vered with towns and cities; the only part whose inhabitants support an uninterrupted commerce with each other, and who profess, with only some slight variations, the same religion. The three other quarters are inhabited by a number of different people, who have little connexion together, scarcely know one another, and differ as much in their manners as in their religion and mode of living.

Asia is the largest continent known; its length, from the Dardanelles on the west, to the eastern shore of Tartary, is four thousand seven hundred miles; and its breadth, from the southern extremity of Malacca to the most northern cape of Nova Zembla, is four thousand three hundred and eighty miles. As the countries situated in the interior of this part of the world are not visited by the refreshing sea-breeze, nor watered by many rivers-as they contain far extending plains and barren mountains, the heat and the cold are both extremely intense; the earth has scarcely any fertility, and is never cultivated.

At present these regions are only inhabited by people who dwell in tents, and lead a wandering life, which seems to be rendered necessary by nature. The more settled inhabitants of Asia often suffer from the restless unquiet disposition of these wandering tribes. The northern part, which is full of lakes, marshes, and forests, has never been regularly inhabited. But the southern, eastern, and western parts are the finest countries in the world; particularly those situated towards the south: they are most luxuriantly fertile, producing in lavish abundance every thing that is necessary for the comforts of life.

Africa is a peninsula of very great extent; stretching from Cape Bona north, to the Cape of Good Hope south, four thousand three hundred miles; and its breadth, from Cape Verd to Cape Guardafui, is three thousand five hundred miles. It is under the torrid zone, and contains vast sandy deserts, mountains of a stupendous height, forests burning beneath the ardent sunbeams, and monsters of every description. The excessive heat enervates all the faculties of the soul. We know very little of the interior parts of the country; and though so contiguous to Europe, very few well-regulated states have yet been discovered.

America, the largest division of the known world, and only discovered by Europeans within the last three centuries, is composed of two great continents, separated by a narrow isthmus, which is surrounded by a number of islands. The cold which reigns in the northern parts, the few useful productions found there, and its distance from inhabited countries, are the causes why it is not yet entirely known; but there is reason to believe that the natives are not civilized.

Forests and marshes still cover a great part of the country, and the eastern parts are the only ones cultivated. In South America there formerly existed considerable empires; the rest of the country was inhabited by wild people. The serpents, reptiles, and insects, are much larger than the greatest that are known in Europe. America contains the largest extent of country in the world, with proportion

ably the fewest inhabitants. If we calculate the number of leagues contained in these four parts of the earth, they will seem very considerable; and yet altogether they will not amount to the fourth part of the whole globe, which, great as it is, appears small when compared with the immense bodies in the heavens. It may, however, justly be regarded as a vast theatre, where the wonders of God are continually displayed; and as we can know very little of the worlds around us, let us endeavour to become acquainted with that which we inhabit.

AUGUST XXIV.

OF THE NATURE AND PROPERTIES OF LIGHT.

Though we continually experience the utility of light, we cannot precisely determine its nature. All that the greatest philosophers have said of it is conjectural. Whether it is a fluid surrounding our earth, and which, to become perceptible, requires being agitated and put in motion by the sun or some other inflamed body; or whether it is fire itself, which by the emanation of its infinitely subtile particles gently strikes the eyes at a certain distance; is still a question among philosophers: though the former hypothesis seems to be the most probable and the best supported. There is certainly a considerable difference between fire and light, the latter being infinitely more subtile; it instantly penetrates glass and other diaphanous bodies, whilst fire does it much more slowly, which proves that the pores of glass are large enough to admit light to pass freely, but obstruct the less subtile particles of fire, which also move much slower than light. When burning coals are brought into a room, it is slowly and gradually warmed; but the instant a lighted taper is brought in, the whole apartment is suddenly illuminated. From this and some other facts, we may conclude that fire and light are different substances, though generally accompanying each other, and one often producing the other.

The properties and effects of light are very remarkable. The rapidity with which it passes is prodigious; being only seven or eight minutes in its progress from the sun to the earth; in this short space of time traversing several millions of leagues. The observations of astronomers farther inform us, that the rays of a fixed star, before they reach us, must traverse a space which a cannon-ball, shot with the greatest velocity, could not pass through in less than one hundred and four thousand millions of years. The expansion of light is not less astonishing. The space through which it is diffused is not less than the universe itself, and too great for the human understanding to comprehend. This boundless diffusion of light enables us to discover the very remote bodies in the heavens; and could we obtain glasses of sufficient power, we might discern those which are still more distant in the vast regions of space.

Though our faculties are too confined to embrace all the designs of the Deity respecting the nature and properties of light, by investigating it with attention we may obtain considerable information upon so important a subject. Why, for instance, does light move with such velocity, and penetrate every part, but that a variety of objects may be perceived at the same time by a great number of people, and that distance may not prevent their being seen? If the propagation of the rays of light was slower, great inconveniences must result to the inhabitants of the earth; the force and splendour of light would be much diminished and enfeebled; the rays much less penetrating; and darkness would slowly and with difficulty be dissipated. Why are the particles of light so extremely subtile, but to paint the minutest objects upon the retina? Why have they not more density, but that they may not dazzle us by their splendour, and injure the eye by their power? And why are the rays so refracted, if not to enable us more easily to distinguish objects?

Thus we find the Creator and Parent of mankind ever operates for our good and advantage, and all his arrangements are wise and beneficial. Had he not created light, we could not have enjoyed life; we should have been deprived of every external source of pleasure, and our understanding and improvement must have been reduced within very narrow limits.

