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 occa

sion 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. The 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

of the atmosphere, we often see streaks of light rapidly darting like rockets. When these vapours unite together in one mass, and becoming ignited fall down, we seem to perceive little balls of fire fall from the sky; and as, from their distance, they appear to be about the size of stars, they are often called falling stars, and many people imagine they are real stars, which change their places or are dissipated. Sometimes these supposed stars, very brilliant, and splendidly coloured, slowly descend, acquiring new lustre, till at length they are extinguished in the lower atmosphere. Large balls of fire have sometimes been seen more resplendent than the full moon, and some of them with long luminous tails. It is very probable that these are sulphurous and nitrous vapours, which have accumulated and become ignited; they generally pass through the air with great rapidity, and then burst with a loud report. Sometimes, when the inflammable particles of which they are composed are of a different nature, they disperse without noise in the higher regions of the atmosphere. The little flashes which we often may observe in the summer evenings after intense heat, are produced by the vapours of the atmosphere; and are less visible, because they are more elevated. This meteor is distinguished from real lightning, by not being accompanied by thunder; or rather, these lights are the reflection of lightning at too great a distance for us to hear the thunder-clap which follows.

The flying dragon, the dancing goat, the burning beam, and various other meteors, owe their names to the singular appearance which they present. They are only gross and viscous exhalations which ferment in the humid regions of the lower sky, and which being pressed in several directions by the agitated atmosphere, assume different figures, to which people give these extraordinary names. Experimentalists have imitated these phenomena by the combination of certain inflammable substances.

Of all the nocturnal phenomena, none are more remarkable or brilliant than the aurora borealis, or northern lights, which are generally seen from the beginning of autumn till the commencement of spring, when the weather is calm and serene, and when the light of the moon is not great. The aurora borealis does not always appear the same. Commonly towards midnight a light is perceived something resembling the first breaking of day. Sometimes also we observe streams, and sudden shoots of light, and white and luminous clouds which are in constant motion. But when the aurora borealis shows itself in full perfection, we almost always see during mild weather, towards the north, an obscure space, a thick and dark cloud, the upper part of which is surrounded by a white and luminous border, from which rays, brilliant jets, and resplendent pillars proceed, which every moment as they rise assume red and yellow colours, then meet, unite and form thick and luminous clouds, and at length terminate in variously coloured clouds, white, blue, fiery red, and the most beautiful purple.

How great is the magnificence of God! Even night itself proclaims his majesty. How can we complain that at this season the nights

are gradually becoming longer, when they present such grand and sublime spectacles, that both interest our minds and our hearts? The phenomena which we have been describing render the long nights of the northern nations not only supportable, but even pleasing and brilliant. Our nights, which are much shorter, might still procure us very diversified pleasures, if we would be attentive to them. Let us accustom ourselves to raise our minds and our hearts towards heaven, and soar in thought beyond moons and stars unto our Creator; reflect upon his grandeur, and adore him in silence, when the sublimity of the night shall fill our souls. For thou, O Lord, art great! The solemn stillness of the night attests thy power and love. The moon silently revolving in the azure plains of heaven, displays thy majesty. All the host of stars flaming in the firmament praise and celebrate thee; and the paler light of the aurora borealis, streaking the evening sky, manifests the perfections of our God.

SEPTEMBER XXVI.

AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS.

Besides quadrupeds, birds, and fish, there is a species of animal which can live either on the earth or in the water, and is on this account termed amphibious. The animals of this class are all cold blooded, and have something forbidding in their look and figure; their colour is dark and disagreeable; and they have an unpleasant smell, with a hoarse voice; and many of them are venomous. Instead of bones, they have only cartilages; their skin in some instances is smooth, in others covered with scales. Most of them live concealed in dirty, swampy places; some are oviparous. These last do not hatch their own eggs; but abandon them to the warmth of the air, or water, or lay them on a dunghill. Almost all this species of animals live upon prey, which they obtain either by their superior strength or cunning. They can long support famine, and in general live a very laborious life. Some of them walk, others creep, and this difference occasions them to be divided into two classes. In the first class may be enumerated those which have feet. The tortoise, which is in this class, is covered with a strong shell resembling a buckler: land tortoises are smaller than those that live in the sea, some of which are five ells long, and weigh from eight to nine hundred pounds.

There are several species of lizards; some with smooth skins, others are covered with scales; and some have wings, and are called dragons. Among those that have no wings are the crocodile; the cameleon, which can live six months without food; and the salamander, which can live in the fire some time without being consumed, because the cold and slimy fluid which it throws out from all parts defends it from the effects of the heat. Of all these animals the