The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1871-11-21

Spiritualistic Exuviae-NO. 4
In the hurried manner in which | am
forced to throw off these structures upon
a leprous form of misbeicf, which now
seeks to cover its ghastly nature with the
decenter costume of skcptical scientists,
L omitted to notice one of the chief OBJ
jcctions to the view | have taken of the
first verse OF Genesis as an independent
sentence, and maintaining what has been
denominated, though with no reason for
it, the "chasm theory" For the idea Of
a chasm, between the world as it was,
previous to the formative process de-
scribed as commencing Gen. 1:3, "And
God said Let there be light &c." there
was not, at least, such total break in
the order of creation, as to have preclud-
ed the possibility of the germs (semina
rerum) of the present races from
again, in part populating the earth
That there was no break at all to
bring upon the earth such condi.
tion OF subluuary things as is described
in the second verse. it is difficult to see
how it can lie maintained in the face OF
the two well known facts, that no remains
OF the present animals or vegetables are
to be found in the fosslifcrous rocks lat
least none in those below the .tcrtiary'0 J.
and that none of the fossil species are
now cxtant upon the globe. If, however
1t be claimed that there are exceptions
to these rules they are too trihing and
doubtful to affect their validity, while
the cases of striking resemblance may be
referred to the maintenance of analogous
types Of being in each fresh creation.
Indeed the universal presence Of drift"
and the striac upon rocks at the surface
seems to be conclusive evidence of some
grand cataclysm, closing the prc.adamic
period with universe wreck. which the
hippant assertions Of some modern writers
cannot gainsay.
Prot. Jewell Of Chicago, thus sums up
the proper scientific conclusions from the
latest geological data
81. Man and the mammoth in som,
parts of the world were contenporanc Gus
=. Instead of carryin. man back tc
the period assigned to the mammoth anc
other great extinct pachy yderms, we ar,
required rather to bring the mammoth
down TO the period ofm
3. We may safely say that the facts
ELECTED, not only show that those deposits
in which remains Of man may have beer
found, within the six thousand years o.
historical chronology, but, in all prob
ability, such ras the case.
4. The knowledge We vet have of the
dynamical geology, of the various super
fetal formation, from"pci.tocene" i. @
the newest tertiary strata, which contain,
the largest proportion Of living species o.
shells)," upward, is not such as to enable
US to reach trustworthy conclusions with
regard to past time.
D. Geological changes have taker
place in the past, with a rapidity seldom
if ever witnessed, at present
| referred above to the period Of tn,
drift" when through the reign of ic,
the land was again submerged beneath
the waves, probably confrmatory Of Gen
! :"When the earth was waste and bar,
(scene of ruips), and darkness was upol
the face Of the abyss, while the Spirit o
God was brooding upon the face of tn
waters" And in this connection | quot
from Dr.. Winchells : Sketches of ere
alton. Speaking Of the state of thing
on this continent, he says When tn
continent Of North America, which ha,
been growing through unnumbered ages
by continued annexations Of land wreste,
! from the dominion Of the sea, had fnall
t attained the dimensions and outlines des
;; tined TO endure through the human era
! when the great mountain axes had beel
T uplitted, and the broad river-stream
, were rolling the drainage Of the valley
+ and hill-slopes to the sea-when the hors
and camel, the elephant, the bear, an,
> other quadrupeds which were to charac
A terize the epoch Of man, had assume
4 their stations on the land-when the at
mosphere was populated with birds an
2 insects, which were destined in IA comm
, age, to be startled by the presence Of
dominant inteliigencr--whrn the beech
the tulips, the linden, aud the button
, wood had taken their places on thci
places Oh the iungies margin and tn
highland siopc, and the sorrowing willo,
had begun to weep above the fowin
- waters Of the dgc-bordered stream
when the whole face of nature sceme
; fitted and expectant Of the browning wor
of creation, what should prevent the D
vine Artificer, from summoning man upo
the scene, to beg the labor of his eartbl
life? To finite intelligence the prepaI
ations were complete. To the eye G
Omnisclence one more revolution wa
needed. The coming man must tarr
without the doors of the temple Of life
through yet another geological erL.
d The ice glacier now sweeps over the LAND
All animal and vegetable life, except i
buried germs Of the latter ceases, Tn
yields in it, turn to the "touch Of warmt
e and the trident of Neptune waved agai
where stately trees had reared thei
palmy heads, aud the mastodon had hui
ried through the forests with his thunde
q waking tread. Such are the fortunes Q
contest, in the natural ms in the sociu
world. 1t seemed like failure of ere
alton. The Ian gained by unnumbere
throes was lost. The higher summit
only held their heads above the level @
Q the careeningwavcs." Thus does scienc
' seem to confirm the Bible. Who vii
say that after God had created tn
= heavens and the earth, and after tn
!. lapse it may be Of primordial ages tn
II earth did not become desolate and empty