folds, and smoothness, so adapted as to reflect sound; for the chief use of the external part is to collect the vibrations of the air, and transmit them to the orifice of the ear.

The internal structure of this organ is still more remarkable. Within the cavity of the ear is an opening, called the meatus auditorius, or auditory canal, the entrance to which is defended by small hairs, which prevent insects and small particles of extraneous matter penetrating into it; for which purpose there is also secreted a bitter ceruminous matter, called ear-wax. The auditory canal is terminated obliquely by a membrane, generally known by the name of drum, which instrument it in some degree resembles; for within the cavity of the auditory canal is a kind of bony ring, over which the membrana tympani is stretched. In contact with this membrane, on the inner side, is a small bone, called malleus, or the hammer, against which it strikes when agitated by the vibrations of sound. Connected with these are two small muscles: one, by stretching the membrane, adapts it to be more easily acted upon by soft and low sounds; the other, by relaxing, prepares it for those which are very loud. Besides the maileus, there are some other very small and remarkable bones, called incus or the anvil, os orbiculare or orbicular bone, and the stapes or stirrup their use is to assist in conveying the sounds received upon the membrana tympani. Behind the cavity of the drum is an opening, called the Eustachian tube, which begins at the back part of the mouth with an orifice, which diminishes in size as the tube passes towards the ear, where it becomes bony; by this means sounds may be conveyed to the ear through the mouth, and it facilitates the vibrations of the membrane by the admission of air. We may next observe the cochlea, which somewhat resembles the shell of a snail, whence its name; its cavity winds in a spiral direction, and is divided into two by a thin spiral lamina: and lastly is the auditory nerve, which terminates in the brain.

The faculty of hearing is worthy of the utmost admiration and actention: by putting in motion a very small portion of air, without even being conscious of its moving, we have the power of communicating to each other our thoughts desires, and conceptions. But to render the ac tion of air in the propagation of sound more intelligible,

we must recollect that the air is not a solid but a fluid body. Throw a stone into a smooth stream of water, and there will take place undulations, which will be extended more or less according to the degree of force with which the stone was impelled. Conceive then that when a word is uttered in the air, a similar effect takes place in that element as is produced by the stone in the water. During the action of speaking, the air is expelled from the mouth with more or less force; this communicates an undulatory motion to the external air which it meets; and these undulations of the air entering the cavity of the ear, the external parts of which are peculiarly adapted to receive them, strike upon the tympanum or drum, by which means it is shaken, and receives a trembling motion: the vibration is communicated to the malleus, the bone immediately in contact with the membrane, and from it to the other bones; the last of which, the stapes or stirrup, adhearing to the fenestra ovalis, or oval orifice, causes it to vibrate; the trembling of which is communicated to a portion of water contained in the cavity called the vestibu lum, and in the semicircular canals, causing a gentle tremor in the nervous expansion contained therein, which is transmitted to the brain and the mind is thus informed of the presence of sound, and feels a sensation proportioned to the force or to the weakness of the impression that is made.

What great cause we have to rejoice in possessing the faculty of hearing! for without it our state would be most wretched and deplorable; in some respects more sorrowfu! than the loss of sight: had we been born deaf, we could not have acquired knowledge sufficient to enable us to pursue any art or science. Let us never behold those who have the misfortune to be deaf, without endeavouring better to estimate the gift of which they are deprived, and which we enjoy, or without praising the goodness of God, which has granted it to us; and the best way we can testify our gratitude is to make a proper use of this impor tant blessing.

APRIL VI.

The Milky Way.

IF we observe the heavens during a clear night we discover a pale irregular light, and a number of stars, whose mingled rays form the luminous tract which is called the Milky Way. These stars are at too great a distance to be perceived by the naked eye; and amongst those which are visible with a telescope, there are spaces apparently filled with others in immense numbers, though not distinctly perceptible through a telescope. Though the number already discovered is prodigious, if we could make our observations from another side of the globe, nearer to the antarctic pole, we should be able to make still more discoveries, and see a number of stars which have never appeared upon our hemisphere; and yet we should not even then be able to discover the half, or the thousandth part, of those radiant bodies which shine in the immense firmament of heaven.

