gave myself an opportunity of contemplating what they were about, and this for many days together, without giving them the least disturbance, Thus, I could discover their economy, their passions, and their enjoyments. The microscope, on this occasion, had given what nature seemed tc have denied to the objects of contemplation. The base of the flower extended itself under its influence to a vast plain; the slender stems of the leaves became trunks of so many stately cedars; the threads in the middle seemed columns of massy structure, supporting at the top several ornaments; and the narrow spaces between were enlarged into walks, parterres, and terraces. On the polished bottoms of these,brighter than Parian marble, walked in pairs, alone, or in larger companies, the winged inhabitants; these from little dusky flies, for such only the naked eye would have shown them, were raised to glorious glittering animals, stained with living purple, and with a glossy gold, that would have made all the labours of the loom contemptible in the comparison. I could, at leisure, as they walked together, admire their elegant limbs, their velvet shoulders, and their silken wings; their backs vying with the empyrean in its blue; and their eyes, each formed of a thousand others, outglittering the little planes on a brilliant; above description, and too great almost for admiration. I could observe them here singling out their favourite females; courting them with the music of their buzzing wings with little songs, formed for their little organs; leading them from walk to walk, among the perfumed shades, and pointing out to their taste the drop of liquid nectar, just burst ing from some vein within the living trunk-here were the perfumed groves, the more than mystic shades of the poet's fancy realized. Here the happy lovers spent their days in joyful dalliance, or, in the triumph of their little hearts, skipped after one another from stem to stem, among the painted trees, or winged their short flight to the close shadow of some broader leaf, to revel undisturbed in the heights of all felicity."

This picture of the splendour and felicity of insect life, may, to certain readers, appear somewhat overcharged. But those who have been much in the habit of contemplating the beauties of the animal and vegetable world, through microscopes, can easily enter into all the views which are here described. I have selected this example, for the purpose of illustrating the unbounded goodness of the Creator, in the vast profusion of enjoyment he has communicated, even to the lowest tribes of animal existence. and as a specimen of those invisible worlds which exist beyond the range of our natural vision. For it appears that there is a gradation of worlds downward as well as upward. However small our globe may appear when compared with the sun and with the immensity of starry systems which lie dispersed through the infinity

of space, there are worlds filled with myriads of living beings, which, in point of size and ex tent, bear as small a proportion to the earth, as the earth bears to the vast assemblage of the celestial worlds. A single flower, a leaf, or a drop of water, may appear as large and as diver sified in its structure, to some of the beings which inhabit it, as the whole earth appears te the view of man; and a thousand scenes of mage nificence and beauty may be presented to their sight, of which no distinct conception can be formed by the human mind. The many thousands of transparent globes, of which their eyes are composed, may magnify and multiply the objects around them without end, so that an object scarcely visible to the eye of man may appear to them as a vast extended universe.

"Having examined," says St. Pierre, one day, by a microscope, the flowers of thyme, I distinguished in them, with equal surprise and delight, superb flagons with a long neck, of a substance resembling the amethyst, from the gullets of which seemed to flow ingots of liquid gold. I have never made observations of the corolla, simply of the smallest flower, without finding it composed of an admirable substance, half transparent, studded with brilliants, and shining in the most lively colours. The beings which live under a reflex thus enriched, must have ideas very different from ours, of light, and of the other phenomena of nature. A drop of dew, filtering in the capillary and transparent tubes of a plant, presents to them thousands of cascades; the same drop fixed as a wave on the extremity of one of its prickles, an ocean without a shore; evaporat ed into air, a vast aerial sea. It is credible, then, from analogy, that there are animals feeding on the leaves of plants like the cattle in our meadows and on our mountains, which repose under the shades of a down imperceptible to the naked eye, and which, from goblets formed like so many suns, quaff nectar of the colour of gold and silver.'

Thus it appears, that the universe extends to infinity on either hand; and that whenever matter exists, from the ponderous globes of heaven down to the invisible atom, there he Almighty Creator has prepared habitations for countless orders of existence, from the seraph to the animalcula, in order to demonstrate his boundless beneficence, and the infinite variety of modes by which he can diffuse happiness through the universal system.

