him, do not act so with the design of procuring nourishment. When the ermine leaps upon, and lays hold of, the ear of the bear and the elk, and bites them with his sharp teeth, we cannot affirm that this is done to satisfy the calls of hunger.

There is scarcely any creature, however small, which does not serve for food to some other animal. I know that many people think this arrangement of nature is cruel and unnecessary; but I can with confidence assert, that even this antipathy and enmity among animals, is a proof that every thing is wisely ordered. If we consider animals in the whole, we shall find that it is highly useful that some should subsist upon others; for on the one hand, without this arrangement many species could not exist; and on the other, these numerous species, instead of being prejudicial, are extremely useful. Insects and many reptiles feed on carrion; others establish themselves in the bodies of certain animals, and live upon their flesh and blood; and these insects themselves serve as food for other creatures. Carnivorous animals and birds of prey kill and feed upon other animals. Some species multiply so abundantly, that they would become burdensome if their numbers were not diminished. If there were no sparrows to destroy insects, what would become of the flowers and fruits? Without the ichneumon, which seeks out and destroys the crocodile's eggs, this terrible animal would increase to an alarming degree. A great portion of the earth would be desert, and many creatures would not exist, if there were no carnivorous animals. It will perhaps be urged that they might live upon vegetables; but if this were the case, our fields would scarcely afford subsistence for sparrows and swallows; and the structure of carnivorous animals must have been quite different from what it now is; and if fish did not live upon the inhabitants of the water, how would they be able to subsist? Besides, if the wars among animals were to cease, they would lose much of their vivacity and industry, the creation would be less animated, and man himself would lose much of his activity. We may also add, that we should be deprived of many striking proofs of God's wisdom, if universal peace was to prevail among animals; for the address, sagacity, and wonderful instinct which they use in laying snares for and surprising their prey, very evidently manifest the wisdom of the Creator.

So far then is the enmity which exists among animals from darkening the wisdom and goodness of God, that they receive additional brilliancy from what superficial observers think an imperfection. It forms part of the plan of the great system of nature, that one animal should persecute and feed upon another. We might indeed complain of this arrangement, if it occasioned the entire destruction of any species; but this never happens, and the continual wars among animals preserve a proper balance between them. Thus carnivorous animals are indispensable links in the chain of beings; and on this account their number is very small, compared with that of useful animals. We may also remark that, the strongest and fiercest animals have commonly the least sense and cunning. They either mutually

destroy each other, or their young ones serve as food for other beasts. Hence also nature has granted to the weakest species so much industry and means of defence. They possess instinct, acuteness of sense, quickness, skill, and sagacity, sufficient to counterbalance the strength of their enemies.

Can any one then behold this without acknowledging the infinite wisdom of the Creator, and confessing that this state of warfare, which at first seems so strange, is in fact a real good? We should be still more convinced of it, if we were better acquainted with the whole system of things, and the relations and connexions which different creatures have with each other; but this is a degree of knowledge reserved for a future state, where the divine perfections will be manifested in infinite splendour. We may, however, in some measure, even in this world, comprehend why these hostilities among animals are necessary; but we can by no means conceive why men, whose nature is so much more noble, should be continually fomenting wars and divisions so destructive to their race. To the disgrace of humanity, and the eternal reproach of the Christian religion, men pursue wars, and destroy each other with more savage barbarity than the wildest beasts that range the forests; than which, nothing is more opposite to the great ends for which they were created. Surely man was designed to render himself useful to his fellow-creatures, to contribute all in his power to their comfort and happiness; to be the defender of the helpless, the benefactor of the poor, and the friend of the afflicted and unfortunate. Let us not counteract these merciful designs of our blessed Lord, but endeavour to live in that peace and harmony which becomes the children of God, and followers of an humble and crucified Saviour; leaving animals which are destitute of reason to quarrel, fight, persecute, and destroy one another; whilst we live in charity with all men, doing good unto others, as we would that they should do unto us.

SEPTEMBER XXIII.

MORAL USES OF NIGHT.

At this time of the year, when the days begin to grow shorter, and the nights to lengthen, many people are discontented with the change. Some wish that there was no night at all, or that at least throughout the year the nights were never longer than they are in the months of June and July. But such wishes are the offspring of folly and presumption, and betray the greatest ignorance; for if men reflected upon the advantages which result from the alternation of the day and night, they would not thus show their want of judg ment, nor make such ill-founded complaints, but would rather bless God for the benefits they receive from the night. We feel the moral utility of night in its interrupting the course of many vices. During

the hours of darkness the wicked are obliged to repose, and oppressed virtue gains some moments of relief and cessation from misery; the unjust and fraudulent merchant ceases to cheat his neighbour, and a thousand evils are interrupted in their progress.

If there was no night, how much pleasure and instruction we should lose! The wonders of the creation manifested in the starry heavens would be lost to us. We now every night can contemplate the grandeur of God displayed in the stars, whilst we raise our souls towards him in humble and reverent gratitude. If then every occasion which recalls God to our minds is precious, how much ought we to value the season of night, which so powerfully declares the perfections of God!

Night is a time which is well adapted for meditation and reflection. The tumult and dissipation of the day leave but little leisure for selfexamination; and afford little opportunity of detaching our affections from the earth, and of seriously occupying ourselves with considering the duties of our station, and the end for which we were created. To these salutary meditations the stillness of the night is peculiarly adapted: we may then commune with our hearts without interruption, and acquire the important science of knowing ourselves. soul will then collect all her powers, and direct them towards those subjects which concern our eternal happiness. In those moments of peace and tranquillity we may purify our hearts from the contagion of the world, and strengthen our minds against the temptation and alluring examples of those who float down the stream of pleasure. We may then reflect upon death, and meditate upon futurity: the calm solitude of our closets is favourable to religious thoughts, and our souls become more and more desirous of virtue. Let us then, instead of repining at the vicissitudes of light and darkness, be thankful for them; and every night, before we lie down to sleep, let us bless the season in which we have become better acquainted with our own nature, the glory of God, and those things which concern our salvation and eternal peace.

