Though our faculties are too confined to embrace all the designs of the Deity respecting the nature and properties of light, by investigating it with attention we may obtain considerable information upon so important a subject. Why, for instance, does light move with such velocity, and penetrate every part, but that a variety of objects may be perceived at the same time by a great number of people, and that distance may not prevent their being seen? If the propagation of the rays of light was slower, great inconveniences must result to the inhabitants of the earth; the force and splendour of light would be much diminished and enfeebled; the rays much less penetrating; and darkness would slowly and with difficulty be dissipated. Why are the particles of light so extremely subtile, but to paint the minutest objects upon the retina? Why have they not more density, but that they may not dazzle us by their splendour, and injure the eye by their power? And why are the rays so refracted, if not to enable us more easily to distinguish objects?

Thus we find the Creator and Parent of mankind ever operates for our good and advantage, and all his arrangements are wise and beneficial. Had he not created light, we could not have enjoyed life; we should have been deprived of every external source of pleasure, and our understanding and improvement must have been reduced within very narrow limits.

AUGUST XXV.

STRUCTURE OF BIRDS.

Birds may unquestionably be ranked among the most beautiful creatures of the earth. The form of their bodies, even in the minutest particulars, is so perfect and regular, as at once to convince us of the wisdom of the Creator. They have bones like the mammalia, but they are differently clothed. Their bodies are covered with feathers fastened to the skin, lying upon each other in regular order, and furnished with a warm and soft down. The large feathers are covered above and below with smaller ones, and each consists of a quill and beard. The lower part of the quill is hollow, and by it the feather receives its nourishment; toward the top it contains a kind of marrow. The beard is a range of small thin flakes, closely connected at the edges. Instead of having fore-legs like a quadruped, birds have wings composed of eleven bones, in the muscles of which the feathers enabling them to fly are fixed. The structure of these wings is very curious, and admirably adapted to their purpose. Between them the body is perfectly balanced, and placed in the most convenient manner for the different motions it has to perform. The heads of birds are small; by which neither the action of the wings nor the progress of the birds through the air is retarded. Their tails are useful in pre

serving their balance whilst flying, and to assist them to ascend and descend in the air. Their legs, from their particular situation, are well adapted to preserve the centre of gravity; and in some birds they are placed so far back as to enable them to swim. The thighs are clothed with muscles and feathers, whilst the legs are generally thin and without covering. Most birds have four toes, three before and one behind; at the end of which are claws, which they use to seize their prey and food. Some birds feed upon animals; others on plants, grains and fruits, which they steep and soften in their crop; whence only a small part of the aliment passes at a time into the stomach, which in this species of birds is very small, and composed of very strong muscles; these assist in grinding the food, and small stones or gravel are also swallowed to promote digestion. The stomachs of birds of prey are much weaker.

All birds are constructed with such wisdom, that they are enabled to pursue their particular mode of living and obtaining food with great facility. The stork and the heron, which obtain most of their food in marshy places, have a long beak and long legs, that they may run in the water and readily seize their prey. The eagle and the hawk, which only live by rapine, are provided with large wings, strong claws, and sharp beaks. The bill of swallows is small and pointed, and their mouth large, to enable them to catch the insects which they meet when flying. The swan has a reservoir in its windpipe, whence it draws air while its head and neck are plunged under water seeking its food. Many small birds, which fly and hop among thickets, have a membrane over their eyes to defend them from injury. Each is perfect in its kind, and admirably constructed. The variety is very great and beautiful; and we must always admire the wisdom of God in this part of the creation, which we contemplate with such peculiar delight.

AUGUST XXVI.

REFLECTIONS UPON THE SKY

Whoever attentively regards the heavens must be struck with admiration at the view of this magnificent work of the Creator. How beautiful is the azure vault suspended above the earth; in the day variegated by clouds, and by night resplendent with thousands of stars, and luminous with the moon's silvery radiance! We contemplate this grand spectacle with awe and sublime emotion; we consider with wonder the immensity of space, whose beginning and end we cannot discover, where orbs innumerable, of different degrees of magnitude, roll their spheres one beyond another in their prescribed circles, till distance forbids the eye to penetrate farther in the boundless expanse; and the mind owns its limited powers, whilst it ponders in

silent astonishment upon the Supreme Being who made the heavens and the earth.

AUGUST XXVII.

MORAL REFLECTIONS UPON A FIELD OF CORN.

As the corn-field, often threatened with danger, and exposed to the rude visitation of the tempest, is yet preserved in safety to yield its rich stores to the husbandman; so the human mind, visited by affliction, and shaken by the storms of adversity, still bears up against the blast, and is strengthened and purified by the fierce contention. In the moments of sorrow, when care and trouble oppress us, our knowledge, faith, and humility, are increased and confirmed; for though like the tender stalk of corn we bend whilst the blast sweeps over us, the compassionating hand of God gently raises and consoles our afflicted hearts.

The time of harvest approaches, the corn ripens fast, the sun's warmth and soft showers descend to hasten its maturity. May we also, as each succeeding day brings us nearer to our end, become more mature in all good, and prepare to be gathered unto our fathers in eternal glory. Whatever be our situation in this state of existence, whether cheered by prosperity, or darkened with impending evils; may all our actions tend to the glory of God, and the promotion of piety.

