O man, is there a blade of grass, a leaf, or a grain of dust which does not proclaim to thee the council of the strong God? How rich is he in power and beneficence! but, alas! how often does He find thee insensible; thy heart is hardened, and thine eye turns away from his works! Yet for thee His creative hand has diffused life and beauty through all things; for thee He has created, preserved, and adorned so many different beings which thou beholdest in the garden of nature.

Thy God has need of nothing: it is for thy happiness that he has diversified the creation with so many charms, and that he has endued thee with an intelligent, immortal soul. Why then wilt thou seek happiness in that which is false and deceitful? Turn thine eye to thy God; from him thou wilt derive true felicity: enjoy the blessings which he gives thee, and repentance will never follow the enjoyment.

JUNE I.

Difference between the Works of Nature and of Art.

WHEN We compare the works of nature with those of art, we find that the former infinitely surpass the latter. And when we consider that the works of art are merely imitations from nature, there can be no doubt entertained on the subject. The nearer an artist approaches to nature the more perfect is his work; he can invent nothing that is new, and his most sanguine hopes are to imitate nature, which is rich and various, whilst the variety of art is soon at an end, and her resources quickly exhausted. The kingdom of nature is almost unlimited; we may every where find treasures inexhaustible and stores without end; her minutest objects are worthy of observation; and whether we examine a stone, a plant, or an animal, we shall find that they contain beauties which captivate, and perfections which astonish. The works of art, on the contrary, are soon exhausted; if we scrutinize then with the eye of critical nicety, we discover faults which we did not expect, and imperfections which we did not imagine; our admiration ceases, and we turn from them without delight.

The works of art, and the proudest monuments of human skill are mouldering in the dust, whilst those of nature continue in the vigour of youth and the freshness of beauty. The advantage of the latter in structure, over the former, is not less evident; whoever compares the mechanism of the most ingenious machine with that of animals, will be amazed with the one, whilst he considers the other as a mere bauble, or toy. To take the human body as an example: how wonderfully is it organized! The perfect and regular structure of the muscles, each one admirably adapted to its particular use; the circulation of the blood; the complicated variety of motions; the symmetry of the limbs, and the diversity of the functions; all display the most abundant proofs of the works of an Artificer, in comparison of which those of ran are of less account than the dust in the balance.

It would be useless to weary the reader with more observations to prove a self-evident fact; for, though such is the depravity of human nature, that our self-love induces us to prefer our own productions to those of another; and the taste of some men is so vitiated that they are disposed to disregard, and consider with indifference, whatever is not produced by human industry and human ingenuity; few would be found so hardy as to expose their folly, and evince their total destitution of feeling, by asserting the puny efforts of art to be superior to the rolling of the billows, the cloudcapt mountains, and the smiling verdure of the valleys, together with all those stupendous and beautiful works that the ever-varying face of nature continually presents, the study of which yields delight and joy ineffable. Whilst it expands the mind, it renders the heart susceptible of all those feelings which raise the dignity of human nature, and advance it nearer to that Being who is the Source of all mercy and goodness; whom the more we contemplate the more we desire to imitate; and the more we imitate the more fitted we become for the blessed realms of peace, and the practice of every virtue.

JUNE II.

Leaves of Trees.

LEAVES, the ornament of trees, are one of the chief beauties of nature. Our impatience to see them bud in the spring, and our joy when they appear, sufficiently declare how much we consider them the pride of our gardens, fields, and woods. What a grateful shade they form in the hot days of summer, when, retreating from the fervent rays of the sun, we repose on the banks of some clear stream beneath the overhanging trees! Yet this is the least of the advantages which the leaves of trees afford. We have only to consider their wonderful structure, to be convinced that they are formed to answer much more important purposes. Each leaf has certain vessels, which being closely compressed at the extremity of the stalk, extend themselves like ribs on the interior part of the leaf, and ramify in various directions; and every leaf contains also an astonishing number of pores. In one species of box, called Palma Cereris, one hundred and seventy-two thousand pores have been enumerated on one side of the leaf. In the open air the leaves turn their upper surface towards the sky; and the under towards the earth, or the interior part of the plant. To what purpose could this particular arrangement conduce, if leaves had no other use than that of ornamenting trees, and affording an agreeable shade? Surely the Creator had something more important in view.

