removed by earthquakes. Hills are swept away, and valleys are filled up; marshes are drained and become covered with trees; the depths of the sea are made to wave with corn; and that which was land is now water. Light succeeds to darkness, cold to heat, and wet to drought; and bodies are continually experiencing alterations, many of which are imperceptible. To these we may add the changes to which animal life is subject; and we shall then be able to form some idea of the continual revolutions of nature. Man himself is continually losing a portion of his substance by the process of perspiration, and in a few years is clothed with an entirely new body. Thus every thing upon the earth is in motion, every thing alternately grows and perishes; and to be born and to die, is the lot of all created beings. These continual revolutions are salutary warnings, and teach us that this present world is not the abode for which we are destined. When I consider the perpetual changes and constant vicissitudes incident to all terrestrial objects, I feel the vanity and insignificance of earthly things; and from the frailty and shortness of this life anticipate a better and more perfect state in a future world. Every thing cries aloud that we are only as travellers upon the earth, who have a certain time to sojourn, and then accomplish the end and receive the reward of our pilgrimage. And in the midst of these changes and revolutions, the pure and devout soul receives consolation and support from the contemplation of an almighty and eternal Being, who, though the mountains shake, and the hills leave their places, the seas be agitated and tossed by the fierce storm, and all earthly bodies return to original dust, still exists the same, regarding his children with compassionating love, and assisting the helpless in the hour of necessity, and in the day of tribulation.

MAY IV.

An Invitation to seek God in the Works of Nature.

AWAKEN, O my soul, from the slumbers which have so long benumbed thy faculties, and attentively regard the surrounding objects. Reflect upon thy own nature, and upon that of other creatures; consider their origin, structure, form, and utility, with every additional circumstance that can fill thee with love and adoration of the all-wise Creator. When thou seest the variegated and brilliant colours of the heavens, the lustre of the numerous stars that irradiate them, and the light reflected from a thousand beauteous objects, ask thyself whence all these proceed? Who has formed the immense vault of heaven? Who has placed in the firmament those exhaustless fires, those constellations whose rays shoot through such an inconceivable space? And who directs their course with the beauty of order, and the harmony of regularity, and commands the sun to enlighten and make fruitful the earth? Thou wilt answer, the everlasting God, at whose word the creation arose fair and beautiful, whose wisdom still directs it, and whose mercy still operates for the felicity of all mankind. His hand has established the foundations of the mountains, and raised their summits above the clouds; He has clothed them with trees, and beautified them with flowers and verdure; and He has drawn from their bosoms the rivers and streams which irrigate the earth. To the flowers of the field He has given their beauty, and fragrance, far exceeding all the combinations of art and efforts of skill. All the creatures that are seen in the air, in the waters, and on the earth, owe to Him their existence, and the possession of that instinct which is their preservation ; and man, in himself a world of wonders, looks up to God as his Creator and Protector.

Let our chief care and most pleasing duty be henceforth to seek for the knowledge of God in the contemplation of his works. There is nothing in the heavens or upon the earth which does not impress upon our minds the wonderful wisdom and admirable beneficence of the Creator, to whom, in the midst of the revolutions of nature, let us raise our thoughts, and pour forth the joyful accents of our love and gratitude.

MAY V.

Morning.

WHEN Aurora first peeps, and dissipates the shades of night, we seem to enjoy a new creation. The faint streaks that mark the eastern horizon soon become more vivid, and the morning breaks with beauty; we begin to distinguish the verdure of the hills, the opening flowers, and the pure streams that water the meads. The horizon becomes more luminous, the clouds assume the most beautiful tints, and the charms of the distant valleys open upon us; the breath of the hawthorn is sweet, the dew-drops upon the flowers show the pure lustre of pearls, and nature rejoices in her existence. The first sun-beam darts from behind the mountains that skirt the horizon, and plays upon the earth; more succeed, and the brilliancy increases, till the disk of the luminary encircled in glory is visible, and the sun shines in full refulgence; he gains the mid-heaven, and no eye can sustain his glory.

When I stand upon the summit of some lofty cliff, and see the star of day slowly rise out of the ocean that foams beneath, I feel a mingled sensation of sublimity, awe, and adoration; I think of the infinite God, the Creator of the sun, and in the beauties of

the rising day acknowledge his power and wisdom. With the lark that carolling in the air meets the morning, and by the sweetness of his strains proclaims the arrival of day, I soar in thought into the regions of glory, and hail the great source of light. The joy and gaiety of all nature, and the raptures of the creation, raise in my breast the strongest emotions of gratitude, whilst my heart swells with delight, and every sense is ecstacy. Yet there are many thousands of human beings who have never known the pleasure of such sensations, nor even experienced the gratification of viewing the morning sun; who prefer the drowsy influence of their bed, and the confined limits of their gloomy chamber, to the freshness of morning and the brilliancy of day.

MAY VI.

Vision.

To enable us to perceive external objects, it is requisite that rays of light be reflected from them. These rays are transmitted to the eye, passing through the transparent cornea, by whose convexity they are united into a focus, through the aqueous humour and pupil of the eye, into the crystalline lens, which condenses them more; and after this concentration, they penetrate the vitreous humour, and impress on the retina the images of external objects; and the optic nerves, of which the retina is an expansion, convey these impressions to the mind, which forms perceptions and ideas according to the different sensations excited by the object presented.

The faculty of vision is one of the most wonderful properties of human nature, and particularly merits our attention. Though the image of external objects is painted upon the retina in an inverted position, we

yet see them in their proper situation. And what is still more admirable with such a small organ as the eye, we perceive the largest objects, and take in the whole of their dimensions. From the height of a tower we see at a distance the numerous buildings of a large city painted upon our retina with the utmost exactness and precision, notwithstanding the extreme minuteness of the organ which receives so many millions of rays without confusion. From the top-mast we see the ocean covered with a vast fleet, and waves innumerable undulating around us; from each of which, rays of light must penetrate the eye, whose volume is so minute. Or, having gained the summit of some lofty mountain, if we direct our view over the distant plains, every object that we notice reflects a number of rays upon our organs of vision, or we could not distinguish the purling brooks, nor the flowery meads. Rays of light not only pass from these objects to our eyes, they are transmitted to every part of the surrounding atmosphere; hence, wherever we pass within a certain distance, the same objects are still visible, the rays constantly proceeding from them, whether they meet the focus of our eye or not.

So far we are able to explain the wonders of vision, but beyond this all is darkness; it has pleased the Almighty Creator to conceal from our limited understanding the immediate connexion between matter and mind; we know the image of external objects is reflected on the retina, and that the mind takes cognisance of it, and here we must rest satisfied; for to explain the manner in which we see these objects is impossible.

VOL. I.

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