succession of summer and winter: but what end would all these phenomena answer unless the planets were inhabited? Considering them as so many peopled worlds, what a sublime idea we conceive of the grandeur of God, and the extent of his empire! How impossible to fathom his bounty, or penetrate the limits of his power! His glory, reflected from so many worlds, fills us with amaze, and calls forth every sentiment of awe, veneration, and gratitude. Supposing that his praise is celebrated in all the worlds which roll above and around us, let us not be surpassed in our adoration, but in holy emulation mingle our hymns with those of the inhabitants of these numerous worlds, and celebrate the Lord God of the universe with eternal thanksgivings!

MARCH XXXI.

Care of Providence for the Preservation of his Creatures, experienced in every Country of the World.

BY this time we have become acquainted with the greatest part of the earth; and new regions have, from time to time, been discovered; yet no place has been found where nature does not produce the necessaries of life. We hear of countries where the scorching rays of the sun have destroyed all verdure, and where the eye sees little but mountains and vast plains of sand: and there are countries which seldom experience the light of the sun, or feel the grateful warmth of his rays; where a winter, almost perpetual, torpifies, and where no culture calls to cheerful employment, nor fruits or harvest are ever seen. Yet in these both men and animals exist, without any want of nourishment: the productions that nature has denied. them, because they would be either parched by the heat of the sun or destroyed by extreme cold, are supplied by gifts adapted to the nature of the climate, and suitable for the nourishment of the inhabitants; who collect with care what nature presents to them, and know how to appropriate it, so as to obtain all that is necessary to their subsistence, or essential to their convenience.

In Lapland, the providence of God has so ordered, that

what at first seems to be an evil, and certainly is very troublesome to the people, is the means of their support. The Laplanders are infested with innumerable multitudes of flies, furnished with stings, from which they defend themselves by raising in their huts a continual thick smoke, and besmearing their faces with pitch. These insects deposit their eggs on the water, which attract a great number of water-fowl that feed on them, and, being taken by the Laplanders, become their principal source of nourishment. The Greenlanders generally prefer animal to vegetable food, and very few vegetables grow in these sterile countries. There are, however, some plants, of which the inhabitants make great use, particularly sorrel, angelica, aud scurvy-grass (cochlearia.) Their principal nutriment is a species of fish called augmarset, much resembling the kind known by the name of miller's thumb. When they have dried these upon the rocks, they constantly use them instead of bread, and preserve them for the winter in large sacks of leather, or wrapped in old garments. In Iceland, where also, because of the intense cold, there is no agriculture, the people eat dried fish instead of bread. The Dalecarlians, who inhabit the northern parts of Sweden, having no corn, make their bread of the bark of the pine and birch, and a certain root which grows in the marshes. The inhabitants of Kamschatka feed on the stem of the acanthus, which they first peel and then eat raw. The natives of Siberia make use of the roots of a species of lily, which they call martagon.

Adorable Father of mankind! how tender and merciful are thy cares for our preservation! With what goodness thou hast distributed to every part of the earth all that is necessary for the subsistence of thy creatures! Thy wisdom knew, before the foundation of the world, the dan gers to which the life of man must be continually exposed, and ordained that he should every where be supported. Such relations, connexions, intercourse, and communications, are established amongst the inhabitants of the earth, that people separated by the most distant seas labour for the convenience and support of each other.

We have likewise abundant cause to be thankful that we are so constituted as not to be limited to any particular kind of food, but are capable of using every species of ali

ment. And let us adore the inexpressible goodness of God, who has permitted us to receive his all-sustaining word; for which, and the various blessings and abundant means of subsistence with which his liberal hand has supplied us, let us offer up praise and thanksgiving with our latest breath, and for ever rejoice in his holy name!

APRIL I.

Hymn for the Commencement of Spring.

PRAISE ye the Lord, who has created the spring, who has adorned the face of the earth! To him belongeth all glory, honour, and power; for he maketh the beings which he has formed happy. The Lord has created, has preserv ed, and still loves and blesses, this world, the work of his hands: celebrate him all ye creatures!

In those days of felicity when man had not yet rebelled against his Maker, free from the pollutions of sin and its consequences, the earth resembled a paradise. Even now, though deformed by sin, and the reward of sin, we still see the hand of the Divine Author, and the earth is still the entrance to Heaven.

