vour they were more fortunate than in the former. They found that the magnet did not always, nor in all places, point alike to the north, but that it inclines one while towards the east, and at another towards the west: they also remarked, that its attractive power acted as strongly when they interposed any other body between it and the iron. All metals, iron excepted, wood, glass, fire, water, and animal bodies, give a free passage to the magnetic fluid, and do not prevent its acting upon iron. They discovered that the north pole of one magnet attracts the south pole of the other, and that the north pole of one repels the north pole of the other, and the south poles applied together also repel each other. It was supposed that the attractive power resides in the iron as well as in the magnet, since the attraction seems to be mutual. To prove this, we have only to suspend a magnet at one end of the beam of a balance, and attach to the other extremity a weight equal to that of the magnet; when the balance is made perfectly equal, place a piece of iron beucath it, and the magnet, attracted by the iron, will descend. The same thing will happen if the iron is attached to the beam, and the magnet be placed beneath.

However singular these phenomena may appear, there is another circumstance respecting the magnet not less deserving our attention: which is, that all the skill, the sagacity, and efforts, of philosophers, have not succeeded in discovering the cause of these astonishing effects; notwithstanding all their labours the magnet still continues to perplex the learned, and excite the desires of the curi ous to unravel its mysteries. If then in natural productious there are many things which the human intellect cannot comprehend or explain, how much more must there be in religion, which is elevated so far above all the objects of our senses? There are mysteries, the explana tion of which we cannot obtain in this finite state of existence, and the perfect knowledge of which is reserved for a future world. And can it be surprising that there are things in religion beyond the reach of our understanding, when there are natural productions which daily attract our attention, whose properties defy the united pow ers of the learned to explain? There are, however, men who have the presumption and the folly to doubt, and

even to deny, all that they cannot understand of religion. If this was a just method of proceeding, it would bee qually rational to doubt or to deny that the magnet attracts iron, or possesses polarity; and to assert that all that is related of it is false: for we cannot explain or comprehend the cause of the effects it produces.

When the existence of natural objects is disputed, we have only to say unto the sceptic, Come and see but the mysteries of religion are not so easily penetrated; they are hidden from the foolishly wise, and are revealed unto babes; they are seen only with a spiritual eye, and their perfect comprehension is reserved for a more pure and ex. alted state of existence. When we meet with difficulties, and things which we cannot comprehend, whether in the ample volume of nature or in the pages of religion, let us not be impatient, but bow with resignation to the will of all-ruling Heaven; remembering, that however confined are our faculties and humble our intellectual attainments in this life, we are graciously favoured to hope and be lieve that a great portion of our felicity in a future world will be in that expansion of soul by which it will be ena bled to know all that is now concealed from it, and approach in its nature nearer to its Almighty Creator.

JUNE XIV.

Cherries.

THE cherry is a fruit, which, by its sweetness, blended with a pleasing acidity, quenches the thirst, allays the heat of the blood in summer, and prevents many disagreeable ef feets, which a hot season might produce in our system. They quench the thirst, by their sharpness causing the salivary glands to contract, they cool the parched tongue, and moisten the dry palate. This mode of allaying thirst during hot weather is much preferable to drinking a large quantity of liquid, which distends the stomach, and tends to increase the heat and perspiration. Besides the cherries thus pleasantly appeasing our thirst, they possess a cooling property, which tempers the heat of the blood; and thus prevents the debilitating effects of the nerves being continually stimulated. Thus the beneficial juice of cherries,

by its acidity, and astringent virtue, refreshes us during fervent heats, purifies the blood, ard preserves the fluids. from putrefaction. How mercifully has the Creator provided us with fruits adapted to each season! During the hot months we require cooling and acid fruits; and we receive them in abundance, both salutary and agreeable, conducing to our nourishment whilst they gratify our taste. We possess them so plentifully, that the poor can enjoy them as well as the rich: let us make this consoling reflection, whenever we see a cherry-tree laden with fruit. How sorrowful would be the fate of the labourer who gains his daily bread with the sweat of his brow, if he had not other means of cooling himself than the delicious beverages which the affluent alone can procure! Merciful Father! Thou art mindful of the indigent; thou providest. for his wants and condescendest to refresh him with fruits which thy kind Providence has placed within his reach and cherries are more wholesome and refreshing to the weary labourer than lemonade and the most sparkling wines to the rich. We have great cause to be thankful for the abundance of acid and cooling fruits this season affords: gooseberries, currants, cucumbers, stone-fruits, salads, &c. are so many agreeable preservatives of the health.

