annual result of the quantities which fell in each of the situations, on an average of five years, was, for the hill gage, 41.49,-and, for the garden gage, 25.66, a difference which would lead to the conclusion, that the quantity of rain which falls on mountain ranges is nearly double that which waters the valleys. There can, at all events, be no doubt that the difference is great, arising chiefly from the well-known property of hills, by which they attract the clouds, and, extracting the electric fluid, dissolve them in showers.

Supposing, therefore, what has been alleged, that the quantity of evaporation which takes place from the surface of the earth, is not greatly inferior in quantity to the rain that falls upon the low grounds, and that, therefore, there would not, from this source, after the necessary supply of vegetation, be much surplus to return to the sea, yet the additional falls of rain on the hills seem amply sufficient to account for the innumerable rills and streams which intersect the land in all directions. Mr Dalton has calculated, that the quantity of water annually discharged into the sea by all the rivers in England and Wales, does not amount to more than thirteen inches over the whole surface; and it is stated by M. Arago, that one-third only of the water which falls in rain, within the basin of the Seine, flows by that river into the sea. The remaining two-thirds either return into the atmosphere by evaporation, or go to the support of organized existences, or find their way into the sea by subterranean passages.

I cannot better conclude this paper, than in the words of the eminent Professor whom I have partly followed in the facts on which its reasoning is founded:-" In the whole machinery of springs and rivers, and in the apparatus that is kept in action for their duration, through the instrumentality of a system of curiously constructed hills and valleys, receiving their supply occasionally from the rains of heaven, and treasuring it up in their everlasting storehouses, to be dispersed perpetually, by thou

sands of never-failing fountains, we see a provision not less striking than it is important. So, also, in the adjustment of the relative quantities of sea and land, in such due proportions as to supply the earth by constant evaporation, without diminishing the waters of the ocean; and in the appointment of the atmosphere to be the vehicle of this wonderful and unceasing circulation; and thus separating these waters from their native salt (which, though of the highest utility to preserve the purity of the sea, renders them unfit for the support of terrestrial animals and vegetables), and transmitting them in genial showers to scatter fertility over the earth, and maintain the never-failing reservoirs of those springs and rivers by which they are again returned to mix with their parent ocean; in all these circumstances, we find such evidence of nicely balanced adaptation of means to ends, of wise foresight, and benevolent intention, and infinite power, that he must be blind indeed, who refuses to recognize in them proofs of the most exalted attributes of the Creator."*

* Buckland's Inaugural Lecture, p. 13.-See also the same author's Bridgewater Treatise, chap. xxii.

VOL. II.

C

34

SECOND WEEK-SUNDAY.

ADVANTAGES OF VICISSITUDE.

WHEN the earliest snow-drop pierces the dark earth, like morning springing out of night, and gives promise of the coming genial season, the impatient spirit hails the tender harbinger, and already in anticipation revels in vernal delights. But many a pinching frost, and many a splashy thaw, and many a shower of sleet, must be endured before winter will "sound his trumpet in the blast, and call his storms away." And many a fair and promising bud must be checked in its efforts to struggle into life, beneath the incongruous alternations of cold and sunshine. Yet the sunbeam which bids the sap ascend, and summons the bud into existence, is not more salutary, or more necessary for the security of the future fruit, than is the storm which repels its too hasty growth, and seems to threaten its destruction. Variety seems the very essence of health and vigour in the natural world, as it is in the moral. Who could endure the tedious sameness of skies ever blue, a sun ever shining, earth ever green, and streams ever gliding in tranquil brightness? The very deliciousness of Nature's beauties would, after a time, render them nauseous. The weary eye would long for the interposing canopy of clouds, and the friendly return of evening. A patch of wilderness and moorland would be hailed with joy; and flood and rock enough to form a cataract, might serve to chase the tedium vitae, which would otherwise steal upon us. The mind is not allowed to stagnate in one train of contemplations, by the uniformity of surrounding objects, any more than its dwelling-place the body, is allowed to become listless and enervated by the sameness of its sensations. We learn to appreciate our comforts through the medium of occasional privations,

and find reason to adore the majesty and grace of the beneficent Being, who not only smiles in the sunbeam, but frowns in the storm.

ness.

The hues of bliss more brightly glow,
Chastised by sabler tints of woe;
And blended form with artful strife,
The strength and harmony of life.

See the wretch that long has toss'd,
On the thorny bed of pain;
At length repair his vigour lost,
And breathe and walk again.

The meanest flow'ret of the vale,
The simplest note that swells the gale,
The common sun, the air, the skies,
To him are opening paradise."

So says the poet, not with more beauty than correctEvery enjoyment is enhanced by privation; and our necessity of change is a strong evidence of our infirmity, and of the transition state in which we are placed. The Hindoo devotee, who has clenched his fingers till the nails have protruded themselves from the back of his hands, or drawn up a limb, and retained it in one position till its contracted sinews no longer suffer him to wield it, gives evidence that absolute rest is not made for man. However sweet repose may be to a weary pilgrim, beyond a certain point, repose itself will become a weariness. The hungry cannot always feed, or the thirsty drink for ever. "Man and for ever!" once exclaimed a statesman, in a fine burst of irony,-" Man * Gray's Ode to Vicissitude.

and for ever!"-Most truly an idle combination,—a contradiction in terms as relates to his sublunary state. Yet man exhibits his unconscious longing after immortality, by his propensity to use terms inapplicable to his present condition. If he loves, he will love for ever: If he is grateful, he will never forget: If he forms a friendship, it is to be eternal. We talk of for ever, yet there is nothing perpetual but change; and our ease and enjoyment in this fleeting scene depend on that perpetuity of change.

There is but One who is always of one mind, whose purposes stand fast, and all whose actings are uniform. The wisest of men turned his weary eye from the contemplation of that which he found to be vanity and vexation of spirit, and fixed his confidence on this One. "I know," says he, " that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever; nothing can be put to it, nor any thing be taken from it; and God doeth it that men should fear before him." It is this great Artificer, then, who operates upon the changeful human being, and that which forms our variety, and our vicissitude, is but the recurrence of the same effects after the same causes, and the repetition of the same unchanging laws, which are without variableness in the hand of Him who formed them. Fitly, therefore, is our lot placed in His hand ; and while His beneficent contrivance has rendered vicissitude delightful, a much more weighty object is attained under its influence than merely enhancing felicity, or adding pungency to enjoyment.

He who knoweth what is in man, sees the necessity of "emptying us from vessel to vessel," as the prophet strikingly remarks, using the figure of one preparing wine, whose purpose is, by each outpouring of the liquor, to leave a portion of the lees behind. The fairest character in our fallen condition, even amongst those who are renewed in the spirit of their minds, retains its alloy of lees, and requires to be dealt with that it may be refined, and have the pure separated from the vile.