him out of existence by trampling him under his feet. He eats a hundred pounds of grass in a day, and his body being of such an enormous weight, he bruises and destroys much more with his feet than he consumes for food. His principal enemy, and often his conqueror, is the rhinoceros, an animal which somewhat resembles the wild boar, and uses the horn upon his nose to pierce the belly of the elephant. A very little attention will be sufficient to enable us to discover the wisdom of God in the formation of the elephant: he has produced it in a country abounding in grass, and has prevented its being burdensome to the earth by multiplying too fast; for the female is with young two years, and does not couple with the male till three years after. The camel is one of the most useful animals of the east: it is admirably formed to support the severest fatigues in the midst of dry deserts and burning sands; is able sometimes to remain four or five days without drinking, and requires but little food in proportion to its bulk. It crops the few plants and shrubs that grow in the deserts, and when none of these are to be found, a small quantity of beans and barley will suffice it for a whole day. Besides the hump upon his back, its make is altogether singular; it has two gullets, one of which terminates in the stomach, the other in a sort of bag, that serves as a reservoir for water, which remains in it without becoming putrid; and when the animal is thirsty, and has occasion to moisten its dry food, it throws up into its mouth a portion of the water, which having performed its office, returns with the food into the stomach. The ordinary load of a camel is from seven to eight hundred pounds weight; with this weight they will travel several miles in an hour, and continue for twelve or fifteen hours at a stretch. Among the quadrupeds of the northern regions the most remarkable are the elk, the sable, and the reindeer. The first of these animals is large, strong, and well-shaped. Its head, in form, size, and colour, nearly resembles that of the mule; its legs are long, and of great strength; its skin is of a light gray hue. This animal is timid, stupid, and simple. He finds proper food every where, but selects, if possible, the bark and young shoots of the willow and the birch. He is extremely agile, and with his long legs can make much way in a short time. The sable wanders in the forests of Siberia, and is much prized for its beautiful fur. The chase of this animal is generally the occupation of those unfortunate wretches who are exiled to the deserts. The reindeer is an animal of a beautiful and elegant form, nearly resembling the stag. It provides its own food, which consists of moss, grass, the leaves and buds of trees. The inhabitants of the north derive great advantages from it; they eat its flesh, drink its milk, and, yoking it to a siedge, are drawn over the ice and the snow with wonderful speed. All the wealth of the Laplanders consists in their reindeers, whose skins furnish them with clothes, beds, and tents; and in fact they derive from this animal all the necessaries of life. How vast and extensive is the empire of God, who has formed all species of creatures, and adapted them to every region of nature, that they may contribute to the happiness of his people in all parts of the globe! Blessed be his name for ever and ever. NOVEMBER IX. DIVERSITY OF WINDS. The variation of the winds is considerable. In some places they are constant during the whole year, always blowing in the same direction; in others they change at certain periods, and observe certain and regular laws. In the open sea, between the tropics, and for some degrees beyond them, an easterly wind continues all the year round without any considerable variation. To the north of the line the wind blows towards the north-east, and to the south of the line it blows towards the south-east, and that more or less, according to the position of the sun. This, however, only strictly holds in the open sea; for when islands and great continents obstruct the progress of this wind, they may change its course, and in certain places make it take a north-east direction. In the southern parts of the ocean a westerly wind generally prevails. The nearer we approach the coasts, the more variable is the wind, and it is still more so as we advance farther inland. The constant east wind is chiefly caused by the heat which the sun communicates to our atmosphere. In the Indian sea there are winds named trading winds, or monsoons, which continue to blow in the same direction from three to six months of the year, and during a similar space of time blow in the opposite direction. The causes operating to produce these are scarcely yet satisfactorily explained; but it cannot be doubted that the alternations of heat and cold, the position of the sun, the nature of the soil, the inflammation of meteors, the condensation of vapours into rain, and other similar phenomena, have great effect in their production. There are certain seas and countries which have winds and calms peculiar to them. In Egypt and the Persian gulf, during the summer, a burning wind, which stops respiration and consumes every thing, very frequently prevails. At the Cape of Good Hope, a cloud is sometimes seen to form, which the inhabitants term the fatal cloud, or ox-eye: at first it is very small, but soon visibly increases, and a furious tempest proceeds from it, which oversets ships, and precipitates them to the bottom of the sea. Uncertain and variable winds, which have no determinate direction or duration, prevail over the greatest part of the globe; for though certain winds may blow more frequently in one place than in another, they do not return at fixed intervals, but begin and end without any regularity, and vary in proportion as different causes interrupt the equilibrium of the air. Heat and cold, rain and fine weather, mountains, straits, capes, and promontories, may contribute, in a considerable degree, to impede their course and change their direction. doubt many other causes, which are unknown to us, influence the different modifications and agitations of the air. What is particularly remarkable, and daily occurs in almost every place, is, that a little before sunrise the air is perfectly still and calm, when in a few moments after, just at the break of morning, a pretty brisk east wind begins to rise at the approach of the sun, and continues some time after he is risen. This undoubtedly proceeds from the air, heated by the rays of the rising sun, becoming rarefied, and by its consequent expansion displaces the contiguous air, and then produces an east wind, which ceases as the surrounding air also becomes heated. For similar reasons an east wind ought always to precede the sun in the torrid zone, and blow much stronger than in this country, because the sun's power here is much less than in the regions bordering upon the line. The wind, then, in the torrid zone constantly blows from east to west, whilst a west wind very rarely prevails in those parts. From these observations we learn that winds are not the effects of chance, without