TWILIGHT AND DAWN

OR

SIMPLE TALKS ON THE SIX DAYS OF CREATION

by

Caroline Pridham

(Mrs. L. G. Wait)

"KNOWN UNTO GOD ARE ALL HIS WORKS FROM THE BEGINNING OF THE WORLD. "

"THE LORD SHALL REJOICE IN HIS WORKS. "

"HIS TENDER MERCIES ARE OVER ALL HIS WORKS. "

CONTENTS. 

GOD'S BOOK

"IN THE BEGINNING": CREATION

RUIN AND DARKNESS

FIRST DAY. LIGHT

SECOND DAY. THE OCEAN OF AIR

THIRD DAY. THE WORLD OF WATER

 " " THE EARTH BENEATH

 " " THE GREEN EARTH

FOURTH DAY. SUN, MOON, AND STARS

 STORY OF A DEAF BOY WHO HEARD THE SUN PROCLAIM THE GLORY OF GOD

 THE STONE BOOK

FIFTH DAY. "THE MOVING CREATURE THAT HATH LIFE"

 " " "FOWL OF THE AIR, AND FISH OF THE SEA"

 " " FLYING FOWL

 " " CREEPING THINGS

SIXTH DAY. THE ANIMAL WORLD

 " " THE CROWN OF GOD'S CREATION

 "Everywhere, everywhere A tale is told to me-- It is told in the sunny air, It is told on the sparkling sea. 

 "It is told in the forest brakes, It is told on the purple hills, By the silent mountain lakes, By the singing and leaping rills. 

 "In the meadows that stretch away As a sea of golden green, With hedges of sweet white may And the reedy brooks between. 

 "Where I wander and run and rest, The tale is told to me, The sweetest tale and the best Of all the tales that be. 

 * * * * *

 "The tale is the tale of Jesus; It is told in heaven above, On the sea and the moors and the mountains, In language of all the peoples, The speech of love. 

 "The morning star and the dayspring, The sun and the cloud and the shower, The grass and the rose and the cedar, His glory and love are telling From hour to hour. 

 "The birds in the green wood singing, The sea that is wide and deep, The sheep in the folds of the mountains, The corn in the golden valleys, And all beside. 

 "All round me are glorious pictures Of him who has made them fair; Through the long bright day I can see Him, And I fear not the silent darkness, For He is there, "

--FRANCES BEVAN. 

Taken, by permission, from _Hymns by Ter Steegen and Others_ Second series. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Ten years have passed since this book was first published, and in issuing athird edition it seems desirable to say a few words as to the object withwhich it was written, and to explain why some additions and alterationshave been made. 

The earlier chapters remain pretty much as they were, but the latter havebeen recast; and the writer's original endeavour to show that the Story ofCreation is not the Story of Evolution, as set forth in many attractive butmisleading books for the young, has been more constantly kept in view. 

It is hoped that by this means the end sought may be better reached, andthat the young readers may be furnished with the truth before they meetwith false teaching on this important point. The mind which has beencarefully grounded in what is true may confidently be expected to detectand refuse what is erroneous, however fair may be its show; and if the needfor early training on the lines marked out for us in Scripture was apparentsome years ago, how much more imperative is it now, when the authority ofGod and of His Word is questioned on every hand?

It has been argued, with some reason, that the early chapters of these"Simple Talks" are "too childish" when compared with the latter part of thebook; but it may be said in excuse for this seeming inconsistency that thewish of the writer was to furnish assistance to mothers and those who trainyoung children. She therefore began at the beginning, intending the earlychapters to be read aloud, with additions and omissions, as the younglisteners were "able to bear. " These chapters, therefore, are full ofrepetitions, of which the young mind does not weary, but which arenecessary as long as it can only receive "here a little and there alittle, " without overstrain. 

The later chapters will be found more suited to children of larger growth, who will be able to enjoy reading for themselves, without needing the "lineupon line and precept upon precept, " apart from which it is vain to attemptto teach the little ones. 

How imperfectly the work is done will be manifest to those who knowanything of the subjects, which are touched upon rather than explained. Thedifficulty of deciding how much to tell, and how much to leave untold, hassometimes made the writer's task seem an almost impossible one; but she hastaken courage to go on by remembering a wise saying--that if we shrink fromattempting any little work which comes in our way from the fear of makingmistakes, it is easy to make the great mistake of doing nothing at all. 

If what has been a labour of love to the writer should be of some interestand profit to readers, young or old, that labour will be amply repaid. 

The book is now sent forth again, with prayer that He who said, "Suffer thechildren to come unto Me, " and who "took them up in His arms, put His handson them, and blessed them, " may be pleased to use it in His service and forHis glory. 

EVESHAM. 

TWILIGHT AND DAWN. 

GOD'S BOOK. 

"_As the cold of snow in the time of harvest, so is a faithful messenger tothem that send him: for he refresheth the soul of his masters. _"--PROVERBSxxv. 13. 

"_The words of the Lord are pure words: as silver tried in a furnace ofearth, purified seven times. _"--PSALM xii. 6. 

I wonder whether you are as fond of asking questions as I was long ago--sofond that I did not mind asking them when I well knew I could get noanswers, because I spoke to things, not to people who could speak to meagain?

Still, if any mere thing could be supposed capable of answering for itself, I think a book might; and so perhaps as you take this book of mine intoyour hand, and run away to some quiet place to have a look at it, you maybe taking it into your confidence, and asking it some such questions asthese:

(_a_) What are you all about? Are you a lesson-book?

(_b_) Have you any stories--real stories, not made-up ones?

(_c_) Any pictures?

(_d_) I wonder whether I shall like you? Does the person who made you likechildren, and know the sort of things they care for?

Now before you put any more questions to my book, I will answer for it; andthat we may not miss any, we will call them questions (_a_), (_b_), (_c_), (_d_), and answer one at a time. 

Your first question (_a_)--the first part of it at least--is what grownpeople as well as children have a right to ask of a book; and it would be apoor thing for the book to answer, "Oh, I am about nothing in particular! Ican't quite tell you why I was written. " But most books are about somethingin particular, and what that is you can best find out by reading them rightthrough; for many people miss their way in a book by beginning at the endand travelling backwards, or beginning about the middle, and not knowingwhether to go backwards or forwards. So you see I want you to find out foryourself the answer to question (_a_), only I will just say that the bookis mostly about your own dwelling-place. I do not mean your body, thoughthat is, in one sense, your dwelling-place; neither do I mean your ownhome, nor even that part of England where you were born. By your owndwelling-place I mean this wonderful world which you see all around you, where God has made so much for you to see and enjoy; and learn about too, that you may use and enjoy it better. 

[Illustration: GOOD-BYE TO THE SWALLOWS]

So you will find in this book something about the firm ground upon whichyou trod as soon as you were old enough to run about the fields and pickthe daisies. Something too about the blue sky, where the lark sings and theswallows fly; and the great wide sea, where the fishes live; and a littleabout what the Bible tells us of how all that you see around you came tobe; long, long ago, when everything was quite new and beautiful, and Godsaid that all that He had made was "very good. "

"Then it is a lesson-book?" I hear you say. 

Yes, in one way, and yet not quite all lessons, for you will find somestories here too. 

And now I must answer the (_b_) question about these same stories, for Iwant you to know, before you begin to read them, that they are all true, and there is no pretending or making-up about them. 

Question (_c_), about the pictures, you can soon answer for yourself; sonow I have only the (_d_) question to answer, and I can only say for mybook, that I do not know whether or not you will care for it; but I do knowthat the person who made it loves children, and very much likes teachingthem and talking to them. And that you may better understand that I knowsomething about children, I will explain that, though I am only talkingto you just now, I shall tell you in this book the very same things whichI told to some children who came every morning to do their lessons at myhouse, three or four years ago--at least, I will write down for you all Ican remember of the talks these children and I had together, and I willtell you the same true stories which I told them. I used to ask them togive me their ears, and I must ask you to give me your eyes; for writing isdifferent from talking, is it not? You cannot look up in my face and ask mequestions as my children did; and when I ask you a question, I cannot hearyou answer, but am obliged to fancy what you would be likely to say. Still, I think we shall be friends, and get to know each other a little, even bymeans of this dumb-show talk, as I speak to you with my hand and you listento me with your eyes. 

And now I want to tell you about my children. It was a beautiful morning inSeptember when I opened the schoolroom door, and found them, all the seven, sitting round the table, waiting to begin school again, for the long summerholidays were over. I was afraid they would think it rather hard to sitstill and do lessons, especially when the sun was shining brightly and itwas as pleasant a day as could be out of doors; but as I looked at theirbright faces, I thought they did not seem as if they minded coming back toschool so very much after all. 

I wonder what you feel like, when the holidays are over and your littlework-a-day world begins again? Does it seem too bad to be true? or are youjust a tiny bit glad to have something that you really must do, insteadof all play and no work? Do you know--and you remember I told you I knewchildren pretty well--I have actually met with girls, and boys too, whohave sometimes, especially on a very wet day in the holidays, found thisdelightful having nothing to do all day long harder work than the mostdifficult of their lessons?

And now for the names of my children. You would like to know them, wouldyou not? for they are real boys and girls, not children in a story book. 

My eldest boy was Ernest, and he sat at the bottom of the table, oppositethe place where I always sat, and where someone had put a chair for me. Next in age came Charlotte, Ernest's sister; and then Chrissie, the elderbrother of Eustace and Dick. I put Sharley and Chrissie together, becausethey were both ten years old and did most of their lessons out of the samebooks. Next came another little pair: May, Ernest's younger sister, andEustace. Last of all, the little ones: Ernest's youngest brother, Leslie, and Chrissie's youngest brother, Dick. These little boys were only sixyears old. 

Now that you know the ages of my children you will be able to tell whetherany of them were about your own age; perhaps you may be older than Chrissieand Sharley, or even Ernest, who was nearly twelve, but I am quite surethat if you are younger than any of my elder children, you will be able tounderstand some of the lessons which we had from the Bible every morning. 

Before the holidays we had been reading in the New Testament, and hadfinished the Acts of the Apostles; and it was settled that when they cameback to school we should read some of the Old Testament, and begin at thebeginning. The children remembered this, and were just going to open theirBibles and find the first chapter of Genesis, when I said that I shouldlike to ask them one question before a word was read. 

I should like you, too, to think about it, and try to give an answer; formy question--

 Why is the Bible different from any other book?

concerns you as well as the children of whom I asked it. 

They all said at once that the Bible is different from every other book inthe world because it is God's Book. Yes, that is the great difference; theBible is God's own Book, in which He has spoken to us His own words, and itis the only Book in the world which tells us all the truth. 

How wonderful it is to think of this, that every child who can read, andhas a little Bible of his own, can learn what God has said!

Will you try to remember when you open that beautiful Bible, which wasgiven you on your birthday, that there God is speaking--speaking to youjust as much as if you were the only person in the world?

If you think of this it will make you very still and quiet, that you mayhear what He says to you. 

When we say that God has spoken to us, we mean that long ago He told thoseholy men whom He allowed to write His Book exactly how He would have themwrite. When you read in your Bible, you do not read what Moses and Davidwrote out of their own minds. God gave them His words to write for Him, sothat we might know for certain, not what they thought God meant them tosay, but what He really did say. 

Do you understand this?

Perhaps not quite; so I will tell you a story to make it plainer. 

I know a boy who is very fond of running errands, and a very useful boyhe is. If I give him a message he is off like a shot, and back again withthe answer almost before I know that he has gone. So willing and quick amessenger is Willie, that it is a pleasure to send him anywhere. 

But there is just one thing that has sometimes hindered him from being areally good messenger. Can you guess what it is? You will soon find outif you remember that, besides being willing and quick, a messenger mustdeliver the exact message entrusted to him. He must give it just as it wasgiven to him if he would deliver it faithfully. 

Now Willie prefers to give his messages in his own way, and so, althoughhe is willing and quick, he cannot always be relied on as a faithfulmessenger. 

One day, when his mother said "Willie, run to the nursery and give Nurse amessage for me, " the little boy hardly waited to hear what the message was, but ran upstairs as fast as his feet could carry him. Very quickly back hecame and went on with his play--I think he was just then building a finehouse with wooden bricks. Now, as the message was an important one, hismother wished to be quite sure that it had been correctly delivered; sopresently she said, "What did Willie say to Nurse?"

"The right thing, " said he, going on with his building, quite unconsciousthat this was not enough for his mother, who must know exactly what Williehad told Nurse, or go upstairs to see whether she was doing what she haddesired her to do. 

You understand now, I am sure, that we could not be quite certain that wehad God's message--and the Bible is a message or letter from God to us--wecould not be sure that we had it right, if we did not know that He hadgiven it to us in His own way and in His own words. 

So, then, our question is answered. The Bible is different from any otherbook because it is God's Book, in which He speaks to us. Now I am going toask you one more question. 

If it is God who is speaking, and if He speaks to you, what must you do?

You must listen, not only with your eyes, when you read the words, or withyour ears, when someone reads to you, but with your heart. 

Do you remember what we are told in the Bible about a child to whom Godonce spoke? It was in the night that this boy heard God's voice callinghim by his own name--the name which his mother had given him when he was ababy. Samuel had never heard the voice of God before, and he did not knowwho was speaking to him in the quiet night. 

But he did what he was told to do by one who knew that God was callinghim, and the next time the voice came he answered, "Speak, for Thy servantheareth. "

Then, when God spoke again, he listened to the message which God gave himto give for Him. 

How near God was to this child!

Yes, He was very near to Samuel as he slept; but He is as near to you, asyou lie in your own bed at home. He keeps you safely all through the darknight: when you cannot even think about yourself He thinks about you andcares for you; and He speaks to you by His Holy Word just as much as if Hecalled you by your own name. 

Do not forget that it is really true that when you take God's Book intoyour hands, and open it, and listen with your heart, God is near you andspeaks to you, your own self. For this reason, when we read the Bible, as the children said, "We must attend, or we shall not know what God hassaid. "

And for another reason, too, we must attend: that is, because it is God whois speaking. 

God's Word is the only thing in this world that is quite sure; but it is, because it has come straight from Him, and He is the God of truth. 

God's Word can never pass away; for He has said that it endures for ever. 

God's Word can speak, even to a child, and can make that child "wise untosalvation, through faith which is in Christ Jesus. "

For it is of Jesus, the Son of God, that God has spoken to us in His book. 

I think you will like this poem, which speaks of a time when the Bible wasnot only a rare, but in most countries a forbidden book, bought in secret, and read in fear by those to whom it became all the more precious becauseit cost them so dear. We are told that at this time the actual cost of aBible was £30, and that the wages of a labouring man were only 1-1/2d. Aday; so that he would have to work fifteen years to pay for one copy of theWord of God!

"THE VAUDOIS TEACHER. 

 "'Oh, lady fair, these silks of mine Are beautiful and rare; The richest web of the Indian loom, Which beauty's queen might wear. And my pearls are pure as thine own fair neck, With whose radiant light they vie; I have brought them with me a weary way-- Will my gentle lady buy?'

 "And the lady smiled on the worn old man Through the dark and clustering curls Which veiled her brow, as she bent to view His silks and glittering pearls; And she placed their price in the old man's hand, And lightly turned away; But she paused at the wanderer's earnest call-- 'My gentle lady, stay!'

 "'Oh, lady fair, I have yet a gem Which a purer lustre flings Than the diamond flash of the jewelled crown On the lofty brow of kings: A wonderful pearl of exceeding price, Whose virtue shall not decay; Whose light shall be as a spell to thee, And a blessing on thy way!'

 "The lady glanced at the mirroring steel, Where her form of grace was seen, Where her eye shone clear and her dark locks waved Their clasping pearls between-- 'Bring forth thy pearl of exceeding worth, Thou traveller grey and old; Then name the price of thy precious gem, And my page shall count the gold. '

 "The cloud went off from the pilgrim's brow, As a small and meagre book, Unchased with gold or gem of cost, Prom his folding robe he took; 'Here, lady fair, is the pearl of price: May it prove as such to thee; Nay, keep thy gold; I ask it not, For the Word of God is free. '

 "The hoary traveller went his way, But the gift he left behind Hath had its pure and perfect work On that high-born maiden's mind; And she hath turned from the pride of sin To the lowliness of truth, And given her human heart to God In its beautiful hour of youth. "

J. G. WHITTIER

"IN THE BEGINNING": CREATION

"_Thou, Lord, in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth; andthe heavens are the works of Thine hands: they shall perish; but Thouremainest. _"--HEBREWS i. 10. 

To-day let us talk a little about the very first words which God hasspoken to us in His Book. You would like to find them in your own Bible, Idaresay. 

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. "

And we will find one other verse, because it is the first verse of achapter which also speaks of "the beginning. "

"Doth not wisdom cry? and understanding put forth her voice?" (Prov. Viii. 1). 

Now that we have read these verses; I must tell you that Ernest and Chrisand Charlotte and May used each to learn a verse for me every day, and saythem in turn; indeed, they usually said two verses, for I liked them alwaysto repeat along with the new verse the one they had said the day before, inorder that they might not forget it. I am glad to tell you that the verseswere generally learned so perfectly, and repeated so distinctly, that itwas quite a pleasure to hear them; for even little May knew that if werepeat anything from God's Book we must be careful not to put in any wordsof our own. If we did, we should be like Willie, giving the message in ourown way, should we not? Then, every one of God's words must be remembered, and none left out; not even a little word like "and" or "the, " whichperhaps would not very much matter if we were repeating merely what men hadsaid. 

Perhaps you may think this chapter about Wisdom was a difficult chapter formy boys and girls to learn, and not so interesting as some of those whichyou know. I will tell you the reason why I especially wished them to learnit; but I will first ask you to find in the New Testament three verseswhich also tell us of "the beginning"--

"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word wasGod. 

"The same was in the beginning with God. 

"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made thatwas made" (John i. 1-3). 

The "Word" is one of the names of the Lord Jesus Christ. It is a beautifuland wonderful name. Suppose you have been playing with something that hasmade your hands very dirty, and mother says, "Come to me, dear, and I willmake them clean. " Through mother's words you know what is in her heart; youknow that she loves you, and wants you to be with her, and fit to be withher. So it is through the Word, the One who was with God in the beginning, the One by whom everything was made, that God has spoken to us so that wemay know His thoughts about sin, which made us unfit to be with Him, andHis feelings towards the men and women in the world, who are His creatures, and yet have tried to find happiness away from Him. But it was because thechapter, which my elder scholars were learning, speaks of the Lord Jesus byanother wonderful and beautiful name that I wished them to learn it. He iscalled "Wisdom" not only in the Old Testament, where we are told in otherverses of the same chapter (Prov. Viii. ) that He was "from the beginning"with God (vv. 22-31), but also in a letter which the apostle Paul wrote tosome clever people who lived in Greece long ago he speaks of Him as "thepower of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Cor. I. 24). 

I can remember that we had a good deal of talk after we had read the verse, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth"--those few words, so quickly read, in which God has told us what the wisest man of all thewise men who ever lived could not have found out for us; for God alone canspeak about what He did so very long ago, before the sun shone, or thegrass and the trees grew, or the birds sang in the branches, or lambsplayed in the fields. 

Did you ever think, as you watched the great sun going down behind thecrimson clouds, that there was a day, long, long ago, when that sun, in allits glory, set for the first time?

I daresay you never thought of the beginning of the sun, or of the firsttime that it set, but were just pleased to see the sky so red and glowing, and sorry when the beautiful sunset colours faded and the clouds becamecold and grey. 

Or perhaps, as you have shaded your eyes from his noonday splendour, youmay have remembered that it was God in heaven who made that wonderful sunto light up the sky, and that he has been shining down upon this earth eversince; but did you ever stop to ask such a question as this--

How long has that great sun, which is now above my head, been shining inthe sky? Or, again, as he passed in glory out of sight, How many beautifulsunsets have there been since he first began to "rule the day" and to risein the east and set in the west?

Ah! so long a time that no thought of ours could measure it; so manysunsets that we could never count them. All we can know about it is thatthere was a time, long, long ago, when the sun first set and a time when herose upon the earth, which was then so beautiful--fresh from the hand ofGod. 

This world of ours is a very old world, but there was a time when all wasnew; not only the sun and moon, but all that you see around you had abeginning--a birthday. There was a time when no such things were, and therewas a time when they began to be. Now it is about this beginning that Iwant you to think a little. 

[Illustration: "HOW PLEASANT THE LIFE OF A BIRD MUST BE!"]