AUGUST XXV.

STRUCTURE OF BIRDS.

Birds may unquestionably be ranked among the most beautiful creatures of the earth. The form of their bodies, even in the minutest particulars, is so perfect and regular, as at once to convince us of the wisdom of the Creator. They have bones like the mammalia, but they are differently clothed. Their bodies are covered with feathers fastened to the skin, lying upon each other in regular order, and furnished with a warm and soft down. The large feathers are covered above and below with smaller ones, and each consists of a quill and beard. The lower part of the quill is hollow, and by it the feather receives its nourishment; toward the top it contains a kind of marrow. The beard is a range of small thin flakes, closely connected at the edges. Instead of having fore-legs like a quadruped, birds have wings composed of eleven bones, in the muscles of which the feathers enabling them to fly are fixed. The structure of these wings is very curious, and admirably adapted to their purpose. Between them the body is perfectly balanced, and placed in the most convenient manner for the different motions it has to perform. The heads of birds are small; by which neither the action of the wings nor the progress of the birds through the air is retarded. Their tails are useful in pre

serving their balance whilst flying, and to assist them to ascend and descend in the air. Their legs, from their particular situation, are well adapted to preserve the centre of gravity; and in some birds they are placed so far back as to enable them to swim. The thighs are clothed with muscles and feathers, whilst the legs are generally thin and without covering. Most birds have four toes, three before and one behind; at the end of which are claws, which they use to seize their prey and food. Some birds feed upon animals; others on plants, grains and fruits, which they steep and soften in their crop; whence only a small part of the aliment passes at a time into the stomach, which in this species of birds is very small, and composed of very strong muscles; these assist in grinding the food, and small stones or gravel are also swallowed to promote digestion. The stomachs of birds of prey are much weaker.

All birds are constructed with such wisdom, that they are enabled to pursue their particular mode of living and obtaining food with great facility. The stork and the heron, which obtain most of their food in marshy places, have a long beak and long legs, that they may run in the water and readily seize their prey. The eagle and the hawk, which only live by rapine, are provided with large wings, strong claws, and sharp beaks. The bill of swallows is small and pointed, and their mouth large, to enable them to catch the insects which they meet when flying. The swan has a reservoir in its windpipe, whence it draws air while its head and neck are plunged under water seeking its food. Many small birds, which fly and hop among thickets, have a membrane over their eyes to defend them from injury. Each is perfect in its kind, and admirably constructed. The variety is very great and beautiful; and we must always admire the wisdom of God in this part of the creation, which we contemplate with such peculiar delight.

AUGUST XXVI.

REFLECTIONS UPON THE SKY.

Whoever attentively regards the heavens must be struck with admiration at the view of this magnificent work of the Creator. How beautiful is the azure vault suspended above the earth; in the day variegated by clouds, and by night resplendent with thousands of stars, and luminous with the moon's silvery radiance! We contemplate this grand spectacle with awe and sublime emotion; we consider with wonder the immensity of space, whose beginning and end we cannot discover, where orbs innumerable, of different degrees of magnitude, roll their spheres one beyond another in their prescribed circles, till distance forbids the eye to penetrate farther in the boundless expanse; and the mind owns its limited powers, whilst it ponders in

silent astonishment upon the Supreme Being who made the heavens and the earth.

AUGUST XXVII.

MORAL REFLECTIONS UPON A FIELD OF corn.

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As the corn-field, often threatened with danger, and exposed to the rude visitation of the tempest, is yet preserved in safety to yield its rich stores to the husbandman; so the human mind, visited by affliction, and shaken by the storms of adversity, still bears up against the blast, and is strengthened and purified by the fierce contention. the moments of sorrow, when care and trouble oppress us, our knowledge, faith, and humility, are increased and confirmed; for though like the tender stalk of corn we bend whilst the blast sweeps over us, the compassionating hand of God gently raises and consoles our afflicted hearts.

The time of harvest approaches, the corn ripens fast, the sun's warmth and soft showers descend to hasten its maturity. May we also, as each succeeding day brings us nearer to our end, become more mature in all good, and prepare to be gathered unto our fathers in eternal glory. Whatever be our situation in this state of existence, whether cheered by prosperity, or darkened with impending evils; may all our actions tend to the glory of God, and the promotion of piety.

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As those stalks which bear the largest and finest ears of corn bend beneath their treasure, whilst those which are poor and light stand erect and overlook the field; so we may observe men, vain and sumptuous, without knowledge and virtue, proudly hold up their heads, and contemptuously look down upon those whom religion teaches to be humble, and whose learning has estimated the limits of human attainment, and the insignificance of vanity.

All the corn which is to be reaped is not equally good; tares and weeds are mixed with it; and so with men, they blend together both good and bad qualities; and their natural corruption often retards their progress in virtue. The dissipated and the wicked, by their pernicious examples, often sow tares in the field, where none but good seed ought to grow. The master of the field permits them to remain for a season, and patiently waits the arrival of the harvest, before he exercises that impartial justice which separates the good from the bad.

The sickle mows down the corn, and the fruits of the earth are joyfully gathered. Death levels with the dust the rich and the poor, the high and the low, the wicked and the righteous; and happy will be the hour in which those who have preferred the pure light of religion to the delusions of error, are received into the regions of glory, and numbered among the spirits of just men made perfect. They will gratefully remember the storms, the dangers, the trials, and the