Nests of birds. nests! And is it not apparent that all their labors tend towards certain ends? They construct their nests hollow, and nearly hemispherical, that they may retain the heat so much the better. Some are covered externally with more, some with fewer coarse materials, not only for the purpose of strengthen-` ing the nest, but also to defend it. Internally it is lined with the most delicate substances, on which the young may lie soft and warm. Is it not some thing nearly approaching to reason that teaches the bird to place her nest in such a situation as to be sheltered from the rain, and secure against the attacks of other animals? How did she learn that she should lay eggs, that eggs would require a nest to prevent them from falling to the ground, and to keep them warm? Whence does she know that the heat would not be concentrated and maintained around the eggs, if the nest were too large; and that, on the other hand, the young would not have sufficient room if it were smaller? By what rules does she determine the due proportions between the nest and the young, which are not yet in existence? Who has taught her to calculate the time with such accuracy that she never commits a mistake, and produces her eggs before the nest is ready to receive them? All that has yet been advanced by way of reply to these questions, is far from affording any satisfactory explanation of these pheuo mena. Of what nature soever the faculties of birds may be, so much is certain, that these wonderful instincts implanted in animals are the effect of supreme power and wisdom. And as the animals are not capable of attaining to the knowledge of their Diversity of pleasures afforded by Nature. Creator, let us be the more solicitous to improve ourselves in this knowledge, and to employ all our faculties for the glory of his great and holy name. JULY 6. DIVERSITY OF PLEASURES AFFORDED BY NATURE. To what part soever of the creation I direct my view, I find something either to interest or gratify my senses, my imagination, or my reason. All Nature is calculated to present me with the utmost diversity of delightful objects. My taste for variety is continually excited and continually gratified. There is no part of the day but what affords the purest pleasures to my senses or my mind. While the sun illumines the horizon I am amused with the sight of the animal or vegetable creation; and at night the majesty of the celestial orbs fills me with rapture. On every side Nature is actively employed in procuring me new enjoyment and delight. Even a worm, a leaf, a grain of sand presents a world, constructed with the utmost skill, and replete with beauty. He who is not struck with this variety, and does not discover in it the bounty of his Creator, must be destitute alike of eyes and understanding. The same stream that waters the valley, lulls me to repose, delights my ear, and allays my thirst. The same shady forest which protects me from the scorching rays of the sun, and in which I listen to the varied strains of its feathered tenants, likewise contributes toward the supply of my table. The same trees whose blossoms so lately delighted me, will soon yield the most delicious Diversity of pleasures afforded by Nature. fruits, and the fields, covered with waving corn, assure to me an abundant subsistence. Nature does not present to our view any object but what is pleasing and useful in more espects than one. Her tender care caused her to select green as the color wherewith to clothe the earth. This was sufficient to gratify the eye, but not to such a degree as variety is capable of delighting it. Hence the numberless gradations and shades of this color. Each family of plants has its peculiar and hereditary hue. The landscape, covered with woods and groves, plants, herbage, and corn, presents the most beautiful variety of verdure, in which its multifarious shades are here softly blended, there form the most clashing contrast, but yet every where display the most admirable harmony. Each month of the year presents us with new plants and flowers. Those which decay are replaced with others, and they appear in succession, that there may never be any void in the vegetable kingdom. To whom am I indebted for the manifold gifts of Nature? Who is it that hath so bountifully provided for my pleasures and my wants? Go, ask all Nature; the hill and the valley will inform thee. The earth delineates his image, and the heavens are his mirror. The storm announces his majesty; the bow stretched in the atmosphere, the snow and the rain proclain his glory. The verdant mead, the field covered with golden grain, the mountains clothed with forests, whose summits are lost in the clouds, the tree bending beneath its fruit, the gardens enamelled with flowers, the mild beauties of the rose, bear the impress of his hand. Diversity of pleasures afforded by Nature. The birds celebrate him in their melodious strains; the sportive lamb; the stag bounding in the recesses of the forest; the worm that crawls in the dust; the monarch of the waves, who spouts rivers from his nostrils, and whelms the frail bark beneath the billows; the fearful crocodile; the elephant, that carries towers on his back; and all the animals inhabiting the air, the earth, and the sea, declare the glory of God, and proclaim his existence. How inexcusable should we be, were we to disregard this universal testimony of Nature! Come, then, O Christian, who enjoyest the favor of being an eye-witness of these wonders of God, come and render unto him, in the presence of his creatures, that tribute of thanksgiving which is so justly his due. Shut not thine ears to the voice of his grace; harden not thy heart against the mild invitations of his mercy. Look around thee; every object bespeaks the bounty of thy God. These fields, smiling with abundance; these pastures, studded with flocks and herds; these forests, which afford thee shade and fuel; this sky, which covers and gives thee light; all that thou seest, hearest, smellest, tastest, and feelest, ought to excite thy gratitude and joy. Such are the emotions which should fill thy whole soul, accompany thee in all thy walks, and follow thee into thy retirement. Thou wilt find that no pleasures make a more profound impression upon the heart, that none is more permanent, or better adapted to the nature of man, than the calm delights which the contemplation of Nature affords. The more assiduously thou shalt study the manifold beauties of Nature, the more thou wilt be convinced that the Creator is a God of Reflections on a flower-garden. love, and that the religion of Christ is a source of unfading joy, and a continual motive of grateful adoration. JULY 7. REFLECTIONS ON A FLOWER GARDEN, COME, reader, accompany me to the garden, and contemplate the manifold beauties with which this little spot is covered. The care, skill, and industry of man have made it the enchauting theatre of the choicest flowers, But what would it be without attendance and cultivation ? A wilderness, producing nothing but thorns and thistles. Such would be the minds of youth, were not their minds formed and polished by early instruction. But when they are betimes ameliorated by discipline and instruction, they put forth delightful blossoms, and in due season will produce fruit that shall be beneficial to society. Look at the night-violet, which toward evening perfumes the whole garden with its fragrance,. which surpasses that of all the other flowers. It might be denominated the altar of Flora, from which the incense ascends, like a cloud. But it has no beauty. It has scarcely the appearance of a flower; is small, and of a grey color, approaching to green, so as to be scarcely distinguishable from leaves. Modest and unostentatious, it scents the whole garden, though it is not perceived. among the multitude. You would scarcely conceive that so diminutive and so insignificant a flower could yield odors so exquisitely sweet. It resembles a person who is not handsome, but whose want |