up, and be again filled by a recurrence of the original cause
of supply.

Such violent and rapid action would finally be exhausted by the gradual
cooling of the earth, but the outer crust would still press on the
igneous fluid beneath, and although far less liable to rupture, its
fluid action might yet enable it to force its way occasionally to the
surface, but at distant intervals, and with diminished energy. Now, a
new series of phenomena must occur, similar to the more familiar of
those we see acting at present; at first more intense, but finally, when
the state of equilibrium of temperature is reached, exactly such as we
now find them both in kind and in energy.

To see how far such a view of what might have occurred, under the action
of well known causes, in case of a certain original order of things, is
correct, let us examine the appearances our globe actually presents.

To a systematized and general examination, it presents the appearance of
a great ocean, covering about three-fourths of its whole surface, and
surrounding two great, and a number almost infinite of smaller islands.
The two great islands are the old and the new continents; the largest of
those that remain is New-Holland. To exhibit this great ocean in its
most general aspect, take an artificial globe, raise the south pole 50 deg.
above the horizon, and bring New-Zealand to the meridian. The hemisphere
above the horizon will now be wholly of water, with the exception of the
southern part of South America on the one side, and New-Holland, with
the Indian archipelago, on the other. These bear, when united, but a
small proportion to the entire hemisphere. The opposite hemisphere
contains more land than water; and when it is in its turn placed above
the horizon, the Atlantic will be seen lying almost wholly on the
western side of the meridian, and forming, with the Arctic ocean, a
species of channel, narrowing from the latitude of the Cape of Good Hope
towards the northern pole, and communicating with the great ocean which
lies principally in the opposite hemisphere by Behring's straits. On
this hemisphere are also seen parts of the Pacific and Indian oceans,
which are considerably more than equal in surface to the lands which
project into the opposite one.

If we turn our attention to the land, we find it unequal in its surface;
and although compared with the whole diameter of the earth, the
inequalities be very small, yet, compared with our own st