swarms for a few hours flitting and playing upon the surface of the water. The male and female then unite and couple together for two more hours, when they again return to their sports, lay their eggs, and soon after die. Thus they terminate their short life in the space of a few hours, and the same day that saw them born witnesses their death. From the history of these little creatures we may learn how fallacious are the opinions which we form of our lives in regard to eternity. Let us for a moment imagine, that one of these flies had preserved its life for twelve hours, and had thus arrived at the most advanced age, compared with its companions, most of which had died at noon. If this aged insect could speak about sunset, a little before its death, it might thus address its friends: 'I now find that the longest life must terminate. The period of my dissolution is at length arrived, and I regret it not; my very old age is become troublesome, and I can no longer discover any thing new beneath the sun. All that I have seen in the course of my life has convinced me, that nothing here is certain or permanent. I have lived in the first ages of the world; I have conversed with insects far superior to those of the present generation. I assure you that I have seen this sun, which is now so near the earth, in the midst of the sky. In those days his light was much more vivid than it now is; and our ancestors were much more sober and virtuous than we are. I have outlived my contemporaries, have had large experience, and have witnessed many strange events. My life commenced precisely when the sun rose. During countless years it ran its majestic course through the heavens, and every where diffused an intense heat; but now that it is declining and going to set, I perceive clearly that the end of all things is approaching. O my friends, how I once fondly hoped that my life would be eternal! What beautiful little cells I formed for my abode! What hopes I founded on my vigour, my agility, and the strength of my constitution; I thought my wings would never fail !'

Thus might an insect, which has lived nearly twelve hours on the earth, moralize. And a man who has passed nearly fourscore years in the world may adopt similar language. The difference between twelve hours and eighty years being nothing in reference to eternity.

JULY XXI.

DIVERSITY OF ZONES.

The figure of the earth being spherical, and having a double motion, it necessarily follows that its different regions vary from each other, both as to the temperature of the air and the seasons, as well as with regard to the animals and plants which they produce. In certain countries of the globe there is but one season; the summer continuing without cessation, and every day being as warm as the hottest of our summer days. These countries are situated about the middle of

the globe, and occupy the space called the torrid zone. The most delicious and odoriferous fruits that nature produces grow there and there also she has lavished her richest treasures. In this zone the days and the nights are of an equal length during the greatest part of the year.

There are countries, on the contrary, where an intense degree of cold, exceeding that of our severest winters, almost constantly prevails; and it is only during a few weeks out of the whole year that there is heat enough for the few trees and herbs that are found in those regions to grow and become green; but neither the trees nor the earth produce fruits which will nourish man; and in these regions there is the greatest length of day and night, each being of several months' duration.

The two temperate zones, situated between the torrid and the frigid zones, occupy the greatest part of our globe. In these countries there are four seasons, more or less distinct according as they approach nearer to the torrid or to the frigid zone. These seasons are, the spring, when the trees and plants put forth their buds, the heat is moderate, and the days and nights nearly equal; the summer, during which the fruits of the fields and of the trees are ripened, the heat powerful, and the days sensibly longer than the nights; the autumn, when the fruits and the seeds fall, the grass begins to wither, the heat to diminish, and the days and nights to be equal; the winter, when the vegetation of plants is partially or wholly suspended, the nights are lengthened, and the cold is more or less intense.

The countries of the temperate zones are so situated, that in those which border upon one of the sides of the torrid zone, the seasons occur in order quite opposite to that which obtains in the other temperate zone; for when it is winter in the one, it is summer in the other. It is in these regions that nature seems to have produced the greatest diversity, both of animal and vegetable productions. Wine is peculiar to those countries, for the vine cannot be cultivated where either the heat or the cold is excessive. The inhabitants of these temperate climates enjoy advantages greater than in any other country: for the people inhabiting the frigid zone are stupid, and of short stature; those of the torrid zone are of a more feeble temperament, have stronger passions, and less intellectual and bodily powers, than the inhabitants of the temperate zones.

However diversified the countries of the globe may be, the Creator has provided, by his wise arrangements, for the happiness of all their inhabitants. He makes each country produce that which is most beneficial and proper, according to the nature of the climate. A worm which feeds upon the leaves of the mulberry tree, spins for the people of the torrid zone a tissue with which they prepare the silken garments which they wear. And a tree, like a shrub, bears a kind of pod or husk, containing a very fine wool or cotton, with which light stuffs are manufactured. The cold countries abound with quadrupeds, whose skins furnish clothing to the inhabitants of the north, who also enjoy extensive forests which abundantly supply them with

fuel. The natives of the south possess in their fields and their orchards the most cooling and exquisite fruits, and in such abundance that they are able to supply other countries with large quantities. In the colder regions the want of fruit is supplied by the numerous fish contained in the seas and the lakes, and by the numerous animals with which the country is inhabited: some of which, roaming wild in the forests, affright the neighbouring inhabitants; but they are still highly valuable for their skins, and many of them as articles of food and convenience.

Thus there is no country of the globe that does not receive proofs of the greatness and goodness of God; no country so poor and steril as not to furnish its inhabitants with the means of subsistence and the comforts of life; and we must every where acknowledge the traces of divine goodness: even the vast trackless deserts and craggy mountains of Asia and Africa declare it, and contain monuments of eternal wisdom and unbounded love. From the frozen climes of the north, where ice and snow for ever dwell, hymns of praise to the most high God rise and blend in harmonious unison with the tuneful incense as it ascends to heaven from the more temperate regions. By every tongue, language, and people, the name of God is manifested, revered, and joyfully sung: and let us, the inhabitants of a country peculiarly favoured by Heaven, be as distinguished among the nations of the earth for piety and good works, as we are for arts, sciences, and commerce.

