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to us any rays of light appear so. Consequently, if the air that surrounds us was as transparent as æther, the sky would not appear blue to us. Our air is full of little particles, which, when lighted by the sun, receive a motion, which produces new rays; and these particles, though dark in themselves, become visible to us when lighted up. Their colour is blue. This is the reason that a forest, when we are near to it, looks green, but, as we move farther from it, looks more and more of a bluish colour. However pale and slight the blue rays of air may be, there falls so great a quantity of them on our eyes, when we are in the open air, that the effect resulting from them is rather a dark blue. These reflections may make some consider the sky differently from what they had done before. It may from hence be concluded, that to the very colour of the sky, there is no phenomenon in nature, in which we may not discover order, utility, and a wise purpose. As the colour of green is the best that the Creator could have chosen for the ornament of the earth, so is the fine azure blue of the sky the most calculated to charm the eye. How dreadful is the appearance of the sky, when covered with stormy clouds! but what beauty, majesty, and simplicity in the colour of it, when the weather is calm and serene! The apartment of kings, decorated by the most skilful painters, are nothing when compared to the majestic simplicity of the celestial vault. When the eye has any time contemplated the beauties of the earth, it satiates and is tired; but the more we contemplate the heavens, the more charms we find.

APRIL APRIL IX.

USE AND NECESSITY OF AIR.

AIR is the element to which all this lower world owes its life, beauty, and preservation. All the changes we observe in the different beings our globe contains depend on air: It is absolutely necessary for the preservation of animals; for most of them would die in half a minute, if they were deprived of it; and the others could not support the want of it above two days at most. Not only terrestrial creatures, and those which fill the air, require that element, but it is absolutely necessary also to the inhabitants of the water; and, what is more, they require a change of fresh air as much as other animals. The birds, in order to fiy, must be supported by the air; for which reason their lungs have openings, through which the air they breathe passes into the whole cavity of their bellies. This single circumstance discovers to us a profound sagacity; for the body of the bird being filled, and in a manner swelled by the air, becomes lighter, and more fit for flying. Plants, even in order to vegetate and grow, require air, and have therefore a multitude of little vessels, which serve to draw it in, and by means of which, even the smallest particles of them are provided with all the necessary juices. Nothing would be more easy than to multiply proofs of the necessity of air. Let us dwell on one single circumstance only, which demonstrates it very clearly. If there was no air, there would be no twilight before sun-rise. It would come suddenly above the horizon; would appear the same as it does towards

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the middle of its course, and would not vary its appearance till the instant it would vanish entirely from our sight, leaving us in as total darkness as at midnight. The sun, indeed, would strike our eyes with a bright light, if there was no air; but it would resemble a great fire burning in an open country in the middle of the night. It would in some sort be day, as the sun and the objects immediately surrounding us would be visible to us; but all the rays that would fall on any bodies, at a certain distance, would reflect in a direct line, and be lost in the extent of the heavens. Therefore, while the sun would be placed directly over our heads, we might still be in a sort of night, if there was no air between that globe and us. Let us draw together all the advantages that air is of to our earth. It is of use to the life and breathing of living beings; to the motion of winged animals, and those which swim in water; to the propagation of sounds; to hold the earth in equilibrium with the other globes ; to the formation of vapours, rain, and winds. How necessary is it also to make the earth fruitful, to favour the vegetation of plants, and disperse the bad vapours which exhale from different bodies! The sun could not furnish us with either heat or light enough, if our globe was not surrounded with air. Nobody could be heard, if the air did not set the organs of speech in play; if it did not transmit sounds, and act on the organs of hearing. How innumerable, then, in all respects, are the advantages which the air and winds procure to mankind? If we accustom ourselves to contemplate, with an attentive mind, the great object of the creation, we shall be naturally led to extol the works and the blessings of God. What may often make us neglect this duty, is perhaps our casting but a superficial glance over his works; and in enjoying his blessings, our hearts have not always been sensible how little we deserved them. Let us then for our peace and our happiness endeavour to become, with the assistance of divine grace, attentive and sensible spectators of the works of God: For to those who consider them thus, they become sources of pure and permanent joy.

THE soil is not the same every where. The upper strata is generally formed of a black moveable rich earth, which, being moistened by broken remains of plants and animal substances, becomes the nutritive support of millions of vegetables which enrich our globe. But even that strata varies in quality. It is sometimes sandy and light, sometimes clayey and heavy, sometimes moist, sometimes dry, sometimes warmer, and sometimes colder. This is the reason why some herbs and plants grow naturally in certain countries, and require art and culture in others. The variety of soil also makes vegetables of the same kind differ in quality, according to the ground where they have been planted. In this instance, we again discover the wisdom of our Creator. If all soils were alike, if all were of the same quality, we should be deprived of many vegetables; because each species requires a soil analogous to its nature: Some require a dry soil, some a moist one; some require heat, others a colder soil; some grow

in the shade, others in the sun; several grow in mountains, and many more in valleys. From thence it happens, that each country has a certain number of plants peculiar to it, and which do not grow in equal perfection in others. Let the alder be transplanted into a sandy soil, and a willow into a rich and dry earth, and it will be found, that those soils are not fit for these trees, and that it will agree with them better to plant the former near marshes, and the latter on the borders of rivers. Therefore our Creator has provided for each species, by alloting to them the soil analogous to their internal constitution. It is true, that art can sometimes force nature to produce according to pleasure: But it is seldom worth the trouble; and, in the end, nature is found to have much the advantage of all the researches and labours of art.

The same variety that is observed in the soil of our globe, is found in the characters of mankind. There are some whose hearts are so hardened, that they cannot profit by instruction. No motive can influence; no truth, however evident, can rouse them from their indolence. This character may be compared to stony ground, which no climate, nor the most careful cultivation, can render fruitful. A character almost as worthless, is that where levity predominates: Persons of this sort, it is true, receive the salutary impressions of religion and piety, but are discouraged by the least obstacle that comes in their way; and their zeal vanishes as easily as their good resolutions. In the minds of trifling, timid, weak people, truth and virtue cannot take root, because there is no depth. They resemble light and dry soils, where nothing comes to maturity, and where every thing dries up, as soon as the heat of the sun

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