As we open our eyes to-morrow morning and see the light come in at thewindow, let us thank God that He has made His sun to shine upon us, to sendaway the darkness and bring a new day. And as the light grows and grows, and we lie awake and listen to the morning songs of the thrushes andblackbirds and the chatter of the sparrows, do not let us forget that Godgave its own sweet note to every one of those warblers, and that the airhas been full of the songs of birds ever since the day, so long ago, whenthe first little lark flew up, up, up into the blue sky and sang its firstsong, so full of gladness. Then, as the pleasant sound of the lambs, bleating after their mothers, comes to us from the fields, let us rememberthere was a day when that sound, which you know so well, was heard forthe first time; and as we go for our walk and look around us at the greenfields and the trees with their leaves and blossoms, and then far away towhere the strong mountains lift their heads against the sky, let us say toourselves, "All these things, which seem as if they had been there always, had a beginning; there was a time when there were none of them, and thenthere came a time when they were there, for God had made them to be. "

While we were talking about this, the elder children and I, the little boyswere very quiet; but I was afraid it was all rather difficult for them, so I asked Leslie and Dick to tell me what we mean when we speak of thebeginning of anything. 

I forget whether I got the answer from them or from one of the elder ones, but I know I thought it a good answer when somebody said, "The beginning ofa thing is the first of it. "

Then we spoke about the beginning of the table at which we were sitting--Isuppose we chose that to talk about because it was so close to us--how itwas made of wood, and the wood was once a tree; and if it was an oak, thatgiant tree must have been long, long ago only a tiny acorn in its prettygreen cup. Each of those children, too, as they sat round the table, hadhad a beginning. Have you ever thought of this? There was a time, not sovery long ago, and yet you cannot remember it, when your life had notbegun. And then your birthday came, the first of all the birthdays; thatday when your dear father and mother thanked God for giving you to them tolove and take care of, and everyone at home was so glad because God hadsent a little child to the house; someone who had never been there before. 

Just think, you were that little child; only a tiny thing, but as youopened your baby eyes to the light, and stretched out your little claspingfingers, your first cry, and every movement of your little body, showedthat you were alive. Then, by-and-by, the nurse said, "Hush, baby isasleep!" and everyone moved about softly, so as not to wake the littlecreature, who had not been there yesterday, the baby whose life had justbegun, the little traveller who had just started on its journey throughtime to the great eternity beyond. 

But you knew nothing about this; only your mother knew, as she watched youin your sleep, that one more tiny vessel had been launched upon that streamwhich flows on, on, till it meets the ocean which has no shore--the timewhich never ends. 

I remember, a very long time ago, how fond I used to be of making boats. Not far from where I lived a real ship was being built, and I used to watchhow it was made, and think that when I grew up I should like above allthings to be a shipwright, for I had heard someone say that was the name ofthe man who was building this beautiful vessel. Of course, the boats whichmy brother and I used to make were only toy boats--we generally made themof paper--but however small they were, we were very particular to give eachof them at least three tall masts. Then, when it came to sailing them, we had to be content with any water we could find, and generally thesethree-masted vessels made very short voyages, from one side of a big tub tothe other; and though, by rocking the tub, we used to manage to make prettystormy weather for them, they generally reached the end of their voyage insafety. It was quite another thing when we set our vessels afloat upon whatwe thought a real river, like the Thames or the Severn; but it was only abrown stream, which, ran along the bottom of a meadow, and was crossed, notby a bridge, but by stepping-stones. Sometimes, on a lovely day in June, wewere allowed to go down to our river, and we used to sit for hours amongthe flags which grew beside it, hidden by the tall reeds and the yellowflowers, making little green boats out of the broad leaves of the flags, while the sound of "Cuckoo, cuckoo" came from the orchard close by. 

When we had made as many boats as we could carry, each with a curly-whirlybit of a leaf for its sail, we used to balance ourselves carefully on thestones--for we knew that if we got wet we should not be allowed to go toour river again--and launch our little fleet, one by one, on the brownwater, and then eagerly watch each green vessel upon its course. We wantedthem to sail across to the other side; but I need not tell you that theriver water was very far from being so calm as the water in the tub, and Ido not think many got safely over. 

One little boat would start off very straight, and then suddenly stopbecause it had run against some hidden rock; the greater number, in spiteof all our efforts to steer them, would get into the current, and so becarried down the stream out of our sight; while some at once turned ontheir sides, got filled with water, and became dismal wrecks. 

I can remember well how happy we were in spite of all such disasters andlosses!

But we should have been surprised indeed in those days if anyone had toldus, as we launched our boats, and watched them sail away from land--to"America" or "India, " or any of those far-away places where we used topretend they were going--that we were like those boats of ours. And yet itwould have been true, for we too had been launched; the voyage of life hadbegun for us; and every birthday that came found us a little farther fromthe place from whence we had started--a little nearer to the end of thevoyage, the place whither we were bound. Yes, in this sense you and I andall the people in the world are voyagers on the stream of time. But thisvoyage of our life--how long will it be?

That is one of the things which no one can tell. God alone knows. 

In one sense the story of your life may be soon told; your little voyagedown the stream of time may be very short, and your boat may reach thegreat ocean of eternity before many birthdays have come and gone. But inanother sense it is a story without an end; and this is what makes yourbeginning such a great thing to think of. It is a beginning which has noend; the part of you which is most really yourself, must live on always. You can never stop living for one moment; for there is on board your littleboat a wonderful passenger. God has put into you a living soul, which cannever die. 

But how soon God may call that soul back to Himself, away from the body, where it lives now, who can tell?

I am just now thinking of some young voyagers whose passage from time toeternity was indeed short, but the story is so sad that I could not tellyou about it if I did not remember what the Lord Jesus once said, when Hewas teaching His disciples. He called a little child to Him, and beganto speak to them about such little children, and one of the things whichHe said was this, "The Son of man is come to save that which was lost"(Matt. Xviii. 11). And again He said (you will find this verse in the samechapter), "It is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that oneof these little ones should perish. "

Since even the very little children have gone astray from God, so that theLord Jesus spoke of them as "lost" and "perishing, " how could I tell youthis story, if the Lord from heaven, He who called Himself the "Son of man"when He was here in this world, had not come to save that which was lost?

This is the sad, true story:

It was on a beautiful Monday morning, in the bright June weather, that thescholars belonging to a large Sunday-school in Ireland were travelling withtheir teachers and friends from the town where they lived to spend the dayat a lovely place by the seaside. How proud and happy they were, all theseboys and girls, as they marched through the town waving their flags andsinging, and how much they had to say about the grand time they were goingto have! You may be sure they liked a long holiday out of doors, with gamesand races, and buns and oranges, as much as you do, and so they got intothe train in high glee. 

But that train never reached the lovely place at the seaside. Before ithad gone very far on its way there was a dreadful accident; some of thecarriages were crushed and broken, as if they had been matchboxes, andmany of those bright boys and girls were killed all in a moment--the shortvoyage of their life was over; oh, how soon! By-and-by some doctors camehurrying to the place where the ruined train lay, and began to look aboutto find those who might not be dead, only hurt. It was a sad sight theysaw, and one they can never forget. While they were busy, giving help hereand there, someone noticed two little ones, sitting on the green bank, beside the wreck of the train. A doctor went up to see if they were hurt. No, they were picking the daisies which grew among the grass; they were tooyoung to understand what a dreadful thing had happened. 

"Were you in the train, my dears?" said the kind doctor. 

"Yes, " said a little girl of six years old, "we were in the train, and shewas too, " and she pointed to where another child lay quite still upon thegrass; not picking daisies--no, she could not speak or move, she was dead. 

Put your finger on your wrist, and keep very still for a moment. Listen. You feel something, do you not? Something alive, and it goes beat, beat;one, two, three, like the ticking of a watch. As long as you live, thattick, tick will go on; but for this little girl it had stopped, because herheart had ceased to beat. When the doctor put his hand upon her wrist, hecould feel nothing moving there. "She is quite dead, " he said, as he tookher body up from the grass that it might be carried back to her home, thehome which she had left that morning, so happy and gay. 

At the Sunday-school these children had been taught about the "wondrous, glorious Saviour, " of whom you sometimes sing, and we may believe that thespirit of this dear child, redeemed to God by the precious blood of Christ, went straight from that wrecked train to spend its long for ever with theOne who had loved her and given Himself for her; and that God, who takescare of the poor little body which was laid low in the grave with many asad tear, will raise it in glory, one day, when "death is swallowed up invictory. "

But there were not only very little children in that wrecked train. We aretold of a boy who was terribly hurt, but lived an hour after the crashcame. As he lay by the wayside, a young girl with a pitiful heart came andknelt beside him. 

"I will pray you up to heaven, " she whispered. 

"I am going there!" said the dying boy; "Lord Jesus take me, I am ready. "

Of another his poor mother said--

"I asked him before he started--'Well, dear, have you committed yourselfto your heavenly Father?' 'Yes, mother, I have, ' he said. So I gave himmy blessing and sent him off, and that was the last time I ever saw himalive. "

These boys did not think as they left their homes that morning that theywould never return, but they had learned to know the Lord Jesus Christ astheir own Saviour, and so when danger and death came, they were ready toleave this world and go to Him: their boats were not wrecked; they sailedright into port. 

And now that we are coming to the end of our lesson for to-day, let us"think back, " and see if we can remember what it is all about, and then wewill mark the subjects (_a_), (_b_), (_c_), (_d_), to help us to keep themin mind. 

The subjects were--

(_a_) That very far away time which God speaks of as "the beginning. "

(_b_) It is God alone who can tell us about this time. 

(_c_) God, who made all that has a beginning, Himself had no beginning. This means that there never was a time, no matter how long ago, when Godwas not. If you think back, back, even to the time when there was no sky, no earth, no great ocean, you can never come to a time when there was noGod. 

(_d_) "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and theWord was God. The same was in the beginning with God. " The "Word" is one ofthe names of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came to this world that He mightshow us how very much God His Father loves us, and who could say, "He thathath seen Me hath seen the Father. "

For He who was once born a little child in this world and laid in themanger at Bethlehem, and who grew up in the home of Joseph and Mary atNazareth, is the Same who was "in the beginning with God, " for He "wasGod. "

This is what God has told us about His great Eternity, when Time, with itsdays and weeks and months and years, had not begun. 

"TIME AND ETERNITY. 

 "How long sometimes a day appears! And weeks, how long are they! Months move as slow as if the years Would never pass away. 

 "It seems a long, long time ago That I was taught to read; And since I was a babe, I know 'Tis very long indeed. 

 "Days, months, and years are passing by, And soon will all be gone; And day by day, as minutes fly, Eternity comes on. 

 "Days, months and years must have an end; Eternity has none. 'Twill always have as long to spend As when it first begun. 

 "Great God! no finite mind can tell How much a thing can be: I only pray that I may dwell That long, long time _with Thee_. "

JANE TAYLOR. 

RUIN AND DARKNESS. 

"_Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the wordof God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which doappear. _"--HEBREWS xi. 3. 

"_Whatsoever the Lord pleased, that did He in heaven, and in earth, in theseas, and all deep places. _"--PSALM cxxxv. 6. 

There are three words which God has used to tell us about His work which wecall "The Creation. "

We read, "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. "

"And God made two great lights. "

"And the Lord God formed man. "

"Created, " "made, " "formed, " these are the words; and it is of the first ofthem we shall speak a little to-day. 

Before my children came, I had been thinking how I could make it plain tothe little ones that there is a very great difference between being ableto create and being able to make anything. It happened that when they camein they were all talking so fast, of something which had greatly delightedthem, that it was some time before I could find out what it was all about. At last Sharley told me that as they were racing along with their hoops astrange dog had followed them, and rubbed his nose against their hands, wanting to make friends with them. 

"We are quite sure it is nobody's dog, " she said; "or at any rate it isa dog that has lost its master, and has no home now. So after lessons weare going to call it, and get it to follow us home. It is waiting for usoutside the door this minute. "

"And I am going to make a kennel for it, " said Ernest, who was very fond ofsawing and hammering away in the shed behind, the house, and wished to bea carpenter, when he grew up; "at least, I am going to try, and I think Ican. "

I may as well tell you at once that this little stray dog soon got tired ofwaiting, outside the door. When lessons were over, and the children went tolook, no doggie was to be found; and as they did not know his name it wasnot easy to call him. I have no doubt he found his own master and his ownhome again, and was much better off there than he would have been in thebest kennel Ernest could have made, with seven boys and girls to take himfor a walk every day. 

However that may be, I tell you of this dog because it was while Ernest wastalking about making a house for it that I was saying to myself, "I wonderwhether this plan of Ernest's about making a kennel will help them tounderstand, what I so much want them to learn, about the difference whichthere is between the words make and create. "

First of all I had to tell them not to talk any more just then, but torepeat their verses. Then we read--more than once--for Leslie and Dickwould not have liked to miss their turn, and there were not enough versesfor each to read one--what God has told us in the first five verses of Hisbook. 

"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. 

"And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the faceof the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. 

"And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. 

"And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light fromthe darkness. 

"And God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And theevening and the morning were the first day. "

When we had finished I asked Chrissie what it means when we read that "Godcreated the heaven and the earth. " Why is the word "created" used? Wouldany other word have done instead of that one?

Chrissie said no other word would do, because to create means to make outof nothing. He was right, was he not?

The next question was, "Why is create a word which can never be used exceptwhen we are speaking of God?"

I don't know who answered, but someone gave the right reason--"Because onlyGod can make a thing be when there was nothing before it; nothing to makeit out of. "

This seems quite plain, does it not? But do you know there was once a boy, who did not believe that he could not create things until he had tried tomake something out of nothing, and found that only nothing came. He wasquite sure he could create anything if he only told it to come; so at lasthis teacher said, "You had better try. "

He was only a very little boy, so he thought he would try, and up he gotand stood as straight as he could on his chair, while he said with a loudvoice, "Fishes, be!"

Perhaps it was a good thing that this boy should thus prove for himselfthat it is only God who can create anything; only God of whom it could besaid, "He spake, and it was done. "

I did not tell this little story to the children, but I said to Leslie, "You heard Ernest say just now that he was going to make a kennel for yourstray doggie; do you think he could make one?" Leslie thought perhaps hemight if he worked very hard; and then I asked them all whether, if heworked very hard, day and night, for a long, long time, Ernest could createa kennel?

"No, indeed he could not. He never could, no matter how hard he worked. "Everybody was sure of this; for even little Dick quite understood that ifthe cleverest and handiest boy in the world were told that he must makea box, he could not even begin to make the commonest box unless he hadsomething given him to make it out of, and something too to make it with. "He would need wood, " they said, "and nails, and a hammer and saw; and ifit were to be a nice box, to last long, he would want paint, and a lock andkey, and hinges; and if he wished everyone to know that it was his own box, he must mark it with his name when it was finished. "

Now I am sure you quite understand that this word "created, " which you findin the very first verse of your Bible, is a word which you must not forgetto notice whenever it is used, because it is a wonderful word, which can beused only in speaking of God, the Creator, and of the Son of God, by whomand for whom all the things that we can see, and all that we cannot see, were created; and in whose power they stand together. 

Now I want you to read again very carefully the verses which we have read, and to notice that we have only one verse to tell us what God did at thebeginning; this one verse explains that it was then that He created theheaven and the earth. This is all that God has told us, and it is just whatwe need to know; for how could we ever have found out by what means thisearth of ours came into being, at the very first, if God had not beenpleased to tell us that He created it?

But what a happy thing it is just to listen to the account which GodHimself gives us, telling how the heaven and the earth came into being!

One who simply receives God's word into his heart will understand more thanthe cleverest man who ever lived, who tries by his own mind to search intothe beginning of things, and to account for all that we now see around usby any other way. We read, "By faith we understand that the worlds wereframed by the word of God. " Faith does not wait till it sees, but believeswhat God says, because He says it. We may say that we cannot understandwhat creation is, but we can find rest for our restless thoughts by saying"Yes" to all that God has told us--and the very first line of His Bookexplains all that we need to know about, how the heaven and the earth cameinto being, when it tells us that God created them in the beginning. 

We read next, "And the earth was without form and void. " We are not told inthe verse which follows anything more about the "heaven"; that means thevast universe of which our earth is but a tiny part; but of the earth weread two things which are very surprising, when we think of what it is likenow:

"Without form and void"--what does that mean?

After I had explained to the elder children that these words, which areused to describe the earth, mean that it was waste and desolate and withoutorder, we looked for a verse in the New Testament which tells us that "Godis not the author of confusion" (1 Cor. Xiv. 33); and then we spoke abouthow we can be quite sure that the earth, which is part of God's creation, was not in disorder, not a waste and desolate place in the beginning; andwe found in the Old Testament this other verse:

"For thus saith the Lord that created the heavens; God Himself that formedthe earth and made it; He hath established it, He created it not in vain, He formed it to be inhabited; I am the Lord; and there is none else"(Isaiah xlv. 18). 

The reason why we found this verse was because I wanted to show Sharley andChris and Ernest that there the same word is used about the earth as in theverse in Genesis of which we had just been speaking. The words "in vain"are the same which were there translated "without form" by the people whoturned the Hebrew, in which most of the Old Testament was first written, into English, that we might be able to read it. So you see how veryimportant words are, and learn that when God tells us in one part of HisBook that He created the earth not "without form, " and in another partthat it was (or became) "without form, " the state of the earth as it isdescribed in the second verse of the first chapter of Genesis was differentfrom its condition when God created it in the beginning. Between these twoverses, so close together in your Bible, ages upon ages may have run theircourse; a distance of time may have passed so great that we cannot measureit by any thoughts of ours. 

What happened between the time, which God calls "the beginning, " the timeof the earth's creation, and that time when what He created had become"waste and desolate, " we do not know. What this earth was like, when Godfirst created it, we do not know. How the plants and animals, which now lieburied deep beneath the ground upon which we tread, and shut up within therocks, lived and died, we do not know. How confusion and desolation came, we do not know. And why do we not know?

Because God has not told us. People have thought a great deal about it, andthey say that upon the earth itself may be read, as in a book, marks ofthe many changes which it went through during that far, far away time; butwhat we have to remember is that God does not tell us anything about it inHis Book; it is with the days and weeks and years of Time and the "fromeverlasting to everlasting" of His great Eternity, about which He doesspeak to us, that we have to do. 

God speaks to us, the inhabitants of the earth, of what it concerns us toknow--and the first thing we learn about this earth upon which we live isthat it was created by Him. 

The next thing that we learn is that the earth which He had "formed to beinhabited" was "without form and void, and darkness was upon the face ofthe deep. " This was the state of the earth which God had created, when Hebegan the work of His wonderful "Days, " and brought what had become a sceneof desolation into order and beauty, a place prepared for men to dwell in. 

And now there is one more verse to find, because it speaks about those SIXDAYS in which God "made" (not "created") the heaven and the earth. "In sixdays the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is. "(Exodus xx. 11. )

How wonderful it is, is it not? that God should tell us so much about Hiswork! He might have made everything in a moment, by one word, but He waspleased to take all these "Days, " and to tell us about the wonderful thingswhich he made upon each of them, and at the end of them all we read--

"And God saw everything that He had made, and, behold it was [not waste anddesolate any more, but] very good. "

I wish that I could look over your shoulder as you are reading, and ask youwhether there is anything you want to have explained. Ah, well! I cannot, and, perhaps, if I could I should not explain to you nearly so well asfather or mother would. Only be sure you ask questions, if there isanything you do not understand, that you may have it made plain to you. 

I once told my children about a little girl I knew, who very much wanted toknow things, but sometimes she went on ever so long without knowing, justbecause she was too proud to ask; she could not bear for people to findout that she did not know all that she thought a child of her age oughtto know. But children of any age cannot know things without being taught, and so it came to pass that this child grew to be quite a big girl withoutknowing how to tell the time. Once, when her mother said, "Run and tellme what o'clock it is, " Lucy ran off as quickly as if she knew all aboutit, and then she stood at the foot of the stairs and looked at the clock, and wondered why one hand was still and the other moved, and how grown-uppeople knew what time it was by just looking at their watches for half aminute. Before she had found out any of these puzzling things, all at onceLucy heard her mother's voice calling, "Lucy, Lucy, " and she ran back toher in a great hurry. 

When asked why she had been so long, this poor, proud child made someexcuse. And then--I am ashamed to tell it, but it only shows what becomesof pretending to know, instead of asking to be taught--she told her motherwhat she guessed would be about the right time. 

