lay all undiscovered before me.”* Which drew from Pope the famous eulogium—

"Nature and Nature's laws lay hid in night, God said, 'Let Newton be,' and all was light." Mr. Darwin's just fame will rest upon the charm of his writings, the depth of his researches, and the mass of information which he had accumulated; nor will it be lessened by his approval of Christian Missions, and the regard which he ever manifested for the religious principles of others, in striking contrast to the outspoken and materialistic atheism of some who claimed to be his disciples.

I have therefore endeavoured to show1st. That the Evolution theory is "only an hypothesis " according to Mr. Darwin's own admission; and therefore Dr. Elam's description of it is just, when he terms it "an unverified theoretic conception."

2nd. That this theory conflicts with the

*Brewster's Life of Newton, vol. ii., p. 407. Sir David justly remarks, "This memorable and noble sentiment was uttered a short time before his death."

infallible Word of Truth, as the language of Moses in the first chapter of Genesis plainly contradicts the assertion of man having been developed from the lower animals; and declares that man came into existence by the sole act of creative power on the part of an Omnipotent Being, who determined to form man of the dust of the ground in His own image, after His own likeness. "So God created man; male and female created He them."

3rd. That it is a grievous mistake to suppose, what is often asserted with surprising confidence, that all the learned men, as Sir Joseph Hooker thought, had accepted the doctrine of " EVOLUTION." I have shown, on the contrary, by quoting the ipssissima verba, that almost all the scientific celebrities of the 19th century have rejected the Evolutionary theory, either positively or inferentially. Even Professor Tyndall, who has spoken in deservedly high terms of Mr. Darwin, considers it "certain" that his (Darwin's) theory of Evolution will undergo "modifications."

Are we not, therefore, warranted in supposing, as I have ventured to predict, that before many years have elapsed this hypothesis, like other speculations of an unsubstantial nature, will have disappeared like a mist before the rising sun.

If any thing could convince me of the possibility of the Evolution theory being true, it would be an interesting and valuable work by Mrs. F. J. Hughes, the widow of a clergyman, and I believe a relative of the late Mr. Darwin, entitled, Harmonies of Tones and Colours Developed by Evolution. It is written, apparently, in support of the Darwinian theory, with all that grace and gentleness which is so becoming and peculiar to the better sex, when engaged on subjects of heated controversy, as well as in a spirit of sincere Christian devotion. But it is evident that a scientific knowledge of "thorough bass" can alone enable the reader to follow the train of thought adopted by Mrs. Hughes in her clever and unpretending work.

While, therefore, compelled to dissent

from her conclusions, I gladly rest upon one of the mottoes which she has prefixed to her work-"Search the Scriptures. they are they which testify of ME." While I exceedingly admire the whole "get up of the work in question, the beauty of the type, with its illustrative coloured diagrams, and the delightful spirit in which the work is composed, I am content to adhere to my previous opinion that the origin of the human race on earth is due solely and exclusively to the last act of Divine Wisdom, in creating man after the image and likeness of God; and that this feeling is in a great measure shared by Mrs. Hughes herself I cannot doubt, from the fact of her DEDICATION having been addressed "to those searchers after truth, who, without implicit trust in their own finite powers, take delight in tracing the deep laws of the Almighty as typified in His word, and embodied in the beautiful work of Nature."

One more testimony I venture to give on this interesting subject, from the pen of,

possibly, the most gifted writer of fiction that the world has ever seen. Some hitherto unpublished letters of the late Mrs. Cross (known to the world as "George Eliot,") have recently (March, 1884) been commented on in the Journal des Débats, by M. James Darmester, which have been. placed in his hands by a correspondent of the great authoress. In one, bearing date Dec. 5th, 1859, after reading Darwin's Origin of Species, George Eliot writes, with that clear grasp of truth and that charming grace for which this gifted lady was so celebrated-" So the world gets on step by step to brave clearness and honesty. But the chain of Darwinism, and all the explanations of the march by which things have been produced, make but a feeble impression upon me, compared with the mystery lying beneath this same march." Hence, we are not surprised at her hearty condemnation of the scepticism and Latitudinarianism which prevails with so many inferior minds in the present day. In a letter dated Nov. 26th, 1862, she writes—“ I am