have vanished by denudation, points to a term of 90,000,000 years as
required for the process. [87]

"Reasoning from these _facts_, assuming the rate of change in the forms
of life to have been the same formerly, Lyell concludes that geological
phenomena postulate 200,000,000 years at least," [88] "to account for
the undoubted facts of geology since life began." [89] On the other
hand, mathematical astronomy, [90] on theories which Mr. Laing complains
of as wanting the solidity of geological calculations (yet which do not
involve more, but fewer assumptions), cannot allow the sun a past
existence of more than 15,000,000 years. [91] "It is evident that there
must be some fundamental error on one side or the other," [92] "for the
laws of nature are uniform, and there cannot be one code for
astronomers, and one for geologists." But while modestly relegating this
slight divergency among the "bell-wethers of science" (bell-wethers, I
presume, because the crowd follow them like sheep), to the "problems of
the future," Mr. Laing is quite confident that we should "distrust these
mathematical calculations," and rely on conclusions based on
_ascertained facts_ and undoubted deductions from them, rather than on
abstract and doubtful theories, "which would so reduce geological time
as to negative the idea of uniformity of law and evolution, and
introduce once more the chaos of catastrophes and supernatural
interferences."[93] As regards the ice-age, Mr. Laing is professedly
interested in putting it as far back as possible, since "a short date
for that period shortens that for which we have positive proof of the
existence of man, and ... a very short date ... brings us back to the
old theories of repeated and recent acts of supernatural interference."
[94] Strange, that in the same page he should refer to Sir J. Dawson as
an "extreme instance" of one who approaches the question with
"theological prepossessions;" and of course in complete ignorance of Mr.
Laing's indubitable conclusions about the antiquity of Egyptian
civilization. Unfortunately, even the best scientists have not that
perfect freedom from bias, which gives Mr. Laing such a towering
advantage over them all. "An authority like Prestwich," who "cannot be
accused of theological bias," influenced, however, by a servile
astronomical bias, "reduces to 20,000 years a period to which Lyell and
modern geologists assign a duration of more than 200,000 years;" [95]
which "shows