lacing, etc., and all is quietly imputed to Providence ! Is there not impiety as well as ignorance in this? Were the physical laws strictly observed from generation to generation, there would be an end to the frightful diseases that cut life short, and of the long list of maladies that make life a torment or a trial. It is the opinion of those who best understand the physical system, that this wonderful machine, the body, this "goodly temper," would gradually decay, and men would die, as if falling asleep.

THE LEAN OLD MAN.

BY SEBA SMITH.

I fell asleep; and my chainless soul Far abroad on fancy's pinions flew;

It soar'd to the sky, and away to the pole, And saw things old and new.

I thought I could compass the land and sea,
Look away where a thousand years had fled,
And behold all that was, or that is to be,
Like a spirit of the dead.

I look'd on the bustling, busy crew,
Earth's children, great and small;
But a lean old man who met my view
Seemed busiest of them all.

And, stranger still it seemed to me, That through the wide earth or air

Not a single spot could I ever see, But that same old man was there.

I saw a young grove in its leafy dress, And I sought its cooling shade,

And flowers were springing in gladfulness Where the cherishing breezes played.

But the old man was there, and his work was begun,

For his touch on the trees was found,

And the branches soon wither'd, and one by one Their old trunks strewed the ground.

I saw him again in a crowded town

As he hurried through the street,

And steeples, and towers were crumbling down And lay beneath his feet.

I lean'd against a castle gate,

'Twas barr'd and bolted strong;

Within were seen the proud and great,

And I heard their mirth and song.

The old man came, and the bolts gave way, Mirth fled before his frown,

And the castle wall in ruins lay,

And its battlements came down.

A little child, a rose-lipp'd boy,

Came wandering idly by;

His face was smooth, and light and joy, Were dancing in his eye.

The old man's grasp was quick and strong, As he seiz'd his hand and flew ;

And I watch'd them all their journey long, And mark'd what changes grew.

'Twas but a moment ere that child

Was a feeble grey old man;

And his guide look'd on him and grimly smil❜d, But still the couple ran.

A moment more, and his limbs grew cold, And he shrunk from the grasp of his guide, And fell at his feet, for his sands were told, And the light in his eye had died.

I wonder'd and wept, that the bright and the fair Must all feel his deadly sway

When a trumpet was sounded through the air, And the sky like a scroll roll'd away.

And an angel came down on his wings of gold, Whose brightness outshone the sun,

And he cried as he flew, "Thy sands are told, And thy race, O Time, is done."

NATURE OF SLEEP.

SCIENTIFIC men have been infinitely puzzled to explain the phenomena of sleep; the reason being, perhaps, that they cannot examine into its nature, at the same time that they are undergoing its influence. If a person, while asleep, were capable of noticing and recording his own sensations, a correct theory of the matter would probably soon be attained. Most of the present theories are dreams, it is true; but they have the great disadvantage of being merely the dreams of waking men.

Dr. Philip, an English physician, has paid much attention to the subject, and appears to have thrown considerable light upon it. His observations on the nature of sleep, are so connected with his researches on other points of animal physiology, that the former cannot be fully understood without an acquaintance with the latter. An abstract, however, may be attempted, and perhaps be made sufficiently intelligible to interest the reader.

He observes, that, in the more perfect animals, there are two systems, in a great degree distinct from each other; one is the sensitive system, by means of which we perceive, and act, and hold intercourse with the external world; the other is the vital system, by which existence is maintained. The sensitive system, alone, is subject to sleep. When the reasoning powers are fatigued by atten

tion, the feelings by indulgence of passion, the eye by objects of sight, the ear by sounds, and the muscles of voluntary motion by powerful and repeated exercise, they cease to be excited by ordinary stimulants; and, unless stronger stimulants are applied, they fall into a state of rest. This is sleep; and during its continuance, the excitabillity, which had been previously exhausted, is restored, and the nerves can again be acted upon by the usual stimulants. It is a law of the sensitive system, that it is subject to be thus alternately excited and exhausted; and unless the exhaustion is excessive, it does not interfere with health, but is entirely in the natural course of things. But that sleep alone is healthy, which is easily broken. lf from fatigue, or any other cause, it be unusually profound, such sleep partakes of disease; because then the vital system though it does not sleep, is affected by the torpor of the sensitive system. Thus, in very profound sleep, the movements of the respiratory organs are sluggish, and the blood, in consequence, is less frequently renovated at the lungs, and therefore acts with diminished power in keeping up the motion of the heart.

As we have stated, it is the nature of the sensitive system to be alternately excited and exhausted. Now, there is this great difference between it and the vital system, that the latter is continually excited, but never, in its natural and healthy state, undergoes exhaustion, or needs repose in order to fit it for the performance of its duties. It is continually at work, from the first moment of our lives till the last, and is never tired; or if it be so, its