She

and her whole disk is illumined, and visible to us. then rises in the east precisely at the time the sun sets in the west, and we have a full moon. As early as the next day, the enlightened half is turned a little from us, and we no longer see the moon at the full. The light gradually leaves the western side, extending itself to the half which is turned from the earth: this is the decrease of the moon, and the farther she advances forward, the more her dark part increases, till at length half of it is turned towards the earth, and consequently half her luminous side; she has then the form of a semi-circle, and is in her last quarter.

By the admirable harmony which subsists between the revolution of this planet upon its axis, and its course round the sun, it happens that the moon always presents to us the same half-sphere that she has shown from her first creation. During the lapse of so many ages, she has, in one regular and constant course, completed her revolution in twentyseven days and eight hours. Regularly and at the same periods she has enlightened at one time our nights, and at another those of more distant climates.

From the revolutions of the moon, let us turn our attention to those of terrestrial objects. Sometimes health, pleasure, and affluence, with a thousand other advantages, concur to render us happy, and a luminous tract marks our progress through life. But a reverse happens: and ere the sun that rose upon us in the morning with joy and gladness sinks beneath the western ocean, our light is obscured, and nought remains but the bitter remembrance of departed pleasures; hope no more gilds our bosom, and all our thoughts are turned to sorrow, Yet this change is highly useful to the mind; it teaches us the uncertainty of worldly blessings, softens and ameliorates our hearts, and raises in our souls a fond desire after that happy country where the free mind shall rejoice in its existence, and live for ever increasing in purity and all perfection.

JULY XIV.

Mineral Waters.

WHETHER we consider mineral waters in respect to their formation, or to their utility to man, they are doubtless

highly valuable and important. But men are generally too inattentive to such subjects; and the places where these sources of life and health flow in abundance are often the scenes of very different occupations than those of singing praises to the Creator, and pouring forth the sentiments of gratitude for such choice blessings.

The

The sources of common salt are richly deserving of our attention; it is probable that they owe their origin to the mineral salt which the waters dissolve in the earth. mineral hot springs are equally remarkable. They are very numerous; and the water of some of them is so hot, that they require several hours to become cool enough to be used as a bath. It is a curious question, whence their heat is derived. It cannot be from the sun, because in that case the waters would only be hot in the day-time, whilst exposed to the sun-beams; and they would become cooler on the approach of night, and during the winter. The most natural solution of this question is, that the waters, by passing through soils containing sulphureous, pyritic, and metallic substances, acquire their great degree of heat. Medicinal waters, particularly those which are acidulous, are produced by dissolving and mixing with the minerals that they pass over. They are generally found in places where there is abundance of iron, copper, sulphur, and carbon. Hence their taste and effects are various, according as they are more or less impregnated with these bodies. They are bitter when they contain the juices of bitter roots, salts, and copper; they are cold when impregnated with sal ammoniac, nitre, alum, &c. or when they issue from the bed of a rock. Unctuous and bituminous substances impart to them a degree of oiliness; and sulphur combined with an acid renders them sulphureous. Let us then admire the inexhaustible riches of that Divine goodness which has prepared for the benefit of man so many unfailing sources of health. Mineral waters may answer many other purposes, but certainly their great and chief use is the preservation and health of man. Let us then, and more particularly those who have experienced the salubrious effects of these springs, rejoice and be thankful for the numerous blessings of Heaven: and you that are able, endeavour to imitate the purest of all Beings, by making your riches the sources of life and consolation to the needy and afflicted children of poverty.

JULY XV.

Continual Activity of Nature in the Vegetable
Kingdom.

WHOEVER is desirous of knowing why Nature is never idle throughout the year, need only consider the numerous advantages that result from her constant activity. The vegetable kingdom supplies animals with a great part of their food, and affords the mind pleasure by its great diversity. The beneficent Creator ordered that nature should conduce to the pleasure as well as the support of man; hence plants do not appear all at once, but in a certain succession: for if this was not the case, they could not produce such beneficial consequences. How would men be able to secure their harvests, if all fruits arrived at maturity in the same season? And what would become of many millions of animals that had not the means of laying up stores? How could the numerous species of insects that live upon flowers exist, if they all grew at the same time, and lived but for a month or two? For though many insects cannot be found during winter, they still live in a torpid state, and come forth as soon as the returning warmth renders them lively.

