Those countries are situated in the middle of the globe, and occupy the space called the torrid zone. The finest and richest fruit which nature produces grows there; and it is there. in general where she most liberally pours forth her treasures. The days and nights are of equal length most of the year. There are, on the contrary, countries, where, during the greatest part of the year, it is so extemely cold, as to be beyond our severest winters. It is but a few weeks in the year,warm enough, for the few trees and herbs which are there, to grow or become green; and in those frigid zones, neither the trees nor the earth produce fruit which mankind could feed on. The greatest inequality of day and night is there: Each of them last in their turn for whole months together. The two temperate zones, placed between the torrid and the frozen, occupy the greatest part of our globe. In those countries, four seasons appear more or less distinctly, according as they approach the torrid, or the frigid Zones. The spring, wherein the trees and plants bud and blossom, when the heat is moderate, and the days and nights nearly equal. The summer, during which the fruit of the fields and trees ripen, when the heat is more intense, and the days become visibly longer than the nights. The autumn, when the fruit and the seeds fall off, and the grass withers, while the night again becomes equal with the day, and the heat is daily abating. The winter, during which the vegetation of plants totally or partly ceases, the nights lengthen, and the cold more or less increases. The countries of the temperate zones, are so situated, that in those which are near one of the sides of the torrid zone, the seasons are directly contrary to those of the other temperate zone. When it is summer

in one, it is winter in the other, &c.. In these parts, nature shews more variety in the produce of the earth, and in animals, than elsewhere.— Wine is peculiar to these countries; for the vine cannot be cultivated, either in intensely hot, or severely cold climates. Mankind, in particular, have advantages under such climates. The inhabitants of the frigid zone are stupid, are short in stature; those of the torrid zone are of a weak constitution, have warm passions, and have less natural and intellectual powers than the inhabitants of the temperate zones. However varied the regions of our earth may be, the Creator has provided for the happiness of all who inhabit them. He ordains that each country should produce what is most requisite, according to the nature of the climate. A worm, which feeds on the leaves of the mulberry tree, spins for the people of the torrid zone a web, from which they take silk for their clothing. A tree, as well as a shrub, bears a kind of husk or shell full of fine wool, with which light stuffs are easily made. On the other hand, the cold regions abound in quadrupeds; the skins of which serve for pelisses to the inhabitants of the north; and they are furnished with thick forests, which supply them with abundance of fuel. That the blood of the inhabitants of the south, naturally heated, may not be too much inflamed, their fields and orchards give them cooling fruits, in such plenty, that they may send ample provision of them to other countries. In cold climates, God compensates for the want of the produce of the earth, by the great quantity of fish contained in the sea and lakes, and by the number of animals they have. Animals which indeed live in the forests, and are a subject of terror to man,

but

but, at the same time, furnish him with the finest furs, good food, and many materials for domestic use. Thus, there is no region in our globe, that does not feel the greatness and goodness of the Almighty. There is no country, however barren and poor we may suppose it, where nature is not bountiful enough to provide, not only the necessaries, but the comforts of life.

In every place, O beneficent Father! thy wisdom and goodness may be traced. Even the impassable deserts, and the steep mountains of Asia and Africa, contain monuments of thy wisdom and bounty.

༢nར.རཅ་ཅ..

JULY XXII.

SINGULARITIES OF THE SEA.

THE sea is generally considered only in a ter... rible light, without reflecting on the wonders and blessings it so visibly presents to us. It is certainly true, that the sea is one of the most dreadful elements when its waves swell mountain-high, and the tempest roars. It then often drives the ships out of the road, and dashes them sơ violently, that they fill with water, and are swallowed up. Sometimes the storm drives them on banks of sand or rocks, where they are dashed to pieces. The whirlpools, or those masses of water which make the ship turn rapidly round with their current, and end in sinking or swallowing them up; those whirlpools are occasioned by great cavities in the sea, where rocks and different currents meet. No less dangerous are the water-spouts which the wind raises from the

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sea up to the sky. They hover in the air above the ocean, and the wind whirls them round with violence. They often burst with great noise, and do much mischief; for they approach a ship, fill the sails, and carry it away, then let it fall again, and dash it to pieces, or let it sink to the bottom. At least, if they do not carry it away, they break the masts, tear the sails, and sink the ship. Several vessels perish in this manner. But we should be very ungrateful to attend only to the mischief the sea. does us, without deigning to reflect on the magnificent works of the Lord, and on his goodness, which shines forth even in the depths of the abyss. The first thing worthy of remark is the saltness of the sea. It is such, that a pound of water contains two ounces of salt. The sea-salt appears lighter than what we use in common; and yet it is not drawn into the air, nor does it diminish by the continual flowing in of sweet water. The cause of this is not known. There may be mountains of salt in the sea; but if so, the sea would probably be more salt in some places than in others, of which we have no certain proof. It is possible. that torrents and rivers carry into the sea saltpetre and salt particles; but what would that be in such a vast extent as the ocean? This salt quality, however, be the cause of it what it may, was necessary for several purposes. It prevents the water from corrupting, and contributes to make it heavy enough to bear the greatest burdens to be conveyed from one place to another. The colour alsoof the sea-water deserves our observation. It is not the same every where. Besides, that in all water the colour of the bottom and of the sky appears in it, that it is black in deep abysses, white and foaming in a storm, silvered and gilded over, clouded with the most beautiful colours,

when

when the rays of the setting sun shine upon it. Besides all this, the different insects, marine plants, the mixture of many things which the rivers wash into the sea, vary its colour here and there. When it is calm, it sometimes appears strewed with brilliant stars. The tract of a ship, which cuts the waves, is often luminous, and seems a river of fire. These phenomena must be partly attributed to sulphureous particles, oily and inflammable substances in the sea, and partly to shining insects. One known property of the sea is the flux and reflux. Every day, or rather in the space of 25 hours, the sea twice rises and falls. When the tide rises it is the flux; and when it falls, it is the reflux. This phenomenon is attended with several remarkable circumstances. There is always a flux and reflux at the same time in two parts of the globe, and those are opposite to each other. When our antipodes have high tides, ours are the same. The tide is always lowest when we are in the first and last quarter of the moon ; and our highest tides are generally three days after the new or full moon. However, it may proceed from accidental causes, that the tide is sooner and higher one time than another. Though this phenomenon has not hitherto been perfectly accounted for or explained, it is still certain, that great advantages result to us from it, both in purifying the water, and being useful for navigation.-And wonderful as this is, there is much more to interest us. The creatures of which the sea is full might alone excite our wonder and admiration. Here a new world appears, and the number of beings of which it is composed is prodigious. The aquatic animals are not indeed so varied in their species as the terrestrial; but they surpass them in size, and their life is longer than

that