vided, are of particular use to them; they are extended before the body when it moves, and feeling out the way, not only inform the creature of the dangers which threaten it, but also enable it to discover the aliments best suited to its nature.

The legs of insects are either scaly or membranous: the former move by means of several joints; and the others, which are softer, move in all directions. Sometimes both these species of legs are found in the same insect. Some insects have several hundred feet, but their motion is not accelerated by them.

The variety observable in the form and constitution of the limbs of insects is almost infinite; and the lives of many men would scarcely suffice to describe the different figures of this minute part of the creation. How curiously must the legs of those insects be constructed which fasten on smooth and polished surfaces! How elastic the legs of those which leap! and how strong must those be which dig in the ground! Two or four wings are placed in the middle of the body. Some of them are as transparent as fine gauze, others are scaly and mealy; some are without any covering, others are concealed in cases or sheaths. At the sides, or at the extremity of the body, there are orifices something like the pupil of the eye; they are called stigmata, and are the organs of respiration. How various are the forms of the insects which walk, fly, leap, and crawl! and yet in all a most perfect harmony and proportion of form is observable. And not to acknowledge in all this the infinite wisdom of the Creator, is the height of folly and absurdity; we are only virtuous and rational in as much as we confess an Almighty and Supreme Power, and bless and adore him in all the works of the creation.

AUGUST VII.

COMPARISON BETWEEN THE SENSES OF MEN AND THOSE
OF ANIMALS.

Are any animals endowed with more perfect senses than man? In certain particular instances some of them undoubtedly are; but in general man is more highly favoured in this respect than all other animals. It is indeed asserted, that the spider has a finer feeling; and the vulture, the bee, and the dog, a keener smell. We know that by means of this sense the hound pursues his game; and other dogs discover things beneath the ground. The hog also, guided by his smell, digs in the earth for food. Stags are supposed to have the sense of hearing so acute, that they can hear the sound of bells at several miles distance; and the mole hears better below the earth, than man, who dwells upon the surface.

With regard to sight, the eagle among birds, and the lynx among quadrupeds, are said to be much more perfect than man. Though these observations are true; yet if we consider animals in general,

and compare them with man, we must immediately be struck with his great pre-eminence in the creation. He is by nature endowed with five senses; and this advantage is not enjoyed by one half of animals. The zoophites, which form the connecting link between the animal and vegetable kingdoms, have only the sense of feeling. Many animals have only two senses, others three, and those which have five are considered as the most perfect class. But these have very seldom all their senses more perfect than men, some of whom enjoy them in a very exquisite state. Some Indians can judge by their smell what quantity of alloy is mixed with the precious metals, as well as we can by the touchstone. Others will discover at a very great distance the retreat of a wild beast. The inhabitants of the Antilles will distinguish by their smell whether a Frenchman or a negro had last passed along the road.

The acuteness of his senses in some degree compensates the wild Indian for his want of education. Many people, by exercise and great attention, have improved certain senses to a wonderful degree of perfection; and if man, like other animals, was destitute of the reasoning faculty, and had no means of procuring food, or preserving himself from danger, but his organs of sensation; these by continual exercise would doubtless have acquired the highest degree of refinement and acuteness. But constituted as he is, man has no occasion for more acute senses than those he already possesses. The gift of reason abundantly compensates him for the advantages that some animals have over him; and we may even assert with confidence, that if our senses were more refined, we should experience great inconvenience from them. Let us take for example the sense of hearing; if we had this sense so acute as the safety of some animals requires it to be in them, the most distant noise, and the confused clashing of a vast number of sounds, would continually interrupt our meditations and repose, and prevent our most noble and useful occupations.

Let us then be thankful that the infinite wisdom of God has so well arranged the degree of our sensations, that they enable us fully to enjoy the blessings of nature, without interrupting the workings of the soul. The limited degree of our senses is then rather to be considered as a gain than a loss; as a perfection, rather than an imperfection and happy is the man who suffers his reason to control and restrain his senses, when they impel him to deviate into folly, or plunge into the mad vortex of fashion.

AUGUST VIII.

THUNDER.

The thunder rolls! Consider, O man, who it is that causes this dreadful roar! Who is it that darts the lightning from the clouds?

It is the Lord of the universe; the arm of the mighty God hurls the thunderbolt.

Nature reposes in his hand; he preserves and blesses her; but his voice will be heard, and at the sound thereof the heavens shall be consumed, the earth devoured by the flames, and they shall be no

more.

The thunder peals! Dreadful is the sky involved in storms! The lightning flashes, and the thunderbolt is shot! Great is our God, and omnipotent his power! The Lord looks down from his throne, and by the lightning's gleam we see the grave open under our feet.

When the God of heaven rides upon the whirlwind, men tremble and are afraid; when he unveils his face the universe turns pale, and none can behold the glory of his countenance,

The sinner hears his voice, and his soul sinks appalled; he dare not look upon him whose counsels he has neglected. The good man contemplates the majesty of God without fear; and his soul is untroubled amid the tempest's howl and the storm's fierce rage. The Lord shields him from the thunderbolt, which strikes terror into the heart of the wicked.

And though it is the will of his Heavenly Father that the righteous man should die, he cheerfully resigns his soul into the hands of his Maker; and his last words proclaim his inward peace, and that whether he lives or dies, his only hope is in his Saviour and his God.

He who directs the thunder is the friend and all-consoling hope of the Christian. What though he should take me away suddenly from among the living? It is that I may dwell in the regions of light and glory, and ever drink of the pure fountain of bliss.

He who, when the sky is serene, and every wind is hushed, glorifies his Creator with joy and thanksgiving, is still calm and undaunted when the sinner is hiding himself from the threatening

storm.

