That nature has a decided tendency to the formation of circles, I cannot for one moment doubt. If there be yet doubters on that subject,--if there be yet those who deem the discovery of Mr. MacLeay a mere invention of his own, let them consider the plan of the universe, as established by the celebrated Newton,--let them behold the glorious sun, a circular centre of light and life; let them observe the circular attendant worlds, which revolve in circles about him, and which are themselves attended by circular moons, whose progression is still in circles: the very days of the year, a varied effect of the same universally operating cause, proclaim the existence of a circle, by lengthening and shortening until they arrive at the very day from which our observations began. These facts, these unquestionable facts, while they beautifully illustrate the existence of circles in the grand primary distribution of nature, point quite as decidedly to another conclusion, which it is my aim also to establish--that there is a tendency universally developed, in a greater or less degree, in all minor or less important circles to arrange themselves round major or more important ones. Systematists, although fully allowing the existence of this tendency in this the primary or highest system of nature which human intellect has hitherto been able to grasp; yet its application in detail to the systematic arrangement of the numerous objects of natural history has hitherto been totally neglected. It can hardly be supposed that the idea has never occurred to any of the illustrious writers who have devoted their time and talents to this interesting subject: it has most probably occurred, and been rejected as insupportable. It may perhaps be, that the apparent difficulty of arranging the objects of natural history thus, as it were, in a mass, has operated somewhat against the proposal or adoption of a plan like the present; but if we come to consider the question with the cool deliberation which an inquiry of this kind requires, I trust it will be generally considered that our first object is to discover, if possible, nature's plan; our second to adapt it to our own artificial ideas. Should the present, or any future scheme, prove incontrovertible,--and incontrovertible the real system of nature must be, whenever discovered,--it will then be high time to meditate on the best plan of rendering it serviceable to ourselves, and available to science; and objectors on this score must please to recollect that the calculations for eclipses, and other important astronomical phenomena, experienced any thing but delay or difficulty from Newton's development of the true solar system. Be the system of nature discovered when it may, it will never be found that _Appia Via_ which Linnæus has made it out to be, but rather like the Cretan labyrinth, and whoever may happen to be the fortunate Theseus, must undertake the task of showing the way to his competitors, until