sink into poverty and insignificance; and, amongst the various creatures that inhabit the globe, there are evident differences in their states and faculties. God has allotted to all beings different periods of duration : some have only a short and momentary existence, others a long life, and others an endless duration; all evincing, in the most striking manner, the wisdom, power, and goodness of the Creator.

DECEMBER XI.

Gratitude for our Clothing.

PROVIDENCE manifests his care even in our clothing. How many animals furnish us a covering with their skin, hair, furs, and wool! The sheep alone supplies us with the most necessary part of our dress; and to the labours of a worm we are indebted for our silken robes. How numerous are the plants which also contribute to our dress! Flax and hemp also supply us with linen; and with cotton various articles of apparel are manufactured. But these vast stores of nature would still have been deficient, if God had not endowed man with industry, and a mind inexhaustibly fertile in invention, as well as hands suitable to prepare the different kinds of clothing that are necessary. If we only reflect upon the labour requisite to prepare a single piece of cloth, we shall find how many hands are necessary to procure even a few yards. We surely ought not to be vain of our garments, seeing that to obtain them we are obliged to have recourse to those animals that are the most contemptible in our estimation, and to that class of men that we the most despise.

Why has the Creator obliged us to provide ourselves with clothes, whilst all other animals receive theirs immediately from nature? In answer to this, I assert, that this necessity is very advantageous to us; it is favourable to our health, and suitable to our mode of living. We may by this means regulate our dress according to the season of the year and the climate in which we live. Our clothes promote the in

sensible perspiration of our bodies, so essential to the preservation of our lives; and the obligation that we are under of procuring them has exercised the human mind, and given rise to several arts; and, finally, the labour which they require for their fabrication supports a great number of workmen. We have, therefore, every reason to be satisfied with this arrangement, of Providence; only let us be very careful not to lose sight of the end proposed in our being supplied with clothing. A Christian certainly should not seek to derive his glory from the external covering of his body, but in the virtuous dispositions of his soul. Pride assumes various forms; it is elated by the most trifling advantages, and seeks for applause where none is merited. Pride is manifested by some people in the brilliancy of their silks and the splendour of their jewels, whilst others nourish it in rags. The man who studies propriety will avoid either extreme. To glory in outward ornament and external pomp is degrading to our nature; we wear clothes to preserve us against the intemperance of the air, and not to gratify the pettiness of vanity, and the insignificance of pride.

Let us also reflect a little on the state of many of our fellow-creatures, who have scarcely clothes to cover them. How many poor wretches do we see around us half-starved and half-naked, who in these severe winter days can find no shelter from the cold! Let the contemplation of these unfortunate beings induce us to feel a lively sense of the Divine goodness, which has enabled us to obtain the necessary clothing. Let us, then, remember that many people are destitute of what we so abundantly enjoy, and that it is our duty to clothe the naked, to feed the hungry, and be grateful to God for the plenty with which he has blessed us.

DECEMBER XII.

Covering of Animals.

Ir is an incontestable proof of Divine Providence, that all animals are naturally provided with that covering which

is best adapted to their place of abode, and mode of living. Some are clothed with hair, some with feathers, several with scales, and others with shells. This variety is a certain proof that a very skilful workman has prepared the garments of these animals; for they are not only generally adapted to the different species, but also appropriated to each particular individual. For quadrupeds, hair was the most suitable covering; and nature in giving it to them has so formed the texture of their skin, that they are hardy enough to lie down upon the ground in all kinds of weather, and be employed in the service of man. The thick fur of some animals, whilst it secures them against the effects of cold and moisture, serves them also to cover their little ones, and to lie down more softly.

For birds, and some species of insects, feathers form the most convenient covering: besides sheltering them from cold and wet, they are so arranged as to enable them to float more easily upon the air. Feathers cover the whole body of the bird, and by their delicate structure favour its flight; they are light and hollow, and their quill contaids a marrowy substance which strengthens them, while capillary filaments, interlaced into each other with much art, render them sufficiently thick to maintain the heat of the body, to preserve it from the inclemency of the weather, and to give the wings a sufficient degree of strength.

