Eyes have they, and
see not; ears have they, and hear not; mere dolls in smart clothes,
too many of them, like the idols of the heathen.
But my readers, I trust, are of a better mind. So the next time they
find themselves running up southward to London--or the reverse way--
let them keep their eyes open, and verify, with the help of a
geological map, the sketch which is given in the following pages.
Of the "Black Countries"--the actual coal districts I shall speak
hereafter. They are in England either shores or islands yet
undestroyed, which stand out of the great sea of New Red sandstone,
and often carry along their edges layers of far younger rocks, called
now Permian, from the ancient kingdom of Permia, in Russia, where
they cover a vast area. With them I will not confuse the reader just
now, but will only ask him to keep his eye on the rolling plain of
New Red sands and marls past, say, Birmingham and Warwick. After
those places, these sands and marls dip to the south-east, and other
rocks and soils appear above them, one after another, dipping
likewise towards the south-east--that is, toward London.
First appear thin layers of a very hard blue limestone, full of
shells, and parted by layers of blue mud. That rock runs in a broad
belt across England, from Whitby in Yorkshire, to Lyme in
Dorsetshire, and is known as Lias.
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