APRIL V.

Wonderful Construction of the Ear.

THE ear, it is true, in respect to beauty, must give place to the eye. However, it is perfectly well-formed, and is no less a master-piece of the creative hand. In the first place, the position of the ear shews much wisdom. It is placed in the most convenient part of the body, near the brain, the common seat of all the senses. The outward form of the ear is worthy our admiration. It greatly resembles a muscle; but has neither the softness of mere flesh, nor the hardness of bone. If it was only flesh, its upper part would fall down over the orifice, and would prevent the communication of sounds. If, on the contrary, it had been composed of hard bones, it would be very painful and inconvenient to lie on either side. For this reason the Creator formed the outward part of the ear of a gristly substance, which has the consistence, the polish, and the folds, most proper to reflect sounds; for the use of all the external parts is to collect and convey them to the bottom of the ear. The interior construction of this organ must still more excite our admiration. There is in the shell of the ear an opening, which they call the auditory pipe. The entrance of it is furnished with little hairs, which serve as a bar, to keep insects from pene. trating into it; and it is for the same purpose that the ear is moistened with a substance that is conglutinous and bitter, which separates itself from the glands. The drum of the ear is placed obliquely in the auditory pipe: this part of the ear really resembles a drum; for, in the first place, there is in the cavity of the auditory pipe a bony ring, on which is stretched a round mem

brane, dry and thin: in the second place, there is, under that skin, a string stretched tight, which does here the same service as that of the drum; for it increases, by its vibrations, the vibration of the drum of the ear, and serves sometimes to extend, and sometimes to relax the membrane. In the hollow, under the skin of the drum, there are some very small bones, but very remarkable, called auditory bones, and distinguished by these names: the hammer, the anvil, the orbicular, and the stirrup. Their use is, to contribute to the vibration, and to the tension of the skin of the drum. Behind the cavity of the drum, another opening must be observed, which communicates with a pipe which leads to the palate, and which is equally necessary to produce the sensation of exterior sounds. Next comes the snail, which rises in a spiral line. Behind is the auditory pipe, which joins the brain.

Hearing is in itself a thing worthy of admiration. By a portion of air, extremely small, which we put in motion, without knowing how, we can in an instant make our thoughts known to one another, with all our conceptions and desires, and this in as perfect a manner as if our souls could see into each other's. But, to comprehend the action of the air, in the propagation of sounds, more clearly, we must remember that the air is not a solid body, but a fluid. Throw a stone into a calm running water, there will result from it undulations, which will extend more or less, according to the degree of force with which the stone is thrown. Let us now suppose, that a word produces in the air the same effect as the stone produces in the water. While the person who speaks is uttering the word, he expels (with more or less force) the air out of his mouth; that air communicates to the outward air which it meets, an undulating motion, and this agitated air comes and shakes the stretched membrane of the drum

in the ear; this membrane, thus shaken, communicates vibrations to the air which resides in the cavity of the drum; and that strikes the hammer; the hammer, in its turn, strikes the other little bones; the stirrup transmits to the nerves, through the oval orifice, the motion it has received; and they then vibrate like the strings of a fiddle. This motion gains strength in the labyrinth, and reaches to what is properly called the auditory nerves. The soul then experiences a sensation proportionable to the force or weakness of the impression received; and, by virtue of a mysterious law of the Creator, it forms to itself sentations of objects and of truths.

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God, in order to make us more sensible of his general goodness towards mankind, permits, now and then, that some should be born deaf. Must it not teach us to value highly the sense of which they are deprived? The best way to prove our gratitude for so great a blessing, is to make a good use of it.

APRIL VI.

The Milky Way.

WHEN we examine the sky at night, we perceive in it a pale and irregular light over our heads; a certain quantity of stars, whose mixed rays form this light. This apparent cloud, or luminous tract, is commonly called the milky way. These stars are too far from us to be perceived separately by the naked eye; and between those which are visible through a glass, there are spaces discoverable, which, to all appearance, are filled by an immense quantity of other stars, which even the telescope cannot make visible. It is true, that the number already discovered is prodigious; but if we could make our observations

on another side of the globe, from a part nearer the antarctic pole, we should then make still more discoveries: we should see a great number of stars which have never appeared on our hemisphere. And even we should not know half, perhaps not a millionth part of the radiant bodies which the immense expanse of the heavens contains. The stars which we see in the milky way, appear to us no more than shining specks, yet they are much larger than the globe of the earth. Whatever instrument we make use of, they still appear as before. If an inhabitant of our globe could travel in the air, and could attain the height of 160 millions of leagues, those bodies of fire would still appear only like shining specks. Ilowever incredible this may seem, it is not a chimerical idea, but a fact which has actually been proved; for, towards the tenth of December, we were more than 160 millions of leagues nearer the northern part of the sky, than we shall be the tenth of June; and, notwithstanding that difference, we did not perceive any difference of size in those stars. The milky way, so inconsiderable in comparison of the whole space of the heavens, is sufficient to prove the greatness of the Supreme Being; and every star discovered in it teaches us the wisdom and goodness of God. What are those stars in comparison of the immense quantity of globes and worlds which roll in the firmament! A late ingenious astronomer, by the help of a telescope of remarkable power, has confirmed, beyond conjecture, this account of the milky way, and says, "That even our sun, and, in consequence, our whole solar system, forms but a part of the radiant circle. Many small specks in the heavens, unseen by mortal eye, he discovers to consist of myriads of stars; being, as he supposes, entire systems of themselves." Here reason stops and is confounded: to admire and adore is all that remains for us to do.

Every time that the starry sky shall strike my eyes, grant that I may raise my thoughts to Thee, O Lord. Adorable Creator! I confess, with shame and regret, how little I have thought of Thee at the sight of the heavens; how little I have admired thy greatness, or praised thy power. Pardon' this insensibility, this ingratitude. Raise this soul, encumbered with earthly ties; raise it to Thee, O Creator of heaven and earth. Grant that a lively sense of my unworthiness may incline me to humility then vouchsafe to raise me up again, by this sublime thought, that one day my redeemed spirit will soar above the region of the stars.

APRIL VII.

Reflections on the Seeds of Plants.

THE vegetable kingdom, to an attentive observer of the works of God, is a school where he learns the profound wisdom and unlimited power of that Supreme Being. Though we were to live an hundred years upon earth, and could devote every day to the particular study of one plant, there would still remain, at the end of that time, many things we either did not observe, or were not capable of perceiving. Let us reflect on the production of plants: let us examine their interior construction, and the formation of their several parts: let us consider the simplicity and variety of them, from the blade of grass to the highest oak: let us try to learn the manner in which they grow, in which they propagate, in which they are preserved, and the different uses they are of to men and animals. Each of these articles will sufficiently employ the mind, and make us sensible of the infinite power, wisdom, and goodness, of the Creator. We shall every where discover, with admiration, the most asto