods, but not in order of time, the structure 

 of our early progenitors. This can be effected by means 

 of the rudiments which man still retains, by the characters 

 which occasionally make their appearance in him through 

 reversion, and by the aid of morphology and embryology. 

 The various facts to which I shall here allude, have 

 been given in the previous chapters. The early pro- 

 genitors of man were no doubt once covered with hair, 

 both sexes having beards ; their ears were pointed and 

 capable of movement ; and their bodies were provided 

 with a tail, having the proper muscles. Their limbs and 

 bodies were also acted on by many muscles, which now 

 only occasionally reappear, but are normally present in 