either cause or design. In these, as in every thing else, the Creator manifests his wisdom and goodness; and he has so arranged them, that they are continually rising, and a dead calm very seldom happens. He regulates the motion, power, and duration of the winds, and prescribes to them the course they ought to take. Their very diversity is of use; for when a long drought has made plants and animals languish and droop, a wind proceeds from the seacoast, loaded with exhalations, waters the meadows, and gives new animation to nature. When this object is accomplished, a dry wind coming from the east restores the serenity of the air, and brings back fine weather. The north wind brings along with it numerous frozen particles, and purifies the autumnal air from its noxious vapours. Lastly, to the sharp north wind succeeds the south wind, and coming from the southern regions, it diffuses a grateful warmth through the air. Thus these continual variations of the winds tend to preserve health and fertility in the earth. Who can make such reflections as these, and not adore God, in whose hand are all the elements, and whose word either bids them rage or calms their strife? At his command the storms and tempests roar, and, bursting from the ocean's depths, rush to earth's utmost boundary; when again, at his word, all is still and hushed, as on an autumnal evening, when not a breeze plays on the surface of the deep. NOVEMBER X. THE CHASE. At this season of the year the chase forms a very principal amusement with a certain class of men, and there is much reason to regret that so much importance is attached to it; for the dominion which man has over animals, and the pleasure which he takes in subduing them, is too frequently mingled with cruelty. It is true that sometimes the death of animals is necessary to enable us to make that use of them for which they are designed, or when their too great increase might render them troublesome or hurtful to us; but even then it behooves us to render their death as mild and easy as possible: yet, unfortunately, this is very little regarded by the generality of people; and men in this respect show themselves to be more sanguinary than the most ferocious beasts. How revolting from every feeling of humanity, and the dignity of rational beings, is the practice of hare and stag hunting! Can that be called an innocent pleasure, or a manly exercise, which instigates us to pursue with implacable fury a poor defenceless animal, which flies before us in the utmost agonies of fear and suspense, till, worn out with fatigue, it falls a helpless victim, whilst its groans and dying convulsions are hailed by the joyful shouts of the huntsmen? And is there a human breast that does not bleed at such a picture, or in human shape a monster who can behold such a sight without emotion? To purchase pleasure by the death of an innocent, inoffensive creature, and that death imbittered by the most cruel torments, is a dear sacrifice of our feelings: and surely that pleasure which familiarizes us with scenes of cruelty and of barbarity is dangerous and destructive of virtue; for it is impossible for the heart of that man to be good, and possessed of noble and generous feeling, who can hear with satisfaction the expiring groans of these animals; and it is equally impossible for him to be passionately fond of the chase, and centre in it a great share of his happiness, without gradually becoming indifferent to the calls of humanity, and deaf to the voice of nature. A man of this description is in great danger of becoming cruel and sanguinary; he will soon only derive pleasure from scenes of misery and destruction; and being accustomed not to feel for the sufferings of animals, in time he becomes equally regardless of his fellow-creatures. Hunting, then, will be considered by men of morality and religion as an occupation irreconcilable with the great duties we are called upon to fulfil; and those who are truly wise, and wish to be useful members of society, will seek more pure and innocent pleasures, and such certainly may be found. We possess within ourselves the most abundant sources of pleasure, a mind and faculties, the cultivation of which is continually productive of the purest and most unalloyed delight; and in this the great science of the Christian and of the philosopher consists, and those who pursue it with perseverance acquire the art of being happy with out sacrificing their virtue, or destroying their feelings; on the contrary, by the continued improvement of their mind, and suffering religion to keep pace with knowledge, they attain that happy state which the world can neither give nor take away. To diversify their pleasures they have only to walk forth into the garden of nature, contemplate the grand and beautiful objects there displayed, or mingling in the cheerful society of men like themselves in the search of truth, enjoy that delightful converse which is unknown to the sensualist, the ignorant, or the vicious. NOVEMBER XI. DREAMS. During the state of sleep the faculties of the mind are not entirely at rest; the imagination is often active, and ideas and images are present before us. Such is the case in dreams. However, the soul seems to have little share in them, except so far as relates to the memory. If we reflect upon our dreams, and examine why they are so unconnected and irregular, why the events represented to us are improbable, it will be found to proceed from our being more affected by sensations than perceptions. In our dreams we often seem to behold persons whom we have never seen before, or who are long since dead; we see them as if alive, and associate with them things that actually exist. If the soul acted as vigorously in dreams as when we are awake, a moment would suffice to collect and arrange our scattered and confused ideas; but its attention is usually confined to receive and follow the representations which are presented to it; and though objects often present themselves very forcibly, they are almost always strangely associated, without any regular connexion. Sensations succeed each other without the soul combining or arranging them. We have, then, only sensations, and not notions; for notions can only take place when the soul compares sensations, and operates upon the ideas which it has received through the medium of the senses. It is singular that in dreams we never imagine that we hear, but only that we see; and it is still more remarkable that the images which we see often bear a most exact resemblance to their originals. Beautiful landscapes, which we have never attentively observed, are presented to us in dreams, more exactly delineated than if drawn by the most eminent artists. As to the accidental causes of dreams, by which former sensations are renewed without the operation of any present and real impression, it must be observed, that in a state of profound sleep we never dream; we are conscious of no sensation, and our organs of sense are not acted upon by external objects. That sense which first yields to the influence of sleep is also the first that awakes, being the most lively and |