STACK STACI ' 500 l 4047 ^V^^v. ^ -'' OOv^^l ^BH r/7-V-?^ . DELIVERED IX THE IPSWICH MUSEUM, MARCH, 1848, REV. J. S. HENSLOW, M.A., RECTOR OF HITCHAM', And Professor of Botany in the University of Cambridge. IPSWICH: PRINTED BY S. PIFKR, OLD BUTTER 3IAIJKET. IPSWICH MUSEUM. PROFESSOR HENSLOWS INTRODUCTORY LECTURE, Tour Museum Committee have invited me to deliver an Address, introductory to the system you propose to establish for giving in- struction to the working classes in Ipswich, in various branches of science, and more especially in Natural History. I am compelled to restrict, within very narrow limits, my own offers of assistance in carrying out so desirable a project; and I should have found it a much easier task to have prepared a lecture on some specific subject in science to which I had directed my attention. I hardly know how to begin this Address unless it be by a distinct admission of my own belief that it is of high importance to the progress and general welfare of society, that all who possess the opportunity should make themselves so far acquainted with the character and bearings of scientific re- searches as to be able to appreciate the labours of those who have devoted their best energies to such pursuits. It is impossible for us all to become really scientific. Even they who are most advanced in some one department of science must be content to remain compara- tively ignorant of many*ther branches; but, still, the larger the numbers who shall be able to form a just estimate of science, so much the greater will be the confidence diffused among the whole commu- nity of its real value ; and thus more among u.s will become willing to assist the scientific enquirer in whatever direction he may be searching after truth. I will not deny that one department of science may be, or may seem to be, vastly more important to us than another : just as those fruits of the earth, which are ' good for food," will take precedence, whilst there are hungry appetites to be satisfied, over such as have been created mainly or entirely for giving " pleasure to the sight ;" but still, the relative importance and the mutual bearing of ' different branches of true science upon each other, should be sufficiently recognised and duly admitted. Now, the object proposed by those parties to whom Ipswich is so much indebted for the establishment of this Museum, is not merely to provide for the delivery of a few public lectures, in which popular ex- positions of various sciences may be laid before those whose mental improvement they are desirous of promoting, but they further intend (if I understand them correctly) that private classes should be formed, to whom more particular instructions may be given. The good that must result from this scheme, if it be energetically carried out and properly appreciated, will be very great. The real difficulty lies in persuading people to make the necessary degree of mental exertion for 1022565 PROFESSOR HEXSLOW'S mastering the first rudiments of science. Until some exertion shall have been made towards acquiring a knowledge of any branch of science, our power of apprehending what that particular branch is calculated to teach us, must remain comparatively weak and insuffi- cient. To say nothing of those who, being entirely ignorant of letters, may be somewhat excusable for undervaluing the blessings of a sound and liberal education, it is by no means uncommon to meet with indi- viduals who, having been exclusively occupied in such literary pur- suits as the study of Languages, History, Divinity, &c., are very- little disposed to appreciate the value of strictly scientific researches. I will quote to you, in illustration of what I am asserting, a passage from the British Magazine. (1844, part 1, p. 189.) It occurs in a review which was written by a late eminent Chemical Professor, who had been present at the meeting of the British Association on the first occasion of its assembling at Oxford : " Few will forget, who were ' present at Oxford at the first exhibition of one of the most wonderful ' discoveries of the age (namely, the Extracting of Electric Fire from ' Cold Iron by the distant influence of the loadstone), the effect ' which was produced by the reply of one of the heads of houses, now no more, to the eminent philosopher who was specially communi- ' eating it to him : ' I am sorry for it, Sir ; we have had enough of ' late of incendiary doings.' " I do not quote this passage for the purpose of exciting a feeling of contempt or of pity for a man who possibly was become so exclusively devoted to the studies of the place that he cared for nothing beyond them I have done this hi order to show you how easily even otherwise learned persons may be igno- rantly undervaluing a most important discovery which shall be ex- citing the undivided admiration of the scientific world. In this case there was no more to be seen than a little spark of light ; and so it was treated with as much indifference as the snap of a lucifer, though it was bearing its undeniable testimony to a masterstroke of intellectual induction, and was affording an incomparably higher evidence of the progress of Electro-Chemistry, than even that most ingenious and important practical application of its principles, the Electric Tele- graph, which is now compelling us all to acknowledge that a powerful hold has been obtained over some of the most obscure laws of nature. But scientific information has its bearings, even on the occupations of the profound critic and learned divine. To Naturalists, especially, such persons might often appeal with advantage, whenever an un- certain, word occurs in an ancient author, denoting some animal, vegetable, or mineral, with little intimation of what may be the object intended, further than its belonging to a particular country, and pos- sessing some striking quality or peculiarity. Those translators of the Bible who worked so nobly for us, were comparatively ignorant of natural history ; and, consequently, there are strange uncertainties and even ludicrous mistakes in the names they have given to some of the natural productions alluded to by the sacred authors. Although it would be impossible, in all cases, to set them right ; yet it would be some improvement on their mistakes, not to admit one animal, said to be possessed of legs, to have meant a whale, and not to allow another, unknown in Judea, to be an inhabitant of that country. Their Leviathan and their Behemoth would be more readily recognised under the familiar appellations of Crocodile and Hippopotamus, animals whose habits have now been rendered sufficiently familiar to us by the accounts of modern travellers. The wonderful discoveries of Astronomical Science, again, have en- abled us to understand that the letter of the Bible cannot be taken hi justification of their views, who would have insisted on our believing the Earth to be stationary, whilst the Sun, and the whole host of heavenly bodies, were daily revolving round it. as though they had been created for no higher purposes than those to which the attention INTRODUCTORY LEC'iTKK. StacK Annex of our infant race was first specially directed, viz., " for giving light " upon the earth," and " to be for signs and for seasons, and for days " and for years." (Gen. L, 14, 17.) Though the mere letter of God's word, and our own outward senses agree in noticing such an apparent motion of the Sun and Stars, still our instructed reason now claims her more advanced privilege of knowing and declaring that Galileo was wrongfully incarcerated for having asserted the very contrary to be the truth ! Thus has Astronomy sufficiently corrected the false conclusions of those who would have us deduce all our notions of what science can teach us from the intentionally imperfect intimations upon such subjects given us in the Bible. Thanks to the more general diffusion and acknowledgment of this truth, Airy will run no risk next week of being immured in Ipswich gaol, for propounding to you those further advances wliich Astronomy has made since Galileo was condemned for revealing his discoveries to an age that was unworthy of him. Whilst I am urging the importance of a more general and improved estimation of the claims of science than at present prevails, and more especially upon the consideration of those who, like that Oxford Blaster of a College, might otherwise be regretting