But whither will he fly? Can he escape the eye of an all-penetrating God? In vain does he attempt to hide himself; the lightning pursues and smites him in his dark retreat.

Think not of escaping then, O ye wicked, nor trust that flight will save you; renounce your errors, and give up your delusive dreams; ye cannot conceal yourselves from your God, who is every where present. Whilst the thunder roars, you tremble and are troubled; but the tempest ceases, nature breathes, and you return to the deceitful pleasures that have bewildered your reason.

But if you would obtain pleasures that never fail, prostrate yourselves before the throne of God; implore that mercy, which is never refused to the penitent; and forget not the promises that you made, the vows which you uttered, in the hour of your distress, and in the moment of your tribulation; remembering that God has declared he is a God of justice, and will not be mocked.

He is merciful and long suffering; he spares the rebellious, but he will not spare for ever. He is just, and before his holy tribunal we must all appear. What is the thunder that roars over our heads in

comparison of that awful day, when we shall hear the sound of the trumpet; when the elements themselves shall be dissolved by fire; and the earth and all that it contains be consumed by ardent heat.

AUGUST IX.

CONTEMPLATION UPON A MEADOW.

Ye gloomy and majestic woods, where the fir-tree rears its stately head, where the tufted oaks spread their thickening foliage; and ye rivers, whose clear silver streams roll among the blue mountains, or gently glide through the vales below; with you I love to roam, and mark the landscape lessening on my sight, till all is wrapped in

shade!

But now other beauties invite me forth; the verdant mead, all gay with flowers, attracts me. Vegetables of a thousand kinds refresh the air; millions of insects, their painted wings glittering in the sun, are flying from flower to flower in sportive mood; whilst others are winding through the dark labyrinths of the tufted grass; all varying in beauty, and each seeking for food and pleasure.

How soothing is the murmur of yon limpid stream, as its waters gently wash the flowers that, bending over the grassy bank, oft kiss the dimpling wave, or dance reflected on its surface!

See those waving plants! what a mild lustre the sun beams on the different shades of green! Some delicately entwine with the grass, and mingle with it their beautiful foliage; others proudly rear their heads above the rest, and display flowers without perfume; whilst the lovely violet, in lowly modesty drest, dwells beneath the bank, and scents the air with fragrant odours. Thus we often see the man of worth and integrity, obscured by poverty, unnoticed, and unregarded, diffuse blessings round his humble sphere; whilst the slave of ignorance and villany, shrouded in the all-protecting garb of riches, consumes in idleness the fruits of the earth, and receives the applause of millions.

How beautiful is nature! The grass and flowers grow luxuriantly; the trees are covered with leaves; the soft zephyr refreshes us; the flocks wanton in the pastures; the little lambs declare their joy by a thousand sportive skips, and frisk lightly over the mead. The green grass, tipped with sweet dew, adorns the field; the leaves tremble in the breeze, and the melody of the nightingale rises from yonder bush. Every thing is joy, every thing inspires love; it reigns on the hills and in the valleys, on the trees and in the groves.

Nature is beautiful even in her least productions. The sporting insects pursue each other in the grass; sometimes lost in the verdure, then rising and displaying their gilded wings, dancing in the sunbeam. The butterfly hovers over the clover, flutters its wings, and seems proud of its charms. The buzzing of a swarm of young bees

now meets my ear. See the flowers bending under them! They have gayly flown from their distant home, and dispersed themselves over the fields and gardens, where they collect the honeyed nectar of the flowers, and riot in luxurious sweets and ever-varying charms.

Happy is the man whose life of innocence smoothly flows imbosomed in nature's sweetest treasures. The creation smiles to him, and joy gilds his glad moments; whether reclining in the evening shade, or brushing with hasty steps the morning dew. Pleasure springs for him from every fountain; every flower yields its charms, and every grove welcomes him to its hallowed shade. For him wild concerts warble in the air; and his mind, serene as a summer's day, knows no corroding, heart-consuming care: his affections are pure as the untainted breath of morn, sweet as the dew-washed flowers: in the beauties of nature he sees his God, and to him devotes his willing soul.

AUGUST X.

MISCHIEFS CAUSED BY ANIMALS.

It is distressing to see some of the finest productions of nature exposed to the ravages of animals. Every summer we observe the mischievous effects of the rapacity of birds and insects in the vegetable kingdom! How many trees are destroyed, and fruits consumed, by worms and caterpillars! And how much necessary sustenance we are deprived of by the insatiable sparrow and greedy raven! These and similar complaints are often uttered by men who seem to imagine that certain animals only exist to torment mankind. It is true, there is some foundation for such complaints; and it must be granted that some creatures do occasion much mischief. It is more easy to exterminate wolves, lions, and other wild beasts, than to extirpate insects, whose numerous swarms cover a whole country. In Peru a species of ant called chako is a terrible scourge to the inhabitants; and their lives would be endangered if they did not use precautions to get rid of these formidable insects. The devastation made by caterpillars on our fruit-trees, and by mice in our fields is well known.

But however great these inconveniences may be, they do not authorize such bitter complaints as some people make. We are pleased to see the animals which are mischievous to us destroy one another; we think we may without injustice deprive animals of life, either for our food or any other purpose; but we cannot bear that they should take any thing from us. But have we more right to take away the life of a gnat, than it has to take a drop of our blood? Besides, in complaining of the voracity of animals, we do not consider that this arrangement of nature is not so disadvantageous as it may at first sight appear. To be convinced of this, we have only to consider the animal kingdom in an enlarged point of view. We shall then find, that