the difference between the elephant and the mite! In many parts of the world there are animals which could not bear the climate, air, food, or degree of heat they would find in Europe; nor can it be doubted that there are European animals which would neither sustain the heat of the eastern nor the cold of the northern regions.

LESSON CXXVIII.

Variety of Winds.

In some

THERE is a great variety of winds. places they are fixed, and blow always from the same point. In others, they change at certain periods of time, but still by fixed and regular laws. At sea, between the tropics, and some degrees below them, there is a wind which lasts the whole year without any considerable variation. On the north of the line, the wind blows towards the north-east; and on the south of the line, it blows towards the south-east, more or less, according to the position of the sun. This must be understood to mean the wind at open sea; for, if islands or great continents are opposed to it, the direction may be changed to north-east. In the southern parts of the ocean, the wind is generally westerly. The nearer to the coast, the more changeable is the wind, and still more so on land. The constant east wind is chiefly owing to the heat which the sun communicates to our atmosphere.

In the Indian seas there are winds called tradewinds or monsoons, which blow for three or six months of the year from one point, and for the same space of time from the contrary point.

These

winds have not yet been well accounted for; but certainly we must look for the causes of them in the changes from heat to cold, the position of the sun, the nature of the soil, meteors taking fire, vapours dissolving into rain, and other such circumstances. There are seas and countries which have winds and calms peculiar to them. In Egypt and in the Persian Gulf, there is, during summer, a burning wind, which suffocates and consumes every thing.

At the Cape of Good Hope there forms a cloud sometimes, which is called the fatal wind, or the Ox-eye: it is at first very small, but visibly increases, and soon produces a furious tempest, which swallows up ships, and plunges them into the deep. Variable winds, which have no fixed direction or duration, blow over the greatest part of the globe. It is true, that some certain winds may blow more frequently in one place than in another; but it is not at any regular time that they either begin or end. They vary in proportion to the several causes which interrupt the equilibrium of the air: heat, cold, rain, fair weather, mountains, and even the straits, capes, and promontories, may contribute very much to interrupt their course, or change their direction. There are many other causes, certainly, though not yet known to us, for the different modifications and turns of the wind. One thing particularly remarkable is, what happens every day, and almost in every place, a little before sun-rise: when the air is perfectly calm and serene, at the dawn of day, there comes a quick easterly breeze, at the approach of the sun, which continues some time after it rises. The cause of this must be, that the air being heated by the rising sun, rarefies, and by its dilating, sends the contiguous air towards the west; this necessarily produces an east wind, which we cease afterwards to feel as the air grows warmer. From the same cause, the easterly wind must not only precede the sun always in the torrid zone, but be much stronger

M

also than in our countries, because the sun acts more moderately upon us than it does near the line. In the torrid zone, the wind blows constantly from east to west. A westerly wind is very rarely felt there.

We may observe, that the winds are not the effect of chance, to which no cause can be assigned. In this, as in every thing else, the Creator shows his wisdom and goodness. He has so ordained, that the winds should rise from time to time, and that there should be but very seldom an absolute calm. He regulates the motion, force, and duration of the winds, and prescribes the direction in which they are to blow. Even their being variable is a benefit to us. When a long drought causes animals and plants to grow faint and languid, a sea-wind sends clouds loaded with vapours to moisten the ground and revive all nature. When this is done there comes a dry easterly wind, to restore the serenity of the air, and to give us fine weather. The north wind clears away a great quantity of icy particles, and carries off the noxious vapours of autumn. To the sharp north wind succeeds the southerly wind, which fills the air with an enlivening warmth; and to these continual changes of the wind we owe our health, and the fertility of the earth. Who can make these reflections without adoring God? All the elements are at his command: at his word the storms and tempests roar; they rush from sea to sea, from land to land; and at his command all is calm again. Should we not, therefore, put our

whole trust in him? He who directs the winds as he pleases, will he not guide our ways? Whilst at his command all the changes of the wind combine for the good of his creatures, may we not believe that the vicissitudes of life contribute to the real happiness of each individual.

LESSON CXXIX.

Hunting.

HUNTING is one of the chief amusements of a certain order of people at this season; but it is to be wished they did not set such value upon it; for the power man has over animals, and the pleasure he takes in subduing them, is too often mingled with cruelty. Sometimes, it is true, there is a necessity that animals should be put to death, in order to make the use of them for which they were designed, or to prevent an increase that would be hurtful to us: but even then their death ought to be made as easy as possible; and, unfortunately, this law prescribed by nature is little attended to by sportsmen. Men, in this respect, show themselves more cruel tyrants than the fiercest beasts. Is not the way of hunting a hare or stag dreadful to every feeling heart? Can it be an innocent pleasure to pursue with rage and fury a poor animal which flies from us in violent anguish, till at last, exhausted by terror and fatigue, it falls and expires in horrid convulsions? Is it humanity not to be affected with such a sight, nor to feel compassion at it? To purchase a pleasure by the death of an innocent creature, is purchasing it too dearly. It is a dangerous pleasure, if it makes barbarity familiar to us. It is impossible that the heart of a man passionately fond of hunting should not insensibly lose the sweet feelings of humanity. Such a man soon becomes cruel and barbarous; he finds pleasure in none but scenes of horror and destruction; and, having accustomed himself to be inɛensible towards animals, he soon becomes so towards his fellow-creatures. Hunting does not appear to me in general an occupation which we can reconcile with the duties we are called upon to fulfil. Without mentioning the loss

of time, a loss in itself of consequence, it is certain that hunting dissipates too much, and fills the mind with ideas incompatible with serious employment. Gentler amusements are more proper to unbend and divert the mind, than those tumultuous pleasures which do not leave us the use of reflection. Hunting must ever appear a dangerous employment to a moral and religious man; for ought we not to be afraid of a pleasure which leads to sins and irregularities? How does the health suffer by such a violent exercise, and the sudden transition from heat to cold! What excesses, what swearing, what cruelties are allowed! How are the horses, dogs, and even the men treated! What mischief done to the meadows and fields! Can all these be called trifles not worth attending to? If we were wise, we should and we should seek pleasures more innocent and pure, certainly find them. Why then should we run after gross pleasures, which always leave remorse and disgust behind them? We have within ourselves an abundant source of enjoyments:-a number of intellectual and moral faculties, the culture of which may afford the greatest satisfaction. But it is in this that the great knowledge of a Christian philosopher consists: he has the art of being happy without much preparation or trouble, and particularly without being so at the expence of his virtue.

LESSON CXXX.

Every thing combines for the Preservation of the Creatures in the World.

EVERY thing which the beneficent Creator has produced upon our globe is admirably connected with one another, so as to contribute to their mutual