with those conditions preceding life which are covered by the general term, inorganic evolution. Therefore, it forms but a very small part of the general theory of the origin of the earth and other bodies, 'as the sanu by the seashore innumerable,' that fill the infinite spaces." It is evolution in general, both the concept and the word, that we owe to Mr. Spencer; and Mr. Clodd's book brings into strong relief the actual relations existing in this respect between Herbert Spencer himself and his predecessors or contemporaries. The genesis of the idea in his own mind, Mr. Spencer has illustrated by a series of extracts from his original volume of "Essays," published previously to "The Origin of Species," and therefore necessarily independent of any Darwinian impulse. The series of extracts thus selected he has permitted Mr. Clodd to print entire; and with them, the abstract supplied to Professor Youmans. These summaries I will not still further summarize; it must suffice here to note, for the benefit of those who have never considered dates in this matter, that the chronology of the subject is roughly as follows. In 1859 (almost 1860, for it was in the end of November) Darwin brought out "The Origin of Species." Before that period, Mr. Spencer had published (amongst others) the following distinctly evolutionary works. In 1850, "Social Statics," in which the idea of human evolution was clearly foreshadowed. In 1852, an article in the Leader on "The Development Hypothesis" (from which I have quoted a passage already) where the evolution of species of plants and animals was definitely set forth. 1854, an article in the British Quarterly Review, on "The Genesis of Science," where intellectual evolution was distinctly mapped out. In 1855, "The Principles of Psychology (first form), where mental evolution is fully formulated, and the development of animals from a common origin implied at every step. In 1857, an article in the Westminster Review on "Progress, its Law and Cause," where the conception of evolution at large was finally attained 682 LIVING AGE. VOL. XIII. (though not quite in the full form which it afterwards assumed). From all of these, but especially the last, grew up the idea of the "System of Synthetic Philosophy," the first programme of which was drawn up in January, 1858, nearly two years before the appearance of "The Origin of Species." Thus, so far is it from being true that Mr. Spencer is a disciple of Darwin, that he had actually arrived at the idea of organic evolution, and of evolution in general, including cosmic evolution, planetary, evolution, human evolution, psychoevolution, human evolution, psychological evolution, sociological evolution, and linguistic evolution, before Darwin had published one word upon the subject. To some people, in saying all this, I may seem to be trying to belittle Darwin. Not at all. You do not belittle a great man by giving him full credit for what he did, and none for what he did not do. You do not belittle Virgil by showing that he was not the powerful magician the Middle Ages thought him; nor do you belittle Bacon by proving that he did not write "Othello" and "Hamlet." Nobody has a greater respect for Bacon, I believe, than Dr. Abbott; but Dr. Abbott does not think respect for Bacon compels nim to father "Macbeth" and "Julius Cæsar" upon the author of the "Novum Organum." Nobody has a greater respect for Darwin than I have; but I do not think that that respect compels me to credit Darwin with having originated the ideas due to Lamarck and to Herbert Spencer. Nay, more; I have so deep a respect for the work Darwin actually performed In that I consider it quite unnecessary to filch from others in order to enrich him. He can well do without such disloyal friends. Indeed, it is Mr. Samuel Butler's peculiar belief that Darwin did so attempt to filch on his account. I cannot agree with Mr. Butler that the honestest and most candid of our biological thinkers ever made any such endeavor himself; nor can I believe one honors him by making it for him. If I were to sum up the positions of these two great thinkers, Darwin and Spencer, the experimentalist and the generalizer, the observer and the philosopher, in a single paragraph each, I should be tempted to do it in somewhat the following fashion. Darwin came at a moment when human thought was trembling on the verge of a new flight toward undiscovered regions. Kant and Laplace and Murchison and Lyell had already applied the evolutionary idea to the genesis of suns and systems, of continents and mountains. Lamarck had already suggested the notion that similar conceptions might be equally applied to the genesis of plant and animal species. But, as I have put it elsewhere, what was needed was a solution of the their proper order in his wilder synthesis. As sculptors, they carved out shapely stones, from which he, as architect, built his majestic fabric. The total philosophic concept of evolution as a cosmical process-one and continuous, from nebula to man, from star to soul, from