Her mother never thought she had been deceiving her; but Lucy went back toher play with a very heavy heart, and a miserable feeling of how naughtyshe had been, and how God knew all about it; and this was not the last timethat the wish to be thought clever--so clever as not to need to be taughtlike other children, but to be able to find things out for herself--broughther into sad trouble. 

After having heard the story of Lucy and the clock, my children knew howmuch I like them to ask questions, and were sure that I would answer themif I could; and so Sharley asked me about something which she could notunderstand. 

"When God created the heaven and the earth, did He create the angels too?"she said. "Were there angels in the beginning?"

Now the first part of Sharley's question I could not answer. I could onlysay about it, "We do not know, because God has not told us. "

Remember always, that when God does tell you a thing you must believe it, just because it is God who has said it; and it is only by believing whatGod tells you that you can understand it. But when you are quite sure thatGod has not told you about something which you would like to know, you mustnever try to guess at it, or make up something about it out of your ownhead. Our thoughts and fancies may seem very pretty, and please us verymuch; but we are quite sure to be wrong when we try to peep at what God hasnot shown us in the wonderful glass of His word. 

But there is an answer to the last part of Sharley's question, and shefound it in the Book of Job. When God was taking a great deal of pains toteach Job not to think himself wise or good--really not to think of himselfat all--He asked him a great many questions which Job could not answer. This was one of the questions: "Where wast thou when I laid the foundationsof the earth? declare, if thou hast understanding. .. . When the morningstars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?" (Jobxxxviii. 4-7). 

From this question, which the Lord asked Job, we know that at the world'sbirthday, when its foundations were laid, angels were there, rejoicing inGod's works, though we do not know when these "sons of God" were created. 

Angels are happy, blessed creatures; they are God's messengers, who "excelin strength and do His commandments, hearkening unto the voice of Hisword. "

All we are told about angels is very beautiful. When the Lord Jesus wasborn, you know it was an angel who brought to the shepherds of Bethlehem, as they watched their flocks, the "good tidings of great joy, " that to themwas born a Saviour, Christ the Lord. How glad he must have been to fly withsuch a wonderful message! And how the "multitude of the heavenly host" musthave rejoiced as they praised God, saying, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men" (Luke ii. 14). 

It is beautiful to see that angels rejoiced at the world's birthday, andalso at the birth of Him who is the Saviour of the world. And there is "joyin the presence of the angels of God"--the Lord Jesus Himself has told usof this--whenever anyone is sorry for his sins and turns to Him. 

And there is another thing very beautiful to think of about the angels. They are God's ministers, or servants, who do His pleasure in serving Hischildren here in this world; taking care of them, because they are soprecious to Him. 

I want you to find the verse which tells us about this "ministry ofangels, " and then I will not ask you to look for any more referencesto-day. It is at the end of a chapter in the epistle to the Hebrews. 

"Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them whoshall be heirs of salvation?" (Hebrews i. 14). 

Remember that in the Bible the word "minister" means servant, and so tominister means to serve. And we must not forget that in the last book ofthe Bible we read of a "new song;" which no angel can sing, for it is knownonly by the great multitude of the redeemed; and though it will be sungin heaven, it is learnt on earth. Angels may join in the mighty chorus ofpraise to which every creature will add its voice--but it is those who havebeen redeemed by the precious blood of Christ who will lead that song andsay, "Thou are worthy, for Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed to God by Thyblood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation. "

How much is told us in the first three verses of God's Book? We have readthat this earth, now so full of beauty, was once waste and desolate; therewas no life there, and no light--for "darkness was upon the face of thedeep. " How long this state of ruin continued we do not know; but the nextthing we are told is very solemn and wonderful--"the Spirit of God movedupon the face of the waters. " Then, in the next verse we read, "and Godsaid. " The Spirit of God and the word of God are spoken of together here, where we read of His mighty working in the past in bringing the earth outof ruin and darkness into light and life and beauty; and it is by His wordand His Spirit that the soul is turned from darkness to light, and is bornagain--born of God--now. 

So that God has given us here a picture or type from which we can learn;but I hope to tell you a little more about this another time. Just now Ishould like you to look for a very beautiful verse (Deut. Xxxii. 11) whichcompares the care of God for His chosen People to that of the eagle for heryoung; because the word there translated "fluttereth" is the same whichin the second verse of the Bible is translated "moved, " as we read, "theSpirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. "

It is that Holy Spirit who alone can explain to us the meaning of suchwords, for it is written, "The things of God knoweth no man, but the Spiritof God. "

 "Songs of praise the angels sang, Heaven with hallelujahs rang, When Jehovah's work begun, When He spake and it was done. 

 "Songs of praise awoke the morn When the Prince of Peace was born; Songs of praise arose when He Captive led captivity. 

 "Heaven and earth must pass away, Songs of praise shall crown that day; God will make new heavens and earth; Songs of praise shall hail their birth. "

J. MONTGOMERY. 

THE FIRST DAY. 

LIGHT. 

"_Where is the way where light dwelleth? and as for darkness, where is theplace thereof?_"--JOB xxxviii. 19. 

"_He knoweth what is in the darkness, and the light dwelleth withhim. _"--DANIEL ii, 22. 

"_God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in ourhearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the faceof Jesus Christ. _"--2 COR. Iv, 6. 

I want you to notice, in the beautiful verses which speak of "light, " thatGod does not at first tell us anything about Himself. He speaks to us ofwhat He did when in the beginning He created the heaven and the earth, andof what He said at the time when the earth lay in darkness, buried beneaththe waters. In the midst of the silence and darkness a voice was heard, thevoice of God, "And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. " Thiswe read in the first page of God's Book; but it is very near its end thatGod makes it known that the One who made the light, the One at whose wordlight came from darkness, is Himself Light. It is His very Nature. 

"God is light. " Now we learn from God's Word that there are two kinds oflight, and two kinds of darkness; let us talk a little about this. 

We can well understand one kind of darkness, because we can see it: andwe know it is caused by the absence of light. It grows dark when the sun, which makes our day, has set to us, and the night has come to wrap usround, as it were, in a curtain of shade that we may sleep quietly. It isdark too, not only by night, but all the day long in the deep caverns wherethe miner must carry his lamp to light up those dismal places where the sunnever shines. This darkness, like that which rested upon the face of thedeep before God spoke that word which brought the light, is caused by therebeing no light, and as soon as the light comes the darkness goes. The otherkind of darkness we cannot see: it has to do, not with places, but withpeople, and we read about it very often in the Bible. It is that dreadfulkind of darkness which has come through sin, and has settled down upon theheart of every one of us. This darkness God sees, and He speaks about it inHis Word. 

We find it hard to believe that our hearts are all dark when God looks atthem; that He finds no love to Himself there; no bright spot anywhere; butGod, who is Light, as He looks straight down to the depths of those hearts, and sees us through and through, has told us the truth about ourselves, asHe sees us. 

You do not like darkness better than light; the night better than the day, do you?

I remember how sorry I used to be when night came, and how fond I was ofsaying to myself a verse I had learnt, as I lay awake in the early morningand watched the dawning light--

 "I saw the glorious sun arise Far o'er yon mountain grey, And as he rode upon the skies The darkness went away; And all around me was so bright I wished it would be always light!"

Yes, we naturally love the light which is so cheerful, and shows us soplainly all the beautiful things around us. 

But that other kind of light which shines from God into our hearts, do welike it?

No; one sad thing that sin has done is to make us love the dark, because wefeel as though there we could hide away from God. We know quite well thatif God is looking at us He sees us right, just as we are, not as we like tothink we are, and this is why we try to forget that He is always lookingat us. I know a little boy, who had done something naughty, and had beenhiding it all day. No one saw Georgie go to the cupboard and take a pieceof sugar. He had eaten it, and had gone back to his play as if nothing hadhappened, before his grandmother came back into the room. All day longGeorgie kept in the dark; a darkness which could not be seen ruled inhis heart--but it was a darkness that might be felt, and which made himmiserable. At last when bedtime came, and he had said good-night to hisgrandmother, upstairs in his little room his aunt knelt down beside him andbegan to pray. Presently something happened which showed that Georgie waspraying really himself, while Auntie said the words. He looked up for amoment and said softly, "Tell God about that sugar. "

And then he went to bed, oh, so much happier than he had been all thoselong hours before he had come into the light, and told the truth about whatonly God and Georgie himself knew--nobody else in the world!

But while I say this I think I am forgetting what we so often forget whenwe do wrong. Satan knew about it, and he had tried all day long to keepthis little boy away in the dark, hiding from God, and to make him think itwas not worth while to tell the truth about such a little thing as a pieceof sugar. If any such thought as that comes into your heart when you havedone wrong, do not listen to it for one moment. Remember that the darknessand the light are both alike to God. 

And now I want to tell you about another boy, older than Georgie, who wasmade very unhappy by the thought that he could not get away anywhere tohide from God. But why did Johnny want so much to hide from God? Had hebeen very naughty? It was not because he had done anything very naughtyjust then, but because something inside him--that voice that perhaps oftenseems to speak deep down in your heart--spoke to him and made him afraid. He did not like that God, who is Light, should come close to him. Whenpeople saw him crying, and said kindly, "What is the matter, my boy?" poorJohnny could only say, "God is looking at me. " He had just this one thoughtalways with him--God was looking at him, and God could see what no one elsecould, the real Johnny, and all the secret things which he could not bearthat anyone should know. 

But had God only just begun to look at this boy? No; all his lifelong--more than twelve years, I think--the eye that never sleeps had beenwatching him. Johnny had tried to hide himself behind his play and hispleasures, and, as he grew older, behind his carelessness; but now he hadlearnt that none of the things which may hide us from ourselves and fromothers, can hide us from God. He could only feel that God was looking athim, and in this way Johnny learned something of the meaning of the words"God is light. " That is what God has to teach us all, and it would be alesson too terrible for anyone to learn, if that were all God has beenpleased to tell us about Himself. But there is another part of God'smessage to us, and it was when Johnny had learned it that he was not afraidor unhappy any more. 

It was because God was looking for him that He allowed this boy to havethat dreadful feeling that there was someone, from whom he could not hideaway, who knew him perfectly. Johnny learnt this lesson, and then Godtaught him not only that "God is light, " but that he need not be afraid tostand, just as he was, in the light which shows everything, because of thisother wonderful little verse which tells us that "God is love. "

And so at last Johnny learned to say to God what king David said--after hehad told God all the truth about what he had done, and God had forgivenhim--"Thou art my hiding-place. " I have heard a very wonderful thing; butI believe it is true. It is said of light that "it conceals more than itreveals"; that there is no hiding-place like light, if it is only brightenough; and the brighter the light is, the more impossible it is to findwhat has been hidden there!

I remember when I first saw the electric light; it was in the middle of thenight, as the boat on board which I had been crossing the sea which dividesWales from Ireland, came in at the pier. All around, the whole scene waslighted up; the dark water shone, and the people came on shore and lookedfor their luggage, and took their places in the tram, no one thinking ofsuch a thing as a lamp, for all was clear as daylight. 

But this light, bright as it was, lighted only a very little space; as thetrain moved off we left it behind us, and hurried on into the dark night. How much more wonderful is the light of the sun which shines night and day, always giving light to some part of the world!

But sunlight, moonlight, and electric light, all these shine upon theoutside, upon what we can see. God, who is Light, shines upon what iswithin, upon that heart which is by nature so dark that there is not onebright spot there, so that if God did not shine into it no light could evercome. 

Have you ever seen, when the moon has been shining over the sea, making along, broad pathway of brightness, a ship, as it sails along, suddenly comeinto that bright track? It is a beautiful sight; just for one moment everymast and sail all stand out with such distinctness that you say, "Oh, I cansee her now perfectly!" Then, while you look, she has crossed the shiningpath, and you can but just trace her dim outline, and know that a ship issailing there. 

[Illustration: CROSSING THE SHINING PATH. ]

When the Lord Jesus Christ was in this world He said, "As long as I am inthe world, I am the light of the world. " He showed people plainly that Heknew them in a way that no one else could. Some people were glad; one poorwoman, who had been in the dark all her life, went and told everyone aboutHim, and said, "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did. "Others could not bear that that light should show them to themselves, so weread that one day those who had been with Him, "went but one by one, " untilthey were all gone. Which would you rather be like--the people who wentaway into the darkness, rather than be found out by the Light, or the onewho stayed, and heard those words she could never forget--"Neither do Icondemn thee; go and sin no more"?

The only way not to be afraid of the light is to come to the Lord JesusChrist, who has said of every one that follows Him, that he shall not"abide in darkness, but shall have the light of life. "

But hiding--hiding from God--only means getting deeper into the dark, farther away from Him who is Light. 

Now that we have spoken of these solemn and important things--things whichI like to speak to you about, but which God alone, who loves you so much, can really teach you:--I should like to tell you a little about the lightas we see it all around us. 

Now, what can we learn about it?

First, we learn that it was called into existence by the voice of God. Godsaid, "Let there be light; and there was light" on the FIRST DAY, but itwas not until the FOURTH DAY that those great light-bearers--the sun andthe moon--were made lights to the earth, and set "for signs, and forseasons, and for days and years. " But the question, "What is light?" is notone easily answered. 

We can all understand that light is that which makes everything visible, but you will perhaps be surprised to hear that it has taken a very longtime even to find out how the light comes to us. 

It is now generally believed that light, which is one of the strongestpowers in the world, is caused by motion; and that it is because everylight-giving body is always moving very fast, that it gives out light. Butno one can explain how this rapid movement began, nor what that "ether" isthrough which the "vibrations" travel until they reach a wonderful littlescreen which we have at the back of each of our eyes, by means of which weare able to see. 

We may think of the air around us as a vast ocean, through which wavesconveying light and sound are constantly travelling. When a sound-wavestrikes the ear, we hear; when a light-wave, moving like a water-wave, reaches the eye, we see. Light comes chiefly from the sun: it is beautifulto think, is it not?--of waves of light streaming always, day and night, from that wonderful sun so far away, and coming, wave after wave, to paintbeautiful pictures on our eyes! For if you and I both look at the samelovely view, we have each a picture of it--the mountains, and sea, andgreen fields, and houses--all to ourselves; and so it would be if, not twopeople, but two hundred were looking. One thing about light of which we arequite sure is, that it travels very quickly. It makes its noiseless journeyall round this great earth eight times in one second--in less time than ittakes for my watch to give one tick; and it comes all the long, long wayfrom the sun to the earth in less than ten minutes. 

I spoke just now of the light painting pictures upon our eyes. Did you knowthat if there were no light there would be no beautiful colours? Where thesun shines very brightly, in those parts of the world called the tropics, it is not only very hot, but travellers tell us that there the green ofthe leaves is darker than we are accustomed to see it, and the colours ofthe flowers and of the birds' feathers are more brilliant than in our owncountry, where the sunlight is never so strong. 

Then, though the sunlight gives their lovely colours to the anemones andseaweeds, as it shines into their homes in the shallow places near shore, if you could go far down into the ocean depths, where the light can hardlyreach, you would find the colours of any creatures, or plants, or shellsthat might be there soft and pure, but not brilliant. 

But how does the light make the colours? It seems only white, or perhapsgold-coloured, in itself. 

This is what I should like to explain to you, for it is a very beautifullesson, and not difficult to learn. 

When I asked the children if they could tell me what we mean when we saythat a thing reflects the light, Chrissie said he had often seen the redsunset reflected by the windows opposite, but he could not quite tell howto explain it. 

We may read in books this explanation: "The reflection of light is theturning back of its rays by the surface upon which they fall. " And while weread this we must remember that the surface or outside of everything hassome peculiarity about it, which affects the light as it falls upon it. 

The light of the sun is made up of seven colours, though God has soperfectly blended them that we see only white light; but all these coloursmay be traced in the seven-coloured arch, which is a token to men of Hismercy, and a sign that while the earth remains "seed-time and harvest, coldand heat, summer and winter, day and night, shall not cease. "

The smallest portion of light which we can speak of is called a ray oflight. You have seen, when what you call a beam of light comes in at ahole, before the shutters have been opened, how the little specks ofdust glance up and down in it, as if they were at an endless game ofpuss-in-the-corner. But have you ever seen beautiful colours, like those ofthe rainbow, dance about the room--now on the ceiling, now on the floor?

You can best see this lovely little rainbow by darkening the room, andletting just one ray of light stream in through a small hole. Then takea bit of glass, cut so that it has at least three sides--a "drop" of cutglass from the lustre on the mantelpiece will do--and hold it up betweenyou and the light. This little piece of glass, which is called a prism, because it has been sawn or cut, will do a wonderful thing, as you turnit about in the sunbeam. The ray of light, as it passes through thethree-cornered bit of glass, will be turned out of its straight path, andthis causes it to be split up into many colours, so that you will have atiny rainbow, which can be seen beautifully if you allow it to fall upon asheet of white paper; and the colours are always arranged in the same way. Look! in the centre of your rainbow there are green and yellow; then comesred, then blue, then violet. You can easily see these five colours; and twomore are counted; indigo, or dark blue, and orange. The only difficultyabout saying how many colours you can see is this. If you begin with theviolet, and count till you come to the red, you will find that the softhues are so blended, or run into each other, that it is not easy to seewhere one ends and the other begins. 

I want you to make this little rainbow, not only because the colours whichit paints upon the ceiling are so pure and beautiful, and it is so curiousto see the bright band of red and blue and green dancing from place toplace as you turn your bit of glass, but because you can see in this wayhow a ray of light spreads itself out when it passes through this glasswith three sides. The colours are separated from each other because no twowaves of light are of quite the same length; some move slowly and othersfast, and the faster a wave travels the more it is turned aside out of thestraight road. 

This is a difficult subject, but I think you will understand that if allrays were alike, the whole beam would be bent; but as some are more easilybent than others, as they pass through the prism they are spread out. 

Long ago, the great philosopher Newton bought a prism, and thus "analysed"or broke up the sunbeam, and discovered what is called the "prismatic band"of colours. He found that what seemed to be white light was made up oftints really infinite in number; for though we count only seven prismaticcolours, they are shaded off, one into the other, as you see. 

Having thus broken up the beam of light, Newton, by means of two prisms, put together again the rays which he had separated, and the sunbeam was"white" as before. Perhaps you wonder why we do not always see colouredlight: the reason is that the waves of light, unless interfered with andturned out of their straight path, all travel together in their rapid, noiseless course, and so remain unbroken. 

You will find it very interesting to make the first of Newton's experimentsyourself, and some day perhaps you will hear what wonderful things aboutthe sun and the stars are being learnt in our own time by means of thespectroscope, which is an instrument having a fine slit through which theray is passed before it is allowed to fall upon the prism. 

And now what do we mean when we talk of things being of different colours?When we say of snow that it is white we mean that, as the light falls uponthe snow, it is all sent back again. The surface of the snow reflects allthe light, and keeps none. The other day, when I was buying some flowersto plant in the garden, the woman who was selling them showed me a blackpansy. "I am sure you would like to have this root, " she said, "blackpansies are so rare. "

[Illustration]

I did not buy the flower, for I did not think it nearly so pretty as thepurple and yellow pansies, which seemed to look up at me with such knowinglittle faces; but I was interested to see it, because (and are you not gladthat it is so?) black flowers are very rare. But why was this pansy black?Ah! it was quite different from the snow; it kept all the light which fellupon it, and gave away none. You see that God has given to some things thepower of absorbing light and to others that of reflecting it. If it werenot so, our world would be very different from the beautiful world which itis--as different as an engraving is from a coloured picture, with fields, gardens, sea and sky all of varied hue. Almost all the flowers are sobeautiful because, while they keep some of the colours from the light whichfalls upon them, they do not keep all. 

Now look at the flowers in that glass upon the table. The lovely rose keepspart of its ray of light, but gives us back the red; the larkspur givesback the blue; and those pure white lilies, which show so fair beside theroses, give back all the light in its bright whiteness just as it comes tothem, so that a poet, who loved them well, calls them "those flowers madeof light. "

And the water in the glass, why is it white?

Because water is what is called transparent; it does not drink in thelight, but lets the whole ray pass through it, as it passes through thewindow-pane. 