"How sweet to muse upon His skill dierlay'd
Infinite skill! in all that he has made;
To trace in nature's most minute design
The signature and stamp of power divine;
Contrivance exquisite, expressed with ease,
Where unassisted sight no beauty sees;
The shapely limb and lubricated joint,
Within the small dimensions of a point:
Muscle and nerve miraculously spun,
His mighty work who speaks and it is done ¿
Th'invisible in things scarce seen reveal'd;
To whom an atom is an ample field !"

Cowper's Retiremænd.

With regard to the religious tendency of the study of Natural History, it may be remarkedthat, as all the objects which it embraces are the workmanship of God-the delineations and descriptions of the Natural Historian must be considered as "The history of the operations of the Creator." or, in other words, so far as the science extends, "The histor ̧ of the Creator himself:" for the marks of his incessant agency, his power, wisdom, and beneficence, are impressed on every object, however minute, throughout the three kingdoms of nature, and throughout every region of earth, air, and sky. As the Deity is invisible to mortal eyes, and cannot be directly contemplated by finite minds, without some material medium of communication—there are but two mediums with which we are acquainted, by which we can attain a knowledge of his nature and perfections. These are, either the facts which have occurred in the course of his providential dispensations towards our race, since the commencement of time, and the moral truths connected with them—or, the facts which are displayed in the economy of nature. The first class of facts is recorded in the Sacred Hisory, and in the Annals of Nations; the second class is exhibited in the diversified objects and motions which appear throughout the system of the visible universe. The one may be termed the Moral History, and the other, the Natural History, of the operations of the Creator. It is obviously incumbent on every rational being, to contemplate the Creator through both these mediums; for each of them conveys its distinct and peculiar revelations; and consequently our perception of Deity through the one medium does not supersede the necessity of our contemplating him through the other. While, therefore, it is our duty to contemplate the perfections, the providence, and the agency of God, as displayed in the Scripture Revelation, it is also incumbent upon us, to trace his attributes in the System of Nature, in order that we may be enable to contemplate the eternal Jehovah, in every variety of aspect, in which he has been pleased to exhibit himself, in the universe he has formed.

The visible creation may be considered as a permanent and sensible manifestation of Deity, intended every moment to present to our view the unceasing energies of Him "in whom we live and move." And if the train of our thoughts were directed in its proper channel, we would perceive God in every object, and in every movement: we would behold hin operating in the whirlwind, and in the storm; in the subterraneous cavern, and in the depths of the ocean; in the gentle rain, and the refreshing breeze; in the rainbow, the fiery meteor, and the lightning's dash; in the splendours of the sun, and the majestic movements of the heavens; in the frisking of the lambs, the songs of birds, and the buzz of insecte, in the circulation of our blood, the move

If, then, it be admitted, that the study of Nature is the study of the Creator-to overlook the grand and beautiful scenery with which we are surrounded, or to undervalue any thing which Infinite Wisdom has formed, is to overlook and contemn the Creator himself. Whatever God has thought proper to create, and to present to our view in the visible world, it becomes man to study and contemplate, that, from thence, he may derive motives to excite him to the exercise of reverence and adoration, of gratitude and praise. In so far as any individual is unacquainted with the various facts of the history of nature, in so far does he remain ignorant of the manifestations of Deity; for every object, on the theatre of the universe, exhibits his character and designs in a different point of view. He who sees God only as he displays himself in his operations on the earth, but has never contemplated the firmament with the eye of reason, must be unacquainted with those amazing energies of eternal Power, which are displayed in the stupendous fabric and movements of the orbs of heaven. He who sees God only in the general appearances of nature, but neglects to penetrate into his minute operations, must remain ignorant of those astonishing manifestations of divine wisdom and skill which appear in the contrivances, adaptations, and functions of the animal and the vegetable kingdoms. For, the more we know of the work, the more accurate and comprehensive will be our views of the Intelligence by whom it was designed; and the farther we carry our investigations of the works of God, the more admirable and astonishing will his plans and perfections appear.

