blown; a fit of sickness robs us of all our charms, and a premature death puts an end to all hopes. We observe the spring-flowers, which last till summer withers them, and are gone in a few hours. A striking emblem of death! There scarce passes a day in which we do not behold men surprised with sudden death, when they least expect it; one of the many means which God makes use of to draw us to our end. It is true, that from habit, we became almost indifferent to the death of so many of our fellow-citizens as are suddenly cut off. But it is not the less true, that "the days of man are as the grass of the field. In the morning it is green, and groweth up, but in the evening it is cut down, dried up, and withered."

We are now in a season when we endeavour to avoid the heat of the sun, and seek the cool shade of the forests. But are not these retreats calculated to make us reflect on the silence and darkness of the grave? It is there that we shall find rest after the fatigue and heat of the day. The mower prepares to mow his corn. The scythe cuts down the wheat on every side, and leaves desert and empty fields behind. This reminds us of our own lot. All flesh is as grass, and the whole duration of this life, with all its glory, is but as the flower of the field. Man flourishes for a little, and is then cut down, when the great Ruler of the harvest ordains it. The very bees proclaim this truth. When we reflect on the activity and industry with which they gather and prepare their honey, we learn to lay up early treasures of wisdom and virtue, which may be a comfort to us in our old age, and in the hour of death. The farmers will soon unite in gathering the fruits of the earth, to lay them up in their barns. These days of harvest

are

are the most important of the whole year. But O God! how solemn will be that great day in which the Creator himself will be the reaper! that in which all the dead shall rise from the grave, and the supreme Judge shall say to his angels, "Gather ye together first the tares, and "bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather “the wheat into my barn!" With what joy I look for that day of harvest! "He that now "goeth on his way weeping, and beareth good “fruit, shall doubtless come again with joy, and bring his sheaves with him."

These are not the only emblems of death with which nature furnishes us, but they are the strongest. The man who reflects upon them, can only consider them as the pictures of the brevity and frailty of life; and there is no danger that such reflections as these should disturb that cheerfulness so natural to us in summer. Meditations on death are the best means of improving this happy season, and making it still more agreeable than it is. When once we look on death in its proper light, far from considering it as an enemy to pleasure, we acknowledge that the thought enobles. and increases our happiness. Should we run into imprudent excesses in summer-time, if the thought of death was present to us? Should we make an improper use of God's blessings, if we remembered that the hour will come wherein we must give an account of our administration? Would the goods of this life corrupt our hearts, if we con sidered how flecting they are! Would the burden we bear in the heat of the day, or the miseries to which we are exposed, excite our murmurs, if we reflected that the evening would bring us comfort and rest? Should we place our first happiness in the enjoyment of the world and

its

its pleasures, if we accustomed ourselves to think, that we should one day enjoy a better world, with purer, nobler, and never-ending pleasures in it?

AUGUST XXI..

CAUSES OF THE HEAT OF THE EARTH.

ONE of the chief causes of the heat of our globe is certainly the sun, and its position relatively to such and such parts of the earth. When the sun is in the south, the days are not so hot towards the north, as when that planet is near the northern pole. The same is observed in the southern parts of the earth, when the sun is turned towards the north. In countries where the sun is generally vertical, the cold is never so great as to freeze the rivers or lakes; on the contrary, the heat is always intense. It becomes violent when the sun is long above the horizon; and by that means darts its rays a considerable time on the same place. This is the reason, that, towards the poles, where the days are not very long, the heat is sometimes intense in certain countries. When all this is considered, we must necessarily conclude, that the sun and its position with regard to the earth, is one of the chief causes of the heat in the open air. But this is not the only cause; for, if it was, all the summers would be equally cool: the temperature of the air must also be then exactly the same in all countries situated in the same climate; which is not the case. It is observed, that, on the highest mountains, where there are spacious plains at top,. and upon which there are also other hills, and other plains, it is still much colder than in low

lands

Hands and deep valleys. Even under the line, if, from a plain where the heat is oppressive, we go up a hill 12,000 feet high, we shall find the sharpest cold. It has also been remarked in winter, that when the cold has been severe in the day-time, it has sensibly diminished towards mid-night; and the weather becomes temperate, though the rays of the sun do not then warm the atmosphere. It is therefore certain, that there may be a heat in the air which is not immediately produced by the sun. There are certain bodies, which, by friction or percussion, grow warm and take fire. The axle-trees of wheels take fire when the carriages go too fast, and are not properly greased. Other substances grow warm, and even inflame, when they meet together. If a certain quantity of water is poured on a bundle of hay or straw, it will occasion a considerable degree of heat. Bodies which corrupt or ferment, often acquire a heat perceptible by the thermometer, or merely by the feeling. Even in the air, the motion of certain substances may occasion mixtures, dissolutions, and combinations, which produce great heat. Thus, then, we may account for the production of heat in the open air. In the first place, the sun is the principal cause of it: To the heat proceeding from this planet is united that of many living creatures; that of fire produced by wood, coal, and other combustibles; that which comes out of the bowels of the earth, the bottom of the sea, and from mineral and warm springs. The heat is often much increased by the fermentations which different bodies undergo, whether in the surface of the earth, or in the higher atmosphere, and which occasion hot vapours. When, therefore, all sorts of little particles, such as float

in

in the lower atmosphere, and are calculated ta receive and retain heat, when they grow warm, and are carried away by the wind or rain, the heat gradually increases, and becomes more and more intense. On the contrary, it abates when any of the above-mentioned causes cease.

All these plans are worthy of the wisdom and goodness of God; they are useful to all the habitable parts of the globe; and he has granted to each climate that degree of happiness it was susceptible of. But we, in particular, who live under a temperate climate, more sensibly experience his paternal care. Heat and cold are dispensed to us in the wisest proportion; and we should be the most ungrateful of beings, were we not to acknowledge and praise his goodness towards us.

AUGUST XXII.

VARIETY OF PLANTS.

ONE of the things most worthy of our admira tion in the vegetable kingdom, is the great variety of plants. They are varied in respect to their parts, their production, their properties, and qualities. The manner in which some plants become fruitful is still very obscure. It is little known, for example, how it operates in moss, mushrooms, and fern. There are plants which shew us singular monstrosities: there are flowers which have no heads; there are some from the middle of which spring out other flowers; certain plants, called soporiferous, which turn at night differently from what they do in the day. Others turn towards the sun; others shrink and contract when we touch them. There are flowers which

open