odies; also a tolerably clear
one as to gravitation having been the determining cause of both locality
and movement. From these ideas the general one naturally suggested to us
is--a former stage in the frame of material things, perhaps only a point
in progress from some other, or a return from one like the
present--universal space occupied with gasiform matter. This, however,
was of irregular constitution, so that gravitation caused it to break up
and gather into patches, producing at once the relative localities of
astral and solar systems, and the movements which they have since
observed, in themselves and with regard to each other--from the daily
spinning of single bodies on their own axes, to the mazy dances of vast
families of orbs, which come to periods only in millions of years.

How grand, yet how simple the whole of this process--for a God only to
conceive and do, and yet for man, after all, to trace out and ponder
upon. Truly must we be in some way immediate to the august Father, who
can think all this, and so come into His presence and council, albeit
only to fall prostrate and mutely adore.

Not only are the orbs of space inextricably connected in the manner
which has been described, but the constitution of the whole is uniform,
for all consist of the same chemical elements. And now, in our version
of the romance of Nature, we descend from the consideration of
orb-filled space and the character of the universal elements, to trace
the history of our own globe. And we find that this falls significantly
into connection with the primary order of things suggested by Laplace's
theory of the origin of the solar system in a vast nebula or fire-mist,
which for ages past has been condensing under the influence of
gravitation and the radiation of its heat.

_II.--History of the Earth's Crust_

When we study the earth's crust we find that it consists of layers or
strata, laid down in succession, the earlier under the influence of
heat, the later under the influence of water. These strata in their
order might be described as a record of the state of life upon our
planet from an early to a comparatively recent period. It is truly such
a record, but not one perfectly complete.

Nevertheless, we find a noteworthy and significant sequence. We learn
that there was dry land long before the occurrence of the first fossils
of land plants and animals. In different geographical formations we
find various species, though som