[264] Supplied to me by the late Professor H.D. Rogers, from the notes of his Lectures. _Table showing the Diminution of Mortality in different Countries._ Deaths in England, in 1690, 1 in 33, in 1848, 1 in 47. " France, in 1776, 1 in 25½, in 1848, 1 in 42. " Germany, in 1788, 1 in 32, in 1848, 1 in 40. " Sweden, in 1760, 1 in 34, in 1848, 1 in 41. " Roman States, in 1767, 1 in 21½, in 1829, 1 in 28. _Diminution of Mortality in Cities._ Deaths in London, in 1690, 1 in 24, in 1844, 1 in 44. " Paris, in 1650, 1 in 25, in 1829, 1 in 32. " Berlin, in 1755, 1 in 28, in 1827, 1 in 34. " Vienna, in 1750, 1 in 20, in 1829, 1 in 25. " Rome, in 1770, 1 in 21, in 1828, 1 in 31. " Geneva, in 1560, 1 in 18, in 1821, 1 in 40. Glancing at the cradle of nations and races risen to grandeur, and observing the wretchedness by which they were originally surrounded, we learn that no lot is removed from the influence of this law. The Feejee Islander, the Bushman, the Hottentot, the Congo negro, is not too low for its care. No term of imagined "finality" can arrest it. The polished Briton, whose civilization we now admire, traces his long-descended lineage from one of those painted barbarians whose degradation still lives in the pages of Julius Cæsar. Slowly, and by degrees, he has reached the height where he now stands; but this is no "finality." The improvement of the Past is the earnest of yet further improvement in the long ages of the Future. And who can doubt, that, in the lapse of time, as the Christian Law is gradually fulfilled, the elevation of the Briton will be shared by all his fellow-men? The tokens of improvement may appear at a special period, in a limited circle only, among the people, favored of God, enjoying peculiar benefits of commerce and Christianity; but the happy influence cannot be narrowed to any time, place, or people. Every victory over evil redounds to the benefit of all. Every discovery, every humane thought, every truth, when declared, is a conquest of which the whole Human Family are partakers, extending by so much their dominion, while it lessens by so much the sphere of future struggle and trial. Thus, while Nature is always the same, the power of Man is ever increasing. Each day gives him some new advantage. The mountains have not diminished in size; but Man has overcome the barriers they interpose. The winds and waves are not less capricious now than when they first beat upon the ancient Silurian rocks; but the steamboat, "Against the wind, against the tide, Now steadies on with upright keel."