every fresh testi- mony to its progress, let me name another science which, within a very recent period, has well established its claims to be heard above the loud uproar once raised in opposition to its teachings, though every murmur against its evidences has not yet entirely died away. Geo- logy has given a complete overthrow to certain old and fanciful hypo- theses, invented out of premises insufficient for such purposes, which would have had us restrict the antiquity of this Earth to a period limited by five-times four-and-twenty hours beyond the memorable day on wliich the first " living soul" was placed upon its surface. Not that I object to find persons who are wholly unacquainted with the evidence by which the vast and previously unsuspected antiquity of our planet has now become so satisfactorily revealed to us, exer- cising u due amount of caution before they will consent to accept any such startling announcement as at first would seem to them directly at variance with the Word of God. But we should be truckling to the dictation of a drivelling credulity, if we suffered those who con- tinue wilfully ignorant of this science to denounce it as a step towards infidelity, whilst we were not prepared to deny the slander. After I came to reside in Suffolk, I was somewhat taken by sur- prise at meeting with objectors to certain geological inductions among my personal friends. 1 had been giving a lecture to my neighbours, in which I had stated my own conviction that " the vast antiquity of 'the materials of which our earth is composed had now been proved 'to be as incomprehensibly immeasurable by any of our limited ' methods of estimating time, as we were incapable of appreciating ' those apparently unlimited exteusions of space, throughout which ' the discoveries of the Astronomer had satisiiecl us, that there are distri- ' buted systems upon systems of worlds beyond our powers to number ' them." This confession elicited something like a remonstrance from one of my intimate friends, who wrote to me the day after, expressing his surprise at what I had affirmed, and requiring better proof than the broad assertions of geologists for such a startling announcement. My friend was well acquainted with the evidence, from which Astro- nomers had deduced their conclusions ; and I could only direct him to make himself somewhat acquainted also with the evidences colliTtcd in such works as Mr. Lyell's Elements of Geology ; and then, if that were insufficient, to look, about him, and study nature for himself. But this happened some few years ago, when the leading facts in geology had not been so generally admitted as they are at present. If we might have expected that the claims of science would have been more readily recognised by persons who liave attached them- . T, PEOFESSOR HENSLOWS selves to any description of literary pursuits, our surprise must be the greater whenever we find any particular branch of science under- valued by those who happen to be occupied in some profession or business upon which that branch has a direct bearing. The naval officer may be expected to recognise the importance of Astronomy in all its branches, seeing he is so completely dependent upon the results obtained in the Observatory for those rules and tables by which he sometimes steers for days, and weeks, and months together, out of sight of land. And to what profession ought a correct theory of the Tides to be of more importance than to the Navy ? and yet a scientific friend of mine was nearly laughed out of countenance by some brother officers, for having asked them, in a distant quarter of the world, to assist in making certain observations that had been called for by the Master of Trinity College, Cambridge (Rev. Dr. Whewell), who has greatly occupied'himself for several years in perfecting this branch of astronomical science. But when, afterwards, a printed copy of in- structions and an account of the object in view was sent out to my friend, his sceptical comrades immediately and readily acknowledged that the Master of Trinity knew more about the theory of the Tides than all the officers of the Navy together; and they heartily set themselves to work in making those observations which were called for. But the prejudices of practical and well-skilled professional men do not always give way so readily. It is now some two or three years since I happened to stumble upon a work, which at that time had been recently placed upon the shelves of our Public Library, at Cam- bridge, whose title was, Thorn on the Law of Storms. I found it contained a most interesting detail of the manner in which the author (who was a surgeon in the Navy) had been enabled to test the value of a theory on Storms propounded by Col. Reid. Mr. Thorn, by com- paring the log-books of several vessels which had just arrived in a crippled condition at the Mauritius, after having encountered a dreadful hurricane, was able to show, in a most conclusive manner (as it appeared to me), that if the commanders of these vessels had been acquainted with Col. Reid's theory, they might easily have avoided the violent storm in which they had all very nearly foun- dered. Since that period a Handbook of Storms has been drawn up for the use of persons navigating the Indian and Chinese Seas ; and an account, dated from Hong Kong, was lately given in the Illus- trated London News of the manner in which the commander of a vessel had contrived to avoid a violent storm, by adhering to the directions contained in that manual. I also gather from that account that Col. Reid's theory was not admitted by many on board until they had received personal experience of its truth. " I will end my " remarks (says the narrator) by observing that on the day above- " named a typhoon passed over this island, and that an ludiuman, " then about 160 miles to the eastward of us, was dismasted ; so that " the most inveterate sceptics on board the Vernon, (and they were not " a few,) having thus had conviction forced upon their minds, are now " the loudest applauders of the Theory of Storms." He has further observed, " Had this beautiful theory been generallv believed, many a " life would have been saved." Such are the prejudices with which well-skilled practice too often looks down upon correct theory. The instructions of science cannot be disregarded without the retardation of improvement, from him who would construct us a navy by " the rule of thumb," as it is called, down to that Suffolk roadsmau, who being told that McAdam required stones should be broken sufficiently small to be put into the mouth of the breaker, indignantly replied, " Sir, that " is not the purpose for which I have to break stones ; and if thirty " years' experience has not been sufficient to teach me how to mend a " road, I do not think you can." INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. _ In further illustration of the importance of our being instructed in a certain amount of elementary knowledge in any particular science, before we are likely to appreciate the real value which some novel in- formation, or fresh discovery in the science, may have on those arts upon which it has a direct bearing, I will relate a circumstance that lately happened to myself. I was asked by some members of an Agricultural Association, if I could give a satisfactory explanation of the reason why a common weed, called the Yellow Rattle (Rhinan- thus cnsta-galli), appeared to be more injurious in certain fields of barley, than all other weeds. It was stated to me that there were hundreds of acres in a particular district, where barley could not be grown to advantage upon account of this very noxious weed. Now it so happened, that a distinguished French Botanist, Mons. Decaisne, only two or three months before, had surprised us by the discovery that several very common weeds, belonging to a particular group or family of plants, were parasitic in their habits: that is to sav, they attach their own roots to those of other plants, and then suck their juices, instead of preparing food for themselves. In a scientific point of view, this discovery was considered to be one of great interest ; and it certainly afforded me a ready answer to the ques- t L on , L , ad been asked ' But when I was further asked how this pest should be got rid of in these same barley fields, I could only reply, I suppose you must "pull it up; keep