As those stalks which bear the largest and finest ears of corn bend beneath their treasure, whilst those which are poor and light stand erect and overlook the field; so we may observe men, vain and presumptuous, without knowledge and virtue, proudly hold up their heads, and contemptuously look down upon those whom religion teaches to be humble, and whose learning has estimated the limits of human attainment, and the insignificance of vanity.

All the corn which is to be reaped is not equally good; tares and weeds are mixed with it; and so with men, they blend together both good and bad qualities; and their natural corruption often retards their progress in virtue. The dissipated and the wicked, by their pernicious examples, often sow tares in the field, where none but good seed ought to grow. The master of the field permits them to remain for a season, and patiently waits the arrival of the harvest, before he exercises that impartial justice which separates the good from the bad.

The sickle mows down the corn, and the fruits of the earth are joyfully gathered. Death levels with the dust the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the wicked and the righteous; and happy will be the hour in which those who have preferred the pure light of religion to the delusions of error, are received into the regions of glory, and numbered among the spirits of just men made perfect. They will gratefully remember the storms, the dangers, the trials, and the

afflictions through which they have been preserved, and they will joyfully unite with angels in glorifying the God of Heaven.

AUGUST XXVIII.

SHELL-FISH.

Shell-fish, or testaceous animals, form a very considerable part of the animal kingdom. They live in shells formed of a calcareous matter. These are either univalve, of one piece; or bivalve, and multivalve, of two or several pieces. Testaceous animals form two great families that of muscles, the shells of which are of more than one piece and that of snails, whose shell is of one piece, and spiral. The structure of the former is the most simple. Muscles have neither head, horns, nor jaws: a mouth, windpipe, and sometimes a species of foot, is all that can be distinguished in them. The greater part of the snail species have, on the contrary, a head, horns, eyes, and a foot.

Shell-fish differ considerably in their mode of generation. In some the sex may be discovered; others are hermaphrodites; and in some no particular sex can be distinguished. Some are oviparous; others viviparous. They are born with their shell; and as they grow, the shell, the interior of which is lined with a fine membrane, increases both in thickness and circumference. The shells are formed by a viscous liquid which exudes from the animal, and gradually thickens and becomes harder. Shell-fish live both in fresh water and the sea; near the shore as well as in the main ocean: some are carnivorous, and others eat vegetables: some keep at the bottom of the sea, or adhere fast to the rocks. Oysters, and some others with hard shells, attach themselves to different bodies, and remain firmly united to them by means of a glutinous gritty liquid: and they are often cemented fast to each other. This adhesion is voluntary in some shell-fish, which have the power of fastening themselves as occasion may require but in others it is involuntary; and they always continue to the rocks on which they first fastened.

The knowledge that we have of these various animals is still very imperfect. As they generally live below the surface of the water, it is difficult to make exact observations upon their structure, mode of receiving nourishment, of propagating, and of moving, &c.; and as yet very few classes of them are known. But little as is our acquaintance with them, it is sufficient to make us admire the infinite grandeur of God. How immense is his empire! We every where find creatures which testify his power and wisdom. How beautiful is the variety we observe in the form, richness, and colour of shells, which human art can never equal!

AUGUST XXIX.

UPON THE GOVERNMENT OF GOD.

A God, who from his supreme elevation, could be an indifferent spectator of all the revolutions which take place in the world, would not be worthy of our homage. Happily for us, the government of our God whom we adore embraces the whole creation. We every where find the centre of his empire, but can no where discover its limits. All his works are continually before his view: he at once perceives the past, the present, and the future; and comprehends all their bearings and dependences. Nothing, however trivial and minute, escapes his notice; every thing concurs to perfect the plan he has formed, and to complete his wise purposes, which all tend to the advantage and felicity of his creatures. All his laws are uttered in wisdom, and his commandments are a source of joy and happiness.

God, by his providence, preserves every creature which he formed in the beginning of the world. As one animal dies, another supplies its place; and one generation of men succeeds another. The master of the world makes use of inanimate creatures to preserve those which live; he subjects all to man, who, of all created beings, is the only one that is capable of knowing and worshipping the infinite God; who, all pure and holy himself, also wills that his rational creatures should know and feel the beauty of holiness. By the continual proofs which he gives them of his love for goodness, and abhorrence of evil, he speaks to their hearts, and unceasingly exhorts them to walk in the path of virtue; to this end he directs their actions, renders their designs abortive when they are contrary to his merciful views, and offers them the means of avoiding the snares of iniquity.

How infinitely wise were the measures which he used to conduct the children of Israel to the blessed ends that he proposed! In vain did the nations wrapped in idolatry oppose the progress, and conspire the destruction of a people who marched under the eternal banners of their God, and followed a pure and holy religion, which pre-eminently distinguished them from, and raised them above, all the surrounding nations, blinded by superstition, and persisting in their errors.

The God of our faith dwells in light inaccessible; the wisdom of his government is too profound for human nature to penetrate; our understanding is not capable of comprehending all his plans, or to form just ideas of his views before the event has unfolded them; and our knowledge is too limited to scan the counsels of an infinitely wise Being, and to discover beforehand the motives of his conduct and dispensations. The seat of the wicked is often with princes, whilst the righteous man hides his head in the dust: villany triumphs, and integrity is oppressed; fortune smiles upon iniquity, and the friend of religion experiences disappointment and adversity. Yet there is a Providence, a Father tender of his creatures, a God infinitely wise, a King just and righteous. All his dispensations are worthy of adora