The fields, which have so long seemed dead, begin to revive and bloom; every day produces new blessings, and all created beings rejoice in their existence. The face of the earth is renewed; the sky is pure and serene; the mountains, the valleys, and the groves, resound with melody: and the Lord of the creation regards with an eye of mercy ail his works.

But the fields are destitute of intelligence, and the irra tional part of the creation know not the Being which formed them; man alone rejoices in his God, experiences his existence, and aspires to live for ever in his presence. Let us celebrate the God of nature; he is nigh unto us: let all his hosts praise him! He is present every where; in heaven, on earth, and in the seas. Let us for ever glorify him and sing his praises; for wherever we are, there also He is, ever near us by his power, his love, and his bounty!

The Lord commandeth the clouds to extend themselves over the fields; he watereth the thirsty land, that man may be enriched by his gifts, He commandeth the hail, the winds, and the dew, to become sources of happiness to mankind.

Even when the tempest rises, and the thunder peals terror through the heart of man, fertility and blessedness spring forth out of the bosom of storms and darkness. The light of the sun returns with increased splendour, and songs of joy and harmony succeed the roaring of the thunder.

It is in the Lord alone we find true happiness; in Him who is the Author of all good, who enableth us to derive salvation from the eternal springs of light and truth. And blessed is the mortal who submits to his government with resignation, and who is prepared to leave this world, in the joyful hope of being united to his Father and Creator by the redeeming power of Jesus Christ!

APRIL I.

Abuse of Animals.

MEN abuse animals in so many different ways, that it is very difficult to enumerate all of them; and for the sake of perspicuity, I shall at present comprehend them in two classes. They are generally too much or too little valued; and in either case we act with impropriety. On the one hand, we have too little regard for the brute creation, when, presuming upon the authority God has given us over them, we exercise that power with arrogance and caprice. But allowing that we possessed this absolute dominion over them, is it just that we should exert our right with cruelty and tyranny? All who are not the slaves of passion, and are not corrupted by vicious habits, are naturally inclined to have compassion for every being that has life and feeling. This disposition does honour to human nature, and is so deeply implanted in our hearts, that he who has unfortunately stifled it is regarded with aversion, and shows how much he has fallen beneath the dignity of man. He will then have to make but one more step to become a monster; which is, to deny to men the compassion he refuses to brutes.

ted together, from the roots to the summit of the trees, Amongst these fibres, some are so extremely small and fine, that a single one, scarcely as large as a hair, contains some thousand fibrille. There is an innumerable multitude of little tubes, in which the sap circulates, extending through all the body of the tree to the remotest branches; sume conveying it from the root to the summit, and others returning it back again. During the heat of the day the sap rises through the ascending tubes, and returns by the descending ones in the cool of the evening. These tubes pass through the leaves, which are also supposed to answer the purpose of respiratory organs, and absorb the dew and moisture of the atmosphere.

The sap then is distributed through every part of the tree; its aqueous part evaporates by the pores of the vessels, whilst the oily, sulphurous, earthy, and saline particles blend together, to nourish the tree and promote its growth. If the circulation of the sap is checked, if the internal organization of the tree is destroyed, either by a very severe frost, or by old age, or by some accident, the tree will die.

After such reflections as these, we shall no longer view the tree at this season with indifference, nor consider the change they are about to undergo as unworthy of our attention. Neither shall we observe the renovation of nature, without thinking of that God who has given life to all creatures, provided the trees with appropriate juices, given them the power of circulating the sap in vessels, and distributed to them life, growth, and nutriment. Yet how many people year after year, unregarded let this season pass, and know less of the life and beauty of spring, displayed in plants and trees, than the cattle browsing on the plains. If ever they are blessed with another return of this season, may they begin to feel, and love to enjoy, the beauties of nature; and at length know, that the infinite Creator is near to us in every part of his works, and that each of his creatures proclaims his greatness. And may the Lord God, in his infinite mercy, grant, that whilst all nature rejoicing feels the reanimating influence of spring, we may awaken from our slumber, and walk forth to enjoy his presence, our hearts softened, and our minds prepared by his divine influence to know and to glorify his holy

mame.