your fields clean, and as this weed is an annual, if you do not allow it to seed, you will in due time most certainly get rid of it." The simplicity of such a remedy seemed at once to lower the value of Mons. Decaisne's discovery in the eyes : the company. I was told by one gentleman, that no good farmer, who, ot course, is a persecutor of all weeds alike, would be at all bene- fited by any such additions to knowledge as this ; and those parties who had asked me for information, were also told they might let their land he fallow for twelve months, and as this weed was "only an annual, they would thus very easily get rid of it. I must say, that such an assurance was altogether begging the question as to whether this treatment would so readily get rid of this pest, which experience had shown was more to. be dreaded than other annuals, even before its parasitic habits had become known. I consider it is a point yet to be proved, whether the seeds of these newly-discovered parasites do not possess a power of remaining dormant for a long time like those of some other parasites, until they shall happen to be brought into contact with the roots of those particular plants to which they are capable of attaching themselves. Sundry cries of "no, no," which were raised by some of the party, in opposition to the plausible conclusion which had been so readily arrived at by the projector of the fallow, seemed to intimate that past experience was against this easily-framed hypothesis. Although it may be very true that a knowledge of the parasitic nature of this particular weed might be of no importance to those persons who are farming correctly, and are keeping their corn fields properly cleared of all weeds, yet the general importance of this discovery to the Agriculturist was after- wards admitted by more than one who had been present, when I pointed out to them the probable injury which a plant possessing these insidious habits might be producing in their pastures also, where it very often abounds. Indeed this weed had always been re- gistered in works on Botany, as a plant that is peculiarly attached to " barren pastures," but no one had before now suspected that itself might be the very cause of such barrenness. The same gentleman who suggested the fallow, next proceeded to caution his licarcrs against ever purchasing Seed-wheat from Holland. He had been informed that Wheat from that quarter was often mixed with the seed of a certain injurious weed, which so much resembled the seed of Wheat itself, that it was difficult to distinguish between them. As PROFESSOR HENSLOW'S for any precise information concerning the name, or even the sort of weed to which he was alluding, he could give them none whatever. Now I feel no doubt that he was cautioning them against one of the very parasites in question. I have not yet been able to procure a sample of its seed, but from what I know of the seed of another closely allied species, I have no doubt of its nature, and I have very little doubt that the particular species alluded to was the "Field Cow- wheat" (Melampyrum arvense), not common in England, though sometimes abundant in wheat-fields in Norfolk. Its seed does bear a considerable outward resemblance to the grains of Wheat, though it is a plant which belongs to a distinct class from Wheat, and no Bota- nist would be liable to confound the two for an instant. It was the want of just so much elementary knowledge of Botanical physiology as was necessary for enabling these persons to understand the nature of Mous. Decaisne's discovery, that had induced them to undervalue it in the way they did. Of this I had ample proof very shortly afterwards, when, having described to the members of the Hadleigh Farmers' Club the various kinds of flowering parasites that are known to Botanists, and the various and remarkable ways in which they are enabled to act injuriously upon other plants, they at once assured me they considered the whole subject, as well as Mons. Decaisne's discovery in particular, to be of great consequence to farmers, aud they admitted that it ought to become generally known among them. in thus urging the importance of our obtaining a better appreciation of what science aims at, aud in bringing forward a few examples which seem to me to illustrate my position, I trust I shall not be considered as wishing to attack any body of men who may be in possession of great practical and professional skill, merely because they are ignorant of those principles of vegetable physiology, and those of some other sciences, upon which the successful issue of their own meritorious labours may be dependent, though they are not themselves aware how this can be the case. But I can have no hesitation in recommending any man, whether he be scieutilic merely or practical merely, who is at all impatient of instruction, to revisit the nursery, and" to listen again to the fable of the "Wren and other birds " : Once upon a time, when all birds could speak as well as cockatoos, they agreed to ask the little wren how it was she had contrived to build her nest so perfectly, whilst they all, poor things, hardly knew how to lay a dozen sticks together. The kind-hearted wren consented to show them the mystery of nest-building, and so they all assembled on the branches of a great oak to hear how it was to be managed ; but no sooner had she begun to teach them, than one called out, well ! I knew that already, and off she flew ; then another soon after exclaims, v:by ! there is nothing new to me in that ! and so off she flew ; and by the time this little wren had built one half the nest, they had nearly all grown impatient of her instructions, and left her, civilly declining to trouble her further. But none of those silly birds have ever since been able to advance beyond half a nest ; and a few only, who had patience and intelligence enough to wait to the end, have as yet succeeded in imitating what the wren had been so willing to have shown them all. Now for our moral ! Nature shall be our kindly disposed wren, speaking to us by the voice of science, teaching us by the experience of practice, and if we shall only wait wiih patience to hear and to see what she is thus prepared to show us, in due time we shall be. able to complete our nest, and not be leaving matters in that imperfect, and, at best, half finished state in which they now so frequently appear. I would not have it supposed, that because I am to-day insisting chiefly on those advantages which may be anticipated from a more general appreciation of science by practical men, that I am insensible INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. to the just claims of practice upon the attention of science. The head may no more say to the hand, I have no need of thee, than the hand deny their mutual dependence; however delightful any scientific pursuit may be for its own sake alone, yet, if it shall be -wholly unap- plied, it to of no more value than the very amusing occupation of building castles in the air. The separate province of each party, the scientific 'and the practical, should be duly recognised, whatever be the efforts each may be making towards promoting the general advance and advantage of all. The discovery of an important natural law may have been the result of long observation, gradually con- centrating a variety of scattered inferences, so as, at length, to have brought them all to bear upon some general conclusion. But the natural law once firmly established, science, properly so called, has so far done her portion of the work. If it be now required to apply what science has done, to some art or profession that may be improved by a correct appreciation of this law ; then, fresh observations, fresh experiments become necessary before science can assist in the solution of that most complex of problems, " how may practice be conducted " upon scientific principles?" In order to secure the full solution of this intricate problem, science and practice must consent to be mutually tolerant, mutually confiding, mutually co-operating, or assuredly the day will be greatly postponed when the object so much to be desired shall be effected. Beside those benefits which science is capable of conferring on certain professions or occupations, upon which it may have a more or less immediate bearing, there are occasions continually occurring when a want of a certain degree of