atom to society-we owe to Herbert Spencer himself, and to him alone, using as material the final results of innumerable preceding workers and thinkers. GRANT ALLEN. From Temple Bar. CANE IN MAURITIUS. "M'sié, the storm signal is up at Mount Ory," said my butler as he woke me at dawn one March morning a few years ago in Mauritius. difficulty of adaptation which should A PERSONAL EXPERIENCE OF A HURRIhelp the lame dog of Lamarckian evolutionism over the organic stile, so leaving the mind free to apply the evolutionary method to psychology, and to what Mr. Spencer has well called the superorganic sciences. For that office, Darwin presented himself at the exact right moment-a deeply-learned and wellequipped biological scholar, a minute specialist as compared with Spencer, a broad generalist as compared with the botanists, entomologists, and ornithologists of his time. He filled the gap. As regards thinkers, he gave them a key which helped them to understand organic evolution; as regards the world at large, he supplied them with a codex which convinced them at once of its historical truth. Herbert Spencer is a philosopher of a wider range. All knowledge is his province. A believer in organic evolution before Darwin published his epochmaking work, he accepted at once Darwin's useful idea, and incorporated it as a minor part in its fitting place in his own system. But that system itself, alike in its conception and its inception, was both independent of and anterior to Darwin's first pronouncement. It certainly covered a vast world of thought which Darwin never even attempted to enter. To Herbert Spencer, Darwin was even as Kant, Leplace, and Lyell-a laborer in a special field who produced results which fell at once into I sprang out of bed, dashing aside the mosquito curtains, and tore open the morning paper to see the telegrams. In large print was the following: "4 A.M.: barometer 29.56, and falling; wind S.E. by E.; 40 miles an hour, and will probably increase." Another telegram, also from the director of the observatory, dated 6 A.M., was as follows: "Barometer 29.32, and falling at an accelerated rate; wind, E.S.E., 50 miles an hour; a cyclone from the north-east is approaching. Impossible to say yet if the centre will pass over the island. Precautions are necessary. Warn the Harbor Master." This meant that a hurricane was on us, which would stop all traffic and force us to barricade ourselves indoors for days. Living as I did alone in a bungalow out in the country, the prospect of solitary confinement in it was not enticing. So I thought of my promise to some kind neighbors, the general commanding the troops and his wife, to go to them in case a hurricane came on. I hastily packed up a few things and sallied forth into the already shrieking tempest, followed by two of my Hindu servants with the impedimenta. We had only a few hundred yards to go, and, although the wind had not yet and rocking walls could withstand the reached hurricane force, it was difficult terrific forces beating against them. to keep one's feet during the gusts. Once a louder crash than usual made Many times we had to crouch down and me start up in a terror of apprehension, hold on to each other; whilst the water to find that it was only one of the picran over our ankles along the road. tures flung from its hold on to the floor; The leaves were beginning to fly, and so then I went round the room and took the branches to creak and crash; while all the rest off their nails. Fresh disnot a living thing was in sight, except a comforts were constantly developing. few scared Creoles securing their hurri- All the mosquitoes of the neighborhood cane shutters. had taken refuge in the hot stifling air of the house, and armies of them refused to be dislodged from the inside of the curtains. Every time one stirred a fresh invading host broke in, who hid in every nook and cranny, only to be destroyed after a tedious search with a candle, at the imminent risk of setting the muslin on fire. Then the rain began to penetrate, for no roof could withstand such a continuous pelting deluge flung horizontally at it by that tremendous force. With the often remarked "cussedness” of matter, each new drip as it appeared was immediately over the spot to which one had just moved the bed. At last I gave up trying to avoid the wet, and spread a mackintosh above the curtains, when the resounding smacks of the big drops on it added to the already overpowering babel of sound, and drove sleep still further from one's weary eyelids. My host and hostess were already barricaded in their commodious house, and gladly welcomed me, for, early as it was, I was expected. Indoors the lamps were lit, or we should have been in darkness; and the noise of the tempest was so great that conversation was out of the question. The gusts steadily increased in force, shaking the wooden building to its very foundations, and, although we knew that each verandah pillar and upright had an iron core, anchored to a heavy stone below, we could not help