Now my lesson about colours is over, and I will tell you a story. I don'tknow whether you have as good a memory as some of my children had, andwhether you remember my promise to explain to you about types. I daresayyou have heard this word used in more than one way, and a word which hastwo meanings is rather a puzzle, is it not? I know how it used to set methinking, when I heard someone say of a new book that it was pleasant toread, because of its good type; the word was not new to me, but I had heardit used in quite another way, the way in which it is used when we say ofthe serpent of brass lifted up by Moses in the wilderness, that the dyingpeople might look at it and live--that it was a type of the Lord JesusChrist lifted up upon the cross, as He Himself tells us it was. I daresay, if I could ask you, you would tell me that "type" used in this sense meansa picture. That was what Chris and Sharley said, but it was because Iwanted the little ones as well as the elder ones to understand that meaningof the word that I told them this story which a friend of mine once toldme, and which I am sure you will like to hear, We were saying just now how dark it would be in the deep mines, farunderground, where no daylight can come, if it were not for the lamp whichthe miner carries with him wherever he goes. You may think you would ratherlike to go down a mine, just for once, if you were quite sure of beingdrawn up safely in the miners' cage, but I think you would not go down, if you thought you would have to stay even a whole week in such a dismalplace. 

My story is about a boy who had never been anywhere else, for he was bornin a mine, and all his childhood, while other children were running aboutin the fields, looking up at the sky and breathing the fresh air whichmakes your cheeks so rosy, this little boy might turn his bright eyes thisway and that, but no trees and houses and gay gardens were to be seen, faror near; for though he was five or six years old, no one had ever taken himup to the top of the mine and let him see the sky, and pick the daisies, and feel the warm sunshine. Poor boy, he was an orphan; both his parentshad died before he could remember, and he had no one to care for him in theway in which your dear father and mother have always cared for you. At lastone of the miners thought what a sad life it was for a child to be alwaysdown underground, and he began to take notice of the lonely little boy, who had no father and mother to love him and be good to him, and in theevenings, when his work was done, he coaxed the child to come on his knee, and used to tell him stories about that wonderful world above ground whichhe had never seen. 

Do you not think it must have been very difficult for the kind miner totalk about the blue sky and the birds, and the grass and trees, and all thebeautiful sights which most children know so well, to a child who had neverseen any of them? It was indeed a difficult task, but you know there is anold saying about difficulties which tells us that "love will find out theway" to overcome them. The miner became very fond of his pet, and he foundout a way of making the things of which he spoke seem real to him. 

"He could show him pictures, " you will say. That was what little Maythought, and it would have been a very good way; but remember that therewere no beautiful picture-books such as you have, down in the mine. Howthen could the miner teach his little friend about things above ground?

The only way in which he could do this was by means of things in the minewhich the boy knew well, and had been used to all his life. So he wouldtake his lamp, and talk to him about it, and show him how its tiny flamelighted up the darkness, and then he would point upwards, and say that farabove ground there was a great lamp burning all day long, and giving lightto the people who lived in that upper world. 

Now you would say that a miner's lamp was a very poor picture of theglorious sun; still, this child saw that in the under world, where helived, it made all the difference between light and darkness whether thelamps were shining or not; so the lamp was like the sun, at least in thatrespect, though it was so poor and dim, and such a tiny likeness of it. 

In the same way--when his kind friend made the little boy look at the pailsof water which were swung down into the mine, and explained to him thatabove ground, in that new world which he had never seen, the water ranalong quickly in great streams called rivers, and that there was a great, great world of water called the sea--though you might say that a pail ofwater in a mine, water which would soon be used for the miners to drink orfor cooking their food, would give a very poor idea indeed of the mightyocean with its rolling waves, where the whales spout, and the ships sailon their long voyages; still, poor as it was, that water in the pail was alikeness, a type of the rivers and seas, was it not?

The children were interested in this little boy, and they wanted to knowhow long he lived in the mine, and what became of him afterwards; but thisI could not tell them, for I never heard any more about him. 

And now I want you not only to be interested in this story, but to rememberwhy I have told it to you. You understand now, I am sure, that a type isa figure of something not present; of course, inferior to the thing itrepresents, as the miner's lamp was inferior to the sun, or a man's shadowon the wall is to the man himself, but giving a true idea to a certaindegree. 

The light given by the miner's lamp was bright when compared with thatgiven by one little candle in a cottage window, and yet that feeble ray, quietly shining night after night, served to guide many a fisherman safelypast a dangerous rock, which juts out into the sea, on the coast of one ofthe Orkney Isles. It was a young girl, the daughter of a fisherman, wholighted that candle and kept it burning. Her father's boat had been wreckedone wild dark night on "Lonely Rock, " and his body washed ashore near hiscottage. The girl, in her grief, remembered other poor fishermen, and whennight came on she set a candle in the window, and watched it as she sat ather spinning wheel. She did not do this once, or twice, but through longyears that coast was never without the light of her little candle, by whichthe men at sea might be warned off the neighbourhood of the terrible rock. 

In order to pay for her candles, this lonely girl with a faithful heartspun every night an extra quantity of yarn--for she earned her own livingby her spinning wheel--and so the tiny flame was kept alight, and she foundcomfort in her sorrow by doing what she could, in her unselfish care, for"those in peril on the sea. "

The meanest candle is a luminary in its way, for it possesses light, whilethe most brilliant diamond has none in itself, and can give back only whatit receives. 

And now that our lesson about the FIRST DAY is finished, we must not forgetwhat we have been learning. 

God, the Creator, alone in creation, (_a_) "said, Let there be light: and there was light. " (_b_) "saw thelight, that it was good. " (_c_) "divided the light from the darkness. "(_d_) "called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. "

"And the evening and the morning were the first day. "

The astronomer Proctor, in his beautiful book, _Flowers of the Sky_, saysthat "light is the first of all that exists in the universe. " And we are, told that the action of light was necessary to prepare the way for alllife; but this is far too great a subject for us to speak of in this littlebook. Let us remember that God saw the light, that it was good, and thatHe made the division between light and darkness in nature which He uses asa figure in the New Testament, where we read that the children of God arecalled "children of light, " and "not of the night nor of darkness"; andwhere "goodness, and righteousness, and truth" are spoken of as "fruits ofthe light, " in contrast with "unfruitful works of darkness. "

In all that is around us in this world which God made, if we had eyes tosee, we should find pictures of the things which are unseen, but yet veryreal; so in the Book which He has written, He has given us pictures. Thedescription in verse 2 of the waste empty earth, with darkness upon theface of the deep, and the Spirit of God moving over the face of the waters, is a picture of the condition of everyone born into this world. 

In verse 3 we have a picture of God as Light shining into the dark andempty heart. 

In verse 4 we see that God separates good from evil. 

Now I want you to think of these things, and as we have been talking of thewords, God is Light, God is Love, I am going to copy for you a hymn, which speaks of them very beautifully;my children know it well, and often sing it. 

 "God in mercy sent His Son To a world by sin undone. Jesus Christ was crucified; _'Twas for sinners Jesus died_. Oh! the glory of the grace, Shining in the Saviour's face, Telling sinners from above, 'God is Light, ' and 'God is Love. '

 "Sin and death no more shall reign, Jesus died and lives again! In the glory's highest height-- See Him God's supreme delight. Oh! the glory of the grace, Shining in the Saviour's face, Telling sinners from above, 'God is Light, ' and 'God is Love. '

 "All who on His name believe, Everlasting life receive; Lord of all is Jesus now, Every knee to him must bow. Oh! the glory of the grace, Shining in the Saviour's face, Telling sinners from above, 'God is Light, ' and 'God is Love. '

 "Christ the Lord will come again, He who suffered once will reign; Every tongue at last shall own, 'Worthy is the Lamb' alone. Oh! the glory of the grace, Shining in the Saviour's face, Telling sinners from above, 'God is Light, ' and 'God is Love. '"

H. K. BURLINGHAM. 

THE SECOND DAY. 

THE OCEAN OF AIR. 

"_Dost thou know the balancings of the clouds, the wondrous works ofHim which is perfect in knowledge?. .. Hast thou with Him spread out thesky?_"--JOB xxxvii. 16-18. 

"_When He prepared the heavens, I was there: when He set a compass uponthe face of the depth: when He established the clouds above: when Hestrengthened the fountains of the deep. _"--PROVERBS viii. 27, 28. 

"_Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand, and meted outheaven with the span?_"--ISAIAH xl. 12. 

In reading these beautiful verses, let us remember that in the second ofthem it is the Lord Jesus Christ who says of that time when God preparedthe heavens, "I was there. " And now, as we are going to think about whatGod did on the SECOND DAY of Creation, I want you not only very carefullyto read those verses in the first chapter of Genesis which tell us about it(verses 6-9), but to keep your Bible open at the place, so that you may beable to refer to them constantly. 

When we had read them together, my children noticed that in these verses wefind once more three words which are used to tell us about the work of Godupon the FIRST DAY. You see these words, do you not?

"God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters. "

"God divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waterswhich were above the firmament. "

"God called the firmament Heaven. "

And there is one word which has not been used before: "And God made thefirmament. "

It is quite simple to see this, but I daresay you want to know, as all thechildren--even the elder ones--did, the meaning of one very uncommon wordwhich we find in each of these verses. "What does 'firmament' mean?" theysaid. 

I told them that the word conveys the idea of something firm and strong andsteadfast; and then I asked Sharley, who has a reference Bible, to look inthe margin, and tell me what word she could find there which might be usedinstead of this uncommon one. She found, as you will find if there arereferences in your Bible, that the word is there translated "expansion. "And what does that mean?

You can understand something spread out wide, can you not?

Those who turned the Hebrew word into English long ago thought"firmament"--that which stands fast--was a better word than "expansion, "which simply means what is stretched or spread out--as the heaven is spreadabove the earth "like a curtain. " The expanse, then, which God made on theSECOND DAY, is what we call, the sky, as we look up and see the

 ". .. Tapestried tent Of that marvellous curtain of blue and gold, "

which is high above our heads, and stretches away far, far as our eyescan reach. And this tent, under whose shadow we dwell, is not firm andsolid, but is really a globe of vapour, which surrounds us everywhere, andreaches, not all the way up to what we call the blue sky, but very muchhigher than any bird could fly or balloon float--as high as forty or fiftymiles above the earth. God has fixed its height; if it were less, everybreath we take would hurt us; if it were much greater, we should be alwaystired. 

But before we speak of this atmosphere, or globe of air, which surroundsthe earth, I want you to remember, as you read of the work of God on theSix Days of creation, that each one of these Days led, in a beautifulorder, to the next, and that in all of them God was preparing the earth, which He had created in the beginning, for the creatures which He had notyet formed. For each kind of creature a place was found fit for it to livein, whether that dwelling-place was the earth, or the great and wide sea, or the boundless fields of air. And each creature, as it came from God'shand, was fitted to live where God had placed it: for every living thingthe means of living was provided. Thus on the First of His Days God calledfor the light. What would the face of all the world be without it? Then onthe SECOND DAY He not only provided the place in which the happy wingedcreatures fly and utter their sweet songs, but that by which all livingthings, whether they were plants or animals, should be kept alive. I amsure you know that without air you could not breathe; but perhaps you havenever thought that without it no plant could live, not even the smallestblade of grass. Every green thing lives by breathing the air, and if therewere no air which it could breathe, it would soon die. 

How freely God has given us this great blessing! His air is all around us, as is His presence. When people wish to speak of what belongs to everyonealike they sometimes say, "It's as free as the air you breathe"--thiswonderful air, which we cannot see, but which helps to make the sky soblue, without which no fire could burn, no robin sing to its mate, no lambbleat after its mother, no merry voices of boys and girls at play be heard. God has indeed made it free to us; but let us never forget that we are, asHis creatures, dependent upon Him for every breath we draw. 

Now while we speak of the way in which this world was created by God, andfitted to become the dwelling-place of His creatures, we may remember howthe Lord Jesus spoke to His disciples, after He had told them that He wouldbe only a little while with them, about the place He was going to preparefor them. This reminds me of a little incident which I should like to tellyou, because it is so beautiful to know that the Lord of glory, who wasallowed no place here, He who

 "Wandered as a homeless stranger, In the world His hands had made, "

has indeed gone to prepare a place for those whom He has, by His death andresurrection, made ready to dwell there. 

In a quiet market-town in the North of England an aged Christian hadinvited a number of those of whom our Lord says, "whensoever ye will ye maydo them good, " to take tea with him and his friends. After they had enjoyedwhat loving hands had made ready, their host took out God's book, andturning to the second verse of the fourteenth chapter of John's Gospel, read it, and then said, "It comes to me in this way, dear friends: If ourLord is preparing a place, He wants a prepared people. "

He then went on to say that we all need preparing, that is making ready, to dwell in the place of which the Lord Jesus Christ spoke as "My Father'shouse"--the place which was always His own home--and then he told onceagain the story which you have so often heard--

 ". .. The old, old story Of Jesus and His love. "

The Lord often spoke to His own disciples about His Father. He said, "Icame forth from the Father, and am come into the world: again, I leave theworld, and go to the Father, " and when He spoke of leaving them He said, "If ye loved Me ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father. "But we know that those who had been with their Master for so long did notrejoice when He spoke of going away: their hearts were filled with sorrow. 

When He said to them, "Whither I go ye know, and the way ye know, " Thomasreplied; "Lord, we know not whither thou goest, and how can we know theway?"

What did the Lord say?

He said that He was Himself the way to the Father--"I am the way, and thetruth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father but by Me. "

But if the Lord was going back to His Father's House--the place which wasalways His home--He was not willing to go alone. He might have gone back atany time, but if He would have those who could neither cleanse nor clothethemselves, who were sinful and unfit for that Home of love and light, Hemust go by the way of death, giving up His own life, that He might makethem ready to dwell with Him in His Father's house; so that when He said, "I go to prepare a place for you, " He, the Son of God, in His wonderfullove, was going to do that which alone could make anyone fit to enterthere, and be at home for evermore. 

But then we sometimes go on as if we were to live in this world for ever, and do not come to Him who says, "I am the way. " Or perhaps we think we canmake ourselves ready by trying to be good--forgetting that the One who isHimself the Truth said, "The Son of Man is come to seek and to save thatwhich was lost, " and that if the Lord is preparing a place, He wants aprepared people. 

But we were speaking about the way in which God, when He made this world inwhich we live, prepared it for the creatures to whom He would give it tobe their dwelling-place; and especially of the globe of air with which Hehas surrounded the earth--that wonderful ocean of air in which we live andmove, just as the fish live and move in their ocean of water. 

Let us see if we cannot learn something more about the atmosphere. Butfirst of all let me ask, What can you tell me about it?

"You cannot see the air; you can feel it, and often hear it. "

Yes, indeed we can. How delightfully fresh it comes to us as we swing, orwhen we are driving fast, or sailing; and how terrible its force is whenthe stormy wind rushes past, driving everything before it! It is then wecan understand that the gentle air, which yields to the slightest touch, may be a very mighty power indeed. 

And now I am going to tell you something about the air which may surpriseyou. We often say of a thing that it is "as light as air"; but air is notreally light, it is so heavy that it would press upon us and crush us, justas a great hammer might crush your little finger, only that this heavyweight of air presses quite evenly everywhere all through our body, withinand without, upward as well as downward, and yields at once when we move, so that we do not feel its weight. 

Just think of the weight of water which lies above a little fish as itswims far down in the sea. Why is it not crushed by it? Just for the samereason; the water is all round the fish, as the air in our ocean is allround us; and it presses so evenly that it cannot be felt in any particularpart. 

Another very wonderful thing about the atmosphere is that what we call theair is made up of two airs, or gases, as different as possible from eachother, but mixed so as to make exactly that particular sort of air which isfit for us to breathe. 

One of these gases, named oxygen, might well be called "life-sustainer"; itforms about one-fifth of the air we breathe, and is that part of it whichmakes our fires burn and our lamps give light, and keeps us and all theanimals alive. The other gas is called nitrogen; it is a dull gas, with nolife in it, and remains behind when all the oxygen is taken out of the air. But this part of the air is very useful; it prevents the breathing of menand animals and the burning of fires and lamps, from going on too fast. Ifyou had only the life-sustaining part of the air to breathe, you would soondie; and if the air was all made of that part which burns so well, onespark falling upon it would be enough to burn up the whole world, for noone could put the fire out. 

These two gases are mixed in nearly the same proportions in all climatesso as to make the beautiful pure air which God has given us to live andgo about in. There is another gas, called carbonic acid, made partlyof oxygen and partly of carbon, or burnt wood, which might be called"life-destroyer, " for it will put out light and make an end of life. It isone of the most deadly poisons, and forms the "choke-damp" which too oftensuffocates the miner; but what we call fresh air contains such a verysmall proportion of this dangerous gas that it is harmless. Still we mustremember that every time anyone or any animal breathes, some of the airby which we live is taken away from that which surrounds us, and some ofthis poisonous air is thrown into it. If this is the case, should we not, by degrees, find the air becoming less and less pure and fit for us tobreathe?

Certainly it would be so, if God had not made a beautiful provision forkeeping the air fresh, which I will try to explain to you. 

You may remember that the Lord Jesus, after He had made the five barleyloaves and two small fishes prove enough for thousands of hungry men andwomen and little children, turned to His disciples, and said, "Gather upthe fragments that remain, that nothing be lost. " So, in the world aroundus, we may often see that God gives freely, but does not allow what He hasfreely given to be lost or wasted. 

Now when you take a long breath, and breathe in the air, you presentlybreathe it out again. But what you breathe out is not the same; the partof it by which you live is gone, and a poisonous air has taken its place. Then, if every person in the world, and even the smallest animal, isconstantly using up the good part of the air, and breathing out that whichhas been spoilt for animals, and would kill them if they had nothing elseto breathe--why are not all animals poisoned? What becomes of this airwhich has been spoilt for them? Is it good for anything?

Ah! there is a wonderful, beautiful answer to these questions going on allday long, surely and silently, unseen by any of us. 

This air which has been used by us, and is no longer fit for our use, feeds the plants and trees, the grass, and all living things which arenot animals; the plants, through tiny mouths at the edge of their leaves, breathe it in. They grow by it; and, wonder of wonders, all day long, ifonly the plant is where the sun can shine upon it, every green bit of itis busy making this same air fit for us to breathe again; using up what itwants, and what we do not want; every fragment, as it were, being gatheredup, and nothing lost. 

I used to think, when I first learnt this beautiful lesson, that every partof a plant was useful in purifying the air, and also that plants are alwaysbusy at this purifying work, and so I liked to keep geraniums and fuchsiasin my room at night, for I thought that while I was asleep they would keepthe air fresh and sweet. But now I know--for as long as we live in thisworld we can always be learning--that it is only in the daytime, when thereis light, that a plant can keep the air pure, by using up what we havespoilt for our own use, and giving away what is good for us to breathe; andalso that, it is only the green part of it that has the power to take outof the air the carbonic acid which we are constantly breathing into it, using the carbon for its own food, and giving the oxygen back into the airfor our use; the parts which are not green, such as the roots and flowers, breathe just as animals do, and spoil the air for us instead of making itmore fit for us to breathe. 

You never thought, did you, that you help to feed the trees, and to keepthem alive and green, and that the trees and grass in their turn help tokeep you alive?

We were saying the other day how a ray of light will come through a littleround hole in the shutters when they are closed, or by any cranny throughwhich it can force its way. As long as that one ray is shining into thedarkened room you may watch the little grains of dust, like bright specks, dancing up and down in it. But someone opens the shutters, the room becomesall light, and you no longer see those tiny specks--and yet the dust isstill there, not only where you saw it, but all over the room. 

Why could you see the dust just where the ray of light shone, and nowhereelse? The light did not make the dusty specks, they were in the roomalready, but it showed them to you. 

Just so there are many wonderful things going on around us in earth and skyand sea--in what people call Nature--which we cannot see or hear or feel;for God is always working mightily and graciously, unseen and unheard byus, though He does allow us to know "parts of His ways, " and to look withwonder upon many more which we cannot understand. 

We are apt to think that all things continue as they were from thebeginning of the world: but in reality the earth is never at rest; it haspassed through many changes, and still the old story goes on; on the onehand there is change and decay, and on the other that constant building upand repair by which "the face of the earth" is "renewed. " Nothing is lost;nothing stands still; and things which seem to have no relation to oneanother, yet depend upon each other and work together in ways morewonderful than we could ever have imagined: each is a part of the greatwhole, and you could not take away any portion without spoiling the rest. 

And now let us read again the 7th and 8th verses of our chapter. 

"And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under thefirmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And God called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning werethe second day. "

What are the "waters which were above"?