scientific attainment may cause us to lose much unexceptionable gratification, or prevent our being really useful to others, or even subject us to inconvenient risks which we should not have incurred if we had been better informed. It would be superfluous for me to enlarge very widely upon the many sources of gratification which a little scientific knowledge lays open to us. The mere inspection of a well arranged Museum is delightful ; but when, beyond this, the nature, qualities, and uses of the various objects it contains have been explained, the value of such a collection as that around us becomes enhanced in our eyes. And when we are further anxious to make use of the information which we have thus gathered, for the purpose of increasing our store, then indeed do many other pleasures and gratifications appear truly insignificant and frivolous in comparison. It may be very true, that the comparatively small progress which many may be enabled to make in any branch of science, will not afford much chance of their advancing that branch beyond what has become already known. But still, the merely collecting facts for those who may best know how to apply them, will be found a fertile source of individual enjoyment. Very little preliminary instruction is necessary for such a purpose, and especially in Natural History. According as fancy or opportunity may determine, one might resolve on collecting and studying objects in one department, another in another, so that complete collections and much general information concerning them might thus be got together, and mutual instructions be then conveyed between those who had occupied themselves with this or that department in particular. The extensive science of Meteorology would be greatly benefited, if persons, whose occupations confine them throughout the year to one locality, were to institute series of observations, with instruments sufficiently trustworthy for affording data for future scientific inductions. But, unless we shall be prepared to observe and read, as well as to collect and arrange, we shall be only seeking after amusement, without obtaining much real or solid instruction ; and then, as soon as we shall have pretty well exhausted our own neighbourhood of its opportunities of affording us novelties, the hobby will be neglected or altogether dismissed.' Our 10 PROFESSOR HEXSLOW'S collections should be viewed as the means of assisting us in the ac- quisition of real knowledge, and not merely to be gazed at as raree shows, or as only valuable in proportion to the number or scarcity of the objects they "contain. When we shall have learnt whatever may be known of the forms, the habits, the structure (internal or external) of any particular animal or vegetable, there will always be something or other left for further investigation. A well-planned experiment, . such as anyone may perform, or the microscope, will often enable us to throw additional light upon some point of physiology or of structure, which had not been sufficiently elucidated before. And here it is that those who are practically engaged in certain pursuits, upon which par- ticular sciences may have a direct bearing, can, most advantageously, lend a helping hand in collecting such information as may be abso- lutely necessary for the advance of those sciences, and which it would have been difficult to obtain without such assistance. But, whatever be the motives which may incline any of you to turn your attention to scientific pursuits, I am especially desirous of again and again insisting upon the necessity of your exerting a greater degree of mental energy than may just be sufficient to prevail upon you to leave a comfortable fireside, or an agreeable companion, for the purpose of listening to a popular evening lecture. Although something may be effected for diffusing a knowledge of science by popular lectures alone, yet the chief value of these lies in their smoothing the road to further enquiry, and in instilling a general apprehension of what each science may be really capable of teaching. It is more especially advisable that we should make ourselves masters of a certain amount of ele- mentary knowledge in some sciences than in others, in order to com- prehend the character of that evidence upon which their progress has depended. I well remember, after I had been at college some little time, and was so far advanced in the rudiments of mathematical knowledge as to comprehend the power it affords for solving problems and for explaining the advantages of mechanical applications, that I felt as if I had acquired a new sense it was not as if I had mastered a new language, which was enabling me to converse with men of an- other country on common topics, intelligible to all alike it was more as though I had acquired a power of conversing with the inhabitants of another Planet, upon topics concerning which my friends and ac- quaintance at home had formed no just conceptions. This sort of feeling may not be so completely claimed from the pursuit of such branches of Natural Science as more especially depend upon continued observations and direct experiment. We are all, to a certain extent, observers and experimenters, and can therefore more readily appre- ciate the evidence upon which scientific men have proceeded in arriving at their results in these sciences of observation. But even in these cases a special examination of the nature of the evidence on which they repose seems to be requisite for properly qualifying us for appreciating the full value of novel and unexpected conclusions. Faint-hearted enquirers too often stumble on the threshold of the door by which admittance is gained to a knowledge of some particular science. They are alarmed at the array of technical terms by which the approach is guarded. Now I am no advocate for retaining a single technical term that can be advantageously dispensed with ; and most especially in all popular expositions of science they should be avoided as much as possible. But they who would obtain further knowledge than can be conveyed by a popular lecture, must understand distinctly that the sort of information to which they are aspiring lies conve- niently condensed, as it were, in these technicalities. Many of them serve as headings to so many chapters of information, and thus they recal to the minds of those who have once read and understood them, whatever those chapters contain. What, for instance, is meant by the term Oxygen ? It is employed to designate a particular element, INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 11 which is a constituent of the air we breathe, of the water and other liquids we drink, of the food we eat (whether animal or vegetable), of the materials of which our clothes are formed, and our dwellings are constructed, and of the very dust and stones on which we tread. To what a mass of information does the due recognition of this single word Oxygen direct us ; and who is so little inquisitive as not to be desirous of understanding how it has come to pass that chemists have ascertained this important element to be really playing so large a part in ministering to our earthly comforts, and even to our continued existence at every moment of our mortal lives ? Many technical terras are employed to give a degree of precision to our ideas, without which science never could have been advanced beyond some early stages of its infancy. Once attach distinct ideas to the meaning of each technical term, however Greek-like, barbarous, and unintelligible its appearance, and it will be easily remembered afterwards. Our nurserymen and other gardeners, without any knowledge of Latin or Greek, readily acquire and retain the botanical names of many hun- dreds of plants, merely from having before their eyes the known habits and character of those placed under their care. Without studying a particular science very deeply, we shall soon attain a certain amount of information in it, which will secure us from some of those gross blunders which are so constantly made, even by otherwise well-educated persons, concerning the nature and origin of many of the natural objects with which we are daily familiar. We shall then perceive the full absurdity of certain opinions not at all uncommon among us ; such, for instance, that the stones in our fields have grown, and are still growing there ; that balls of iron pyrites, and fossil