soul towards Thee, O Lord! who directest the seasons, who art the Father of all, and the centre of felicity! I again acknowledge thy wisdom and goodness in the regular succession of the seasons. Grant that I may never forget Thee in the enjoyment of the many pleasures which summer sheds over all nature: thou who disposest all things, and whose glory each season proclaims. May I be so much more inclined to it, as this may possibly be the last summer I shall live to see. Alas! how many of my friends and acquaintance, who were last summer enjoying with me the beauty of this world, have been carried off by death, before the next summer had begun! Perhaps 1 shall soon be united to them. Perhaps it is for the last time that I have contemplated, in this world, the charms of nature. I will therefore enjoy this summer as if it was to be my last. I will glorify Thee, O God! with as much ardour as if I was sure of never more having it in my power to acquit myself of this duty. I will live so as never to regret having so often seen the return of the seasons. Vouchsafe, O Lord! by thy grace, to confirm me in these resolutions; and as it is Thou that inspirest them, give me strength also to put them in execution.

JUNE XXIL

The Nightingale.

THE nightingale is a musician of the first rank amongst the inhabitants of the air. When all the birds, who, during day, entertained us with their notes, cease to be heard, it is then that the voice of the nightingale is raised to animate the woods and groves. When we listen to the brilliant sounds of that voice, we are apt to conclude that the bird must be large, that the throat must have

great strength; and the inimitable charm of her melodious notes makes us presume she surpasses all others in the beauty of her form. But it would be to no purpose to seek these advantages in the nightingale: It is a bird of poor appearance, whose colour, form, and the whole of its exterior, is void of any thing attractive or majestic, and has nothing in the least distinguishing. Nature has, however, compensated for its plainness, by giving it a voice irresistibly charming. Listen to its fine long quivering notes: what variety, sweetness, and brilliancy in them! When she begins her song, she seems to study and compose before hand the melodious notes she wishes to be heard. She begins softly: then the notes swell gradually, till they run with the rapidity of a torrent: she goes from serious to gay, from simple notes to the wildest warblings; from the lighest turns and shakes to languishing sighs; and has, throughout the whole, the art to please the ear.

This bird may give rise to many useful and edifying reflections: for example, we learn this truth from it, that homeliness of body is sometimes united with very estimable qualities, and does not exclude beauty from the soul. How unjust then are those, who, only attaching themselves to the features of the face, and to exterior qualities, praise or blame nothing but what strikes their senses, and despise those who have bodily defects. Let us learn to judge with more equity. Any man, though deprived of the advantage of figure and fortune, who proves himself by his conduct to have the soul of a sage or a saint, is by much the more worthy of our esteem. It is the perfection of the soul only that gives true merit tɔ man, or is worthy our admiration; the rest can only seduce those who do not know the value of wisdom and virtue. Have we not often known persons, neither distinguished by rank or exterior

qualities, who have done the greatest services to church and state? Crooked and deformed people have often shewn more greatness of soul than others possessed of the most beautiful person and finest form. It is a lesson not to trust to appearances. Those we despise may often prove to be superior to ourselves.

When we hear the skilful harmony of the nightingale, does it not naturally lead us to the Creator, from whom she has this talent? What wisdom - must there be in the formation of this bird,to make it capable of such sounds! Lungs so delicate as those of the nightingale, the motions of which are so violent, must be easily wounded, if they had not the singular advantage of being fastened to the back-bone by a number of little sinews. The orifice of the windpipe is very large, and that is certainly what most contributes to the variety of those sounds, which, in charming the ear, fill the soul with sweet and pious joy. Is it possible not to trace a divine wisdom and providence in this? and will not even the song of the nightingale lead us to glorify the Author of all nature? Lovely songstress! I will not leave thee till. I have learned from thee the art of praising my Creator and thine. Pour, with thy song, gratitude and joy into the hearts of the many insensible mortals, who, in these cheerful days, contemplate the beauties of the creation with indifference.

JUNE XXIII.

The Pleasures which Summer affords to our Senses.

SUMMER has inexpressible charms, and gives us daily proofs of the infinite beneficence of our Creator. It is the happy season in which God pours out the treasures of his blessings in the

greatest abundance on every living creature. Nature, after having revived us with the pleasures of spring, is continually employed, all the summer, in providing for us every thing to please our senses, to make our subsistence easy, to satisfy our wants, and awaken in our hearts just senti ments of gratitude. Before our eyes there grows, by virtue of the secret laws of nature, an innu merable quantity of fruit in the fields and gar dens; fruits which, after having pleased the sight, may be gathered and preserved for our food. The flowers afford the most agreeable va riety to our senses; we admire their rich dress, and the inexhaustible fertility of nature in the multiplicity of their species. What variety and beauty also in the plants, from the humble moss. to the stately oak! Let us climb the highest mountain, seek the cool shade of the woods, or descend into the valley, we shall every where find new beauties. A multitude of objects strike our eyes at once, all different from each other; but each in itself has charms enongh to fix our attention. There we see innumerable flowers; here living creatures of different kinds. If we lift up our eyes, they are delighted with the blue sky; if we cast them on the ground, they are refreshed by the beautiful verdure with which it is clothed. Our ear is charmed with the cheerful notes of the winged songsters; the variety and simplicity of their melody fills the soul with the sweetest sensa tions. The murmuring of the brooks, and the silver waves of a fine flowing river, also please the ear and eye. It is to indulge our taste that the straw. berries and other pleasant fruit ripen'; while at the same time they cool the blood. Our barus and granaries are filled with the new productions of the fields and gardens, which afford us the most wholesome agreeable food. The smell is struck with the sweet perfume that exhales on every side. In a word, a thousand pleasing objects affect

the senses, and raise our sensibility. Numerous flocks feed on the profusion of bountiful Nature, to procure us pleasant and wholesome milk, and nourishing meats. Abundant rains moisten the ground, and open to us new sources of blessings. Tufted trees and groves afford us a delightful shade. All that we see and hear, all that taste or smell can convey, increase our pleasures, and contribute to our happiness. But the creation is a still greater and more enchanting object for the mind than for the senses. In points which the latter cannot reach, the mind discovers beauty, harmony, variety, and new pleasures.

JUNE XXIV.

A Sketch of the inward Parts of the Human Body.

THE more difficult it is to acquire a knowledge of the inside of the human body, the more necessary it is to make use of the information with which we are furnished by skilful anatomists. It is with this design that I am going to give a short description of those parts.

The construction of the heart, which is placed near the middle of the breast, and is the moving principle of the whole machine, is worthy of admiration. It consists of musculous fibres curiously interwoven. Two cavities, separated from each other by a partition, and which are called ven. tricles, are formed in the inside of this organ. As the heart continually dilates and contracts itself, and expels from the lungs the air which it receives through the nose and mouth, this is what occasions our breathing. The lungs are of a spongy substance, which, like the bellows, extend and contract, in order to draw the air in, and let it out again. They swell out on both sides, and fill almost the whole space of the breast, to refresh