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and add to beauty and elegance the most exquisite fragrance. But all these multiplied varieties do not affect their fecundity.

From the consideration of these circumstances, we may receive profit and instruction. We may reflect, that, though we are not favoured with the same advantages that some possess, we should neither be discouraged nor afflicted. The privation of some accidental benefits can in no degree injure our well-being. Though we may not be quite so rich, so powerful, or so handsome, as some are, these are trifling things in the estimation of the virtuous and the wise; for without them we can be equally happy, equally useful to our fellowcreatures, and equally pleasing to God. True beauty consists in the works of piety, and the fruits of virtue. The blossoms of a fruitbearing tree please more than the splendour of the tulip, or the richness of the auricula; because from the one we expect, when the blossoms are over, to receive fruit; while the others please for a moment, and are seen no more. charms of external beauty: the rosy tints of health, the elegance of Let us not then prefer the mere lustre and form, and the freshness of youth, are fleeting, and soon fade; they alone cannot secure present peace, nor durable happiness. Those blossoms only which promise fruit worthy of God, and useful to mankind, deserve our regard, and merit our approbation. As the beauties of the blossoming trees hastily perish, so will the youth, now in the spring of life, fluttering in the gayety of their charms. Let us, then, whilst in the morn of life, and in the vigour of health, prepare, by study and application, to produce in the evening of our days, when divested of all external charms, abundant fruits of piety, of virtue, and of knowledge.

MAY III.

OF THE CONTINUAL REVOLUTIONS AND CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE

IN NATURE.

Motion and change seem necessary to the preservation of the corporeal world. If we pay the least attention to what passes on the globe which we inhabit, we shall be convinced that the smallest particle of matter in the universe cannot be considered as in a state of absolute and continued rest.

The earth turns round its axis once in twenty-four hours, and by this motion all the points of its surface change their situation with more or less rapidity. Under the line or equator, where this motion is performed with greater celerity, each body is carried more than one thousand miles every hour, besides the annual revolution of the earth round the sun, which is at the astonishing rate of fifty-eight thousand miles every hour. This motion is not perceptible, but the relative motion of earthly bodies is more observable. Small streams uniting form greater, till at length torrents and rivers are formed, which again

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strongly; that the luminous parts are plain superficies, and those that are most brilliant are lofty mountains.

The remaining planets in our system are, Mars; Jupiter, and his four moons; Saturn, and his seven; and Herschel or Georgium Sidus, and his six moons. Saturn is at such an immense distance from the sun that he is nearly thirty years in performing his revolution. The vast dominion of the sun, above a thousand millions of miles, is but a part of the universe; for each of the fixed stars is a sun, equal in magnitude and brilliancy to that which enlightens our sphere. Such is the grandeur of God, and such his glory, displayed in these admirable works; which invite us to pay our tribute of admiration, reverence, and praise, to the Being which formed them! Is there any thing in nature more proper to inspire in us exalted ideas of the Deity than the aspect of the heavens, nightly irradiated with thousands of revolving spheres! May we never view them without feeling the most lively sense of the munificence and grandeur of him who has created all things, and continues to preserve them with wisdom and rule them with merciful goodness.

MAY II.

BLOSSOMS OF TREES

Our gardens and fields are now decorated with the beauties of spring, and every part of Europe presents the most delightful aspect. The eternal word of the Creator, pronounced when he formed the world, has produced all these effects; his all-creating hand has again renovated the earth, and in a measure created it anew for the pleasure and happiness of his creatures. It is God alone who calls for the spring and orders it to appear. Approach, O man, and try what thy wisdom and thy power can execute! Canst thou make one tree to blossom, or one leaf to germinate? Canst thou call from the earth. the smallest blade of grass, or order the tulip to rise in all its splendour? Contemplate these flowers; examine them with attention. Can they be more perfect, can their colours be more beautifully blended, or their forms more elegantly proportioned? Can the pencil of the painter equal the warmth of the blossoming peach, or imitate the richness of a cherry-tree in bloom? So far from imitating, no one can conceive all the beauties of renovated nature and if there were no other proofs of the power and wisdom of God on the earth, the flowers of spring would sufficiently display them. Every tree that blossoms, every plant, every flower, manifests a portion of that wisdom and beneficence so abundantly diffused through the earth. There is an infinite diversity among the blossoms of trees; though all beautiful, they differ in degree, one surpassing another; but there are none which do not possess some beauty peculiar to themselves. Some have flowers of a pure white; others have streaks of red and shades,

and add to beauty and elegance the most exquisite fragrance. But all these multiplied varieties do not affect their fecundity.

From the consideration of these circumstances, we may receive profit and instruction. We may reflect, that, though we are not favoured with the same advantages that some possess, we should neither be discouraged nor afflicted. The privation of some accidental benefits can in no degree injure our well-being. Though we may not be quite so rich, so powerful, or so handsome, as some are, these are trifling things in the estimation of the virtuous and the wise; for without them we can be equally happy, equally useful to our fellowcreatures, and equally pleasing to God. True beauty consists in the works of piety, and the fruits of virtue. The blossoms of a fruitbearing tree please more than the splendour of the tulip, or the richness of the auricula; because from the one we expect, when the blossoms are over, to receive fruit; while the others please for a moment, and are seen no more. Let us not then prefer the mere lustre and charms of external beauty: the rosy tints of health, the elegance of form, and the freshness of youth, are fleeting, and soon fade; they alone cannot secure present peace, nor durable happiness. Those blossoms only which promise fruit worthy of God, and useful to mankind, deserve our regard, and merit our approbation. As the beauties of the blossoming trees hastily perish, so will the youth, now in the spring of life, fluttering in the gayety of their charms. Let us, then, whilst in the morn of life, and in the vigour of health, prepare, by study and application, to produce in the evening of our days, when divested of all external charms, abundant fruits of piety, of virtue, and of knowledge.

MAY III.

OF THE CONTINUAL REVOLUTIONS AND CHANGES THAT TAKE PLACE

IN NATURE.

Motion and change seem necessary to the preservation of the corporeal world. If we pay the least attention to what passes on the globe which we inhabit, we shall be convinced that the smallest particle of matter in the universe cannot be considered as in a state of absolute and continued rest.

The earth turns round its axis once in twenty-four hours, and by this motion all the points of its surface change their situation with more or less rapidity. Under the line or equator, where this motion is performed with greater celerity, each body is carried more than one thousand miles every hour, besides the annual revolution of the earth round the sun, which is at the astonishing rate of fifty-eight thousand miles every hour. This motion is not perceptible, but the relative motion of earthly bodies is more observable. Small streams uniting form greater, till at length torrents and rivers are formed, which again

are lost in the sea. Water is also raised in exhalations, and forms clouds, which produce the rain, snow, and fogs; from these, streams are formed, which once more enter the sea; and tides, storms, and torrents, keep the water in perpetual motion. The atmosphere is not less in a state of rest. Between the tropics an east wind continually blows; and in other places, where no agitation is perceptible, the thermometer and barometer prove that the air is never perfectly calm: and the frequency of meteors sufficiently evinces the continuance of its motion.

The surface of the earth is also subject to frequent revolutions: the hardest rocks cleave, and stones gradually wear away, or break into small particles; some lands sink down, others are inundated, and some are 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, sunbeam darts from behind the mountains that skirt the horizon, and plays upon the earth; more succeed, and the brilliancy increases, till