remains of belemnites, are old thunderbolts. A due appre- ciation of the sort of evidence upon which the formation of rocks is to be explained, would at once dispose of the still popular notion that toads and other reptiles, occasionally found concealed in stony masses, must have been embedded there at the time when these materials were forming, and thus have been handed down, like sleeping beauties hi fairy tales, to bless the sight of some wondering geologist of our pre- sent post-diluvial epoch. The modern geologist classes such notions as these by the side of others that now seem to all of us too ridiculous to be otherwise alluded to than in jest, though they were once impli- citly believed in. Who would hesitate about dismissing the honest countryman's conclusion, when, having ploughed up a stone about the size and shape of the human heart, he fancied he had scriptural autho- rity for having discovered the heart of Pharaoh, " which the Lord had hardened ?" And is it difficult to imagine how any people, in any part of Europe, can still be found so credulous as some of the Maltese peasantry, who seriously, and very lately, offered a friend of mine some fine fossil sharks' teeth, about three inches in length, as most valuable relics, the " veritable teeth of St. Paul." They believe that Apostle resided many years in their Island, and to his agency they ascribe even-thing that appears to be unusual or extraordinary. A very slight acquaintance with the rudiments of Entomology would be sufficient to remove many popular errors about insects; such as, for instance, that little flies are only the young state of large flies, and little beetles the young of large beetles ; whereas, all true insects only increase in size whilst they are passing through those early stages of their existence in which they are called grubs, maggots, caterpillars, &c. But endless examples of popular error of a like description might be adduced, all or most of which would speedily disappear if a little elementary instruction in national science were considered a REQUISITE BRANCH of our early education. Having alluded to Entomology, I would further remark that a more general acquaintance with the rudiments of this science might be especially serviceable to those who are engaged in Horticultural and Agri- 12 PROFESSOR HENSLOWS cultural pursuits. They would then be able to take advantage of their peculiar opportunities for procuring materials, and recording observations which might be turned to good account by those who are professed cultivators of this science. By referring to the Linnsean transactions, I see that on the very day I was two years old, separate communications were being read to the Linnasan Society, one from the pen of your venerable President, the Rev. W. Kirby, and the other from Mr. Marsham, his friend and brother Entomologist, in which are detailed their respective observations upon a little gnat, too well known under the name of the wheat midge (Cecidomya tritici), which injures the wheat crop, and sometimes to an alarming extent. Fifty years ago those two eminent observers of nature were unable to give a complete account of the economy of this insect, though their communications are carried through three succeeding volumes of the transactions to which I have referred. A few years since I took some pains in attempting to follow up their observations, in the hope of discovering some simple and convenient method of dimi- nishing the serious injury which this little pest occasions in our Suffolk fields. Although I am very little acquainted with the science of En- tomology, I was able to throw out a suggestion, which has since been approved of by two of our leading Entomologists, Mr. Curtis and Mr. Westwood, that it would be an important step in the enquiry to ascertain whether the myriads of the minute larvae or caterpillars of this gnat, which encase themselves among the standing ears of corn in the autumn, and are thus carried into the barn, ever undergo their final change, as those do which are known to descend into the ground. For if so, there would be a very ready and simple method, as I had practically ascertained, of continually persecuting them, and thus considerably diminishing their numbers. This suggestion was fully discussed, and a permanent midge-committee was appointed by an Agricultural society, whose members were to keep a sharp look out at the proper season of the year, when it was expected the point might be satisfactorily determined one way or the other ; but I am not aware that any further observations have been taken to elucidate the history of tins insect, beyond some unsuccessful attempts which Mr. Curtis has detailed in one of his valuable scientific communi- cations to the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society. By one of those singular coincidences which sometimes startle us, whilst I was penning the last sentence, I received a letter from a scien- tific friend (who was ignorant that I was preparing this address, and with whom I had not communicated for a long while), who has had more abundant opportunity than myself of witnessing the low degree of estimation in which scientific researches in Natural History are held by many persons whom we might have thought would have been willing to admit their importance. I copy a sentence from his letter, exactly as it occurs : " The truth is, the leading men of England " do not know the value of Natural Science, nor have any taste for " such nonsenses. These are not opinions I have formed hastily, or " from disappointments, which have been many in my own case ; but " from close observations for more than a quarter of a century." I shall protest, however, against any sweeping condemnation of the leading men of England in respect of their contempt for science. The national works in progress at Kew, are sufficient evidence that a just idea prevails with some of them ; that there is one, at least, of the natural sciences well worthy of being duly assisted and adequately encouraged. I allude to that science which bears so directly upon the great and important question, " how may we improve our means and " methods of obtaining the largest amount of food at the least neces- "sary outlay?" If Botany were merely a science which directs how plants are to be collected, named, and classified (as so many seem to think it is), the expense incurred by bringing the vegetable productions INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 13 of all parts of the world within the compass of a Botanic Garden, would be out of proportion to the value of the results that were likely to be obtained. But all this is only the first step necessary to the progress and the perfecting of our knowledge of Vegetable Physiology, and for ascertaining the general laws which regulate the distribution of plants. By connecting these enquiries with other sciences, we are gradually led to further discoveries, by methods and by reasonings nearly as unintelligible to those who despise natural science, as are the analytical processes by which a new planet has been lately added to our system to all who are ignorant of mathematics. The raw mate- rials must be procured, and the machinery must be contrived before the costly fabric can be manufactured. You will be inclined to think me guilty of a convenient forgery, if I quote to you a sentence from another letter, but which, I pledge my word, only came to hand last Sunday. I have not seen or corresponded with the writer for many months ; and he also is utterly ignorant that I have been preparing this address. " Mr. * * * is an extremely agreeable and intelligent ''man in everything but Natural History and science, of which he ' has a lamentably low opinion. He is a perfect specimen of the too- ' partial system of education pursued at Oxford j and as ignorant of ' the origin and working of our most common manufacturing products ' and arts, as he is well informed on all matters of finance, policy, ' &c." I fully agree with my scientific friend, that our Universities have been unduly negligent of the claims of science ; but I am truly happy to find, from a printed communication just received, that an effort is being made at Cambridge in favour of adding some of the natural sciences to the hitherto exclusive system which has prevailed there. I am informed that a good deal of opposition is expected ; but the