Leaves are instrumental to the nutrition of plants, by imbibing through their pores the humidity of the atmosphere, which they communicate to the whole plant. How admirable is the wisdom of their organization! By its means, plants in dry seasons do not run the hazard of being deprived of moisture; they receive a plentiful supply of refreshing dew, which, falling upon the upper leaves, drops from them upon the lower ones, so that all receive a portion, and none of the invigorating juice is lost. It appears from various experiments, that plants perspire to a considerable amount, and the leaves have been ascertained to be the chief organs 43

of this function They also contribute to introduce into the interior of the plant the air of which it is in want, as well as to extricate that which it has used; and they tend to the preservation of the buds which are to bloom the following year; hence many trees, when stripped of their leaves, wither and die. This frequently happens to the mulberry-tree, whose leaves are taken to feed silk-worms; and this is the reason why the grapes never arrive at maturity, when the vine has been stripped of its leaves in summer.

We may make another remark upon this subject, which throws some light on the manner in which plants acquire their gradual growth. The interior surface of leaves, which is turned towards the earth, is always of a paler colour and less shining appearance, and is more rough and spongy than the upper surface. This peculiarity enables it more effectually to imbibe the dew which exhales from the earth, and to distribute it with more facility and abundance to the whole plant. The leaves turn to that part whence they receive the most nourishment; hence we observe the leaves of certain plants hang very low. The leaves of trees which grow on a steep mountain take a perpendicular direction, by which they are able to acquire the necessary degree of humidity.

We have here fresh cause to admire the supreme wisdom of God, and we may henceforth consider the leaves of trees in another point of view. When we were ignorant of their structure, and of the important ends that they answered, it was not extraordinary that we saw them with indifference. But now that we know each leaf displays evident marks of Divine Power, and is an organ of fertility, it will be impossible to view them again with inattention or disregard; and whenever we see them we shall acknowledge that every thing, even the least object of nature, has been arranged by the wisdom of the Creator.*

From the experiments of certain chemists it appears, that, during the day, the leaves of plants absorb carbonic acid gas, which is necessary for the nutrition and growth of plants, and they exhale moisture and oxygen gas; it is farther proved by Senebler, that the oxygen gas emitted by the leaves of plants depends on the presence of car bonic acid gas, which the leaves first absorb and afterward decompose, and then give out

JUNE III.

Vivifying Power of the Sun.

WHEN first the sun awakens the morn, joy and serenity are diffused over the soul. The heat and brilliancy of the great luminary of day communicate to man the cheerfulness and activity by which he is enabled to fulfil the various duties of his vocation, and enjoy the endearments of social life. The indolence and mental depression which often during the winter rendered us incapable of action, are now dissipated; we feel more pleasure in our existence, and perform our duties with greater ease and comfort. How could it be otherwise, when we witness the universal joy that the sun communicates to the world, and when we see every thing around us affected by his all-vivifying rays? He animates every creature, and rejoices them by his genial influence; millions of brilliant insects awaken and sport in his rays; the birds tune their music to his praises, and every thing which breathes rejoices at his appearance Every where the joyful effects of his influence are felt: he causes the sap to rise in trees, plants, and vegetables; he unfolds the young leaves, and gives to the flowers their sweet charms: he forms the fruits, gives them their beautiful hue, and hastens their maturity. He diffuses light and life throughout the creation, and without him all nature would languish and die.

The influence of the sun is not only manifest upon the surface of the globe; it reaches the depths of caverns, penetrates mountains, is felt within the ocean, and produces various and important changes on animals, plants, and minerals, whether above or beneath the surface of the earth.

the oxygen while they retain the carbon; these operations require the influence of light, which also is essential to the green colour of plants, for when they vegetate in the dark they are entirely white. During the night leaves perform quite opposite functions; for they then absorb moisture and oxygen gas, and emit carbonic acid gas. Another very important function of leaves, is the power which they have of converting the sap into a different fluid; it is completely ascertained, that the sap ascends to the leaves, where it undergoes certain changes, and there becomes a fluid; which is instrumental in forming the different parts of plants, as the chyle converted into blood is in forming tho e of animals.E.