In short, a devout contemplation of the works of nature tends to ennoble the human soul, and to dignify and exalt the affections. It inspires the mind with a relish of the beauty, the harmony, and order which subsist in the universe around us-it elevates the soul to the love and admiration of that Being who is the author of our comforts, and of all that is sublime and beneficent in creation, and excites us to join with all holy beings in the chorus of praise to the God and Father of all. For they "Whom Nature's works can charm, with God himself Hold converse, grow familiar day by day With his conceptions, act upon his plan, And form to his the relish of their souls."

The man who surveys the vast field of nature with the eye of reason and devotion, will not only

gain a more comprehensive view of that illimitable power which organized the universe, but will find his sources of enjoyment continually increased, and will feel an ardent desire after that glorious world, where the veil which now hides from our sight some of the grandest manifestations of Deity will be withdrawn, and the wonders of Omnipotence be displayed in all their splendour and perfection.

In conformity with these sentiments, we find the inspired writers, in numerous instances, calling our attention to the wonders of creating power and wisdom. In one of the first speeches in which the Almighty is introduced as addressing the sons of men, and the longest one in the Bible, our attention is exclusively directed to the subjects of Natural History; the whole address having a reference to the economy of Divine Wisdom in the arrangement of the world at its first creation-the wonders of the ocean, and of light and darkness-the phenomena of thunder and lightning, rain, hail, snow, frost, and other meteors in the atmosphere-the intellectual faculties of man, and the economy and instincts of quadrupeds, birds, fishes, and other tribes of animated existence. Indeed, the greater part of the sublime descriptions contained in the book of Job has a direct reference to the agency of God in the material creation, and to the course of his providence in relation to the different characters of men; and the reasonings of the different speakers in that sacred drama proceed on the supposition that their auditors were intimately acquainted with the varied appearances of nature, and their tendency to exhibit the character and perfections of the Omnipotent Creator. We find the Psalmist, in the 104th Psalm, employed in a devout description of similar objects, from the contemplation of which his mind is raised to adoring views of their Almighty Author-and, from the whole of his survey, he deduces the following conclusions:-"How manifold are thy works, O Lord! In wisdom thou hast made them all! The earth is full of thy riches; so is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever; the Lord shall rejoice in all his works. I will sing unto the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praises to my God, while I have my being."

* Job, chap. xxxviii. xxxix. xl. xli.

The glory of the Lord, in this passage, denotes the display of his perfections in the material universe: and the declaration of the inspired writer plainly intimates, that this display will continue for ever, and will remain as an object of unceasing contemplation to all intelligences, and as an eternal monument of his power and wisdom. For, although the earth and the aerial heavens will be changed at the close of that dispensation of Providence which respects our word, yet the general frame of the universe, in its other parts, will remain substantially the same; and not only so, but will in all probability be perpetually increasing in magnitude and grandeur. And the change which will be effected in respect

But in order to enter into the spirit of such sublime reflections, we must not content ourselves with a superficial and cursory view of the objects and operations of nature, we must not think it sufficient to acquiesce in such vague proposi tions as these "The glory of God is seen in every blade of grass, and every drop of water; all nature is full of wonders, from the dust of the earth to the stars of the firmament. We must study the works of creation with ardour, survey them with minute attention, and endeavour to acquire a specific and comprehensive knowledge of the Creator's designs. We must endeavour to acquire a knowledge of the particular modes, circumstances, contexture, configurations, adaptations, structure, functions, and relations of those objects in which benevolence and design conspicuously appear-in the animal and the vegetable world, in the ocean, the atmosphere, and the heavens; that the mind may be enabled to draw the conclusion with full conviction and intelligence" In wisdom thou hast made them all." The pointed interrogatories which Jehovah addressed to Job, evidently imply, that Job had previously acquired an intimate acquaintance with the works of nature. It seems to be taken for granted, as a matter of course, that he made himself acquainted with the general range of facts in the visible creation; and the intention of the several questions presented to his consideration evidently was to impress him with a sense of his own impotency, and to lead him to the investigation of the wonders of Creating Power which he had formerly overlooked. The conclusion which the Psalmist draws respecting the Wisdom displayed throughout all the works of God, plainly intimates, that he had made the different parts of nature the subject of minute examination, and of deep reflection; otherwise he could not have rationally deduced his conclusion, or felt those emotions which filled his mind with the pious rapture so beautifully expressed in that hymn of praise to the Creator of the world.