Whenever we enjoy the sweets of cherries, let us consider them as blessings from heaven, and acknowledge the goodness of our Creator. The heavens, the earth, the ele ments, and every living creature contribute to our happiness; wherever we turn our eyes they meet the blessings. of our heavenly Father, which every where surround us. Animals, corn, vegetables, and fruit, in the valleys and upon the mountains, in the forests and in the seas, all serve for our pleasure and support. The all-beneficent hand of the Most High is continually open to us, and his blessings are for ever showering down from Heaven. When we walk abroad in the fields or in the garden, when we enjoy the beauties and the blessings of nature, let us think of him, the Source of every delight and of every pleasure.

JUNE XV.

Wisdom displayed in the Structure of the Bodies of Ani

mais.

THE formation of the animal body furnishes the most convincing proofs of divine wisdom; for as some animals are designed to live principally in the air, others upon the earth, and others in the water, it was requisite that their structure should be adapted to their particular habitation, and comformable to their peculiar modes of life. And this we find they possess in a most admirable manner: they are each provided with that structure which is most appropriate to their nature; so much so, that any other arrange ment would have been inconvenient, if not prejudicial.

Amongst birds, those which live upon prey are provided with strong talons and sharp hooked beaks, that they may more readily seize and hold their prey. Those which are obliged to seek their nourishment in marshy places require a long slender bill, and long legs; and those which live in water should have the lower parts of their bodies large, a long neck, membranes like webs, connecting their claws, enabling them to act as oars, and a kind of oil upon their feathers to render them smooth.

Insects which live upon prey have a mouth formed like pincers or claws, and those which live by suction are provided with a sting or proboscis. The eyes of hares and rabbits are large and project a considerable way from the head, that they may easily discover and avoid the dangers and snares to which they are exposed; and the eyes of the mole are small and sunk deep in the head, because being destined to live chiefly under ground, little light was requisite, and prominent eyes would have much impeded it in the operation of burrowing.

The crystalline humour in the eyes of fish is spherical, to remedy the inconvenience which would arise from the refraction of the rays of light in au aqueous medium; while animals which live in the air have the crystalline lenticular, or plano-convex. Why have animals whose eyes are moveable only two, whilst those animals whose eyes are xed have several? Why is the pupil of animals which

seek their prey in the night large and brilliant? And why does the eye of the hen answer both the purpose of a telescope and microscope, if not to enable her to see the smallest seeds in the earth and among gravel, and that she may discover at a distance the birds of prey which threaten to seize her young?

How astonishing is that vast assemblage of organs by which animals perform their different motions! What a multitude of limbs! What pliability and activity! What numerous muscles, nerves, bones, and cartilages, every motion puts in action! Some animals move slowly, others swiftly; some have two feet, others more; some have both wings and feet, others neither. The quickness or slowness with which each animal moves is regulated according to its necessities. Those which are well armed, which have courage, force, and skill to defend themselves against their enemies, move more slowly than those which are destitute of these properties. Who has given to ser pents and other reptiles the power of contracting and exa tending their bodies, of coiling themselves into a circle, and of darting upon their prey? Who has so constructed the fish that by means of their bladder they can at plea sure ascend or descend in the water? Who has taught the snail to contract its body, and make water enter into its little habitation when it wishes to fall to the ground?

How skilful is the structure of birds, particularly their wings; and how well their body is adapted for flight! small and sharp before, and gradually increasing till they have acquired their proper size, they readily cut the yielding air, and are less impeded in their passage through that element. The feathers are all arranged with much art, Jying one upon another in regular order, by which they facilitate the motion of the body, and at the same time serve it for a covering and a defence against stormy wea ther and the severity of winter. Though close and strongly joined together, they are capable of extending and erecting themselves; of swelling out and forming a larger volume, according as the necessities of the bird may require. The wings, which are the great instruments of flight, are placed in the most convenient part for keeping the body exactly balanced in so subtile a fluid as the air. How admirable is the construction of each single feather