SEPTEMBER XXIV.

OF MAN'S INDIFFERENCE FOR THE WORKS OF NATURE.

Whence is it that men in general are so indifferent about the works of God in nature? The consideration of this question may give rise to various important reflections. One great cause of this indifference is an habitual inattention. We are so accustomed to the beauties of nature, that we neglect to admire the wisdom which stamps them all; and we are not sufficiently grateful for the numerous advantages which we derive from them. There are too many people who resemble the stupid beast which feeds upon the grass of the meadow, and quenches his thirst in the stream, without acknowledging the wisdom

of him from whom these benefits proceed. Some men, even though endowed with the brightest faculties, and hence enjoying a greater share of the blessings of nature, never think of the source whence they all flow and even when the wisdom and goodness of God are most strikingly manifest, they are not affected by them, because they are so frequent. Thus what ought chiefly to excite men's admiration and gratitude renders them indifferent and insensible. Many people are also regardless of the beauties of nature through ignorance. How many are there entirely unacquanted with the most ordinary phenomena! They daily see the sun rise and set; their fields are watered with rain and dew, and sometimes with snow; every spring unfolds the most wonderful changes; but they had rather live in the profoundest ignorance than give themselves the trouble of inquiring into the causes and effects of these phenomena. It is true that many things will always be incomprehensible to us, with whatever care we study, and the limits of our understanding are never sooner felt than when we attempt to fathom the operations of nature. We may however acquire an historical knowledge of them, and the meanest labourer may be made to comprehend how it happens that the grain which he sows in his fields buds, and shoots up into a plant.

Other men, again, neglect the works of nature, because they are too much occupied with their own particular interests. I have little doubt that if spiders spun threads of gold, if lobsters contained pearls, and if the flowers of the fields converted the decrepitude of age into the vigour of youth, there would be many more attentive observers of nature than there now are. We are too apt to estimate things only as they affect our interest and our fancy: those objects which do not immediately satisfy our inordinate desires are deemed unworthy of our attention, and our self love is so unreasonable, and we so little know our real interest, that we despise what is most useful to us. Thus corn is one of the plants most indispensably necessary to our support, and yet we see whole fields waving with this useful production of nature, without paying any attention to it.

Many people disregard the works of nature out of mere indolence. They love too well their ease and repose to curtail their sleep a few minutes whilst they may contemplate the starry heavens; they have not resolution to quit their beds in a morning early enough to behold the rising sun; they fear it would fatigue them too much if they stooped to the ground to observe the structure of a blade of grass; and yet these very people, who are so fond of their ease and convenience, are full of eagerness and activity in the gratification of their passions.

Others neglect the works of God in nature from irreligious motives; they do not desire to know the greatness of God, and have no inclination for virtue, nor the duties which it prescribes. To love and to praise God, and to be grateful for his blessings, would be to these men duties painful and disagreeable. We have too much reason to believe that this is one of the principal causes of some men's disregard for the works of God. If they prized the knowledge of God above all other things, they would eagerly seize, and cherish with pleasure, every

opportunity of strengthening that knowledge, and of perfecting their love of their heavenly Creator.

At least two-thirds of mankind may be ranked in one or other of the classes which we have just pointed out; for there are very few people who properly study the works of God, and who love to dwell upon them. This is a truth, the mournful certainty of which is daily confirmed. Would to God that men would at length be convinced how it becomes them to be so insensible and inattentive to the works of the Creator, and how by such a conduct they degrade themselves below the very brutes! Have we eyes, and shall we not contemplate the wonders that every where surround us? Have we ears, and shall we not hearken to the glad songs which make the heavens resound with the praises of the Creator? Do we wish to contemplate God in the world to come, and yet refuse to consider his works in which he shines so conspicuously in the garden of nature? Let us henceforth renounce this culpable indifference, and endeavour to feel a portion of that joy which formerly penetrated the heart of David, when he reflected on the works, the glory, and the magnificence of his God.

SEPTEMBER XXV.

OF SEVERAL NOCTURNAL METEORS.

In serene weather, when the sky is clear, we sometimes observe a circular light, or luminous ring surrounding the moon, and which is called a halo or crown. Its outline frequently exhibits, though faintly, the colours of the rainbow. The moon is in the centre of this ring, and the intermediate space is generally darker than the rest of the sky. When the moon is at the full, and considerably elevated above the horizon, the ring appears most luminous. It is often very large. We are not to suppose that this circle really surrounds the moon; the true cause of such an appearance must be looked for in our atmosphere, the vapours of which cause a refraction of the rays of light which penetrate them, and produce this effect.

False moons, called paraselenes, or mock moons, are sometimes seen near the real moon, and appear as large, but their light is paler. They are generally accompanied by circles, some of which have the same colours as the rainbow, whilst others are white, and others have long luminous tails. All these appearances are produced by refraction. The rays of light falling from the moon upon aqueous and sometimes frozen vapours, are refracted in various ways; the coloured rays are separated, and reaching the eye double the image of the moon. A very rare appearance is sometimes observed; we see by moonlight, after heavy rain, a lunar rainbow, which has the same colours as the solar rainbow, but much fainter; this meteor is also occasioned by the refraction of the rays of light.

When sulphurous and other vapours take fire in the superior part