We have, therefore, reason to believe, from these and other instances, that pious men,. “in the days of old," were much more accustomed than modern Christians to contemplate and admire the visible works of the Lord-and it is surely much to be regretted, that we who enjoy so many superior means of information, and who have access to the brilliant discoveries of later and more enlightened times, should manifest so much disregard to "the works of Jehovah and 99 To enable the the operations of his hands.' common mass of Christians to enter into the spirit of this delightful study and Christian duty. should, therefore, be one object of those periodical and other religious works which are put into their hands; so that they may be enabled, witn

to the terraqueous globe and its appendages will be such that Jehovah will have reason to “rejoice” in this as well as in all his other works.

vigour and intelligence, to form the pious resolution of Asaph," "I will meditate on all thy works, O Lord! and talk of thy doings.""I will utter abundantly the memory of thy great goodness, and tell of thy wondrous works."*

GEOGRAPHY.

The next department of knowledge I shall notice is the science of Geography.

The object of this science is, to describe the world we inhabit, in reference to the continents, islands, mountains, oceans, seas, rivers, empires, and kingdoms with which it is diversified, together with the manners, customs, and religion of the different tribes which people its surface.

In order to form an accurate conception of the relative positions of objects on the surface. of the earth, and to enter with intelligence on the study of this subject, it is requisite, first of all, to have an accurate idea of its figure and magnitude. For a long series of ages it was supposed, by the bulk of mankind, that the surface of the earth was nearly a plane, indefinitely extended, and bounded on all sides by the sky. Lactantius, and several of the fathers of the Christian church, strenuously argued that the earth was extended infinitely downwards, and established upon several foundations. The ancient philosopher Heraclitus is said to have believed that the earth was of the shape of a skiff or canoe, very much hollowed; and the philosopher Leucippus supposed it to be of the form of a cylinder or a drum. It is only within the period of the last three hundred years that the true figure of the earth has been accurately ascertained. This figure is now found to be that of an oblate spheroid, nearly approaching to the shape of a globe or sphere. To have asserted this opinion several ages ago would have been considered as a heresy in religion, and would have subjected its abettors to the anathemas of the church, and even to the peril of their lives. Historians inform us that the learned Spigelius, Bishop of Upsal, in Sweden, suffered martyrdom at the stake, in defence of the doctrine of the Antipodes; and we know that, for asserting the motion of the earth, the celebrated philosopher Galileo was immured in a dungeon, and condemned by an assembly of cardinals to all the horrors of perpetual imprisonment. The doctrine ne maintained, and which is now universally received by every one acquainted with the subject, was declared by those arrogant ecclesiastics to be "a proposition absurd in its very nature, false in philosophy, heretical in religion, and contrary to the Holy Scriptures." Such are some of the horrible

A select list of popular works on Natural History, and the other sciences noticed in the following sketches, will be found in the appendix.

and pernicious consequences which flow from ignorance of the phenomena of nature, and of those laws by which the Almighty governs the universe he has formed; and which prove it to be a Christian duty for every rational being to study the order and economy of the visible world.

That the earth is nearly of a globular figure, is proved by the following considerations:-1. When we stand on the seashore, while the sea is perfectly calm, we perceive that the surface of the water is not quite plain, but convex or rounded; and if we are on one side of an arm of the sea, as the Frith of Forth, and, with our eyes near the water, look towards the opposite coast, we shall plainly see the water elevated between our eyes and the opposite shore, so as to prevent our seeing the land near the edge of the water. The same experiment may be made on any portion of still water, of a mile or two in extent, when its convexity will be perceived by the eye. A little boat, for instance, may be perceived by a man who is any height above the water, but if he stoops down, and lays his eye near the surface, he will find that the fluid appears to rise, and intercept the view of the boat. 2. If we take our station on the seashore, and view the ships leaving the coast, in any direction-as they retire from our view, we may perceive the masts and rigging of the vessels when the hulls are out of sight, and, as it were, sunk in the water. On the other hand, when a ship is approaching the shore, the first part of her that is seen is the topmast; as she approaches nearer, the sails become visible, and last of all, the hull comes gradually into view.† The reason of such appearances obviously is, that the round or convex surface of the water

