grow; consider the fowls of the air; they sow not, neither do they reap, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them." For whom does God cause the seed to shoot out of the earth? For whom is it adorned with flowers? For whose use does he provide each animal with food? O ye of little faith! put your trust in your Father, who is in heaven. Spring is the season of hope. Give it admission to your hearts; and, if any anxiety should still find a place there, cast your eyes on the meadows and fields, and remember the words of our Redeemer: "If God so clothe the grass of the field, and feed the fowls of the air, shall he not much more clothe you? Are ye not better than they? Let us then employ the most agree. able part of the year in contemplating the wondrous works of God. Let the pleasures which nature now lavishes upon us, lead us to rejoice in the inestimable advantage we have over so many millions of living creatures, of knowing him to be the Author of all happiness. MAY XXIX. The Harmony and Patriotism among the Bees. UNION and patriotism form undoubtedly the fundamental happiness which may, in some measure, be ascribed to bees. It is at least certain that their republic would soon be destroyed, if they did not live in great harmony amongst themselves. Those who have made observations on this subject, inform us, that when the bees return to their lives, loaded with materials for building, they find some of their companions ready to relieve them from their burdens. The travellers begin their journeys again: and while they are gathering more provision, the working bees, who remain in the hive, knead together the little the others had brought; and thus prepare a mass proper for building. Some, who are not directly employed in work, are busy in doing good offices to those that are; and bring them food, in order to let the work go on without their losing by it. This harmony nearly approaches to the patriotism observable amongst men. The riches of a nation are the riches of each citizen; and this numerous republic forms but one family. Here there is no self-interest, no avarice, and consequently no rapine. Here the bees never assemble together to use violence, and fight battles with their country people. Here we never see one bee avariciously wishing for more than is necessary, whilst another is in want: neither do they ever try to get more honey, when they have laid in a sufficient provision for the winter. Insignificant as we reckon these insects, we may learn from them virtues on which depend the repose and happiness of our lives! In whatever rank or condition we are, it is necessary to act in con. cert with our fellow-creatures as patriots. The society in which we live, Christianity, and our own happiness, require it. Let each of us cheerfully bear our part in the general burden; and, if it is necessary, let us even take upon us the burdens of others, when, through ignorance or weakness, any may be deficient. And if it should so happen, that religion, duty, and conscience, require us to make great sacrifices to our fellow-creatures, let us take care not to consider it as an evil, but let us rather think it an honour to be able to succeed better than they. Let no visible selfishness ever find room in our hearts. Those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of others are contemptible members of society. When we can in any ways contribute to the general good, let us not be deterred from it by the fear of having no reward: Is not the testimony of a clear conscience and the blessings of eternity, sufficient rewards: It is true, however, that among the evils of this life which we form to ourselves, we must reckon this one, that there is no such thing as perfect agreement in sentiments and characters: but, even this ought to make us admire the wisdom of Providence, which, notwithstanding the disunions and disorders of the world, notwithstanding the self-interest which governs mankind, still keeps up society, and makes it flourish. When a pilot knows how to direct his ship, so as to avoid the sand banks against which it may be cast by the waves, it is then that I admire his skill and experience. And when I see, notwithstanding the wickedness of mankind, in the midst of the storms of passion, that wisdom and virtue still preside, I admire the infinite wisdom of him who governs the world. MAY XXX. The prodigious Number of Plants on the Earth. ABOVE twenty thousand different sorts of plants have been already reckoned, and we discover new ones every day. Some have been found out by the help of the microscope, where they were least expected. Mosses and sponges have been classed among vegetables, and have discovered to the virtuosi flowers and seeds before unknown. Freestone is often covered with dark brown spots, and the same is seen in the best polished glass. This mouldy substance sticks to most bodies, and it is a garden in miniature, a field or forest where plants have their seeds which blossom visibly, notwithstanding their extreme littleness. If we reflect on the quantity of moss which covers even the hardest stones, and the most barren spots; On the quantity of herbs and grass; on the seve ral sorts of flowers; on all the trees and bushes, each of which may be considered as an assemblage of a thousand different vegetables; if we add to these the aquatic plants, as slight and delicate as a hair, and most of which are still unknown to us, we may in some measure form to ourselves some idea of the multitude of plants upon our globe. It is more wonderful how all these different sorts of plants are preserved, without destroying one another. In order to prevent this, the sovereign Disposer of all things has appointed to each species of vegetables a place analogous to its peculiar quality. He has distributed them upon the surface of the earth, with so much wisdom and propriety, that no part of it is destitute, nor do they grow in too much abundance any where. This is the reason that some plants require growing in an open field, and not in the shade, where they would at least grow languid and weak. Others can only subsist in water, where the different qualities of the fluid matter occasion great variety. Some plants grow in saud, others in marshy and muddy places. Certain vegetables spring above the surface of the earth, others unfold themselves within its bosom. The different strata of which the soil is composed, sand, clay, chalk, &c. have each their particular vegetables; and from thence it is, that, in the immense garden of nature, there is no place ab. solutely barren. From the smallest dust to the hardest rock, from the torrid to the frigid zone, every soil, every climate, has its peculiar plants. Another circumstance is well worthy our admiration; the Creator's having so ordained, that, among this great number of plants, those used for food or medicine increase much more abundantly than those of less use. Herbs, both in species and individuals, are much more numerous than bushes and trees. There is more herbage than oaks, more cherry trees than apricots, more vines than rose-trees. It is evident that the Creator designed this for the general good. To be convinced of this, let us suppose the contrary had been the case: if there were more oaks than pasture, more trees than herbs and roots, how difficult would it be for animals to subsist, and how many charms would the earth be deprived of! All-wise, almighty, and most merciful Being! in this also does thy wondrous providence appear. It requires no effort of the mind to comprehend that Thou art great and good; we need only contemplate Thee in the immense world of plants. MAY XXXI. Plurality of Worlds. IT is not through ignorance alone, it is more through self-love and pride, that we call nothing the world but one of the least parts of the universe; persuading ourselves that our globe alone is peopled; that the sun was made merely to communicate its light and heat to us; and that the moon and stars are of no other use but to light our nights, and shew the traveller his way. The contemplation of the fixed stars is sufficient to contradict this ridiculous opinion. Their twinkling proves that they shine with their own light: and their being visible to us, at the immense distance they are from us, proves that they are much larger than the sun. Is it then probable that these celestial bodies, which are not luminous specks, but great suns; these numberless bodies placed so far from our globe, that they should not be created for better purposes? If the purpose of them were only to serve as nocturnal lights to us, they would be of no use the greatest part of the year. The frequent cloudy skies, and the nights that are |