All the stars which we perceive in the milky way appear no more than so many luminous points, though each one may be much larger than the whole terraqueous globe. If we use instruments of the utmost power, they never appear larger than when seen by the naked eye. Were an inhabitant of this earth to ascend into the air one hundred and sixty millions of miles, the fixed stars would still appear no larger than luminous specks. Incredible as this assertion may appear, it is not a chimerical idea, but a fact which is effectively proved; for about the 10th of December we are more than one hundred and sixty millions of miles nearer the northern part of the heavens than we are on the 10th of June; and yet we never perceive any increase of magnitude in the stars.

The milky way, though little, compared with the rest of the heavens, is amply sufficient to manifest the grandeur of the Supreme Being; and each one of the stars we there discover display the wisdom and goodness of the Almighty. And what are these stars in comparison of the immense number of worlds revolving in the firmament of heaven?

Experience justifies me in this assertion, and my readers will recollect examples enough of this species of ferocity. History furnishes us with many: we there find that the people who delighted in the combats of animals were remarkable for their cruelty towards their fellow-creatures, so true is it that our treatment of animals has an influence upon our moral character, as well as upon the mildness of our manners. Though it may be urged we have the right of destroying hurtful animals, will it follow that we have a right to tear from them, without compassion or remorse, that life which is so dear to all creatures? or, when necessity obliges us to take such a step, are we justified in taking a pleasure and barbarous joy in their sufferings; and, in depriving them of life, making them suffer a thousand tortures more cruel than death itself? I grant that the Creator has given us animals to serve our necessities, to conduce to our comforts and pleasures, and to relieve our toil by their labour; but it does not thence follow that we are to fatigue them unnecessarily, or to make them-labour beyond their strength, refuse them that subsistence which is their due, or increase their sufferings by hard treatment. This is sufficient to shew the nature of the first species. of abuse; but some people fall into the opposite extreme. Those animals of a social nature which are most connected with us, which live in our houses, and are continually in our presence, which amuse and contribute to our diversion or utility, sometimes inspire us with a ridiculous and extravagant affection. I am grieved to say that there are both men and women so absurd as to love their domestic animals to such an extravagant degree, as to sacrifice to them those essential duties which they owe to their fellowcreatures. War may send its plagues through nations, and whole armies destroy each other, without making any impression upon the lady who, some days after, is inconsolable for the loss of her lap-dog. Much more might be said upon this subject; however, I will not weary my readers. with such absurdities, but conclude this meditation with a very important remark. Parents, and those who are entrusted with the care and education of children, in their presence cannot too scrupulously avoid every abuse of animals. It is the more necessary to insist upon this, be cause the practice of it is very often neglected, and the

children, influenced by such pernicious examples, often imbibe the worst of passions. No animal should be put to death in their presence; much less should they be commissioned to perform a task of such cruelty. Let them always be accustomed to treat animals as beings which have life and feeling, and towards which they have certain duties to observe. Whilst we thus prevent their feelings from becoming brutified, let us guard against their being too much attached to animals, to which they are often very much inclined; but let us teach our children the right method of behaviour to this part of the creation, that they may, from their earliest infancy, be accustomed to acknowledge, even in these creatures, the visible impression of the Divine Perfections,

APRIL II.

Motion of the Earth.

WHEN the delightful spectacle of the rising sun renews each morning in our souls the gratitude and admiration which we owe to the sublime Author of the universe, we may at the same time observe that the situation of this magnificent view changes with the seasons. Thus, if we mark the pleace where the sun rises in spring and in autumn, we shall find in summer it is more to the north, and in winter more to the south. It is reasonable to conclude that some motion must occasion these changes; and many naturally suppose it is the sun which moves, and thus occasions us to see it sometimes on one side, sometimes on the other. But as the same phenomena would take place though the sun were to remain immoveable and the earth to turn round it, and that we neither perceived the mo tion of the sun nor that of the earth, we ought to give less weight to our own vague conjectures than to the repeated observations that astronomers have made in the hea vens; which sufficiently prove that the rotary motion of the earth alone effects the changes we remark in the situation of the sun.

In the first place, let us represent to ourselves the immense space in which the heavenly bodies are placed: it is either empty, or contains a very subtile fluid, called