that of the earth or air. The elephant and ostrich are small in comparison of the whale, which is the largest fish the sea contains. Its length is often from 60 to 70 feet. It lives as long as an oak, and consequently no land animal's life can be compared to it. If we give credit to certain accounts, there are still larger animals than the whale in the sea; a sort of lobster, called kraken, in the Northern Seas, which is said to be half a German mile in circumference. Who could ever give a list of the several sorts of animals which live at the bottom, and towards the surface of the sea? Who could tell their number, describe the form, construction, size, and use of these different animals? How infinitely great is the God who created the sea! This is the conclusion we must naturally draw from such reflections. It is not without very wise reasons, that the Creator ordained that the ocean and seas should occupy about two thirds of our globe. The seas were not only to be great reservoirs of water, but also, by means of vapours which arise out of them, were to become sources of rain, snow, and other such meteors. How much wisdom there appears in the connection the seas have with each other, and the continual motion the Creator has impressed upon them! It is no less worthy of observation, that the bottom of the ocean is of the same nature with the surface of the terra firma. There are found in the sea, rocks, valleys, caves, plains, springs, rivers, plants, and animals. The islands in the sea are only the tops of a long chain of mountains. And when we consider, that the sea has been less examinined than any other part of the globe, we have reason to believe, that it contains still a number of wonders, to which neither the understanding nor the senses of man are adequate; quate; but which all prove the power and wisdom of God. Let us then adore him who has every where, in the ocean, as well as upon earth, fixed monuments of his greatness. ་༢་་《་་ར.་༢> JULY XXIII. SEVERAL SHADES OBSERVABLE IN FLOWERS. WITH a heart-felt pleasure I cast my eyes around, and every where discover the numberless beauties the creation affords. What a lovely assemblage of colours I behold! How pleasing and how varied the mixture! What wonderful art in the disposition of those shades! There, a light pencil seems to have laid on the colours: Here, they are blended according to the inost exact rules of art. The colour of the ground is always such as best throws out the drawing, whilst the green, which surrounds the flower, or the shade which the leaves cast upon it, serves to set off the whole. In thus distributing and varying the colours, our gracious God seems to have had no other view than to procure us agreeable sensations. Lord! How great and numerous are thy works! Thou hast wisely ordained all things. I admire the greatness of thy designs, and still more the wise means thou makest use of to fulfil them. It is with difficulty that men compass any one work. After many vain efforts, we sometimes arrive at a tolerable imitation of one single work of nature. But thou, O Supreme Power! in a single moment, thou hast given existence to millions of beings, and created them in a state of perfection. The more more we examine works of art, the more defective they appear: But though thy great works have been contemplated for thousands of years, a single fault could never be found in the plan, nor could any thing be imagined more perfect than the manner in which they are executed. The more we observe the works of God, the more their beauty charms us, and we continually discover new marks of greatness in these masterpieces of a divine hand. For my part, what most delights me, in the shades and colours of flowers, is their simplicity. One would suppose, that the Creator must employ an infinite number of materials, to embellish nature in such a manner, and to distribute amongst the flowers and plants so many bright, rich, and beautiful colours. But God has no occasion for painful exertions, to make the creation a scene of wonders. One single element, under his hand, assumes variety of beautiful forms. The moisture of the earth and air penetrates into the fibres of plants, and there filters through a train of transparent stalks. This is what works all the wonders, and produces all the beauty, we behold throughout the vegetable kingdom. It is the sole cause of the charms, the perfume, and growth of flowers. If each colour had its particular cause, the surprise of the spectator would lessen: but we contemplate with pleasure, and can never tire of admiring the effect of a profound wisdom, a work, which, though varied in its parts, is still simple in respect to its cause, and wherein we behold a multitude of effects depending on one single spring, which always acts in the same manner. At this moment, while I examine the variety of tints which colour the flowers, I feel more than ever the value of the reason with which I am endowed. Without that that faculty, I should be deprived of the enjoyments they afford, and flowers would exist in vain for me. But my reason points to me the numberless beauties of flowers, the infinite variety of the colours and shades, which the fields, the valleys, the mountains, and the forests present to us. I not only know them, but am sensible of their beauty, and take a pleasure in them. I can do still more; I can from each flower raise my thoughts to the Creator, and find, even in their colour, traces of his perfection. How can I sufficiently express my gratitude for the gift of reason, that enables me to enjoy these beauties of nature, these wonderful works of God! IT is generally at this time we experience the greatest heat. Perhaps it may appear extraordinary to be told, that the sun, which now enters into the sign Leo, daily removes from us. When we were nearer to the sun, the heat was temperate, and now we are removed farther from it, the heat is at its height. This phenomenon agrees, however, with the laws of nature; and it is in the plan of our globe, that we must seek for the reason of it. The sun was nearer to us lately, but as its rays were not strong enough to penetrate deep into the earth, we could only perceive a moderate warmth; yet, in the space of some weeks, the earth and the bodies upon it are so far heated, that even a less degree of the sun produces more effect than in the beginning of the summer summer, when it acted upon cold bodies. This plan of nature displeases many; they complain of this burning heat, which weakens us, and makes us incapable of much labour. But is it not unreasonable to murmur at a plan which, being founded on the immutable laws of nature, is of course inevitable? Is it not ungrateful to our heavenly Father, to blame his government, which, in the end, never fails to produce the welfare of the world? And can any one seriously wish this season less hot? Because the heat is inconvenient, would we therefore wish the fruits, which are to serve for next winter's food, not to ripen! I.repeat, that our murmurs are ungrateful to the Creator, who softens and compensates for every evil, by certain advantages annexed to them: For example, the inhabitants of the western parts of Africa, and particularly those of Cape Green, and the island of Goree, are exposed the whole year to the intense heat of the sun; but their bodies are so formed, that their health does not suffer from it; and the winds, which blow continually in those countries, serve to temper and cool the air. Is it probable that the Creator should shew less goodness to us in this respect? O how unpardonable, if ever we are insensible to the proofs he give us of it, even when we are oppressed with heat? Is it not, in the first place, an effect of his tender mercy, that the summer nights are so calculated to cool the air! The nights bring with them a coolness which prevents the air from dilating, and enables it to act so much the more forcibly on every thing. One single night revives the languishing plants, gives new vigour to the weakened animals, and so refreshes us, that we forget the weight and fatigue of the day. The storms even. |