attempt is considered worth making if it shall only show the world that there are persons in the University desirous of progress, For myself, I consider the attempt well worth making, if it shall only show us whether or not there is any prospect of a beneficial change being made in this direction. The progress of science has advantages of such varied character, that it would be idle and hopeless for me to attempt to make allusion to them all, even if I possessed the clue for tracing my way through such a labyrinth. Thus much, at least, has been evident from the past, and will be manifested to the future that as science ad- vances, and her discoveries become generally diffused, succeeding generations look back with surprise upon the credulities and incredu- lities of those which are past. Many of the popular prejudices of our own times will seem no less strange to our grandchildren and our great-grandchildren than we are now esteeming the opinions which our grandfathers and our great-grandfathers once held on Alchemy, Astrology, and Witchcraft. Although we have still among us a few admirers of these ancient and occult sciences, we are, in general, sufficiently advanced as a nation, to wonder how credulity could ever have sanctioned the consigning to the stake of hundreds per annum of our fellow-creatures, including poor helpless old women and chil- dren, for what we now know to have been an impossible crime. lu whatever respects our forefathers may have been superior to this generation, certainly the progress of science (and I believe it to have been owing to this cause chiefly, if not entirely) has set us free from those cruel and degrading superstitious in which they so firmly believed. Although many of the unhappy beings who suffered for these impossible crimes, were really gross pretenders to super- natural powers, for the purpose of plundering the credulous, yet no judge or jury, now-a-days, would pronounce even such to be de- serving of any greater punishment than our modern swindlers and quacks, under whatever grades of imposture they are practising upon the unwary and the ignorant. The real crime of which those pro- 14 PROFESSOR HENSLOWS tended astrologers and witches were often actually guilty is ever too fertile in expedient not to be devising fresh methods for cheating the credulously ignorant. For a very reasonable consideration, and by incomprehensible methods, we may gtill be ensured long life, certain health, plenty of hair, shares in mines of ready corned wealth, or at least 12f per cent., and I know not what other blessings and advan- tages besides, without any necessity of appealing to incantations and sorceries, in order to make such assurances doubly sure ! The heartless robberies I have known practised among our igno- rant poor, have increased my longings for the establishment of an efficient system of national education, which may enable them at least to comprehend that, as nature always works by general laws, so those persons who have made her laws their particular study, are far more likely to be of service in their bodily ailments than any parties whom they know to be unlawfully practising an art of whose principles they are probably as profoundly ignorant as themselves. I have a case constantly before my eyes of an epileptic patient, whom three or four of these cruel pretenders have plundered of a little hoard of his hard- earned savings, under pretence of being able to cure him ; one of them would not enter his cottage until he paid him two pounds, and another had thirty shillings. But even educated men are not exempt from this description of over credulous confidence in the ignorant pre tender ; and 1 have often thought that many persons, who are wholly uninstructed in the nature of scientific researches, are as much in the power of some of our modern charlatans as they who formerly trusted to the pretenders to sorcery and witchcraft. But the plausible re- presentations of the village quack are not the only sources whence an ignorant poverty is liable to become subject to grave inconve- niences. Could the Angel of Darkness be seen in his progress from cellar to cellar, from hovel to hovel, from alley to alley, his recognised presence could not better assure us of what science is already teaching do this, do that, or sicken and die ! The whistle of the advancing locomotive ought not to command a more ready attention from strollers on the rails, than those known laws of nature which bid us to keep filth from our streets, our houses ventilated, our diet wholesome, our persons cleanly, should be heeded by us all. In alluding to the epileptic patient in my own parish, I am re- minded of one important advantage which science has secured to the individual in question, and as it is one which cannot be brought too prominently before the notice of persons in humble life, it may be mentioned. We know how frequently Benefit Clubs fail, and thus leave the poor man to end his days in utter poverty, when he had been hoping to receive a pittance which, to him, would have been com- parative wealth. Now unless the proportions that should be observed between the receipts and payments of such clubs shall have been correctly adjusted upon abstruse mathematical considerations, the chances are that such a club will ultimately fail. In many cases it can be clearly demonstrated, on strictly scientific principles, that these clubs must fail. No matter Avhat the number of members may be, or the largeness of the sums which their subscriptions are bringing in ; all that can be said of such a club, if it be constituted on wrong prin- ciples, is, that the evil produced by its ultimate failure will be so much the greater. I am happy to say the individual to whom I have al- luded has secured himself a life interest in a Benefit Club, established on correct principles. We ought to understand that it is as strictly within the pro- vince of science to decide upon what is impossible, as it is for her to determine what may be. certain, and what may be only pro- bable. Geologists, for instance, can predict those disappointments which inevitably follow the search after coal (or some other mineral), in situations where it is impossible it should be met with, but INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 15 an experienced miner might readily have been deceived from super- ficial appearances, and have been tempted to make expensive trials; Mathematicians will look with pity upon the misapplied labours of extreme ingenuity, when thrown away upon the construction of some piece of machinery, which it is too zealously presumed may be so constructed as to exhibit a perpetual motion. No one who is really im- bued with a correct notion of that sort of evidence upon which meteoro- logical speculations are founded, would have been very likely to have joined the crowd who were besieging Mr. Murphy's house, in London, some few years ago, when the demand for his predictions had so far exceeded the means of supplying his Almanacks, that it became neces- sary to restrain the public impatience by calling in the aid of the police, one of whom was stationed, as I have been credibly assured, at an upper window, from whence he was heard calling out to the mob below " No more Murphys before 6 o'clock." I was not personally acquainted with the late Mr. Murphy ; but I believe he was no charlatan, turning his little knowledge of science to selfish ends, at a sacrifice of truth. I have understood that he was really honest in propounding what he himself considered to be fair inductions from so much knowledge of Astronomy, of Meteorology, of Electricity, and of whatever other science, as he had imperfectly acquired. Perhaps it may be said that he was one ex- ample, among many, of how dangerous a thing is " little knowledge ;" but I would rather say, that such dangers do not so often lie in our quantum of knowledge being small, as in our impatient application of what we do know. If a little knowledge be dangerous, then the less we possess, the greater must be the danger, whilst we shall con- tinue disinclined to listen to the advice of those who are better in- formed than ourselves. I once met a person \vho seemed to be some- what above the position of an agricultural labourer in his worldly calling, and perhaps he might be a small occupier of land. He had somehow picked up a scanty knowledge of mensuration, and