miles above the level of the ocean. 3. That the earth is round from north to south, appears from the following circumstance :-When we travel a considerable distance from north to south, or from south to north, a number of new stars successively appear in the heavens, in the quarter to which we are advancing, and many of those in the opposite quarter gradually disappear, which would not happen if the earth were a plane in that direction. 4. That the earth is round from east to west, appears from actual experiment; for many navigators, by sailing in a westerly direction, have gone quite round it, from east to west; and were it not for the frozen seas within the polar regions, which interrupt navigation in those directions, it would, long ere now, have been circumnavigated from north to south. 5. All those proofs are confirmed and illustrated by eclipses of the moon, which present an ocular demonstration of the earth's rotundity. An eclipse of the moon is caused by the intervention of the body of the earth between the sun and moon; in which case the shadow of the earth falls upon the moon. This shadow is found, in all cases, and in every position of the earth, to be of a circular figure; which incontrovertibly proves, that the whole mass of land and water, of which the earth is composed, is nearly of a globular form. The mountains and vales which diversify its surface detract little or nothing from its globular shape; for they bear no more proportion to its whole bulk than a few grains of sand to a common terrestrial globe; the highest mountains on its surface being little more than the two-thousandth part of its diameter. Some of the mountains on the surface of the moon are higher than those on the earth, and yet that body appears, both to the naked eye and through telescopes, of a spherical figure.

To some readers, the discovery of the true figure of the earth may appear as a matter of very trivial importance in religion. I hesitate not, however, to affirm that it constitutes a most important fact in the history of Divine Providence. Had not this discovery been made, it is probable that the vast continent of America might yet have remained undiscovered; for, Columbus, who first discovered that new world, had learned, contrary to the general opinion of the times, that the earth was of a spherical figure; and, from the maps then existing, he began to conjecture, that the nearest way of sailing to the East Indies would be to sail westward. And although he missed the object of his research, he was the means of laying open to view a vast and unknown region of the earth, destined, in due time, to receive from the Eastern world the blessings of knowledge, civilization, and religion. On the knowledge of the spherical figurs of the earth, the art of navigation in a great measure depends; and all the voyages of discovery, which have been made

in later years, were undertaken in consequence of the knowledge of this fact. Had manking remained unacquainted with this discovery, the circumnavigation of the globe would never have been attempted-vast portions of the habituble world would have remained unknown and unexplored-no regular intercourse would have been maintained between the various tribes of the human race; and, consequently, the blessings of Divine Revelation could never have been communicated to the greater part of the Gentile world. Besides, the knowledge of the true figure and magnitude of our sublunary world forms the groundwork of all the sublime discoveries which have hitherto been made in the regions of the firmament. For its diameter forms the base line of those triangles by which the distances and magnitudes of the celestial globes have been determined; without a knowledge of the extent of which, the important results which have been deduced respecting the system of the universe could not have been ascertained, and, consequently, our views of the grandeur and omnipotence of the Deity, and of the magnificence and extent of his dominions, must have been much more circumscribed than they now Such is the intimate connexion that subsists between every part of the chain of Divine dispensations, that if any one link had been either broken or dissolved, the state of things, in the moral and intellectual world, would have been very different from what it now is; and the plans of Providence, for accomplishing the renovation and improvement of mankind, would have been either partially or totally frustrated

are.

With regard to the magnitude of the earthI have already stated the mode by which we may acquire the most accurate and comprehensive conception of this particular, in the course of the illustrations which were given of the omnipotence of Deity, (pp. 9-11.) It is necessary here only to remark-that, according to the latest computations, the diameter of the earth is about 7,930 miles, and its circumference 24,912 miles; and consequently, the whole surface of the land and water it contains comprehends an area of 197,552,160 miles. The proportion of land and water on its surface cannot be very accurately ascertained; but it is quite evident, from an inspection of a map of the world, that the water occupies at least two-thirds of its surface, and, of course, the land cannot occupy more than one-third. Supposing it to be only one-fourth of the earth's surface, it will contain 49,387,040 square miles, which is considerably more than what is stated in most of our late systems of geography; in some of which the extent of the land is rated at 39 millions and in others so low as 30 millions of square miles-the former of which statements being less than one-fifth, and the latter less than onesixth of the surface of the globe. But it is