They are those beautiful clouds which seem to float in the ocean of air. Iam sure you have often wondered at their pure loveliness, as they sailedover the sky, soft and white against the blue, as the foam upon the sea. It was such clouds as these which two little boys saw once when they wereout driving. They were sitting close together in the back seat, and theirfather heard them talking about the sky. 

"Look, " said one of the children, "God lives in the blue. "

"No, Georgie, " said his brother, "He lives in the white. "

They were both right, for God is everywhere. 

A little child of whom I have heard used to think, because she understoodthat brightness and glory go together, that the stars were holes in thefloor of God's dwelling, to let the glory through. In the book of Job theclouds are spoken of as "the treasure-house of the rain and snow, " andas the "bottles of heaven, " and these names become full of meaning whenwe know that the water, which falls from the clouds at every shower, isconstantly being drawn up again to fill them once more. This is done bywhat is called evaporation, and very much of the water which rises to theclouds comes from the sea, along shore, as well as from rivers and lakes. Have you seen a pond dry up in summer? No? Then perhaps you have lookedinto the ink bottle when all the ink had gone, and only some dry black dustwas left in it. What has happened? All the water in the ink has flown away;the heat has turned it into vapour, which is lighter than air, and so ithas risen up through the air to form part of those snowy clouds which youlove to watch, when the light of the setting sun turns them to crimson andgold. This change of water into vapour is one of the beautiful things whichwe cannot often see, but which is always going on. The rain from heavenfalls upon the thirsty land, making it bring forth and bud, that there maybe bread for us, and food for every living thing; and then, when its workis done, all that is not wanted goes back again, and is stored up in thetreasure-house of the clouds--nothing is lost. 

I remember when we were speaking of this, I asked my children what theearth would be like if all the rain that fell remained upon it. Chrissiewas the only one who had an answer ready; he said it would soon be a swamp, and nothing could grow well, and no one could live. We can all understandthat if there were no rain to "satisfy the desolate ground, " the earthwould soon be a parched desert; but it is just as true that, while therain is such a blessing, if God had not provided for its returning to theclouds, the earth would indeed become a desolate waste of water. I musttell you that little Dick was very much interested about this, and heremembered that he had seen, in a place where the sun was shining, thewater going back from the earth to the clouds. "It went up in streaks, " hesaid, "and I saw it quite plainly. "

Generally we look up at the clouds, but I remember once looking down andseeing them below me. I had climbed a high mountain, and just when I got tothe top it happened that the peak was quite clear, but around it, a littlelower down, a wreath of white cloud was floating. Every now and then, through a rift in the cloud, I could see the beautiful valley below, withits smiling fields and winding river, and far away there was the sea, withhundreds of green islands; all this I saw for a moment, as if through asoft thin veil, and then the cloud closed again, and shut out the view. I can quite understand travellers saying how lovely it is when they sailthrough the air in balloons, to get up into a clear still height, and seethe "plains of clouds" below them. But there is one thing which makesvoyages in balloons dangerous. The higher people go, the more thin anddifficult to breathe the air becomes. One celebrated traveller, when hehad got as high as seven miles in his balloon, lost his senses, and hiscompanion was nearly frozen to death by the piercing cold. This travellertells us that about six or seven miles above the earth no sound can reachthe ear to break the perfect stillness and silence. This is because theair at this height is so thin. On the top of Mont Blanc a pistol-shot canscarcely be heard even though it is fired quite close; but if the samepistol were to be fired off in the next field you would hear it, and putyour hand to your ears because the report was so loud. 

But what makes the report? The pistol was fired into the air, and hitnothing. 

It was the air which was struck, and which sent back the sound. Youremember learning how light is turned back or reflected. Just as thelight-waves come back again, so do the sound-waves; very quickly if thereflecting surface is near; after some time if it is far off. You know whatan echo is. There is a lovely place where some children I know used oftento go for a picnic. What they cared for most in Coombe Dingle was a woodwhich they called the "Echo wood. " They would stand beside a gate, and callacross the fields, and then listen. Very soon their own words, and eventheir own tones, were sent back to them. The waves of air carried thesounds along until they reached a pine wood which shut in the field. Theystruck the tall trees, and were reflected, or sent back again, almost asclearly as when first spoken. 

Just in this way echoes of sound are, like birds, ever on the wing: thewhole air is alive with them. The walls of our rooms give back the tonesof our voices, but we hear no echo, because they are so near that therepeating of the sound comes almost at the same moment as the sound itself. There are echoes on all sides of us, and no sound is ever lost. How canthis be?

If you stand beside a quiet pool, and drop a stone into it, the stone sinksdown to the bottom and lies there; but from the spot where its fall brokethe calm surface, ring after ring ripples the water. Just so a single worddropped from the lips of a child into the ocean of air is carried on, waveafter wave; so that, as a great philosopher once said, "the air is one vastlibrary, on whose pages is for ever written all that man has ever said oreven whispered. "

[Illustration: THE "ECHO WOOD"]

There is a poem which you may know, that begins with this line--

 "Kind words can never die. "

This is quite true; but we might alter the first part of it a little, andsay, "No word can ever die. " Not only the soft, loving words, but therough, angry ones, which we may well wish we had never spoken, all live inthis "vast library, " and tell their own story. 

How much it ought to make us think about our words, to know they can neverbe lost!

THE RED, RED SKY. 

 "In the early, early morning, beyond the islands green, Beyond the pines and palm trees, and the purple sea between, Like the glow through a crimson window the morning rises slow, And the isles lie dun in the glory, and the sea is all aglow. 

 "In the dim and misty evening the purple mountains stand, And the glooms that hush the woodlands lie over all the land, And high in dark blue heavens the red light bums and glows. Like the Jasper of God's city, like the deep heart of the rose. 

 "Oh, why does morning dawn, and why ends the golden day, With the crimson glow and glory, while the children kneel and pray? Is it thus that God would tell me before the day begins Of the morn of the Day of pardon, the Blood that has washed my sins?

 "The morn of the day of gladness, the day of His love and grace, When like the sun in his glory, the Lord unveiled His face, And His love shone forth in beauty where all was dark before, For the Blood had been shed which saved me, once and for evermore. 

 "Is it thus that God would tell me the evening draweth nigh, When we pass beyond the mountains, beyond the purple sky? And then, in God's great glory, the golden gates I see, And sing, 'The Blood of Jesus has opened them for me!'"

FRANCES BEVAN

Taken, by permission, from _Hymns by Ter Steegen and Others_. Secondseries. 

THE THIRD DAY. 

THE WORLD OF WATER. 

"_The sea is His, and He made it. _"--PSALM xcv. 5. 

"_Who hath measured the waters in the hollow of His hand?_"--ISAIAH xl. 12. 

"_Who layeth the beams of His chambers in the waters. _"--PSALM civ. 3. 

"_He hath compassed the waters with bounds. _"--JOB xxvi. 10. 

We have been learning something about the wonderful world of air, in whichwe live and move about. To-day we shall think a little of that vast worldof water which is the home of so many of God's creatures. I daresay youknow a pretty song about the ocean, beginning in this way (it is meant tobe sung by a sailor):

 "The sea! the sea! the open sea! The blue, the fresh, the ever free! Without a mark, without a bound, It runneth the earth's wide regions round; It plays with the clouds, it mocks the skies; Or like a cradled creature lies. "

The philosophers say that if our earth were quiet and at rest, instead ofbeing the never-resting traveller that it is, the great mass of water wouldsurround it everywhere, just as the atmosphere does. We cannot imagine sucha thing, but we can see many ways in which the two great oceans are alike. 

Both have their waves. Though we cannot see those in the world of air, wecan hear them, as you know. 

Both are colourless in themselves, yet blue in their heights and depths. Both are made of two airs or gases, beautifully combined. 

At first sight we might say that this is almost too strange a tale to bea true one; for few things seem more unlike than air and water. You willthink it stranger still when I tell you that one of the gases which goesto form water is that same oxygen which gives life to the air we breathe, and which will burn so fast if only a tiny spark comes in contact with it;while the other is the gas called hydrogen, the "water-maker, " which alsoburns. And yet these two fiery gases make the water which the brave firemenpump in streams upon a burning house to put out the flames. How wonderfulthis is! If you were to mix them together as carefully as you could, usingexactly the same proportion of each as is found in water, you would makesomething very dangerous, which might blow up with a terrible noise likegunpowder. It is only when they are "combined, " which means very closelyjoined together, that they form water. 

Perhaps this is rather hard to understand; but we have been taking only avery little peep into that page of what is called the Book of Nature, whichtells to those who will take the trouble to read it something about thechemistry of things--not so much how they are made, for that is a lessontoo great for us, but what goes to the making of them. 

And now we are going to read the verses in our chapter which tell us of thetime when, at the word of God, "the sea and the dry land" were made. 

"And God said, Let the waters under the heaven be gathered together untoone place, and let the dry land appear: and it was so. And God called thedry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called He Seas:and God saw that it was good. "

Once more you have read these words, "God said, " "God called, " "God saw. "They are quickly read. But who shall say how wonderful is that of whichthey speak? God has been pleased in these few words to tell us what noone could ever have found out about the birthday of that mighty world ofwaters, when it was gathered together unto the place which He had preparedfor it, and received its name from Him. 

I wonder whether you have ever seen the sea. If you have, you know it andlove it so well that there is no need for me to try to describe it to you. If you have not, if your home has always been in the country among thequiet fields, far away from the sound of the waves as they break upon thestrand; or if you have lived all your life in the town, where the streetsare full of noise and bustle, and busy folk hurrying to and fro--then Ithink it would be almost as difficult for me to give you an idea of whatthe boundless ocean is like, as it was for the kind miner to make hislittle friend understand all about seas and lakes and rivers, as he talkedto him over that poor little pail of water, deep down in the dark mine. 

Ah! you must see the great ocean-world for yourself; you must sail over thecrests of the waves, and learn to swim and dive. If you have never yet beento the seaside, there is indeed a treat in store for you some day, and Ishould like to be with you when that day comes, and catch a sight of yourface, so full of wonder and pleasure. I remember hearing of a little "citysparrow" of a boy who was taken with a great many town children to spend along summer's day by the seaside. When he first came in sight of the bay, with its bright, dancing waters, and saw the tide rolling in, wave afterwave, upon the yellow sands, he gave one long, satisfied look, and thensaid, "How nice it is to see plenty of anything!"

Poor child, these words of his told their own touching tale; he had never, in his parents' home, known what plenty was, and so his first thought aboutthe "great and wide sea" which God had made, was that there was enough ofit and to spare--no stint there, at any rate. To another little boy, thefirst sight of the sea brought this thought, "How great God, who made it, must be!"

It is delightful to live, as I did when a child, within sight and soundof the sea; but I suppose it is only those who really live upon the worldof waters, sailing away in a swift ship, day after day, for thousandsof watery miles, and seeing nothing but the two oceans, "the blue aboveand the blue below, " as that same sailor-song says, who can really knowanything of its vastness. How strange it must seem, to be neither a fishnor a bird, and yet to live as it were between sea and sky; each morningfinding yourself farther away from land, each night lying down to be"rocked in the cradle of the deep, " and to hear the wash of the wavesas the boat cuts her way through them, and the sighing of the wind, notthrough the trees on the lawn, but among the sails and ropes of yourfloating home!

I have sometimes thought that the sight of "water, water everywhere, "during a voyage of three months, must make one more ready to believe whatwe are told by those who have done what they can in the way of weighingand measuring--that upon our globe "water is the rule, and dry land theexception"; and also that, although we read in geography books about thefive great oceans, yet the ocean is really one, for it "embraces the wholeearth with an uninterrupted wave. " As we think of this wonderful wave whichthus girdles the earth about, constantly breaking against the shore, yetalways flowing back again, at its appointed time, into its own place, wemay well remember that THIRD DAY of Creation, when "God spake, and itwas done; He commanded, and it stood fast"; when "He gave to the sea Hisdecree, that the waters should not pass His commandment. "

In a Psalm which has been called the "Psalm of Creation, " because it speaksof the greatness and glory of God, and of how the Lord shall rejoice inHis works, we find a description of what happened at this time. There is abeautiful verse which speaks of God covering the earth "with the deep aswith a garment"; and of a time when it was so covered and hidden that "thewaters stood above the mountains. "

[Illustration: "WHEN SPRING-TIDES ARE LOW"]

And then we read how, at God's word, that waste of waters went into theplace prepared for it, and the dry land appeared. "At Thy rebuke they fled;at the voice of Thy thunder they hasted away. The mountains ascend, thevalleys descend, unto the place which Thou hast founded for them" (you willfind the verse reads like this in the margin of your Bible). "Thou hast seta bound that they may not pass over; that they turn not again to cover theearth" (Psalm civ. 7-9). I was very young when I learnt this long Psalm;and though I understood very little of it, and certainly did not knowthat these verses spoke about what we have been reading of in the Bookof Genesis, I was very fond of repeating it, and I especially liked thepart which describes the "great and wide sea, wherein are things creepinginnumerable, both small and great beasts. There go the ships: there isthat leviathan, whom Thou hast made to play therein. " Of course I need nottell you that I did not know what the leviathan was; but I liked the namebecause it was such a long, difficult word, and I have known other childrenwho were particularly fond of strange and hard names. As we grow older welearn many things; and so--for I told you my home was by the sea--I got, intime, to know the meaning of a very difficult verse; that one which speaksof the "bound" which God has set, beyond which the sea with its proud waves"may not pass. " When the tide was coming in I used to watch the long bluewaves with their foamy crests coming nearer and nearer, and when I heardthem break with a loud noise against the strong rocks I was quite sure thatthose stern barriers were the "bound" which kept them back, and would notallow them to come any further. 

But by-and-by I went to a place where the shore was quite different. Therewere no rocky cliffs, like giants, guarding the land; only a long reach ofsoft white sand, with which I was never tired of playing--making forts withmoats round them to keep off the enemy; or gardens with straight paths, andtrim beds in which I planted sea-daisies and poppies. 

It seemed as if there was nothing about this shore strong enough to keepback the great waves. They rolled in upon the sand with an angry roar whenthe wind was high, and swept away my castles and gardens in no time. Still, even here there was a bound, for the sea did not overflow the land; and soI learnt that those waves, which threaten to overwhelm everything in theirresistless march, are kept in their place by God, who alone can say to therestless ocean, "Hitherto shalt thou come, but no further: and here shallthy proud waves be stayed. "

As the poet George Herbert has beautifully said, "Tempests are calm to Thee; they know Thy hand, And hold it fast as children do their father's, Which cry and follow, Thou hast made poor sand Bound the proud sea, even when it swells and gathers. "

I do not mean that the waves, as they rush like an invading army upon theland, have no effect upon it. Look at the Map of England, and see how theoutline of the coast on the east and south has been jagged and broken. Orgo and see the Needles in the Isle of Wight, and you will learn how theconstant dash of the ocean can hollow out not only caves, but deep covesand spreading bays, especially when the land against which it breaks ismade of chalk, or some of the softer rocks. Thus in the course of longcenturies, the seashore may rise or sink; peninsulas may become islandsby the narrow neck which united them to the mainland sinking into thewater--but whatever the land loses in one place, it gains in another, bythe quantity of sand and mud cast up by the waves. Many changes are causedby the restless sea, but yet, even in its wildest moods, it owns thecurbing hand of its Maker; it may ebb and flow, but still keeps in itsappointed place. 

This ebbing and flowing, which is caused by the coming in and going outof the tides, was a great puzzle to me long ago. I used often to hear thefishermen say at what hour it would be "full tide"; but I saw no mark whichcould help them to fix the time, and wondered, when I found their wordscame true, how they could know so surely. When I was older I learnt, whatis very interesting, that the gradual rising of the ocean, which is calledthe "flow, " and the gradual going back again of the water, which is calledthe "ebb, " do not happen at any chance time, for nothing is by chance inGod's creation, but at regular intervals, and in obedience to one of thosewonderful rules made by God, which people call the "laws of nature"--ruleswhich never change as the rules which men make so often do. And so wenotice that for about six hours from the time when the tide begins to rise, the sea gains upon the land, either stealing on, step by step, over thepebbly beach, and creeping tip the mouths of the rivers, or, when the windsare abroad, rushing over the sand, and dashing against the rocks, as if itwould sweep all before it. No power upon earth can stop that steady onwardmarch of wave upon wave, until the unseen boundary is reached. Then we say, "It is full tide. " The mighty ocean seems to pause for a few minutes, thensome old fisherman, who has known that shore all his life, says, "The tidehas turned"; and for six hours the gradual fall goes on. At last the lowestpoint of the "ebb" is reached--a few minutes' rest, and then the "flow"begins again. 

To those who have seen it all their lives there is nothing strange aboutthis, but when some brave Roman soldiers, who were accustomed to conquerwherever they came, saw for the first time this ebb and flow of the tide, they were more frightened than they would have been if they had seen anarmy of savage men with spears and clubs rushing upon them with theirfierce war-cry. They were in the presence of a power which they could notunderstand, and in terror they besought their general to lead them againstfoes whom they could face, or to take them back to their own land!

By-and-by you will be interested in learning more about the tides, but Iwill only tell you now that they are caused by the sun and moon. Two pairof waves travel round the earth every day, the greater pair obedient to themoon, which, because she is so much nearer to us, has a greater power ofdrawing the water to herself than the sun has; the lesser pair obedient, inlike manner, to the attraction of the sun. This is all that I can tell younow about a very difficult subject, and it is more than I told Chrissie orErnest when we were talking about the sea; but then you know we had notmuch time for matters hard to be explained. One thing which I think we didtalk about was the depth of the sea, and I know there were some differencesof opinion about this as well as about its colour. 

First of all, then, How deep is the "deep, deep sea"?

Actually, in some places, five miles deep, about the height of the loftiestof mountain-peaks. I have heard that these far-away ocean-depths are veryquiet and still--no rolling waves ever break their stillness, and this isproved in a very beautiful way. At the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, whereoverhead great billows which seem mountain-high are in ceaseless motion, there lie beds of delicate shells, so small that you need a microscope tosee their beauty, yet these shells are unbroken; no storm ever reachestheir quiet home; they are among the lovely things which the ocean hides inits "treasure-caves, " and they only come to light when the long line with aclip at the end, which is used for deep-sea soundings, brings them to thesurface from those

 "Sand-strewn caverns, cool and deep, Where the winds are all asleep; Where the spent lights quiver and gleam, Where the salt weed sways in the stream. "

These delicately "chambered" shells were once the homes of creatures whichlived in the sunless depths of the ocean, for though it is totally dark atthe bottom of the deep, deep sea, life is now known to exist at all depthsbelow the surface of the ocean; on the ocean-floor starfishes and theirrelations abound, and some of those brought from a great depth are verybeautiful indeed--telling to those who have eyes to see, the same tale asthe little fern buried in the coal--that it is the glory of every createdthing to show forth something of its Creator, even in hidden places whereno human eye can trace its loveliness. 

I am sure when we speak of the treasures of the sea, you are thinking ofplaces where pearls lie deep, hidden in the shell of the oyster--but I didnot know until lately that not only iron and copper, but also gold andsilver, are found in sea water. 

And now what can we say of the colour of the sea? I used to think thatit was always a clear green, but that was because the sea which I knewappeared to be that colour, for I had seen it only near the shore, wherethe bottom was fine white sand, and the sunset light made the water shinelike an emerald. And so the sea was green to me, and I was often puzzledand vexed to find that I could never catch this beautiful green water;for you know that if you dip your bucket where the sea looks greenestor bluest, all the lovely colour will seem to be left behind, and yourbucket-full will look as colourless as water drawn from a well. Where thesea is dark blue, you may be sure that it is deep where it looks gold andpurple, the sun has tinged it with the glory of his rising and setting;where it is grey and sad, it takes its sorrowful hue from the rain-cloudsoverhead. These are some of the reasons why the sea is of such differentcolours, but the water is sometimes coloured, to some extent, by myriads ofliving things which give it a reddish tinge; in the cold Northern Ocean, where the icebergs are, travellers tell us the sea is green because thereits tiny inhabitants are green; while those who have sailed in the SouthAmerican waters tell of countless swarms of minute creatures which makethem glow like fire on a dark night, lighting up the crest of every wave asit rolls past the ship. 

The sea is also coloured by those beautiful plants which we often call byone common name--seaweeds, but which are almost as varied in their way asthe land plants are. 