having learnt how to ascertain the heights and distances of inaccessible objects, he became desirous of applying the rules of plane trigono- metry, to calculating the distance of the moon. Having first mea- sured the height of a certain hay stack, and then retreated a known distance till he found he could just catch sight of the moon peeping over it ; having also learnt where the moon was then perpendicular to the earth's surface, he considered that he had obtained suflicient data for determining her distance. Thus, he became convinced that the moon could not be more than about 4,000 or 5,000 miles oft'; although the more infatuated Herschels and Airys of the day were persisting in declaring that she was not less than 237,000. He pub- lished his calculations, and I do not think I succeeded in convincing him that the Earth having a curved surface, and not a plain one, it was necessary he should first make himself somewhat acquainted with the rudiments of Spherical Trigonometry before he was likely to be in a position to understand, or, at least, to comment on, the process by which the distances of the heavenly bodies can be correctly ascer- tained. It must, however, be confessed, that a little knowledge does sometimes become dangerous, even where due caution may apparently have been taken in applying it ; though even here I would maintain that perfect ignorance is a still more dangerous position for us all. A friend of mine very nearly lost his hand, if not his life, by emptying a bottle of some detonating compound into the fire, which his brother had left behind him on quitting Cambridge. He was well aware of his brother's chemical propensities, and fancying the bottle might contain some dangerous mixture, he first had the precaution to take out a little and throw it into the lire ; and then, as no ell'ect was pro- duced, he thought he might safely empty out the rest, when the whole exploded. Any one utterly ignorant of explosive compounds would never have thought of taking any such precaution at all ; and one 16 PKOFESSOR HENSLOW'S who was well acquainted with their nature, would have known that the precaution taken was not a sufficient warrant, in all cases, for perfect security. He who has never been informed that there are such things as poisonous snakes, would run greater risks than he who knows that some are poisonous and some not. But if the latter should also be ignorant of which kind he ought to be afraid, he will wisely abstain from intermeddling with any of them. He, however, who has learnt that we have only one poisonous snake in Britain, and that the two other species found in this country (as well as all our other reptiles, whether toads, lizards, or newts) are perfectly harmless, will cease to be so wantonly cruel as to destroy these helpless creatures, thinking all the while he is doing meritorious service to the public. But still, even this little knowledge of our native reptiles may lead to inconvenient results, as I have experienced. In order to remove the prejudice that so universally exists in Suffolk against that inoffensive and really useful little creature, the slow-worm, I gave a lecture upon reptiles to my parishioners, when a score of live slow-worms were handed round to the company by my own children. This so con- vinced the party of their harmless nature, that 1 have since heard of some persons in my village having kept them as pets. One lad, however, shortly afterwards finding a young viper, fancied it might be a slow- worm. As he did not feel quite certain, he applied to some men who were near to tell him whether it was so ; they igno- rantly assured him that it was, and he immediately and fearlessly took it up and was bitten. In further and final illustration of the comparative advantages and disadvantages of a little know- ledge, I will mention another trifling matter, which comes home to us here, and it will serve to illustrate both the use and abuse of a little knowledge. On my first visit to this Museum which has so suddenly sprung into existence that we might fancy there was an Aladdin-lamp to be seen in one of the cases I observed a black idol, apparently of basalt, and which I had no doubt had been brought from Egypt. But, to my surprise, it was labelled as having come from those districts of South America which have lately been explored on account of the remains of ancient cities which have been discovered there. It was agreed the matter should be referred to the authorities at the British Museum ; but before it was sent to London, Mr. G. Eansome accidentally discovered that the material of which the idol was made was a soft substance, and not basalt, which is a remark- ably hard stone. And here my own little knowledge of antiquities deceived, or rather seduced me into suspecting that the idol might very possibly be altogether a forgery. I set to work in a way by which I thought I should ascertain whether it might not be one of those modern antiques which are so skilfully and abundantly manufac- tured in Italy, to be sold to travellers, and more especially to English- men. I first took the specific gravity of the idol, in a rough way, in order to ascertain whether the materials of which it might be composed had nearly the same specific gravity of basalt, or not. And here I made a foolish mistake, from trusting to another person who was holding the spring steelyard to which I had attached the idol, whilst I was carefully observing that it was duly immersed in a pail of water below us. Eyes which were well accustomed to read oft' the index when weighing a joint of meat, being now placed a little above the index, and not immediately opposite to it, made out for me that the weight in water was above a pound more than it really was. Hence I obtained a specific gravity for a soft stone that was far greater than that of basalt. This induced me to suppose that it was certainly a forgery, and that there must be lead concealed in the interior. But after having bored small holes, and finding none, and by this process having ascertained the material to be potstone, and that the specific gravity of its powder was very different from what INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 17 I had obtained from the whole mass, I repeated my original experi- ment, and then detected my mistake. I sent the idol to a friend in London, who, having taken it to the British Museum, writes thus : ' I have shown the figure to Mr. Birch and Mr. Bononi. The latter ' is a sculptor, and has been a great deal in Egypt, and knows much ' of these matters. He immediately pronounced it genuine Romano- ' Egyptian, a priest holding an image of Osiris. He says that many 'of these sculptures are formed of potstone." We must admit it, then, as a genuine Egyptian abomination, though not of that pure caste before which a Pharoah might have bowed and worshipped. Those degenerate sons of old Egypt who suffered themselves to be conquered by the Romans, appear to have thought soft potstone was a more convenient material to work upon than hard basalt. Who can say whether some cotemporary of Demetrius of Ephesus had not a hand in shaping it ? Subsequent enquiry from the donor of the idol, has traced the cause of the original mistake concerning its locality, and there is now no doubt that it had never visited the new world. Throughout this Address I have preferred taking most of my illus- trations from my own trifling experiences, to searching for better or worthier examples. I would therefore wish to refer you for more sufficient arguments, for more pertinent observations, and for more profound illustration, to the excellent little work of Sir J. Herschel, A Discourse on Natural Philosophy, which 1 trust will soon have been read by every one of you who is wishing to see what science has done, and may be expected to do, for the general advantage of man, as a social being and as a moral agent. I have said little of the dis- advantages that may be expected to arise out of a more general atten- tion to science ; for I do not believe there ought to be any disadvan- tages follow the most general diffusion that can be given to knowledge of this description. If we find the highest opportunities which God affords to man cannot secure us against certain abuses of them, we may expect that scientific knowledge will be, as it sometimes is, grossly abused, for the promotion of personal interest at the