e growth of the mighty civilisations which they founded.

Nor is his study confined to the progress of humanity alone; he has
before him, as in a museum, all the strange animal and vegetable forms
which occupied the stage in days when the world was young; he can
follow all the wonderful geological changes which have taken place,
and watch the course of the great cataclysms which have altered the
whole face of the earth again and again.

In one especial case an even closer sympathy with the past is possible
to the reader of the records. If in the course of his enquiries he has
to look upon some scene in which he himself has in a former birth
taken part, he may deal with it in two ways; he can either regard it
in the usual manner as a spectator (though always, be it remembered,
as a spectator whose insight and sympathy are perfect) or he may once
more identify himself with that long-dead personality of his--may
throw himself back for the time into that life of long ago, and
absolutely experience over again the thoughts and the emotions, the
pleasures and the pains of a prehistoric past. No wilder and more
vivid adventures can be conceived than some of those through which he
thus may pass; yet through it all he must never lose hold of the
consciousness of his own individuality--must retain the power to
return at will to his present personality.

It is often asked how it is possible for an investigator accurately to
determine the date of any picture from the far-distant past which he
disinters from the records. The fact is that it is sometimes rather
tedious work to find an exact date, but the thing can usually be done
if it is worth while to spend the time and trouble over it. If we are
dealing with Greek or Roman times the simplest method is usually to
look into the mind of the most intelligent person present in the
picture, and see what date he supposes it to be; or the investigator
might watch him writing a letter or other document and observe what
date, if any, was included in what was written. When once the Roman or
Greek date is thus obtained, to reduce it to our own system of
chronology is merely a matter of calculation.

Another way which is frequently adopted is to turn from the scene
under examination to a contemporary picture in some great and
well-known city such as Rome, and note what monarch is reigning there,
or who are the consuls for the year; and when such data are discovered
a glance at any good hist