NEBULA TO MAN 
From mites so small as scarce to meet the eye, 
To ant, and bee, and gorgeous butterfly. 
Amphibian life, that in past times, and long 
Was at the head of all Creation's throng, 125 
And then by Reptile creatures was outdone, 
And sunk still more before the rising sun 
Of Mammal life, in holes, and ponds, and bogs, 
Still has its salamanders, toads, and frogs. 
The once great class, now long since overturned, 1 30 
That for the "Mid-life " times the name has earned 
Of " Reptile Age," in varied forms lives on, 
Though from its ranks its mighty ones are gone ; 
Its Theromorpha, Dinosaurs, and Plesiosaurs, 
And champions other of the Reptile " cause." 135 
But crocodiles and turtles still remain, 
Though they indeed, 'twould seem, are on the wane ; 
Lizards and snakes seeming to promise best 
To keep alive this ancient class depressed. 
Though birds in earlier times there must have been, 140 
(Of whose frail forms no trace has yet been seen), 
'Twas Jura times that first to us proclaimed, 
In that strange form, the Archseopteryx named, 
Their rise on earth. Others in after times 
Diving, climbing, flying, were seen in many climes. 145 
In gay and sombre plumage far and wide 
Are now the voiceful hosts in all their pride ; 
212 
