Most happily for Christendom, our noblest men of science are not ashamed of the “reproach of Christ;” and we know not how to conclude this chapter in a strain more accordant with our own thoughts than by quoting the words of an eminent living naturalist:—“I can echo with fullest truth the experience of Bishop Heber; ‘In every ride I have taken, and in every wilderness in which my tent has been pitched, I have found enough to keep my mind from sinking into the languor and the apathy which have been regarded as natural to a tropical climate.’ Nay, I may truly say, I found _no tendency_ to apathy or ennui. Every excursion presented something to admire; every day had its novelty; the morning was always pregnant with eager expectation; the evening invariably brought subjects of interest fresh and new; and the days were only too short for enjoyment. They were not days of stirring adventure, of dangerous conflicts with man or with beast, or of hair-breadth escapes in flood and field; their delights were calm and peaceful, I trust not unholy, nor unbecoming the character of a Christian, who has his heart in heaven, and who traces, even in earth’s loveliest scenes, the mark of the spoiler. The sentiments expressed by my friend[12] and fellow-labourer are those which I would ever associate with the study of science. ‘If the sight of nature,’ observes Mr. Hill, ‘were merely the looking at a painted pageantry, or at a spectacle filling the carnal mind with wonder and delight, the spirit would be overpowered and worked into weariness; but it is admiration at the wisdom, and reverence for the beneficence of Almighty power. He who dwelleth in the light which no man can approach unto, whom no man hath seen, nor can see,’ is yet visible in His perfections through the works of His hand, and His designs are made manifest in the purpose of His creatures. Wherever our lot is cast, into whatever scenes our wayward impulses lead us, the mind-illumined eye gazes on divine things, and the spirit-stirred heart feels its pulses bounding with emotions from the touch of an ever-present Deity. The habit that sees in every object the wisdom and the goodness as well as the power of God, I may speak of, as Coleridge speaks of the poetical spirit, ‘it has been to me an exceeding great reward; it has soothed my afflictions; it has multiplied and refined my enjoyments; it has endeared my solitude; and it has given me the habit of wishing to discover the good and the beautiful in all that meets and surrounds me.’ “‘Great are thy works, Jehovah, infinite Thy power! what thought can measure thee, or tongue Relate thee?’”[13] CHAPTER III. THE ANCIENT EPOCH. “Where wast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth?”—_Job_ xxxviii. 4.