destroyed by lightning. We may also observe that during a thunder storm the generality of people prolong their fears without any real necessity. He who has time to fear, and be alarmed at the effects of the lightning, is already out of danger for as that is the only thing which can be fatal to us, the moment we have seen it, and remain unhurt, we are safe; as the roar of the thunder which soon follows, whether, rolling at a distance, the peals break upon our ear, or, bursting with a sound that seems to rend asunder the concave of heaven, immediately above our heads, is harmless as the echo that dies on the breeze.

If by reflecting upon the cause of these phenomena our fear does not subside, the surest means of preserving our firmness and strength of mind is by endeavouring to acquire a good conscience. The soul that is just and pure firmly relies upon the merciful goodness of his God, and calmly reposes amid the convulsions of nature. He hears, without dread, the thunder roll. His Creator, the God whom he loves, and adores, directs it; and knows when to terrify, and when to strike: with storms and tempests He sometimes visits the hardened soul of the impious wretch that dares to deny his power, and dishonour his attributes.'

AUGUST XIX.

Summer presents us with Images of Death.

A FEW weeks ago, when we walked in our gardens, we were surrounded with the most beautiful and pleasing objects, and every thing raised emotions of joy in our hearts. But now, every day diminishes the number of pleasing objects, or renders their appearance more uniform. The greatést part of the flowers which then beautified our gardens have disappeared, and we begin to have only faint traces of the once charming scenes which so ravished our senses. These revolutions in nature may be very instructive to us. There is a period in our lives in which all the charms of spring make gay and happy our moments, that swiftly glide away, whilst we are beloved and caressed by parents, fondly solicitous for our welfare, and anxiously expecting from our future conduct the rich fruit of all their tender cares. But how often is this hope deceived! Many a sweet floweret

falls before the blossoms expand. Sickness withers our charms, and nips our opening beauties; and an early death changes hope into the gloom of despondency.

We see spring flowers which bloom till summer, then perish in a few hours. A very striking emblem of death! And scarcely a day passes in which some human being is not unexpectedly and without warning met by the unsparing messenger. The days of man are as the grass; he flourisheth as a flower of the field: the wind bloweth upon him and he is gone, and the place that knew him knows him no more.

We are now in that season in which the fervent rays of the sun induce us to seek repose in the refreshing shade of the groves. These cool sequestered retreats are favourable for serious reflection; and our thoughts will there sometimes be directed to the awful solemnity of the grave, where the just will be received as into a safe harbour from the tossings and dangers of a life of care and trouble.

The reaper prepares to cut down his corn; the sickle levels the tall ears on the right and on the left, and leaves behind it the fields empty and deserted. This is a just emblem of life: all flesh is as grass, and all the glory, all the honours and duration of life, as the flowers of the field: like them man flourishes for a time; and, when the Lord of the harvest ordereth, falls under the scythe.

Let us imitate the activity and industry of the bees; and as they are busied in collecting and preparing their honey from every flower that scents the air, may we also be ever diligent in amassing those treasures of wisdom and virtue, which will be our delight when age presses heavily upon us, and our great consolation in the final separation of the soul from the body!

The husbandmen will soon assemble to collect the fruits of the earth, and deposit them in their granaries. The days of harvest are the most important of any in the year but how much more solemn and momentous will be that great day, when the Creator of the universe shall himself collect the harvest; when the graves shall open, and deliver up their dead when the Supreme Judge of nations shall say unto his angels, 'Gather the tares into bundles to be burnt, but gather the wheat into my garner!' Upon this day of awful solemnity the righteous may meditate with joy and reverence: here they labour and travail, and weeping sow

their seed in the ground; but the joyful day will arrive, when they shall cary their abundant harvest to the altar of God with songs of joy and of gladness.

Meditation upon death is proper to make this happy season still more useful and beneficial. When we consider death in its true point of view, far from regarding it as the enemy of our pleasures, we shall acknowledge that its contemplation ennobles our ideas, and increases our real felicity. When the image of death is frequently present to our minds, can we deliver ourselves up to riot and excess? Should we make an improper use of the gifts which God grants us, if we continually remembered that the hour must come, when we are to give an account of our stewardship to him whom no one can deceive? Would the blessings of this life possess our affections, if we considered how soon every thing must perish? If we considered that the evening will arrive and bring us ease and repose, should we murmur and repine at the burthens we bear through the heat of the day, or the sufferings to which we are subjected? Or, if we frequently meditated upon that better world, and those purer and more exalted pleasures, in which the souls of the righteous shall find a sure resting-place; should we imagine that our chief happiness consisted in the enjoyment of this world, and the pleasures it can afford?