feeling alarmed lest the whole structure should be carried away. Cooking was of course impossible, the only chimney in the house, that of the kitchen, being just now the channel of a stream, which had to be directed out under the back door. Our meals consisted of tinned meat and biscuits. The only hot thing we had was tea, the water for which was boiled over a spirit lamp. No one came near the house, nor did any one venture to go out, so that fresh provisions were unobtainable. At night all the furies from the lower regions appeared to have been let loose to scream at every angle and gable, as if striving to find an entrance and overwhelm us beneath a mass of ruins. Notwithstanding their protecting shutters outside, every window rattled and banged until it seemed as if nothing could prevent them being hurled from their fittings by the raging elements. At first I dared not undress, expecting every moment to have to rush out of the house to escape premature burial; so I carefully thought out my best line of retreat in case of any accident. Many a time I sprang up in bed thinking that at last the roof was going; and often I could not believe that those trembling During that awful night the peals of thunder continued without intermission, and the incessant lightning showed through the chinks and crevices in the shutters, filling the room with a blue glare. Outside, when I dared to peep, there was a weird and ghastly light, strong enough to enable me with ease to read the smallest print; but the sheets of water, thick with branches and leaves, tearing through the air, confined the view to a very few yards. As may well be imagined, there was not much sleep that night; so that, what with fatigue and terror, we were wan and washed-out looking in the lamplight at breakfast. We could not even have the refreshment of a tub, for the water channel, which formed the house supply, was outside the hurricane shutters, and not to be reached while the cyclone lasted. Our water store was in cans and vessels in the scullery, and general and Mrs. M. when this cyclone had to be most carefully husbanded, for no one could tell how long we might be kept prisoners. In the afternoon a new noise developed at one of the French windows, like a branch tapping, but for a time we did not dare to open it and explore the cause. When we did look we found some neighbors called G-, a magistrate and his wife, waiting in a deplorable condition. He was in his shirt sleeves, hatless, and soaked; she had his coat on, but that was about all. I cannot say precisely, as I was hurried away by the ladies, and she was quickly smuggled up-stairs, to appear later in borrowed garments many sizes too large. Mrs. G had been thrown down five time in as many hundreds of yards, and her clothes had literally been blown off her as sails are off a ship. It appeared that they had incautiously opened a shutter to let in some fresh and cooler air during a lull, when a violent gust suddenly struck them, blew in the window, dashed open doors, and, raging through the house, tore open a ceiling, and escaped by stripping the wooden shingles off the roof. The damage was so suddenly done that there was no possible prevention. To close the shutters was difficult and useless, for other windows had been burst open, and sheets of water began to make their way into every room. So they did the only thing possible under the circumstances in seeking shelter elsewhere. Nor had they escaped without personal injury. He had a finger dislocated and bent back when he was blown against a tree; whilst all his care had not prevented his wife sustaining a severe sprain of her wrist, and many cuts and bruises. It was most fortunate that they had no children, or the consequences might have been even more serious. This doleful tale alarmed the general, who gave strict orders that on no consideration whatever should any shutters be opened, even on the leeward side, without special permission from him. Our party now consisted of six, for there was a lively girl staying with the began. After a couple of days we began to get accustomed to the danger and noise, and could pitch our voices so as to be heard. We got very merry, too, filling up the time with rollicking choruses and round games. But for our clocks we should not have known night from day, for we lived entirely by lamplight. For four days the cyclone continued, without perceptible diminution of strength; but then the intervals between the gusts became longer, and their duration shorter. When the general was not near we gasped for fresh air at one of the leeward windows, holding the shutters with many hands, for the heat and closeness became unbearable. The garden, we saw, was a marshy ruin; not a leaf was left. It might have been the middle of winter, if there was such a season in the tropics. Even the beautiful palm-trees had lost all but their central fronds, though in other respects they suffered less than other trees, bending like fishing-rods to the gusts, but recovering as soon as the force