lectual refinement, and numerous
other circumstances, which, without historical associations, would be
uninteresting or imperfectly understood. As the present condition of
nations is the result of many antecedent changes, some extremely remote,
and others recent, some gradual, others sudden and violent; so the
state, of the natural world is the result of a long succession of
events; and if we would enlarge our experience of the present economy of
nature, we must investigate the effects of her operations in former
epochs.

We often discover with surprise, on looking back into the chronicles of
nations, how the fortune of some battle has influenced the fate of
millions of our contemporaries, when it has long been forgotten by the
mass of the population. With this remote event we may find inseparably
connected the geographical boundaries of a great state, the language now
spoken by the inhabitants, their peculiar manners, laws, and religious
opinions. But far more astonishing and unexpected are the connections
brought to light, when we carry back our researches into the history of
nature. The form of a coast, the configuration of the interior of a
country, the existence and extent of lakes, valleys, and mountains, can
often be traced to the former prevalence of earthquakes and volcanoes in
regions which have long been undisturbed. To these remote convulsions
the present fertility of some districts, the sterile character of
others, the elevation of land above the sea, the climate, and various
peculiarities, may be distinctly referred. On the other hand, many
distinguishing features of the surface may often be ascribed to the
operation, at a remote era, of slow and tranquil causes--to the gradual
deposition of sediment in a lake or in the ocean, or to the prolific
increase of testacea and corals.

To select another example, we find in certain localities subterranean
deposits of coal, consisting of vegetable matter, formerly drifted into
seas and lakes. These seas and lakes have since been filled up, the
lands whereon the forests grew have disappeared or changed their form,
the rivers and currents which floated the vegetable masses can no longer
be traced, and the plants belonged to species which for ages have passed
away from the surface of our planet. Yet the commercial prosperity, and
numerical strength of a nation, may now be mainly dependent on the local
distribution of fuel determined by that ancient state of things.