The Portland daily press., 1870-05-27
THE PRESS.
Friday Morning, hay ct. 1870.


The Homo Snurians.
The Darwinian theory of the origin of the
human species is that it has arisen by a pro-
cess of natural selection and gradual improve
ment, continued through countless ages, from
a primary animal monad to which all animal
life of every form must be attributed. BY this
law of progress the lower order of animals has
developed into the higher till, as one link in
the endless series, man appears to fret his
busy hour upon the stage of the worlds exis-
tence, and then to be superseded by the supe-
rior order into which he is to deveope OF
course different individuals of the race possess
varying proportions Of the characteristics OF
the lower class from which we sprung and OF
the higher to which we are tending.
Biologists tell us that in the earliest ages
of the mundane sphere which have no history,
except that recorded by the Creator in the
everlasting hills, immense monsters tour own
proeenitors. if Darwin be correct) padded the
scaIdinq waves, beneath which glowed eternal
fires not vet quenched or flew through the
murky air and lighted at will upon the few
heated rocks that began to appear above the
UOOu. TOT COOcT WdtcIS anu II more mOuer'
ate temperature these Saurians were untitled,
and so the lapse of centuries and progressive
development improved them off of the earth :
but their characteristics have been so clearly
perpetuated in many human species as to
give color of probability to the speculations
OF Darwin. Naturaists describe these crea-
lures as having an enormous eye, tremen-
dous jan, and a nervous system not center.
ing in the brain; SO they could live and move
without their head almost as well as with it..
1t may be only because our own employment
leads us to observe them more particularly
than we do others. but it really does seem to
us that there are more members of the edi-
tlonal fraternity who display these same
traits than there are of those who are en-
gagged in other pursuits in lie. We can recall
several instances OF those whose papeIs come
under our notice every week, who clearly
vindicate their claim to a Saurian ancestry.
They have wonderful optics for the perception
of things Invisible to mortal sight and which
never at sny subsequent time, come within
the range OF ordinary vision; but as these
sights are always of an extremely disagreeable
and disgusting nature, being invariably some
plot, or treachery, or bribery, or dishonesty, OF
something else discIeditable to humanity, ex-
isting where no one else can suspect or detect
it, we do not know as this intense visual DOW
er is to be envied to its unhappy possessors
Then they are never content unless they are
padding about in the hot water of some angry
controversy and delighting to splash the scald
ing flood which is their natural element upon
the sensitive cuticle of more delicate and re-
fined organizations. They also display an i'm
mense amount of JAM kept in constant acivi
ty without the least apparent exercise @
bran-power.
For instance, there is the New York Sun
which may be called the Ichthysaurus of the
press, with its large capital and extensive cir
culation, living and breathing upon the tur
bulent waves of the most angry and heated
disputes with its contemporaries, teeming will
its pretended revelations of the corruption, in
capacity and dishonesty of the administration
that did not appreciate quite according to hi:
own estimate the qualifications of its chief
editor for diplomatic position. The Adrertisel
of this city we should call the Plesiosaurus
initiating in its more feeble way and Unite,
sphere the spleen and Immature of its metro
politan prototype, having the same jaundicet
sight for the conduct of everybody in officia
station, and dealing in the same violent vitu-
peration; while the Biddeford Journal is the
mere lizard of the species, possessing to the
full the same contentious spirit, the same APP
titude for living in hot water, the same swing
of jaw entirely disproportioned to the head
to which it appeitains, but powerless to harm
Though in every issue it assails all the recog
nized opponents of the party of which it as
sumes to be the County organ, its action onl
shews the depraved disposition of the ANNA
while it cannot affect those against whom it
assaults are directed,