332 ELOGE ON BARON CUVIER. 
the IgLianodon, must have had its source far dis- 
tant from the delta which it deposited ; the course 
of that river, the extent of that delta, and the 
situation of that country, will probably for ever 
remain unknown. 
In concluding these observations, I cannot but 
express how deeply I have felt in every stage of 
my labours, and what all must feel who engage in 
enquiries of this kind, the irreparable loss which 
the science of fossil comparative anatomy has sus- 
tained by the death of that illustrious philosopher, 
Baron Cuvier, whose powerful mind, and enlight- 
ened genius, could, like the fabled wand of the 
sorcerer, cause to pass before us the beings of 
former ages, and from the relics which have de- 
scended to us from the eternity of the past, con- 
struct anew the forms of organisation, which had 
ceased to exist before the creation of the human 
race. Could I upon this, as upon former occa- 
sions, have obtained his invaluable assistance, the 
interpretation of the interesting records before me 
would have been clear and satisfactory, and an 
apology would not then have been necessary, as I 
now feel it to be, for the obscure and imperfect 
manner in which my investigations have been con- 
ducted. 
N^ote. — Since the above was written we have obtained, through the 
liberality of R. Trotter, Esq., F.G. S., a series of the first six caudal 
vertebrae of a reptile, in a slab of Tilgatc-stone, from the same quarry 
as the remains of the Hijhcosaurjis. The bodies of these vertehrm, like 
those of the newly-discovered rej)tile, are slightly concave at both 