was spent. The ground everywhere was littered knee-deep with branches and leaves, whilst great watercourses had torn up road and path, and had scattered scores of tons of earth and gravel over the lawns and beds. Some trees were left with most of their roots bare and twisted, whilst others were smothered up to their lower branches with débris. The outside of the house presented a curious sight. It was green all over with plastered fragments of leaves and rubbish, which had been driven with such force that they had stuck, as lumps of mud do. They had even penetrated the hurricane-shutters, and covered the window-panes so thickly that we could not see through them. At last the rain ceased, and we ventured out, taking care to hold on to something solid during the gusts, which were still strong enough to throw one down. We started to see how some neighbors had fared, and met them coming to us on the same errand. An unoccupied bachelor pavilion in their garden, had not been properly tied down to its foundations, was lying on its side, crushed like a huge packingcase, and some of its rain-water spouting had been driven bodily through the wooden walls. The few items of furniture required in a hot climate were battered and broken, the bedstead squeezed out of all shape, and the clothing and mattress had disappeared altogether. Part of the washhand-stand was found in a banana-grove a few hundred yards away, and the dressing-table was smashed into fragments. I went to look at my own place, and, as far as I could discover, no great damage had been done except, of course, to the vegetation in the garden. In the verandahs of the house and of the stable were crowded a score or two of trembling and shivering Hindoos, here called Malabars. Several of them came towards me, salaaming low. They told me I was their father and their mother -"Vous mo papa mo mama," as they had it in their Creole French. With tears in their voices they told me how their fragile straw huts-cases-had been blown to pieces, and their few belongings scattered. For three days they had shivered in soaked cotton in my verandahs, with nothing to eat but a little horse corn my coachman gave them to chew. A rupee or two bought them some rice and dried fish from the Chinaman's shop at the corner, which was just reopening; and in a short time they had forgotten their troubles, and, like children, were laughing and chattering over their food. The G- -s' house was in a dreadful state. When they were forced to leave it only part of the roof had been destroyed, but now the ground for hun dreds of yards round was littered with fragments. The corners and the walls on two sides were still standing, though badly shaken; the rest was broken timber, plaster, paper, roof shingles, bedding, bits of furniture, and wrecked chests of drawers, with their contents scattered far and wide. The house looked as if it had been looted by a marauding army. Mrs. G fairly broke down when she saw the state of all her treasures; but her husband col lected six or eight Malabars, and set them to work gathering up the débris, and had the fragments put into the servants' pavilion, which was intact. A great deal was, of course, never recovered, and much was spoilt; but it was astonishing how well most of the things looked after they were cleaned and dried. The house was insured by the landlord, and in a month or so was much the same as ever, for it does not take long to rebuild a wooden house. There were soon gangs of men in every direction, repairing the railways and roads, filling up the holes, cutting up and carting away the fallen timber. It was, however, many days before any trains could run or carts get along the roads with safety. Nearly every station on the railway had suffered, most of them being overturned; and the damage done to the line, bridges, telegraphpoles, and signals was enormous. All the rolling-stock which had been left in exposed places was blown off the line and upset. The sugarcane fields, with which most of the island is covered, looked to be in a terrible state; but, strange to say, they did not really suffer very much. The canes were mostly laid flat, and some broken off, but the deluge of rain and the heat which followed gave such a tremendous impulse to vegetation that a great deal of the damage was repaired. This was also true of the trees and gardens. In a month no one would have known there had been such a catastrophe, from the appearance of the country. Everything put on a spurt, clothed itself in beautiful fresh green, and covered up the scars which the storm had made. The damage in the harbor was not great, because plenty of warning had been given, and all the ships had been made safe and snug before the worst came on. Many vessels were, however, afterwards found to have been caught in this storm in the neighborhood of the island; and, out of a total of forty-one, four were wrecked, three disappeared, and six were condemned as not worth repair. The others, twenty-eight in all, suffered more or less severe damage. |