It is then very clear, that if nature was differently arranged, both men and animals would materially suffer, if not entirely perish; and we may justly conclude that it is for their preservation that nature operates with such a constant activity in the vegetable kingdom.

If we reflect upon the pleasures of vision and of smell, which men so eminently enjoy, we shall also find that to promote these it was necessary that nature should have her present arrangement. It was not only requisite that she should display her flowers in all their beauty, but also that she should afford a constant supply throughout the year, that our enjoyment might never cease. In spring, when we go forth into the country to contemplate the different productions that are growing up for our future nourishment, we see the young buds and the trees gradually unfolding their beauties. As summer advances, and the tender corn begins to shoot into ear, a thousand beautiful flowers mingle their charms in a sweet succession of varied gaiety; and at length, when the wintry blast blows cold, and makes

the fire-side comfortable, nature produces other vegetables, which, though not so striking to the sight, are still very useful.

From all this it appears that the chief design of the Creator in this happy arrangement of nature, is the advantage and well-being of man. Every thing is so admirably regulated that men, as well as other animals, gain an adequate supply of nourishment. Every season brings forth its peculiar flowers and fruits, each appearing in its appointed time: as one gradually decays and perishes, another comes forth in youthful beauty; and the many thousands of plants which we see all follow the same law. Every thing that bears the stamp of God's creation, is formed in the same regular and wise order, though the weakness of our intellect sometimes prevents our discovering their real purpose and design.

Let us then for ever bless our Creator, and render unto him all glory and honour; acknowledging in humble reverence and with grateful hearts, that in all the revolutions which agitate the vast empire of nature, whether in the animal or the vegetable creation, He proposes only our good, and more perfect happiness; and then when we joyfully walk abroad into the flowery meads, and contemplate nature's ever-varying beauties, we shall only breathe the language of gratitude and love, and our souls will approach nearer to the purity and ethereal essence of the all-perfect God.

JULY XVI.

Beauty and Use of Meadows.

THE sight of a fine and well-cultivated garden, in these summer days, is highly pleasing, and forms a gratification of which those people who remain shut up in their houses can have no conception. But to the true lover of nature, a regular and beautifully disposed garden has no charms equal to those of the valleys smiling in rustic simplicity the proudly-bearing tulip, the elegant narcissus, and the beauteous hyacinth, must yield to the sweet little flowers that modestly raise their heads amid their native fields. Whilst the former only please by their beauty, these often combine

with simple charms an evident utility, which continues to gratify when beauty is no more. Do we not in those long and straight gravel walks, so uniform and neat; in those clump of trees, those arbours and beds of flowers so regularly formed, and borders neatly cut, with high walls and enclosures surrounding all; feel a degree of confinement that is irksome, and restriction that is unpleasant? Whatever limits our view seems to set bounds to our liberty, and we long to range abroad in the open fields and meadows, where no dead wall shall obstruct our prospect, nor uniform enclosure pain our sight. In proportion as our range of nature is wide and extensive, our independence seems to increase, and we delight to roam at ease, in careless thought or in musing contemplation.

The beauties of a garden are soon observed, and when their novelty is over half their charms are lost the eye becomes weary of surveying the same objects; little pleasure can be derived from continually viewing the uniformity of shrubs ever seen in the same place, or contemplating plants whose variety may be explored in an hour; we pass up one walk and come down another, and if we cannot discover a third, measure back our steps, and are not sorry when we are permitted to retire: whilst in the open champaign the aspect of nature is ever changing, the eye fondly stretches far on the horizon's distant boundary, and when the lawn can no longer be distinguished from the sky, imagination lends her aid, and we dwell with rapture upon a picture which art cannot imitate. Our pleasure is farther increased by that inequality of surface which we every where observe throughout nature; from the stupendous mountain's crag, where the bleak wind whistles, to the sheltered valley. She is her own gardener, and is never weary with labouring; her seeds and fruits are exhaustless, and her verdure is only interrupted to return with fresher beauty; her streams overflow and renew the parched and drooping herbs, and each of these has a seed, blossom, and beauty, peculiar to itself. For though the same species of herb may be very abundant in every field, we can scarcely step without meeting with a great variety differing in figure and properties, and presenting us not merely with beauty and diversity, but also with very great and indispensable benefits. The fields produce plants for our nourishment