Columbus, when sailing sadly through unknown seas in search of the NewWorld of which he had dreamed so long, came upon water so covered with longgreen weeds that it seemed like a floating meadow, while his vessels couldhardly make their way through the grassy tangles of what is now known asthe Gulf-weed. 

I have seen the sea off the coast of Ireland green for miles, with long, ribbon-like plants covering its sandy bottom, sheltering, and perhapshelping to feed, the millions of crawling and running and swimmingcreatures, many of them so small as to be nearly invisible, which findtheir home there. This sea-grass, or Zostera, the only flowering plant tobe found in the sea, is very useful to the poor people who live near thecoast. They gather it when the tide is low, and dry it in the sun, and itserves them for nice soft beds; though I should think they must always keepa briny, fishy smell about them. 

[Illustration: "O'ER BANKS OF BRIGHT SEAWEED, THE EBB-TIDE LEAVES DRY. "]

The Irish fisher-folk also gather the common brown seaweed with pods, whichare really air-bladders, and serve to keep it afloat. I have many a timewatched the women and children wading among the pools, cutting it from therocks with sickles, and putting it into baskets, which they carry homeon their backs; for this precious harvest of the sea is what they dependupon to make their potatoes grow well and yield a plentiful crop. There isanother kind of seaweed, of a pretty purple colour, which they eat, andcall it by an Irish name which means "leaf of the water. "

But it is far away in the watery valleys of the great Pacific, where thesea is very calm, that the ocean forests grow. I have read that there giantleaves of the sea grow upon stems longer than those of our tallest trees, and spread abroad like waving palms. Though you are not likely ever tosee such seaweeds as these, you will find, wherever you may be, thoughmuch more abundantly on some shores than others, some of those beautiful"weeds"--green, red, or brown--which have their use as well as theirbeauty; for they help to purify the water, just as plants do the air. Perhaps I should not promise more than the brown Tangle and the green Ulva, with its bright lettuce-like leaves; for red seaweeds belong to deep water, and are not easy to find. Many an hour have I spent peering and gropingin the little pools at low water in search of these same much-prizedrosy-tinted "flowers of the sea"; and many a disappointment I have had, even after a fortunate find, in seeing how soon the lovely colour faded, inspite of all my efforts to keep it. 

We often speak of the "salt sea" or "the briny ocean, " without perhapsthinking how it comes to be salt. I used to think it was because there werevast salt mines at the bottom of the sea; but that was only a guess at thetruth. 

Let us think what happens when there is a heavy shower; how quickly theraindrops gather force until they run down the street, making gutters oneach side! But how unlike the muddy water in these gutters is the rain asit fell from the sky--how is this? It is the same water, but as it hurriesalong each drop picks up and carries with it its own little grain of sandor dust. If tiny gutters are tinged by the mud which they carry with them, how much more must this be the case with the great rivers which emptythemselves into the ocean! They carry with them not only sand and earth, but the minerals and salts which are contained in them, to form the bed ofthe ocean. The salt which is thus washed out of the soil by streams andrivers is not evaporated, but remains behind, for the sea has no outletthrough which it can again be carried away. 

If you go to Switzerland, you will be able to see for yourself how a greatriver as it rushes along its course washes away the soil. The Rhone, whenit enters the Lake of Geneva, is so laden with mud that its waters arebrown and turbid. For some distance you can trace the course of this brownwater as it makes its way through the deep blue of the lovely lake, notmingling with it--but by the time the river reaches the other end of thelake it has rid itself of its burden: the mud has sunk to the bottom, andthe Rhone flows out a clear stream. This is a strange and beautiful sightwhich perhaps you may see some day. 

Have you ever noticed how often the sea is mentioned in the New Testament?We read of the Lord Jesus walking beside it, and sailing over it in theboat with His disciples. And I daresay you remember how He once sat in theboat upon the sea, while He taught the people who were upon the shore. TheSea of Galilee must have been calm and quiet then, but it was not alwaysso. Travellers tell us a great deal about the beauty of this lake, when thesky is clear, and the crimson bloom of the Oleanders is reflected in thestill water. But they speak also of the sudden and dangerous storms, whichrush down from the mountains, and turn the glassy lake into a raging sea. In the gospel by Mark we read of just such a storm of wind, when the LordJesus Christ was in the little boat with His disciples crossing over to theother side. It was such a terrible storm, that the waves dashed into theboat until it was filled with water. 

 "And all but One were sore afraid Of sinking in the deep; His head was on a pillow laid, And He was fast asleep. "

Yes, amid all the tumult and alarm, the Saviour who was often weary in thissad world, was sleeping upon the cushion of the boat. He slept on until thedisciples came and awoke Him with their cry, "Master, carest Thou not thatwe perish?" Then the voice of the Lord was heard above the rage of windand water, and their cry of terror, as He rose and rebuked the wind, andsaid unto the sea, "Peace, be still. " The proud waves obeyed that voice ofpower, the wind was hushed, "and there was a great calm. "

Do you remember what the Lord said to His disciples, and what they said toone another, as they "feared exceedingly"?

Perhaps you wonder how anyone could be afraid, no matter how dreadful thenoise of the winds and waves might be, when the Lord Jesus was there. Itis true that in that little boat, tossing upon the dark stormy lake, wasthe One who upholds all things by the word of His power, the One whose wordthose stormy winds fulfil; but the disciples, though they had been so muchwith Him, were now to learn a little more who their Master was, and to findthat there was no fear of perishing when the Lord of life was with them. They seem to have forgotten, too, that He had said, before they launchedthe boat, "Let us pass over unto the other side"; or they might well haveafforded to be quiet when He slept, for after He had said those words, theywere as sure of being there with Him as if already landed. 

How kind it was of the Lord to put the disciples with Himself, and say, "Let US pass over"; and how safe and free from fear of harm are those happypeople who have trusted themselves, with all they are, and all they have, for this life and the long life that is to come, to this mighty, graciousSaviour and Lord! One who knew this great happiness, once wrote thesebeautiful verses about having Christ in the boat as he sailed over theocean of life, with its many storms. He said--

 "My bark is wafted from the strand By breath divine; And on the helm there rests a hand Other than mine. 

 "One who has known in storms to sail I have on board; Above the raging of the gale I hear my Lord. "

Once again in the same gospel by Mark we read of a tempest coming on whilethe disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee; but this time their Masterwas not with them in the boat. He had told them to go to the other sidewhile He sent away the crowds of people whom He had been feeding with thefive loaves and two fishes--and then He had gone into the hill-country topray. 

The evening came on, the sky growing dark much more quickly than it does inour country, and Jesus had not come to them. Still the disciples rowed, andtried to get their boat to land, and still the storm grew louder. 

 "Fierce was the wild billow, Dark was the night, Oars laboured heavily, Foam glimmered white. "

How they must have longed to hear again that well-known voice rebuking therough wind, and saying to the angry waves, "Peace, be still!"

But the tired disciples rowed on; and Jesus had not come to them. They didnot know what we know, that their Master was watching them; He knew thatthey could not bring their boat to land, and that they were worn out withtoiling at their oars, and were sad at heart too. And so, just at thedarkest, coldest hour of that night of fear, the Lord came to His belovedones. I have seen a picture of the weary men in their tossing boat, anda shining figure which is meant for the Lord Jesus, as He came to them, walking upon the white crests of the waves. But no picture can give a trueidea of that wonderful scene. 

Do you remember how frightened all in the boat were before they knew thatit was the Lord?

They cried out for fear; and in answer to their cry they heard theirMaster's own voice talking with them, and saying, "Be of good cheer: it isI; be not afraid. " Ah, what a change was there!

 "Sorrow can never be-- Darkness must fly, When saith the Light of light, 'Peace; it is I. '"

And now, before we come to the end of this "world of water" chapter, listento a wonderful story of the sea, told by the only one who could tellit--the heroine of the tale. 

Look at the map of Scotland, and you will find its most northerly county, Shetland of the Hundred Isles, lying between the Atlantic Ocean and theNorth Sea. Perhaps you know this part of the world mostly in connectionwith the pretty little shaggy Shetland ponies which feed upon the youngheather, and are brought to England for children to ride; but those whohave visited it can tell very interesting stories about the wild country, with its warm-hearted kindly fisher-folk, and they often bring home withthem beautiful shawls which the women and girls knit from the soft wool oftheir sheep. 

They tell us that of the hundred islands, about thirty are inhabited. Someare large, but others so small that only one or two families live uponthem; and others are little more than rocks--the home of sea-fowl of everywing. 

In the largest island you will soon find Lerwick, the chief town. Now lookto the very south for the lofty cliff called Sumburgh Head, and near itGrutness Harbour, where they catch the grey fish. 

It was from this harbour that a small vessel, the _Columbine_, set sail onSaturday, January 30th, 1886, intending to make the voyage--rough at alltimes, but often very perilous in winter--along the coast to Lerwick. 

Many a boat had perished on these cruel shores, even since lighthouses havebeen placed to warn the seamen from the most dangerous rocks. If you hadasked the captain of the _Columbine_ about his route, he would have toldyou that he must steer past Cape Noness, then close to the Isle of Mousa, with its ancient castle built in the time of the Picts; Bressay Islandwould next come in sight, and then the tall lighthouse which guards LerwickHarbour. He might have told you, too, that upon that January morning he wasstarting with only one passenger on board--an elderly woman who was leavingher home in the south of the island to go and see a doctor at Lerwick, asshe had been ill for some months. 

The two men who formed the crew of the _Columbine_ returned the same day asthey had set sail, in an open boat belonging to their vessel. They said ithad been blowing hard when they started, and they had not got more thanfour miles on the way when the captain was knocked overboard by a suddenjerk of the boom. They quickly lowered the boat, and rowed hard to savehim; but, sad to tell, all their efforts were in vain, and they were atlength obliged to give up the attempt as hopeless, and were about to returnto the ship, when, to their dismay, they saw that she had drifted out tosea, and, with her helpless passenger on board, was now far beyond theirreach. 

The men pulled with all their strength; but the sea was so heavy, andthe _Columbine_ drifted so fast, that the distance between them rapidlyincreased; and at last they had to turn and make for the shore, which theyreached with difficulty in their little open boat. 

They told their tale, but nothing could be done to reach the driftingvessel. Towards nightfall, some fishermen on the Isle of Mousa, whereopposing currents meet, and the sea is white with foam, saw the _Columbine_pass, driven along by the wind. She was soon out of sight, and was heard ofno more upon the shores of Shetland. 

And what became of Elizabeth Mouat, the sick and lonely passenger, whoshared the fate of the abandoned ship?

You must hear her story, for, wonderful to say, she lived to tell it; andI know those who saw her safe and sound in her Shetland home, and heard itfrom her own lips. But she had been to Norway meanwhile, a much longervoyage than to Lerwick. 

Below in the little cabin on that Saturday morning, weak from ill-healthand very sea-sick from the rolling of the vessel, Elizabeth heard thealarm on deck caused by the accident to the captain, but knew not what hadhappened. Presently she heard the boat suddenly lowered, and a terriblefear took possession of her mind. 

"I am deserted!" she said. "The men have gone off and left me alone in theship. "

With the strength of despair she left her berth, and tried to get on deck;but just as she was about to mount the ladder, it fell to the ground. Shehad not power to lift it and put it in its place again, though she triedhard and often. But although unable to get on deck, she was just tallenough to look out of the open hatchway; and as she looked this way andthat, neither captain nor crew were to be seen, only the little boat, whichthe _Columbine_ was fast leaving behind; and she knew that her worst fearswere realised, and she was indeed left alone. 

Presently she began to consider what it was best for her to do, in hersolitary condition, as far removed from human aid as poor Robinson Crusoeupon his island. 

There was plenty of food on board, but it was impossible for her to reachit, and she had with her in the cabin only a bottle of milk and twobiscuits. 

As night came on, and the vessel still drifted, carried by the wind, sheknew not where, if Elizabeth had not known how to "cry unto the Lord" inher trouble, how terrible her feelings would have been! As she stood withher head just above the hatchway, ever keeping her anxious watch, andsearching the horizon in vain for a sail, the wild seas dashing over thevessel often drenched her through and through. She knew that her criescould reach no mortal ear; and still the masterless vessel drifted, driftedon into the night. But Elizabeth had a strong Refuge. She quietly committedherself and the ship to Him, who is "the confidence of all the ends of theearth, and of them that are afar off upon the sea. " And when the long nightwore through, and morning broke, again she searched the waste of waterswith eager eye, but in vain--no land was in sight, no friendly sail showedwhite against the red dawn. Far as eye could reach, nothing could be seenbut the sky above, and the heaving ocean below. 

But from that time, during the seven days and nights which followed, Elizabeth never lost hope. When she told the story of those days, shesimply said that she put her trust in God, and that she believed He wouldbring her safely to land. For a whole week she never slept, but every nowand then stood up and looked around for the sail which never appeared, orfor the light which, shining through the darkness, should give token thathelp was at hand. Once indeed she saw the red light of a ship, and herheart beat high; but the vessel went on its way, knowing nothing of thelonely voyager. 

The two biscuits were carefully hoarded, but at last not a crumb remained, and for four days she was without food. But in telling her tale, Elizabethsaid that she suffered more from wet and from thirst than from hunger. Toallay her thirst, she used to lick the drops of rain from the window panes. At last, becoming too weak to keep her constant watch, she tied herselfclose to the hatchway, fearing lest she might roll away from her post ofobservation, and be unable to get back to it. And so, for eight days, the_Columbine_ and her passenger--so weak and helpless in herself, so strongin her trust in God--drifted over the wild waves of the North Sea. 

It was on Sunday morning, February 7th, that a vessel which had lost hermast came ashore among the rocks near Aalesund, in sight of a crowd ofNorwegian villagers. As she drifted in, a woman's head was distinctly seen, and a brave young fisherman, taking a rope with him, swam out to her, climbed on board, and found Elizabeth tied to the hatchway, still alive, still confident. 

She was drawn ashore by the rope, and thus her long voyage to Norway ended. She found herself among strangers truly, who spoke a tongue unknown toher, but was kindly cared for at a farm-house, until she was sufficientlyrecovered to be sent home to Shetland, where she received a letter whichmust have, indeed surprised and pleased her. It was from our graciousQueen, and contained a present for Elizabeth of twenty pounds. I am sureyou will like to read the letter, so here it is:

"WINDSOR CASTLE, _March 27th_, 1886. 

"The Queen has been much touched by the account of the sufferings of MissMouat, and was pleased to learn, by her brother's letter of the 20th, thatshe is recovering her strength. "

[Illustration: WINDSOR CASTLE. ]

Do you not think Elizabeth must be very proud and pleased to show theQueen's letter to those who ask her about her voyage to Norway?

A Norwegian gentleman, writing about the place where the dismasted, unpiloted vessel drifted ashore, says:

"Had not the _Columbine_ been steered by an invisible but almighty Hand, she would never have got clear of the thousands of rocks. So furious wasthe storm that all the boats not taken ashore went down at their moorings;and yet the _Columbine_ escaped the network of rocks and skerries, andpicked out the only place where she could have beached!"

Elizabeth did not see the Lord Jesus walking upon the waves, and drawingnear to her in the dark night, as the disciples did; but surely she heardHis voice through the storm, hushing her spirit, and saying to her, as Hedid to them, "It is I; be not afraid. "

I know a little girl, older than Sharley or May, who is fond of repeatinga beautiful poem about the storm on the Lake of Galilee. Perhaps you wouldlike to learn it for your next hymn. It is called

 "TO YONDER SIDE. "

 "Behind the hills of Naphtali The sun went slowly down, Leaving on mountain, tower, and tree A tinge of golden brown. 

 "The cooling breath of evening woke The waves of Galilee, Till on the shore the waters broke In softest melody. 

 "'Now launch the bark, ' the Saviour cried; The chosen Twelve stood by; 'And let us cross to yonder side, Where the hills are steep and high. '

 "Gently the bark o'er the waters creeps, While the swelling sail they spread; And the wearied Saviour gently sleeps, With a pillow 'neath His head. 

 "On downy bed the world seeks rest; Sleep flies the guilty eye; But he who leans on the Father's breast, May sleep when storms are nigh. 

 "But soon the lowering sky grew dark O'er Bashan's rocky brow; The storm rushed down upon the bark, And waves dashed o'er the prow. 

 "The pale disciples trembling spake, While yawned the watery grave; 'We perish, Master--Master, wake; Carest Thou not to save?'

 "Calmly He rose with sovereign will, And hushed the storm to rest; 'Ye waves, ' He whispered, 'Peace, be still!' They calmed like a pardoned breast. 

 "So have I seen a fearful storm O'er wakened sinner roll, Till Jesus' voice and Jesus' form Said, 'Peace, thou weary soul'

 "And now He bends His gentle eye His wondering followers o'er; 'Why raise this unbelieving cry? I said, To yonder shore. '

 "When first the Saviour wakened me, And showed me why He died, He pointed o'er life's narrow sea, And said, 'To yonder side. '

 "'I am the ark where Noah dwelt, And heard the deluge roar-- No soul can perish that has left My res--To yonder shore. '

 "Peaceful and calm the tide of life When first I sailed with Thee; My sins forgiven, no inward strife, My breast a glassy sea. 

 "But soon the storm of passion raves; My soul is tempest tossed; Corruptions rise, like angry waves-- 'Help, Master, I am lost!'

 "'Peace, peace, be still, thou raging breast: My fulness is for thee'-- The Saviour speaks, and all is rest, Like the waves of Galilee. 

 "And now I feel His holy eye Upbraids my heart of pride-- 'Why raise this unbelieving cry? I said, To yonder side. '"

McCHEYNE. 

THE THIRD DAY. 

THE EARTH BENEATH. 

"_He hangeth the earth upon nothing. _"--JOB xxvi. 7. 

"_The pillars of the earth are the Lord's, and he hath set the world uponthem. _"--1 SAM. Ii. 8. 

"_As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it is turned up as itwere fire. The stones of it are the place of sapphires; and it hath dust ofgold. _"--JOB xxviii. 5, 6. 

Have you ever noticed that some words have two meanings, both their own, but giving us very different thoughts about the things of which they speak, according to the way in which we use them?

It is so with our earth. We may speak of it as the firm ground upon whichwe stand, and may think of the wonderful time of which we are going to readin our chapter in Genesis, when God caused it to bring forth and bud, andclothed all its waste places, so that it has been ever since the greenearth which is so fair to look upon. This is the way in which we generallyspeak of the earth, is it not?--but we may also think of it, not as itappears to us, but as a great globe hung up in the heavens by the mightyhand of God, who "hangeth the earth upon nothing"; for "the pillars of theearth are the Lord's, and He hath set the world upon them. "

If you could look at a star through a telescope, I think the first thingthat would strike you is that there is nothing by which it is upheld andkept in its place. You might say, as you saw it, as it were, hanging in thedepths of the sky, "Why, it is hung upon _nothing_!"

It is just so with our earth: there is nothing that we can see by which itis supported, no "pillars" for it to rest upon--but yet it is kept in itsplace. God set it there, and God keeps it there. 

The Hindu has tried to account for this in his own way: he says the earthdoes rest upon something; it is supported upon the backs of four greatelephants and when he is asked, "Where do they stand?" he replies, "Uponthe back of a huge tortoise. " This shows the folly of men who have triedto explain what filled the patriarch Job with awe and wonder, even beforeGod had asked him those questions which He alone could answer. "Wherewast thou when I laid the foundations of the earth? Declare, if thou hastunderstanding. Who hath laid the measures thereof, if thou knowest? or whohath stretched the line upon it? Whereupon are the foundations thereoffastened? or who hath laid the corner stone thereof, when the morning starssang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy?"

Once in a time of great danger and trouble, Luther wrote thus to a friend:"I recently saw two miracles; you listen to hear of something startling:some great light burning in the heavens, some angelic visitation--someunusual occurrence; but you hear only this. As I was at my window, I sawthe stars, the sky, and that vast and glorious firmament in which the Lordhas placed them. I could nowhere discover the columns on which the Masterhas supported this immense vault, and yet the heavens did not fall! Andhere was the other miracle: I beheld clouds hanging above me like a vastsea--I could neither perceive ground on which they reposed, nor cords bywhich they were suspended, and yet they did not fall upon me. "

We find it difficult to think of our own globe as a star; but so it is, andwhen you go out at night and look up at the sky, all covered with littlepoints of light, you may remember that our great earth, with its mountainsand forests, seas and plains, and all its cities and towns alive with busymen and women, is but a tiny speck in God's universe; many of those starswhich seem so small, as their "twinkle, twinkle" comes from so far away, are themselves suns, larger than that mighty sun of ours which it takes theearth a whole year of days to travel round; and all these wonderful worldsbelong to Him "for whose pleasure they are and were created. "

Looked at in this way, our earth is but one of a group of eight stars, which have been called planets, or wanderers, because, while other worlds, which are called fixed stars, keep constantly in the same position withregard to each other, these planets are always moving. They have twomovements; I think you know that our earth turns round upon itself, as yourtop does when it spins, and that in this way the changes of day and nightcome to us; the other movement is that by which it, along with the otherplanets, travels round the sun. 