The covering of reptiles is also perfectly adapted to their mode of life. Let us examine, for instance, an earth-worm. Its body is formed of a series of small rings, and each ring is provided with a certain number of muscles, by means of which it can extend or contract its body at pleasure. They have under their skin a glutinous juice which exudes, and whose effect is to lubricate the body, that it may with greater facility make its way in the earth.

Aquatic animals are covered by a substance equally well adapted to the element in which they live. Fish could have no dress so convenient to them as scales; the shape, hardness, size, number, and position of which are admirably adapted to their mode of life.

The beauty of these various kinds of covering is also very remarkable, particularly in some species of birds and insects. The varied hues of the butterfly, and the splendid plumage of some birds, are truly admirable; in some we see all the richness of colouring, in others the most beautiful and delicate simplicity. The humming-bird, a native of America, may be justly regarded as one of the wonders of nature: not larger than a bee, its plumage is so beautiful, that its neck and wings reflect the brilliancy of the rainbow. Its neck exhibits the brightness of the ruby; under the belly and wings the colour is that of gold; the thighs are green as the emerald: the feet and bill, black and polished as ebony. The males have a small tuft upon their heads uniting all the colours that adorn the rest of their body, and which the Mexican ladies wear as pendants in their ears.

We find, then, that every animal has that kind of dress which is most suitable to it: nothing is defective, nothing is superfluous; but every thing is so well arranged and perfected, even in the smallest productions of nature, that human industry and art can never imitate it. And does not this clearly demonstrate the existence of a Being, who unites infinite wisdom and goodness to a desire of rendering each creature as happy as his nature and destination will permit?

DECEMBER XIII.

Thoughts on the Ravages of Winter.

I HEAR the wind and the tempest roar. The blood freezes in my veins. The gathering gloom, the fearful misgivings of my heart, concur to render the awful tumult of nature more terrible. How often does the wind sweep down cottages and palaces, and in a moment destroy the labour of years! How often are ships, and the unfortunate who hazard their lives in a brittle bark, plunged into the dread abyss! And how often are the sturdy oaks torn up by the roots! But thou, O Lord, art the creator and the ruler of the storm. The tempests and the winds are thy messengers, the heralds of

thy power, and the ministers of thy will. They should lead us to fear and to adore thee. Didst thou not set limits to their destructive power, they continually, and in all places, would cause the same ravages; yet, thanks to that wisdom which stills the winds, the lowly cottage is still preserved, though unsheltered from the rude blast of the storm.

If the creation, and all mundane events, are the works and effects of infinite wisdom, how can the disorder, desolation, and destruction, occasioned by tempests, ever happen? Can almighty intelligence produce any thing but order? or can supreme goodness design any other end than what is good? Thus thy thoughts wander, O man: but what art thou that thus interrogatest thy Creator? Shall man say unto his God, Why hast thou thus created me? And because we cannot explain the mysteries of nature, shall we say that the works of Providence are defective? To judge of his works, and of the ends which he has proposed, would require an intelligence and wisdom equal to his own. It is, indeed, wonderful that we are capable of perceiving a part of the wise and immense plan which he has executed, and that considering the darkness of our understanding, things are not still more confused than they are.

To make a whole of the materials which compose the visible world, where so many superb phenomena are produced, so many beauties displayed, and the treasures of reason, virtue, and felicity, abundantly enjoyed by myriads of living creatures, is a work so vast and wonderful, that it could alone be effected by a Being all-powerful, wise, and good. The farther our researches penetrate into the works of nature, the more the goodness and wisdom, which has created all and governs all, is manifested.

After these considerations, we shall form a different opinion respecting the ravages of winter. The tempests, the frost, and the snow, and all the phenomena peculiar to this season, which can be considered as disagreeable, are linked together in the eternal order of things; each having its seagon and appointed time, and all contributing to the genera