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enter a temple consecrated to Him who came on earth to teach us how we ought to suffer?-a temple venerable from having been the asylum where many an oppressed heart has sought relief by an unchecked and pious avowal of all its secret sorrows at the throne of a merciful and heavenly Judge, in the humble yet confiding hope of alleviation from that source whence alone it can be obtained. Generations and generations have passed away, of individuals bowed down by sorrows, heavier perchance than those which we have to bear, who perhaps on the spot where we now kneel have implored the mercy of the Almighty.

How trivial appear our troubles when we reflect on the inevitable and rapid flight of time, and think that in a short period we too shall have passed away, like those who preceded us; and others, occupied by the same pursuits, and wearied by the same cares, will take our places. Life at such moments seems but as a fast-fleeting dream, and eternity is the only unchanging, enduring reality. We are, alas! but too prone to forget this knowledge; and to permit ourselves to be all-engrossed by the pains or pleasures of this world, so that we require to be reminded of another, by having the house of God continually open to us.

We walked out this evening on the beach, and seeing a church open, on the very edge of the sea, we entered it. It was lighted by a single lamp, which cast a dim light around, and showed us several women veiled, and kneeling; ; many of them half concealed by the deep shadows thrown by the columns and the flickering of the lamp. No priest officiated at the altar, and a solemn silence prevailed, interrupted only by the breaking of the waves against the shore, or the murmur of the whispered prayers and sighs of the women. The place, the hour, and the deep abstraction of the congregation, rendered this one of the most touching scenes of religious worship I ever witnessed or ever participated.

1. What custom with regard to churches prevails all over the Continent?

2. When do our own troubles appear trivial ?

3. What is life here likened to?

4. Describe the appearance which the interior of the church on the sea-shore presented.

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THE STUDY OF NATURAL HISTORY.

45

LESSON XXXII.

-FEBRUARY THE FIRST.

The Study of Natural History.

NATURAL HISTORY possesses charms the most numerous and diversified, and is fraught with the most important consequences to man; but it cannot be comprised at a glance. It is advisable that the student should begin with examining the nature and qualities of such quadrupeds as are most familiar to his observation. Even in the dog and horse, how many properties reside which are hourly experienced, but seldom considered with attention! From such objects as are most obvious and inviting, he should gradually ascend, by firm and patient steps, to the knowledge of others.

The larger animals, and such as contribute to general pleasure and utility, will doubtless first engage his attention. After duly scanning their nature and instincts, their growth, their maturation, their increase, the care of their young, their selection of food, and the various means with which Providence has endowed them for their preservation, the student should descend to an examination of such quadrupeds as are more minute, or retired from his notice; and, when he is tolerably well, acquainted with those of his own country, should extend his views to the natives of foreign regions. The sagacious docility of the elephant, the persevering fortitude of the camel, the generous magnanimity of the lion, and the savage fierceness of the hyæna and the tiger, will supply abundant materials for reflection, and incentives to further and closer investigation. It will be thus discovered how the useful quadrupeds are wisely allotted to their respective climates, and to the exigencies of man; and how the noxious classes are generally restrained to haunts little frequented by our race, while their numbers are limited by the most admirable and benevolent economy of our nature.

After this acquaintance with the history of quadrupeds, the student should proceed to birds, the most beautiful and most innocent tribes of the creation; and learn the means by which they are enabled to subsist either on land or water; the invariable structure of their nests, according to their respective kinds; and the fond affection they display for their young. He will find that those birds whose beauty of plumage excites his admiration, are generally destitute of harmonious voices; so that the parrot,

the peacock, and pheasant, disgust by their screams, while the homely lark, the nightingale, and the blackbird, delight by the sweetness of their melody, and captivate

unseen.

Reptiles, the next class in animated nature, are far less numerous, and less inviting. In the formidable alligator, in the poisonous serpent, in the harmless tortoise, and the lively frog, very opposite qualities will be discovered; but in all will still be discernible a perfect fitness to their respective situations in the scale of creation.

The next class to which the student should turn his attention is that of fishes. The conformation of these, their wonderful adaptation to the element which they inhabit, their amazing fecundity, their powers and faculties, though inferior to those of birds and beasts, will challenge his admiration, and animate his researches.

All

The science of entomology, or of insects, is so extensive as to baffle the most inquisitive investigator. Every plant, every leaf, is the abode or food of one or more species, some of which are imperceptible to the naked eye. insects are propagated from eggs, and, by a wonderful law of nature, undergo several metamorphoses before they arrive at their perfect state. The caterpillar, the aurelia, and the butterfly, so distinguishable from each other, are but one and the same insect, in different stages of its existence; and the minutest among them is formed with as much skill as the most stately quadruped, and is equally qualified to enjoy life, and to transmit that life to posterity. A general knowledge, however, of this numerous class will be sufficient; and from insects he will extend his observation to worms, including the shelly tribe, the beauty and the mechanism of which baffle all description.

In these, life seems to be scarcely active, and to many of them a locomotive power is denied; yet even the zoophyte which connects the animal with the vegetable kingdom, even the animalcule that floats in the liquors which we drink, or lodges in our food, has its sphere of duties to fulfil, and its share of blessings to enjoy.

From the study of animated being, let the curious student direct his attention to vegetables; from vegetables to minerals; and from the garniture or produce of the earth, to the celestial orbs that roll in the abyss of space; the planets in their regular courses, the comets on their eccentric orbits, and the myriads of fixed stars that adorn the vaults of heaven. How amazing is the contemplation of the universe! Wonders crowd on wonders; and the

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mind is bewildered, till it recurs to the Supreme universal Cause, and reposes on the bosom of Omnipotence.

1. How should natural history be studied?

2. What will be discovered by becoming acquainted with the several habits and instincts of animals?

3. What branch of natural history should follow that of quadrupeds? 4. What is said in regard to fishes?

5. In speaking of the heavenly bodies, what science is alluded to?

LESSON XXXIII. -FEBRUARY THE SECOND.
Mount Vesuvius.

THIS celebrated volcano is little more than four miles from the city of Naples; and, owing to the beautiful transparency of the atmosphere, it seems even at a shorter distance. It rises quite alone from the plain, declining on one side to the shore of the sea, and on the other towards a chain of the Apennines, which are seen several miles in its rear. Its base occupies about twelve miles all round; it rises conically to the height of somewhat more than three thousand feet, where it terminates in two vast cones, one of which is the great crater of the volcano. From its form and entirely isolated situation, it looks like some vast tumulus or sepulchral barrow.

Except where it is broken by some chasms, and covered by courses of the lava which have not yet had time to acquire a superficies of soil and vegetable matter, Mount Vesuvius is cultivated and inhabited for two-thirds of its height. The soil, mainly produced by volcanic matter of different natures, is wonderfully fine, and admirably fitted for vineyards. Here are produced the far-famed Lachrymæ Christi and other wines of superior quality.

The ascent to the mountain may be performed on mules or asses as far as what is called the Hermitage. a lonely little building on a flat, from which rises the crater, or terminating cone of Vesuvius. But hence the remainder of the ascent, which may be about one-fourth of the entire height of the mountain, is difficult and fatiguing in the extreme. The crater sides of the acute cone by which you have to climb are nothing but a deep accumulation of cinders, ashes, and other yielding volcanic matter, into which your legs sink, and where you lose at least one out of every three steps you take. Even hardy and active men have thrown themselves down on the sides

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