JULY XXII.

PECULIARITIES OF THE SEA.

Instead of looking upon the sea as an object of terror, let us consider the wonders and the benefits which it presents to us. It must be granted that when the waves swell into mountains, and the tempest roars, the prospect is awful; and we must be hardy indeed not to consider it as a most formidable element in such times of fearful visitation, when ships, breaking from their anchors, or driven from their course, rush before the winds that beat upon them with ungovernable fury, till dismasted, and their rigging shivered in fragments, they sink overwhelmed with a weight of waters, or strike some sand-bank or shelving rock, and are at once dashed to pieces. Sometimes whirlpools, or vast masses of water with a violently circular motion, whirl the unfortunate vessel that fate urges into their vortex, with irresistible force, till the helpless victim sinks within the tremendous gulf, and the cries of the unfortunate wretches are lost in the roar of the waves. These whirlpools are occasioned by rocks in the ocean, and the meeting of numerous currents and eddies: and not less dangerous are the water-spouts, that the wind raises from the sea to the clouds; they hover in the air high above the ocean, and the wind

whirls them round with violence. They often burst with a great crash and much mischief; for they fall upon a vessel, destroy its rigging, and sometimes sink it to the bottom.

But it would be highly ungrateful and unjust only to consider the losses occasioned by the sea, without reflecting upon the magnificent and stupendous works of God, and that goodness which even visits the unfathomable depths of the ocean. The first thing which strikes us upon the investigation of sea-water is its saltness; a pound of the water containing about two ounces of salt. Sea-salt is lighter than that we commonly use, and yet it is not attracted by the air, nor diminished by the continual influx of fresh water. The cause of the saltness of the sea is unknown. If it was from mountains of salt contained in the ocean, it would be salter in some places than in others, of which we have no proof. But whatever is the occasion of the saline property of the sea, it is absolutely necessary to accomplish certain ends. It is that which preserves such a vast body of water from corruption, and renders it capable of supporting a greater weight.

The colour of the sea also merits our attention: it is not every where alike. In all waters the colour of the bottom and that of the sky appear; they are dark in deep abysses, white and foaming during a storm, silvery and gilded with reflections of the most beautiful hues when the last rays of the setting sun play upon the unruffled surface; the colour of the sea, in addition to these, varies from numberless insects, marine plants, and the combination of the different substances which the rivers and torrents carry with them into the ocean. When it is calm, and not a breeze skims the surface, it sometimes glitters as with the most brilliant stars; and the track of a ship cleaving the waves is often luminous, seeming like a river of fire.

A well-known property of the sea is the ebbing and flowing of the tides.*

The creatures which inhabit the sea are well calculated to excite our surprise and admiration; we there discover a new world, and the number of beings which compose it is prodigious. Aquatic animals are not so numerous in their species as the land animals; but they surpass them in size and longevity. The elephant and ostrich yield in bulk to the whale, the largest fish of the ocean, its length being often from sixty to seventy feet; it lives as long as the oak, and no land animal can vie with it in length of life. If we may rely upon certain accounts, there are creatures in the ocean far exceeding the size of the whale; as the animal called kraken, said to exist in the northern seas, and whose circumference is half a German league. Who can number the different species of animals which people the seas? Or who can determine their form, structure, size, and properties? How infinitely great is that God who has created the sea will be the conclusion of all who investigate the subject.

It is not without the wisest reasons that the Creator has made the

*See Reflection of Feb. 7.

ocean and the seas to occupy two-thirds of the whole globe. The seas were not only to form great reservoirs of water, but by means of their evaporation to be the sources of rain, snow, and various meteors. What wisdom is displayed in the connexion which the seas have with each other, and in their continual motion ! And it is not less wonderful that the bottom of the ocean is nearly of the same nature as the surface of the earth. There are found in the sea, rocks, caverns, plains, springs, plants, and animals; and the islands are only the summits of a long chain of mountains. When we consider that the seas form a part of the globe the least investigated, we are disposed to believe that they contain many more wonders, which neither the senses nor the understanding of man have yet been able to penetrate, but which all testify the adorable wisdom and power of the Most High. To him then who has established the monuments of his grandeur and the sceptre of his glory in the ocean as upon the earth, be ascribed all admiration and praise!

JULY XXIII.

DIFFERENT SHADES OBSERVABLE IN FLOWERS.

With a heart beating with joyful emotions I look round and see all the beauties of the creation. How lovely are the tints! how pleasing their combination! How admirable the diversity of shades! Here the colours are exquisitely touched with the lightest pencil: there they arrest the eye by their brilliancy and deeper glow. The groundcolour is always such as to show the picture stretched upon it to the most advantage; whilst the green surrounding the flower, or the shade of the leaves, gives life to the whole.

In thus distributing and diversifying the colours, nature has procured us the most agreeable sensations. How great and numberless are the works of God; how wisely arranged! We cannot sufficiently admire the grandeur of his designs, the magnitude of his views, nor the wisdom he employs in their execution. It is only with labour and incessant toil that men can accomplish any single work; and after many fruitless efforts, at length sometimes succeed so as to imitate some one of nature's works. But the Supreme Power, the immortal God, in a single moment has given life to millions of beings, and has created them in perfection according to their different states and degrees. The more we examine the works of art, the more will their imperfections appear; while for near six thousand years the works of nature, formed by the infinite hand of God, have been contemplated with increasing delight, without a single error being discovered in the plan, or any thing suggested that could render the execution more perfect. The more we investigate the works of God, the more their beauty delights, and their perfection pleases; whilst our love and veneration for their Divine Author increases.