This yearly journey round the sun which the earth takes is a long one, butso swiftly does it move that it may be said rather to fly than to wander. Shut your eyes and count "One, " "two, " "three, " "four, " "five"; in thislittle moment of time the earth will have got over a hundred miles of itsjourney. You see it flies along faster than any bird; and what a noiselessflight it is! How is it that we do not feel it moving? Ah, you mustremember that the earth carries _you_ along with it; you know nothing aboutthe rapid journey, and yet you are a traveller in spite of yourself--atraveller round the sun. 

All the planets, like our earth, move round the sun, and are kept in theirplaces by means of a wonderful power which we cannot see, but which is oneof those "laws of nature, " as the rules which God has made for His greatuniverse are sometimes called, about which I told you that they neveralter. It is a law, or rule, that, in the world around us, "the same causesalways produce the same effects. " If you think a little about this, it willbecome plain to you that it is so, and if you observe carefully you willsee that this rule is the same in connection with the smallest as well asthe greatest things; if it ever seems that it is not so, be sure that thisis only because you do not yet know all about what you have been observing. And now learn a little about the beautiful rule by which the planets arekept in their places. 

Two hundred years ago, Sir Isaac Newton discovered that everything in theuniverse attracts or draws every other thing to itself, and this power orattraction he called "the force of gravitation. " I cannot do much more thantell you the name of this "law, " but you will learn more about it one day Ihope, and see how simple and yet how wonderful it is. An astronomer of ourown day says, in his _Story of the Heavens_, that there are "grounds forbelieving that the law of gravitation is obeyed throughout the length, thebreadth, the depth, and the height of the entire universe, " and a littleobservation and thought will enable you to see something of its working inthe world around us. 

Do you remember my telling you how fond I was of swimming boats long ago?When my brother and I used to launch our paper boats--not on the river, but in that big tub in the yard--our great difficulty was to keep themfrom running each other down, and becoming dismal wrecks before they hadcompleted their first voyage. We did not know why, but it seemed as if thevessels of our tiny fleet _would_ drift towards each other, in spite of allour efforts to keep them apart. Have you not found it so with your boats?It certainly was with ours, but we should have been surprised if anyonehad told us that as they ran against each other, our paper boats were butobeying the "law of gravitation, " each little vessel drawing the other toitself by a power which it had of attracting it. Knowing this rule makesmany things plain. If you throw your ball high into the air, it is sureto come down again. Why? Because the earth, which is a much larger ball, attracts it to itself by the law of gravitation; by the same law, the dropsof rain in a shower fall to the ground; by the same law, we and all thepeople upon the globe are able to stand firm on it; by the same law, thegreat earth itself, the moon, and all the planets are kept in their places. But what is the mighty magnet which has power to draw the earth to itself?It is that wonderful globe the sun, which is more than a million timesas large as the earth; and though it is so far, far away--at a distancegreater than we can have any idea of--yet by its mighty power of drawingthem to itself, makes our earth, as well as the other planets, move roundit in the most beautiful order, and keeps them all in their places. 

Although Newton felt sure that this unseen but resistless power, of whichhe afterwards spoke reverently as "the finger of God, " kept the moon goinground the earth and the earth round the sun, yet he was at first silentabout his great discovery; he worked and waited for long years, until hehad proved that it was not merely a happy guess, but that he had reallydiscovered the rule which governs the motion of sun, moon and stars. Thenhe explained the reason why the moon is always moving _round_ the earth, and the earth and other planets _round_ the sun, instead of all moving onin a straight line; it is because everyone of the heavenly bodies attractsall the rest, and thus the smaller move round the larger, all in perfectorder and harmony. 

[Illustration: SAILING THE BOAT]

You must not think that this force set them all moving; it only governstheir movements, the earth pulling the moon to itself, and the sun inlike manner pulling all the planets with gentle but resistless power, andkeeping them all moving round himself--their glorious centre. 

You will learn by-and-by what has been found out about the other planets. All I shall tell you of them now is, that they are, like the earth, quitedark in themselves. The light they give is reflected light from the sun;just like the light which comes to us from another planet, which belongs, not to the sun, but to our earth, and indeed is so near home that I am sureyou can find out its name for yourself. Of the seven other planets whichbelong to the sun, the nearest in size to our earth is one which shineswith a lovely soft light, and is sometimes the evening, sometimes themorning star. Ask someone to show you Venus; and I think you will soonlearn to look for her in the evening, and to love her pure, calm radiance. This star is peculiarly beautiful in the early morning, when she seems toshine alone in the sky, and reminds us how, in the last book of the Bible, the Lord Jesus speaks of Himself, and says, "I am the . .. Bright andMorning Star. " What a beautiful name for us to know the Lord Jesus by!There are some children who know Him by that name, and they are watchingfor that bright star to appear. 

I will tell you of one. Her name is Sharley; but she is not May's sisterSharley, and I do not think she is quite so old. This little girl had beenobliged to go away from her home, to stay for some time in the Children'sHospital. This is a bright, pretty place, with pictures and flowers andtoys. But it was not at all like home to poor little Sharley; and as shethought of her mother and her sisters she sobbed and cried in her littlebed, and buried her head under the pink quilt, and refused to be comforted. A lady came to see her, and brought her a picture-book; but still she hidher face, and cried, "Oh, do let me go home!" The lady tried to pleaseher by showing her a stuffed squirrel, and telling stories about how shehad seen the merry little creatures, with their bright eyes and red bushytails, running about in the beech-woods, eating nuts. But no, nothing thatshe could do or say would win a smile or a bright look. At last she noticeda little Testament lying upon the tray across her bed, beside the toyswhich had been given her to play with, and she said, "Is that your ownTestament, Sharley? Will you find the place and read me your favouriteverse?"

In a moment the little girl stopped crying, and turned over the leaves ofher Testament till she came to the very end; and she put her finger on theverse, "Surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus. " As shepointed to the words the lady read them, and then asked, "Do you want Himto come?"

Sharley did not speak, but nodded her head. 

"Why do you want to see Him? What has He done for you?"

"He died for me, " said the little girl. And then she asked just onequestion, "If the Lord Jesus hasn't come before Monday, do you think motherwill come and take me home?"

I am glad to tell you that little Sharley had not long to stay in thehospital; she soon got well enough, to be allowed to go home. But Itell you about her that yon may see that she was not too young to knowwhat the Lord Jesus had done for her, and to be looking out for Him tocome--watching for the "Bright and Morning Star. "

And now I want you to find one more verse about the earth as it hangs inthe sky, a very beautiful verse in the fortieth chapter of Isaiah. "It isHe that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereofare as grasshoppers; that stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain, andspreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in. " What is meant by the "circle ofthe earth"? You have learnt that the earth is round, like the sun and moon;for you see how round the globe in the schoolroom is, and you know that itis meant to be as like the earth in shape as it can be made. Besides, youhave read of sailors who have made voyages round the world, and broughttheir ships back again to the very place from whence they set sail. Itseems quite plain to you, now that you have been taught so much about theform of the earth, that it must be round. But I wonder whether you haveever thought that, long before a geography-book was written or a globe wasmade--at a time when no one had ever sailed round the world, but all thewise men thought the earth was flat (except where the mountains and hillswere), and that if they could only travel far enough, they would in timeget to the world's end--God had spoken of it as round. He had spoken ofHimself as the One who "sitteth upon the circle" (or "arch") "of theearth"; and of the inhabitants thereof--all the people who have lived anddied upon it--as "grasshoppers"; creatures of a day. 

When we learn something about other worlds, and find out that this world, so large in our eyes that we cannot think of anything to compare with itfor greatness, is yet so small that it is like a grain of sand in the vastuniverse which God created at the beginning, we may well ask

 "Why did the Son of God come down From the bright realms of heavenly bliss, And lay aside His kingly crown, To visit such a world as this?

 "Why in a manger was He born, Who was the Lord of earth and sky?"

The answer to this question is to be found in the verse which you know sowell, where the Lord Jesus Christ Himself tells us that "God so loved theworld"--this place which is "a little city" indeed compared with otherworlds; and the "few men within it"--all sinful people who had gone away asfar as they could from Him--God so loved this lost world, "that He gave Hisonly begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, buthave everlasting life. " The Son of God gave up "all that He had" to buyback this lost world, for the sake of the treasure which was hidden there. Do you know what that treasure is?

And now we will look again at a verse in the Book of Job, which tells ussomething very wonderful about the inside of this great globe of ours, uponthe fair outside of which we live and move. You would never have thoughtit possible that such a great ball could be weighed. But by weighing andmeasuring--not with scales and weights, you may be sure, but by clever wayswhich are known to learned philosophers--it has been found out that ourearth is very, very heavy. The philosophers thought it could not be soheavy if it were made of earth and rocks all through, and they wonderedwhat could be far down beneath the deepest mines, in those secret placeswhich they could not reach. But long before these wise men had begun toweigh and measure, and to guess and wonder, God had said, "As for theearth, out of it cometh bread"--you know that in many places the surface ofthe earth is rich with waving corn--"and under it is turned up as it werefire. "

I remember well when I first heard about this fire always burning at theheart of the earth. I had been told that the world was round like a ball, and yet that people lived upon every part of it. And when I turned theglobe in the schoolroom round until I had found New Zealand--that landwhich is just opposite our own country, as you can see for yourself if youlook--I used to think how wonderful it was that the New Zealanders shouldbe there "walking about under my feet, " as I had been told they were; and agreat desire came into my mind to make a way right through to them, and seewhat they were like. I believe I thought they were men who walked on theirheads, for in those days I much preferred guessing at things I did notunderstand, to asking someone who knew how to explain them to me. So yousee I understood so very little, that I actually thought that by getting upearly and working hard it would be quite easy for me, with my little spade, to dig right down to the other side of this mighty globe!

However, one day, before I had made more than an opening to my tunnel, Ilistened to a conversation about digging deep wells and mines. I could notunderstand most of what was said, nor did I know the meaning of any of thelong words which I then heard for the first time; but there was one thingwhich I did understand, and this made me stop short in my work, afraid todig another spadeful of earth. I had thought it would be so delightful towalk through my tunnel, and come out at the other side where the strangeNew Zealand people lived; but now my great dread was lest I should get tothe inside of the earth before I was aware of it, when I had dug perhapsonly a little hole; for those who were speaking about it, said howimpossible it was to get very far below the surface, --or, as they calledit, very deep into the "crust" of the earth--because of the great heat, which makes the men who work in deep mines glad to throw off their clothes. "The deeper the bore, the greater the heat, " they said; and then went on tospeak of this crust as if it covered the earth as the shell covers an egg, so that I thought it might perhaps be broken just as easily. "And howdreadful it would be, " I said to myself, "if I could get to the inside ofthe earth and find it all on fire!"

It was a pity that I did not ask a little about what surprised andfrightened me so much, and especially that I did not get someone to explainto me the meaning of this new word, the "crust" of the earth. I know nowthat it is the name that has been given to that part of the earth which isknown to be firm and solid--the bed of the ocean as well as the dry land. Beneath this crust lies the inner part or kernel of the earth, and no oneknows of what it consists; all that can be done is to examine the rockswhich rest upon it, and whether the lowest of these layers of rock hasyet been reached, we do not know. If you have ever been to a quarry wherethe rocks have been blasted and cut away, you have seen a little way downinto this earth-crust. I remember once, when I was living in a countrywarmer than England, seeing a beautiful sight. It was a great quarry in ahillside. In part of it men were busy, cutting out the stone and carryingit away; but all over one side, which was no longer worked, a beautifulvine had woven its lovely green leaves and purple clusters of grapes. 

You would have thought, perhaps, that the side where the rough, hard rockwas hidden by the fruitful vine, was the only part of the quarry worthlooking at; but the other side, where the quarrymen were at work, was veryinteresting to anyone who would take the trouble to notice how the rockslay, piled one upon another, and especially to one who had learnt a littleabout the different kinds of rock of which the earth-crust has been made. Even if you have never learnt much of what is called geology, by keepingyour eyes open and your mind awake you may see a great deal in the stoneswhich have perhaps seemed to you most uninteresting. A block of granitefrom one of the Dartmoor hills, and a piece of slate from a Welshquarry--how different these two kinds of stone are! We see this at once;but they become much more interesting when we know that each has its ownhistory. The granite is one of the fire-made rocks, so called because thereare marks upon it, like letters written long ago, quite plain to those whohave the skill to read them; which show that though it is now so hard, itwas once soft, as soft as iron becomes when melted by very great heat. The mountains of Devon and Cornwall, the Grampians of Scotland, even MontBlanc, the "Monarch of Mountains, " are made of the grey or red granitewhich takes such a beautiful polish when cut that it is much prized forbuildings. 

The piece of slate has quite a different history. It is one of thewater-made rocks, in which so many fossils have been found; while inthe fire-rocks there are no remains of anything which ever lived. Thewater-rocks are so called because water has had so much to do with themaking of them; for they have been very slowly formed by the gravel andgrains of sand which have been washed down by streams and torrents, andleft behind in their course. In these slate and sandstone rocks thewonderful fossil animals, which are to be seen in the Museum, have beenfound. A fossil means what has been dug out of the earth; and numbersof animals are to be found buried deep in the rocks along the coast ofYorkshire--huge creatures which lived on the earth long, long ago, of whichthe hard parts, such as bones and teeth, have gradually been turned intostone. 

All this is very wonderful to think of, and I am sure the poet, who spokeof finding "sermons in stones, " was wiser than he knew; but what will yousay when I tell you that one kind of rock--the chalk with which you are sofond of drawing upon the black-board--is made of shells, most of them verytiny ones, which can be seen only by a microscope? What myriads of livingthings once made their homes in those little shells, and what sort oflife they lived, we cannot tell; but there the shells remain in the whitechalk, and the microscope will show them to you, as it shows so many hiddenwonders in this wonderful world, where the very great and the very smallmeet on every hand. 

Only the other day, May brought me a lovely branch of white coral. "Look, "she said, "when baby was out for a walk, a lady gave her this. " She thoughtit very pretty, but she was surprised when I showed it to her through amagnifying-glass, and told her that it had been made by a very tiny kindof jelly-fish; a plant-animal some people call it, of the same kind as thesea-anemone; and she wondered still more when we found in a book a pictureof a coral island, and I told her that such little creatures have been busyever since the world began, constantly building up the coral-rocks. Theserocks, which are strong enough to resist the force of the waves, rise outof the sea naked and bare, but are soon covered with green, and become theresting-place of the sea-birds, until at last they are like that lovelyisland, fringed with tall cocoa-palms, which we saw in the picture. If itwere not for the myriads of tiny jelly-fishes, who work on and on, eachforming its own little bones from the lime it gets from the sea-water, dying, and leaving its skeleton behind for others to build upon, therewould be none of these beautiful green isles of the sea of which sailorslove to tell us. 

We were speaking of contrasts some time ago; now for a contrast. Beside thecoral, with its lovely branching sprays, we will put a piece of coal. Youthink the coal very black and ugly, not fit to be put alongside the whitecoral; but let me tell you that there is that in the coal which was oncefar more beautiful than the coral--which is only a bare skeleton afterall--could ever be; for, though coal and coral are alike dead now, bothwere once full of life. 

But the coal, which is certainly more useful than beautiful at present, hashad a wonderful past. Besides the fossil-animals which are dug out of theearth's crust, there are also fossil-trees and ferns, and it is of themthat coal, which seems only like a black stone, is made. I have read thatin a part of England where there are now great coal mines, for a long timeno one knew the worth of coal except some old women, who said they couldmake their fires burn beautifully by putting those black bits of stone uponthem. How strange this seems; and what should we do now if we had not theseblack stones to burn? Coal is generally called a mineral, as all thingswhich are dug from mines are called; but it is really a vegetable. You mayperhaps pick up in some swampy place, a piece of wood, very black, whichbreaks as you handle it. Look at it well, for this wood is being turnedinto coal; but for what was once a forest to become a coal-mine takes avery long time indeed, with a strange history of change and decay; yet itis true that the coal dug out of mines is nothing else than trees and fernsand mosses, long ago buried by mud and sand, and so crushed together thatthey have become like a piece of black stone. 

The other day Chrissie had what you would consider a rare treat, for hisfather took him and his brother down a coal-mine. They put on some of theminers' clothes, and then got into the "cage, " and were let down by astrong chain; down, down, until they reached the bottom of the shaft, asthe tunnel from the mouth of the coal-pit to the place where men are atwork below is called. I have never seen a mine of any kind, but if I everfind myself at the bottom of a coal-pit, I think I shall use my eyes, andsee whether, even in such a grimy place, I cannot find something beautiful. I shall hold my safety-lamp high, and look carefully at the roof and sidesof the mine, for I have been told that in all coal-mines remains of theplants from which the coal is made are to be found; so I should not besurprised to find here and there in the dark shining walls traces of leavesand branches; and upon the hard clay which forms the roof, beautifulpatterns of ferns, which lived long, long ago, and have lain buried forages. 

 "In a valley, centuries ago, Grew a little fern-plant, green and slender, Veining delicate and fibres tender, Waving in the wind, crept down so low; Rushes tall, and moss, and grass grew round it; Playful sunbeams darted in and found it; Drops of dew stole down by night and crowned it; But no foot of man e'er came that way, Earth was young and keeping holiday. "

We can speak of the roof and the floor of a coal-mine, because the coallies in what are called seams, between layers of slate or hard clay. Icannot tell you much about the sedges and reeds and giant ferns, theremains of which have been found in these seams of coal, but I know thatthey are of the same kind as plants which are now found in damp and warmplaces, though they were giants indeed compared with them. Some of theseold-world plants would not grow in our country now, but there are greatmare's-tails, just the same as the small ones which I have often foundbeside a pool of black water on an Irish bog; and I have read that someplants with stems fifty feet long, which are found in coal, are of the samekind as a pretty little moss which grows upon the mountains almost all overEngland. 

You remember the story about the boy who was brought up in a mine. Now Iwant to tell you about a little girl who did not live in a coal-mine, butwas often taken there by her father. Her mother had died when she was ababy, and as she grew older her father was her constant friend, and lovedhis little daughter so much that he liked to have her always near him. Andso, though she was only seven years old when he came to work in this mine, he very often took her with him in the cage, and she had leave to stayunderground until his work was done and he could take her home again. Children can always find ways of amusing themselves, and this child had ahappy time in her strange nursery, and many a merry game she played amongthe coal. As she grew older her father allowed her to carry a lantern, asthe miners did, and she would go fearlessly through the dark passages byherself, until she knew all their windings as well as you know the paths inyour father's garden. 

But all at once this happy life came to an end: three years had passed, andshe was just ten years old, when a great sorrow came to this child. As herdear father was going down the shaft one morning the chain broke, and thecage fell to the bottom of the mine. When his mates ran to the spot, theyknew at once that he had been killed by that terrible fall, and slowly andsadly they took up his crushed and wounded body and carried it home. Thefirst thing that the dear little daughter knew about the accident which hadmade her an orphan child, was when she saw the men, who had worked with herfather, coming towards his cottage with their sad burden. 

She at once ran to meet them, asking when father would be home; but thesight of their faces soon told her, young as she was, all the truth. Whenfirst she understood what had happened she cried with a bitter cry, for herfather was all she had in the world. Then, while the rough miners, amidtheir tears, tried to comfort her, she suddenly knelt down on the grasswhere they had laid the body and prayed as her dear father had taught herto pray. 

[Illustration: THE MINER'S LITTLE DAUGHTER. ]

What a touching thing it must have been to see the child kneeling there, and to hear her, in her great grief, say three times over, "Thy will bedone!"

One of the miners took her to his home, and they all tried to comfort her. At first it seemed as if she could not recover from the shock, and theyfeared she would die of grief; but by-and-by she began to try to helpthe kind woman--who was like a mother to her--in the care of her littlechildren, and at last she got courage to go down into the mine again, tothe very place where her poor father had been killed. 

