Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1874-02-19

s'aFroa the prumipe.ee whishthsrsssral
give 10 was. 'eesqsesas. md ssss1 otions
sadsihe sise md fslllof nations. ess nigh
supysseg that 'ssshi~g slsss ef essssqsssei
hsdrfevf esnsssiesbses .tssasPsise:is - Ie
meanwhile thue haSs) livs1 d sfaw si6s
whoas Natusdl n all bri irphases.H hei
more issersss thar psesing ssssaS! 4
psssers lisile Assshea pwhos sst spoa, ths
ssrsui. oe whjsh eide 9ea; u hAnles--
The blassShs which .ssrsw ',thS ground,
ssse soeks shss form tho frstie-wosk nftha
hills, the stass that shine sercnely. in theig
places night aftsr nighta through all .ths
ysars, were oG greater lisiesest.ss Wha(
were ihosss .tars Z Whist were The secset1
Isgya6 Ghux Suef Au1fsxan0 66sD4 up
tieif ssusd gssin BY grain % they.
grain BY grain. % time passed BY. built up
kindred scierces.-they who studied the
stars. the science Of astronomy. they who
studied the rocks. the science Of geology.
II was to this latter science and the subor-
dinate ones directly related TO it. that
Agassis devoted his life. Even - . lad.
roaming among the gorgcs and heights Of
the Jura. which oversl,adoWed his native
valley. his eyes we're obscrvant Of all nat
ural phenomena. quick to search out what
was curious and unexplained. ..
"And Nature, the old nurse, took
The child upon her ksee, tt'
Saying :, Here is a story-book -
Thy Father has written for thee.
Come. wander with me- she said,
Into regions vet untrod;
And read what 10 still unread az
In the manuscripts Of God ,-..
sand he wandered away and away,
With Mature, the dear old nurse, r
Who sang to him night and day
The rhymes Of the universe,
Did ever the boy reader. picking up .
stone BY the wsyside. inspect it closely :
This is what Agassis did as in bis youth
he wandered. up and down the noun
tains. Many Of those stones he found to
be fossils-the petri6ed remains Of ami
mails Of past ages. shells and corals. the
seas which had once covered those noun
tains had left behind them as they subsi-
ded. Comparing the fossils of the upper
slopes with those of the lower. he noted
difference in them, and when later lie re-
ported this discovery TO scientific men, the
result was an important subdivision Of the
various geological cpochs. Space cannot
be given here to explain of how much
consequence was this discovery. but for
the youthful reader it may add interest to
the study of geology to know that it con-
Germs the origin Of animals. Of the human
race-that much debated question-in-
deed. the great question Of the day. For
in this enlightened age. it is science which
plays tho prominent part; wars aud quar-
rels for territorial possession have taken .
secondary place. ,-....
Louis Agassiz was Swiss. of Hugue-
no. descent. born at Notiers. May 2Sth,
1907. His preparatory studies for the
medical profession. which he intended to
follow. were pursued at Lausanne. Zu-
rich. and Heidelberg. At the age Of
twenty be entered the University of Mu-
nich. His inclinatiops led him. upon
graduating. to renounce tho practice Of
medicine aud devote himself to scientific
research. In 1916 he came to the Uni
ted States. aud soon after received an ap-
pointmeut as professor Of zoology and gc-
ology at Harvard. From that time he
has resided in this country. proudly oen-
sidering himself an American. Ameri-
leans may we'll b. proud Of such fellow
citizen. and grateful. too. for the inter-
cs. which exists throughout the land in
regard to science. and which he. BY his
lectures in the principal cities. and expe-
ditions to various sections, has been the
chief cause of awakening. .-.
He comes from the Old World to the
New. and 10. what does he tell Us I That
this is not the New World. but the Old;
that portion Of our continent was the
first land which appeared above the wa
ters which once covered the globe" a
long. narrow island almost Continental in
its proportions. since it stretched from the
eastern borders Of Canada nearly TO the
point where now the base Of the Rocky
Mountains mee's the plains of the Missis-
sippi Valley. We may still walk upon
its ridge and know that We tread upon the
ancient granite that 6rst divided the wa
ters into northern and southern ocean;
aud il our imagination will carry us so
far. wc may hook down towards ite base
and fancy how the sea Washed against
this earliest shore Of liseless world
This is no romance. but the bald, simple
truth: for the fact that this granite band
was lifted out OF the waters 50 early in the
history Of the world. aud has not since
been submerged. has. Of course. prevent
ed any subsequent deposits from forming
above il. Aud this Is true Of all the
nor,hern part Of the United States" And
then he goes on 10 say: ITO me it seems
that to look on the 6r>t land that vas ever
lifted above the waste Of waters, to fol-
Low the shore where the earliest animals
and plants we're created. where the though,
Of God 6rst expressed itself in organic
forms. TO hold in ones hand bi, of stone
, from an old aea-beach. hardened iaso rock
thousands cf centuries ago. aud studded
with the beings that once ercpt upon il.
surface or we're stranded there By some
resrcasiDg wave, Is even Of deeper inter
Get 10 men than the relics Of their osr
race. for these things tell more directly d
the thoughts and creative acts Of God"
The Glacier Theory. which at 6rss me,
With violent opposition. bat is nov gener
ally accepted BY men ofscieuee. must eve
Be associated With the name Of Aga.sis
its originator. From his Observation
smeag the Alpine glaciers. and of trace
Of similar glaciers to be found elsewhere
he vss led to the eonelssioa that the eas
sinsns were once overspeesd b. vast gls