expense of deluded conlidence. It would not be right, on such on occasion as this, to do more than just glance at one very serious objection which is sometimes made to the diffusion, or rather, I might say, to the cultivation of the sciences. Some persons consider that these pursuits are calculated to exert a pernicious influence upon our hearts and minds, and that they have a tendency to lead us astray from higher and more worthy objects. Now, I would at once concede the point, to such as choose to moot it, that the highest estimate of the Divine power and Godhead which may be obtained from our closest observation of the Works of the Creation, cannot procure for us the least and lowest of those spiritual graces, which require (as we believe) an implicit confidence in God's Word. If it were otherwise, a well-informed Heathen, or a better enlightened Jew, might hope, by diligently searching after God, to be raised by these means alone above the unlearned Christian who has faith to accept the promises of the Gospel, and who is believing in his heart that Christ Jesus died to save sinners. But after having granted thus much to our unscientific opponents (and they are avowedly our opponents) I would grant them no more. If they tell me (and I have been so told) that science is necessarily a snare and an obstruction to our spiritual progress, I tell them, in return, that I utterly deny and disbelieve their assertions. Whilst I freely admit some of them to be very far better judges than myself of how great a variety of accurate interpre- tations may be put upon the mere letter of God's Word, I claim full freedom for the exercise of private judgment concerning those spiritual things which the Bible is intended to teach me. This privilege I con- ceive to be the legitimate birthright of that weighty responsibility laid upon every man, to take heed to himself as to whether he is standing 18 PROFESSOR HENSLOW'S or falling to his own Master. To all who would refuse us this high, privilege (were they the most learned of men), we may safely reply in the words of the Patriarch, " No doubt but ye are the people, and " wisdom shall die with you. But I have understanding as well as " you ; I am not inferior to you : yea, who knoweth not such things " as these ?" (Job. XII., 2, 3.) Can they, indeed, be supposing it pos- sible that a closer inspection of the lilies of the field than they have an inclination to give them, will necessarily compel us to acknowledge that these good creatures of God have now lost somewhat in the com- parison of their clothing with that of the richest garments ever woven for an earthly potentate ? Do they, indeed, fancy that our corrected estimate of God's wisdom, and our improved appreciation of God's power, obtained by a stricter investigation of his works, must neces- sarily be tempting us to declare his goodness to be no longer unsearch- able, his ways no longer past our finding out ? What if they can hold up to us the names of some men, glorious in the eyes of the world on account of their scientific attainments, who have nevertheless been disbelievers in God's "Word ? how can they tell to what extent such unworthy infidelity had been fostered, perhaps engendered, by the very oppositions, persecutions, and obloquy, to which those men had been subjected by a prejudiced intolerance. May they not have been seduced into infidelity by the very conduct of their bigoted opponents, who would thus have thrust upon them their own poor puerile notions of what science ought to teach, but which their own more enlightened understandings had shown them to be no otherwise than gross absurdity. I do not say this in justi- fication, or even in extenuation, of those Infidel philosophers who have rejected the Bible merely because they could not accept the precise interpretations which their opponents had chosen to put upon its teachings. They might have done better for themselves. They are responsible for not having tried to do so. But it is a lawful question for us to ask, whether the too impatient incredulity of one party is at all worse than the too uninquiring credulity of the other. Let us be mutually tolerant, mutually confiding, and then in due course we shall learn to see how impossible it is that either the works of God, or the Word of God, can ever be teaching us things contra- dictory to truth. How far the patient study of all God's various method? of revealing to us his holy will, may be actually necessary for mutually throwing light upon each other, I will not venture to suggest. Of this I am quite sure : that where the study of God's works is combined with a sure faith in his Word, the former can in no respect impair our spiritual possession of the life that now is, or de- prive us of the enjoyment of one jot or tittle of those glorious pro- mises which have assured to us a blessed immortality. I trust this slight trespassing on holy ground will be pardoned. But I felt that I could not well conclude this Address without some little allusion to the specific objection which I have endeavoured to meet. If they who are inclined to take advantage of the opportunities about to be afforded them will only be commonly watchful, they may freely dis- miss apprehensions (should any arise) which are so unworthy of true believers ; and they will be able to show our opponents, that if they also will only venture on the task of expelling their own wilful spirit of ignorance of God's works, they need not allow of its returning again, with seven others more evil still, to torment them with any doubts or disbelievings as to the real intent or meaning of God's Word. If the garnished house shall have become a more attractive object for such attacks, let it be esteemed better worthy a more powerful defence. Whilst the owner is properly watchful, even the stronger enemy shall not be able to spoil him of the armour in which he puts his trust ; but having once assayed its temper, he will become confident in life or in death, for time or for eternity, that it will enable him to keep his goods in peace. INTRODUCTORY LECTURE. 19 I cannot sit down without assuring you that I am fully conscious how little I am really qualified for being of much more service to you than a linger-post, which can point out the way, but must soon be left behind by those who are advancing on the road. But though 1 have no claims to any great depth of information upon any one branch of science, I shall not be willing to admit myself ignorant of the right path which you must take, if you would nave your hopes realized, and would expect to see this institution bringing forth those fruits which it seems to be so well calculated for producing. I shall this time quote a passage from a letter received yesterday from a person who teas aware that 1 was about to address you, and who himself has been much interested and occupied in the success of a Mechanics' Institution in his own neighbourhood : " We have in 'this small town an Institution which is moderately successful; that ' is, our lectures are well attended, if a favourite lecturer is likely to ' hold forth. But if subjects are supposed to be dry or difficult, tliere 'is an indisposition to attend. We are not able to keep any classes ' going for a continuance, but have been able to make two or three ' good Botanists. Unquestionably, classes form the most useful de- 1 partment of every Institution where they can be successfully fol- ' lowed up. The chief cause of their failure, or very languid opera- ' tions, is the want of early elementary education; that is, of education 1 as it ought to be and might, which I much lament." Though the defect of an early elementary education in science may be deplored, it is not entirely past remedy, especially with regard to Natural History. We have had, and still have, men among us emi- nent in such scientific attainments, who never paid the slightest attention to these subjects till they were somewhat advanced in life. It, to my best wishes for your success, I may be allowed to add an occasional (though it cannot be a very frequent) ettbrt to assist you, such opportunities as I may be able to command are at your service. But you must not be hearers only there must be real labouring on your own parts. The result will one day show whether it shall have been sufficiently earnest, manly, and Christian. ripr.n. PKTXTER, irswicn. CALIF. LISMV. LQS AHUBIS.