Thoughts On A Pebble Or A First Lesson In Geology PDF Download

Well might our immortal Shakspeare talk of "Sermons in stones;" and Lavater exclaim, that "Every grain of sand is an immensity" and the author of 'Contemplations of Nature' remark, that "there is no picking up a pebble by the brook-side without finding all nature in connexion with it."I shall confine my remarks to a flint pebble, as being the kind of stone familiar to every one. The pebble I hold in my hand was picked up in the bed of the torrent which is dashing down the side of yonder hill, and winding its way through that beautiful valley, and over thoseHuge rocks and mounds confus'dly hurl'd.The fragments of an earlier world,which partially filling up the chasm, and obstructing the course of the rushing waters, give rise to those gentle murmurings that are so inexpressibly soothing and delightful to the soul.ORIGIN OF THE PEBBLE.Upon examining this stone I discover that it is but the fragment of a much larger mass, and has evidently been transported from a distance, for its surface is smooth and rounded, the angles having been worn away by friction against other pebbles, produced by the agency of running water. I trace the stream to its source, half way up the hill, and find that it gushes out from a bed of gravel lying on a stratum of clay, which forms the eminence where I am standing, and is nearly 300 feet above the level of the British Channel. From this accumulation of water-worn materials the pebble must have been removed by the torrent, and carried down to the spot where it first attracted our notice; but we are still very far from having ascertained its origin.