AUGUST XX.

Causes of the Heat of the Earth.

THE sun, without doubt, is one of the principal causes of the heat of this globe; and the warmth of a particular place is owing to its relative position to the sun. When he is on the southern side of the earth, the inhabitants of the northern parts have not so much warmth as when he approaches the north pole. The same thing happens in the southern parts of the earth, when the sun is towards the north. In those climates where the sun is almost vertical, the cold is never so intense as to freeze the rivers and lakes; the heat being very considerable in those regions. It becomes also very fervent when the sun continues long above the horizon, and his rays fall for a length of time upon the same place. Hence it is that towards the poles, where the days are very

long, the heat in certain countries is sometimes extremely intense. From all these circumstances it appears that the sun and his relative position 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 this were the case, the heat of every summer should be equal, and the temperature of countries in the same climate should be always exactly the same. But neither of these is the case; for it is observed that upon the highest mountains, where even there are spacious plains, and upon these mountains other hills and more plains, it is much colder than in the lowlands and in the valleys. Even under the line, if we ascend from a plain where the heat is scarcely supportable, up a mountain several hundred feet high, we shall experience the most intense cold, and enter the region of snow and ice. It has also been remarked in winter, when, during the day, the cold has been very severe, it sometimes sensibly diminishes towards midnight, and then becomes temperate, although the sun's rays do not impart warmth to the atmosphere. This will prove then that there may be warmth in the air that is not immediately produced by the sun.

There are substances which emit sparks and take fire by friction and percussion. The axletrees of wheels not sufficiently greased will take fire when the carriages roll with great rapidity. Other substances will become warm and enkindle when mixed together. If a certain quantity of water be poured upon a truss of hay or straw, a degree of warmth will be produced. Bodies which undergo the process of putrefaction and of fermentation often acquire an increase of temperature. Even in the air the motion of certain matters may occasion mixtures, solutions, and com binations, which produce a great degree of heat. Thus we may conceive how heat may be produced in the open air. At first the sun is the principal cause of it: to the beat which proceeds from this body are joined that of several living creatures and combustible matters, that which comes out of the bowels of the earth, from the depths of the seas, and from warm mineral springs. This heat is often much increased by the fermentation that different bodies undergo, either upon the surface of the earth, or in the upper regions of the atmosphere, where they produce warm exhalations. When therefore the particles of bodies which float in the

lower atmosphere, and which are capable of receiving and retaining heat, are warmed, and have not been cooled or dispersed by wind and rain, their heat gradually increases till it becomes intense; and diminishes when any of the above causes cease to act.

All these arrangements are worthy of the wisdom and goodness of God: they are beneficial to all the parts of the habitable world; and every climate enjoys all the happiness of which it is susceptible. But we who live in a temperate climate most sensibly experience the providential and guardian care of our Creator, who has distributed to us cold and heat, in the wisest proportion, with a mercy that claims our gratitude and love.

AUGUST XXI.

Diversity of Plants.

THE vegetable kingdom is particularly deserving of attention on account of the great variety in plants, with respect to their parts, fructification, and properties.

The manner in which fructification is performed in several plants is very obscure. We know very little of its process

in

mosses, mushrooms, and ferns. Some plants exhibit singular monstrosities. We see flowers which have no tops; there are some out of the middle of which other flowers spring. Certain plants, called sleepy plants, take a different situation at the approach of night from that which they had during the day. Others turn towards the sun; and some shrink and contract upon being touched. Some flowers open and shut at regular hours, or during particular states of weather; and some bud, blossom, bear fruit, and lose their leaves, earlier than others. Plants also differ according to the particular place in which they grow. They were all originally wild, that is, they once grew spontaneously without culture.

The Creator has assigned to plants that climate which best suits their particular nature, and where they will soonest arrive at perfection. But those which are exotics may be naturalized amongst us, and succeed very well, provided they receive a proper degree of warmth.

One of the most pleasing characteristics of plants is their