tion, his body is disengaged from this earth: He hovers over millions of worlds, and, with a clear and distinct view, he takes in all nature at once. His mind soars infinitely higher still; he draws nigh even to the Deity, and gives way to the most sublime meditations. Before his death, he was blind in the pursuit of truth; now he sees, and can behold it in its full lustre. His body being spiritual and incorruptible, he no longer requires gross food to fatisfy his hunger. Very different sensations now form his happiness, and his heart overflows with purer joys. If such is the happy change we may expect, let us early prepare for it. If our present state is but transitory and imperfect, let us not make it our chief object, and let not the moments we pass here appear an eternity to us. ཨར་ར་ར་ར》....... JULY III. THE SILK-WORM. THE race of caterpillars, which divide into two general classes (those of nocturnal and diurnal butterflies), have also different families among them, each of which has its distinct character and properties. The name of silk-worm is given to one of these: This caterpillar like the others, is composed of several moveable rings, and is well furnished with feet and claws to rest and fix itself where it pleases. It has two rows of teeth, which do not move up and down like ours, but from right to left, in order to press, cut, and tear the leaves every way. The whole length of its back, we may see through its skin a vessel which swells every now and then, and performs the function of of the heart. This worm has nine orifices on each side, which correspond with so many lungs, and assist the circulation of the chyle, or nutritive juice. Under the mouth it has a kind of reel, with two holes, through which it puts out two drops of the gum with which its bag is filled. They are like two distaffs, continually supplying the materials for making its thread. The gum which runs through the two holes, takes that form, and lengthens into a double thread, which loses suddenly its fluidity, and acquires the consistence necessary to support or to contain the worm. When it is time to be inclosed in it, it joins the two threads together, glueing them one over another with its fore feet. This double thread is not only very fine, but also very strong, and of an astonishing length. Each silkworm's bag has a silk thread near as long as 500. ells; and as this thread is double, and all along joined together, each bag must contain 1ooo ells. of silk, though the whole together does not weigh above two grains and an half. The life of this. insect, while it is still a worm, is very short; and yet it passes through different states, which insensibly bring it to perfection. At the first coming out of the egg, it is extremely small, perfectly black, and its head is still a finer black than the rest of its body. Some days after, it begins to grow whitish, or of a dark grey colour. Its coat then becomes ragged and dirty. It throws it off, and appears in a new dress. It becomes large, and much whiter, but rather tinged with green, as it feeds on green leaves. After a few days, more or less, according to the degree of heat, and quality of its food and constitution, it ceases to eat. It goes to sleep for about two days, then works and frets itself extremely. It becomes al most most red with the efforts it makes. Its skin wrinkles and shrivels up. It throws it off a second time, and with it casts away its feet. Behold it new dressed three times in the space of three weeks or a month. It begins again to eat, and might then pass for a different creature, so unlike in head, colour, and form, to what it was before. After having again eaten for some days, it falls again into a lethargy, in recovering from which, it changes once more its coat. That is the third skin it has thrown off since it came out of the shell. It still continues to eat some time, then renouncing all food it prepares itself a retreat, and draws out of its body a silk thread, which it wraps round itself much as we wind thread round an oval piece of wood. This consists of extreme fine silken threads. It rests quietly in the bag it has spun for itself, until the end of a fortnight, when it would break through, and make its way out, if it was not prevented by putting it into an oven or hot sun, in order to kill it. These silk bags are thrown into hot water, and stirred about with birch twigs, to loosen the ends of the silk, which are afterwards. wound on reels made for the purpose. Thus it is to a worm, or a caterpillar, that we owe the luxury of our clothing. This reflection ought to humble us. Can we be vain of the silk with which we are covered, when we consider to what we owe it, and how little we ourselves contribute towards it! Let us reflect, that even the most despicable things have been created for the advantage and use of mankind. A worm, which we scarce deign to look at, becomes a blessing to whole provinces, a considerable object of trade, and a source of riches. JULY JULY IV. THE RAINBOW. WHEN the sun reflects its rays on drops of water which fall from the clouds, and we are placed with our backs to the sun, and with the clouds opposite to us, we observe a rainbow. We may consider the drops of rain as little transparent balls, on which the rays fall, and are twice broken, and once reflected. From thence proceed the colours in the rainbow. They are. seven in number, and in the following order: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, and violet. These colours appear so much the more lively, according as the cloud behind is darker, and the drops of rain fall the closer. The drops, falling continually, produce a new rainbow every moment, and as each spectator has his particular situation, from whence he observes this phenomenon, it so happens, that two men cannot, properly speaking, see the same rainbow. This meteor can only last while the rain continues to fall. To consider a rainbow merely as a phenomenon of nature, it is one of the finest sights imaginable. It is a picture the most beautifully coloured of any the Creator has given us. when we reflect, that God has made this meteor a sign of his pardon, and of the covenant he vouchsafed to make with mankind, we find subject for more than one edifying reflection. There cannot be a rainbow when it rains over the whole horizon. Every time, then, that this beautiful meteor appears, we may be certain that we have no deluge to apprehend, as in a deluge it must rain violently from every part of the sky. But Thus Thus, when the sky is only covered with clouds on one side, and the sun appears on the other, it is a sign that these dark clouds will disperse, and that the sky will soon become serene. This is also the reason why we cannot see a rainbow unless the sun is behind us, and the rain opposite to us. The sun and rain must appear at the same time, in order to form a rainbow. No colours would be seen, if the sky was too light; therefore, where it appears, the horizon must be covered with dark clouds. Neither could the colours in the rainbow exist without the refraction of the rays of the sun upon it. JULY V. THE BIRDS NESTS. THE construction of the birds nests discovers many curious objects which cannot be indifferent to a reflecting mind desirous of information. Who is there that would not admire those regular little edifices composed of so many different materials, collected and put in order with so much care and judgement, constructed with such industry, elegance, and neatness, without any other tool than a bill and two claws! It is not so wonderful that men can erect great buildings according to the rules of art, when we consider, that the artists are indowed with reason, and have abundance of tools and materials for it. But, that a bird, unprovided with any thing for the purpose, except its bill and claws, should be capable of uniting so much regularity, solidity, and judgement, in the construction of its nest, is what we can never too |