But she did not come now to run about and play hide-and-seek among thewinding ways; those days were over, and the sorrowful time, which hadpassed since then, had taught her precious lessons. Her father's Friendwas _her_ Friend now, and she loved to carry the Bible, which had belongedto her father, down into the mine, and while the miners were taking theirdinner or their short rest, she used to sit beside them and read themchapters and psalms, and so became a little messenger to tell them of thelove of God. Do you know a hymn about shining in this world--where so "manykinds of darkness" are found--for the Lord Jesus Christ? I do not knowwhether this child had ever heard of it, but it is very sweet to see thatthe Lord had taught her to shine--as the hymn says--"first of all for Him";then in her little corner in that humble cottage where she tried, in spiteof her own sore trouble, to be a cheer and comfort to the miner's wife; andthen He gave her a little corner in the dark mine where she might shine

 "Like a little candle Burning in the night. "

The rough men loved this gentle child who had known sorrow so early. Theylistened as she read to them, and used to say she was their good angel. Ifwe remember that an angel means a messenger, we shall perhaps think it nota wrong name to give to her, since she read to them God's Book, which isHis message to us. 

While we were talking about the earth-crust, I daresay you were wishing toknow, as I did, how thick it is--how far down the layers of rocks go, andwhat lies underneath the lowest layer of all. 

These are questions which cannot be answered; for no one has ever been ableto search so far into the hidden parts of the earth as to tell us what liesbeneath those fire-rocks, which are the lowest known, although they aresometimes found upon the tops of mountains, cast up by a mighty heaving ofthe crust, such as happens when there is an earthquake, or what is calledthe "eruption" of a volcano. 

But what power could be strong enough to heave up solid rocks, and to makethe firm ground upon which we tread, and upon which the houses are built, waver to and fro like the restless sea, so that the strongest buildingsbegin to totter and fall, and the bravest men run for their lives?

It is the mighty power of steam--caused by the great heat far downbelow--which, when it does come to any part of the earth's surface, makesitself known in very terrible ways. 

We do not often hear of earthquakes near home; but in some of the mostbeautiful parts of the world they are so common that the houses are builtonly one storey high, and of wood, not stone, because low houses are lesslikely to fall, and wooden ones are easily built up again, if overthrown. Ithink you have heard of the boiling springs in Iceland, which burst throughthe ground, shaking it and making it tremble; just as the steam shakes thelid of the teakettle; and rising almost to the clouds, with a noise likefireworks; and perhaps you may have seen the hot springs at Bath, fromwhich a cloud of steam rises almost in the heart of the beautiful old city, and which are believed to come from a depth of nearly a mile. 

Such is the force of this steam that even the bed of the sea has beenheaved up by it into a burning mountain, from which great stones are casthigh into the air; while down its sides flow melted rocks and metals, forming the lava which, when seen at night, looks like a stream of liquidfire, but quickly cools into a river of mud. All these strange things tellus terrible tales of the great heat which is somewhere in the heart of theearth, and help us to understand the verse which tells us all we reallyknow about it: "As for the earth, out of it cometh bread: and under it isturned up as it were fire. "

New Zealand is a country where there are many hot springs, and severalmountains which were once volcanoes, but were supposed to have died out. One of these, Mount Tarawera, was situated in what was called the Hot Lakedistrict, because there were not only boiling springs, but pools of hotwater there. The Hot Lakes valley was not only a lovely green spot, butit was noted for the wonderful Pink and White Terraces, which were sobeautiful as to be one of the sights which people from all countries cameto see. 

Imagine, if you can, basins of white and pink marble rising one aboveanother, filled with water of the deepest blue, by a warm stream which keptflowing over them in a constant cascade. You would have enjoyed a baththere, I am sure, and would have been interested to see the country-peoplecooking their food in some of the neighbouring springs where the water camefrom so great a depth that it was always boiling. 

But this lovely place was full of hidden dangers; for miles around theselakes the ground was hot and crumbling, and in many places so thin that ifyou did not tread very carefully, you might find yourself sinking into hotmud. 

It was in June, which you know is winter-time in New Zealand, in the year1885, that the people of Wairoa, a beautiful place where some missionarieshad settled that they might teach the Maoris, were awakened at midnight bya heavy shock of earthquake, accompanied by a fearful roar, which made themrush out of their houses in terror. The sight which greeted them was grandbut awful. Ernest has a picture of it in his room; but I suppose it wouldnot be possible for any picture to give an idea of what the poor frightenedpeople saw. Mount Tarawera had been asleep for a hundred and twenty years, so that it was supposed to have burnt itself out, and to be no longerdangerous. But it was awake now: the fearful roar which had aroused thesleepers was caused by its having suddenly burst into flame; and itcontinued to throw high into the sky fire and mud and stones, while theinhabitants of the peaceful little village saved what they could carry, andthen fled away in their night-dresses. 

As morning broke, a dense pillar of ashes rose from the burning, roaringmountain; the school-house, where sixty Maori boys and girls used to betaught, was struck by lightning; and while burning, overwhelmed withtorrents of hot mud and stones. Sad to say, the schoolmaster and most ofhis family were killed, the two eldest daughters only being rescued fromthe buried house. How well it is to know that Mr. Hazard and the fourchildren who were taken out dead from the ruins, were ready, quite readyfor whatever might happen, because they knew the Lord Jesus Christ as theirSaviour!

God allowed them to lose their lives upon that dreadful day; but for themthe eruption of the volcano was only the "chariot of fire" by which He waspleased to take them away in a moment, to be for ever with the Lord, whohad loved them and given Himself for them. 

The darkness caused by the ashes which fell in a ceaseless shower foreighteen hours, continued till noon the next day, when it was seen that notonly had the beautiful marble terraces vanished, but the whole valley hadbeen blown into the air by the tremendous force of imprisoned steam. Atraveller describing the scene of desolation says, [Footnote: Miss GordonCumming on "The Eruption of Tarawera in 1885. "] "Even living birds werecoated with mud, while for some days after the eruption the poor bewilderedcattle roamed about this dreary wilderness mad with hunger and thirst, gnawing boughs of trees or decayed wood, bellowing pitifully, and with eyesbloodshot and nostrils choked with greasy slate-coloured mud, which lay aninch thick all over their coats. " And of the smiling valley itself, shesays: "Where, but a few days previously, the wild fowl were swimmingsecurely among the reeds and sedges which bordered the quiet lakes, therenow exists only a chaotic wilderness of cones and craters all in hideousactivity, ejecting clouds of pestilential black smoke and showers ofstones. One large crater was in full action on the spot where the beautifulPink Terrace had hitherto gladdened all visitors by its loveliness, andanother apparently close to the White Terrace was throwing up masses ofblack dust and steam, which rose in columns thousands of feet in height. "

There is a verse in the hundred and fourth Psalm which tells how God"touched the hills, and they smoke. " There are many burning and smokingmountains in different parts of the world, besides those which have risenfrom the depths of the sea; some of them have destroyed whole cities by hotstreams of lava or showers of ashes; there are some whose high peaks arecovered with snow, and yet from those snowy heights the fire sometimesbreaks forth; and there are others which are called extinct volcanoes, because the fire no longer breaks forth from them as it once did; but MountTarawera has taught us not to be too sure that a volcano which has beenquiet for more than a hundred years is really extinct. 

Hot springs, earthquakes, burning mountains, all tell the same tale:somewhere beneath the earth's surface there is a quantity of heatedmaterial, and these "convulsions of nature" which are so terrible in theireffects come from the efforts made by it to escape from its prison. Afriend who had been in a South American city during an earthquake told meof the terror-stricken feeling which he experienced when he ran out of thehouse in alarm, only to see buildings reeling and falling, and to feel thesolid earth itself rocking beneath his feet, while from beneath came arumbling noise, and a sound as of the clanking of chains. This tremblingand rocking of the earth has led savage nations to speak of some monsterunderground turning his huge body. Shocks of earthquakes are occasionallyfelt in England, and in the north-west of Ireland sheets of lava show thatvolcanoes were once nearer home than we think. The Giants' Causeway, inthe north of Ireland, and Fingal's Cave, in the Island of Staffa, off thenorth-west coast of Scotland, have been made by this lava having cooled andsplit up into beautifully formed columns, which look like stone pillars. 

"BEAUTIFUL THINGS. 

 "What millions of beautiful things there must be In this mighty world!--who could reckon them all! The tossing, the foaming, the wide flowing sea, And thousands of rivers that into it fall. 

 "Oh, there are the mountains, half covered with snow, With tall and dark trees, like a girdle of green, And waters that wind in the valleys below, Or roar in the caverns too deep to be seen. 

 "Vast caves in the earth, full of wonderful things, The bones of strange animals, jewels and spars; Or far up in Iceland, the hot boiling springs, Like fountains of feathers or showers of stars!

 "Here spread the sweet meadows, with thousands of flowers; Far away are old woods, that for ages remain; Wild elephants sleep in the shade of their bowers, Or troops of young antelopes traverse the plain. 

 "Oh yes, they are glorious, all to behold, And pleasant to read of, and curious to know; And something of God in His wisdom we're told Whatever we look at--wherever we go!"

ANNE TAYLOR. 

THE THIRD DAY. 

THE GREEN EARTH. 

"_The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof. _"--PSALM xxiv. 1. 

"_Thou visitest the earth, and waterest it:. .. Thou preparest them corn, when Thou hast so provided for it. _"--PSALM lxv. 9. 

"_Every tree is known by his own fruit. _"--LUKE vi. 44. 

I want you to read carefully verses 11, 12, 13, and then 29 and 30, of ourchapter in Genesis; for in them God has told us of His work upon the THIRDDAY of Creation, when at His word the earth--no longer waste and bare, aswhen it came up from beneath the waters--was clothed in garments of beauty;"dressed in living green, " as the hymn says. 

I remember that when we began our morning lesson about the THIRD DAY, wenoticed that God caused the earth, which had no life in itself, to bringforth that which was alive; for every green thing which grows upon thesurface of the earth, no matter how tiny it may be, is quite different fromthose rocks which form its crust, about which we have been learning. Rocksand stones are without life, but every blade of grass which you tread underyour feet, every blossom which scents the breeze, is alive. 

We had a good deal of talk about this, for life is a very wonderful thing;one of those "secret things" which belong to God, and which no one has everbeen able to understand. But though we cannot know what this wonderfulsecret is, we can understand how great a difference there is between livingthings and those which have never had any life in them. If you were to takea pebble and hide it in the earth, you might water it every day, and thesun might shine upon it, while you waited and waited till you were quiteold; but no change would come to the pebble, If you dug for it you wouldfind it a pebble still. 

But with a plant, how different! See how those weeds in your garden grow. You may cut them down, or bury them underground--do anything indeed exceptpull them up by the roots--and still they will force their way through thesoil which you pressed down so tightly over them; their leaves will pushthemselves up into the light and air, and their roots will strike deep intothe earth, for every bit of them is alive; as the "Song of the Crocus"says--

 "My leaves shall run up, and my root shall run down, While the bud in my bosom is swelling. "

Long ago, when I was a child, I saw a field covered with beautiful whitethings, smooth and rounded like the top of an egg, which seemed to risehere and there from the grass. They grew out of the ground, but yet theydid not look like any flowers I had ever seen. I was told that the prettywhite things were mushrooms, and that I might gather as many as I could inmy pinafore, and take them home for breakfast. 

You may fancy how delightful it was to search about in the dewy grass, every minute finding a mushroom finer and whiter than the rest; but whatpuzzled me was the wonder of it--how had they all come there?

They had grown up in the night, I was told, while I had been asleep inmy bed; and I knew it must be so, for I had been in that field only theevening before, and had seen nothing there but the sheep, eating the grassand daisies. 

The thought of these beautiful white things growing up so quietly in thenight-time, when no one could see them, was very wonderful to me, and Ionly wished that I might stay up all the next night in that field, and seethem come, and find out how they grew: I was sure I could keep awake allnight!

But since then I have learnt that there are many, many things about whichwe grown people, as well as you children, may ask questions, and say, "Howdo they come?" and there is no answer ready for us except that old wiseanswer--God has made them to be. 

I daresay you may have a little garden of your own. Did you ever, inspring-time, make a hole in the soft brown earth, and drop into it a littleblack round seed? Perhaps last March you put in a good many sweet peas, andthen covered each one up in its earthy bed, and left them. People told younot to forget to take care of your garden, and so you often watered theplace where the seeds lay hidden, and at last you saw something very tiny, but fresh and green and full of life, where only the dark brown earth hadbeen the day before. You clapped your hands for pleasure, and ran to telleverybody: "My sweet peas are coming up!" You see you can tell when theseeds are growing, but you cannot tell how they grow; you can water theground where they are lying hidden from your sight, but when you have doneall you know how to do, you must still leave them to God's care; for Healone can make those little dark balls spring up and grow, and blossom insweetness and beauty. 

What wonderful thing it was that went on underground so quietly, while youwere asleep or at play, neither you nor I can tell; and this dead-like seedcoming to life and springing up into beauty is only one of the many thingswhich go on in this world all around us, seen and known only by God, whosays of the seed of His word, sown by His servants--not in the ground, butin the hearts of people--that it is He who "giveth the increase. "

We speak of vegetable life as well as of animal life, for I am sure youhave not forgotten that plants breathe through their leaves--they drink inwater by their roots, and some plants even show that they are sensitive totouch by shrinking if anything comes in contact with them; but how a daisy, with its hardy little stem and its fresh green leaves and "crimson-tipped"flower, comes to grow out of the earth, we do not know at all. 

The beautiful leaves, fringed with downy hairs, are the lungs of theplants; and just as the blood runs through the veins at the back of yourhand, the sap: which is the life-blood of the plant, runs through some fineveins which you see at the back of the leaf. If this sap were to ceaseflowing up the stem, the leaves and flowers would soon droop and die. 

[Illustration: GREEN PASTURES. ]

Look at the sheep, cropping the grass so busily that they hardly lift theirheads from the ground. Every time they breathe, they give out air whichfeeds all the green things around them; and as the green things breathethis air, by the very act they purify it, and give it back to the sheep, fit for them to inhale again. 

We see that when God made the world, everything was prepared beforehand. Hedid not cause the earth to bring forth living things, until all that wasneedful to keep them alive was ready. Before the beasts of the field weremade, the grass, which was to be their food, covered the earth like a softcarpet, and their table was furnished. This is a lesson which we havealready learnt, when speaking of "The Ocean of Air"--but it is one of whichwe cannot be too often reminded. 

And now I want to point out to you that in the eleventh verse we read ofthree kinds of living things which God caused the earth to bring forth. Letus look at them: (1) "grass"; (2) "the herb yielding seed"; (3) "the fruittree yielding fruit after his kind, whose seed was in itself. "

Long ago, when I first noticed these three distinct kinds, I could notunderstand why there was a difference made between "grass" and "the herbyielding seed"; for the grass in our fields in autumn is, as little Maysaid, "all full of pips. " This was her way of describing those beautifulseeds which hang so gracefully that we sometimes gather the long stalks anddry them for their beauty, that we may have a winter nosegay when there areno flowers to be found. I had forgotten my puzzle about this when, not longago, I met with a very interesting book which explained that the grasswhich is spoken of in Genesis as the first thing which the earth broughtforth, was not the grass of our fields. If you look in the margin of yourBible, you will see that it is there called "tender grass. " You mightperhaps think there is not much difference; but words, which are the namesof things, are very strong for good or evil. And especially in reading theBible, it is important to get the very best English word that can be foundfor the Hebrew words which we could not understand. The verse has been moreexactly turned from Hebrew into English in this way: "And God said. Let theearth sprout forth with tender grass. "

This word "tender grass" is not the same as that which is used in a Psalmwhich the children were just then learning, where we read that God "causeththe grass to grow for the cattle. " It means rather "the plant that shoots"out of the ground, and would apply to any green thing just sprouting. It isthought that in the word are included all those plants such as mosses andmushrooms, whose flowers are invisible, and which multiply not by producingseed, but by budding, or by means of little living particles, looking likebrown dust, which botanists call "spores. "

These flowerless plants are of much simpler structure than those which haveroot, stem, leaf and flower, and produce plants of their own kind by meansof their seeds. If you look at the back of a common fern, you will seebrown specks, not bigger than silkworms' eggs, beautifully arranged uponit. Each of these is a collection of little cases containing spores, whichby-and-by will split open, allowing the spores to fall into the ground. 

"Then the spores are the same as seeds, after all"--you say. No; if theywere seeds, each would at once grow into a fern. This is what happens, asfar as I can explain it to you: from the spore springs a tiny leaf, whichroots itself, and it is from this green leaf that the young fern actuallygrows, until it, as it were, begins life on its own account. The leaf diesdown, and the first frond of the new fern peeps above ground, closelycoiled up, as you have often seen, if you have been through the woods inspring-time. The earliest forms of vegetable life, then, brought forth bythe earth at the word of God were the plants which have no seeds: botanistshave divided such plants into groups--the seaweeds and lichens, the mosses, and the ferns. 

Of the seaweeds, the lowest of all groups of plants, we were speaking sometime ago. The lichens, though such lowly plants, are very interesting, forI have read that every form of lichen is composed of two distinct plants--aseaweed and a fungus--so closely interwoven that you cannot tell where theone ends and the other begins. The lichens range in colour from white toyellow, red, green, brown--and some are as black as that rare black pansyof which I told you. Each kind has its own peculiar way of growing, andthese hardy little plants can live where no other plant can--on the hardblack lava, on naked rocks, and even upon the highest snow-mountain. 

Next time you pass an old gateway or ruined wall, and notice stains ofyellow and brown and grey upon it, remember that there the lichens grow;tiny plants indeed, whose beauties are revealed only by the microscope, buteach one of them made by God, and given the means of living by Him, justas much as those giants of the forest of which travellers tell us suchwonderful tales. You may sometimes find a rock, or the trunk of a tree, encrusted with dry lichen, and it is interesting to know that these plantswhen they decay form the first mould for mosses and ferns, plants whichbotanists think of as higher in the scale of vegetable life than the lowlylichens themselves are. 

The great family of mosses is found not only near home, but even far awayamid the icefields and the snow, where the reindeer searches with its hornsfor the white moss which is its food, and where Sir John Franklin and hisdevoted men gathered the black _Tripe de Roche_ upon which they tried tolive during those dark months when their ship lay fast wedged between

 ". .. Those icebergs vast, With heads all crowned with snow, Whose green roots sleep in the awful deep, Two hundred fathoms low. "

But prettier than these Arctic mosses are those nearer home. Talking aboutthem makes me think of a place where I wish you and I could go togethersome beautiful afternoon in winter. It is a lovely little pine-wood nearBournemouth, to which some boys, with whose friends I was staying duringthe Christmas holidays, wished to take me to see their favourite walk. 

[Illustration: ICE-BOUND]

Once when we were starting for our run, on a bright frosty morning, and Iwas rather hoping I should be taken to the sea, I heard them say to eachother, "The Pincushion Wood; that's it; do let us go there. " I wonderedwhat kind of place this could be but when we had scrambled through someheather and come to this pine-wood, I saw at once why they had given it itsname. Overhead, with their needles against the blue sky, were the pines intheir dark solemn green, but under our feet the ground was bright with mosswhich grew, not on stones or trunks of trees, but all by itself in roundballs, soft and firm and cushiony. You may be sure I was delighted with thegreen pincushions: we gathered a quantity of them, and I took one home withme, but though I watered it carefully, it soon lost its beauty. 

These moss-balls lay at the roots of the pines, and we could pick up asmany as we pleased; but generally even the most delicate mosses grasp thesoil, and clasp their soft tendrils round the stones so firmly that youneed a knife or a sharp stone to make them loose their hold. One of theuses of moss is to protect the rocks from the frost, and from the heavyrains which wash them away by degrees. The roots of trees, too, arecherished and warmed by the closely clinging mosses; and by holding themoisture from dew and rain, they form where they grow a little bed of softmould, and so prepare the way for plants of larger growth. 

Do you know the Trumpet-moss, with its red cups each holding its own littledewdrop? Perhaps not, for it is a rare treasure, and needs to be soughtfor in its own haunts; but there are many green mosses which are verybeautiful, and so common that we see them upon every garden wall. Thereis the Hair-moss, the seeds of which are eaten by the birds, while itsdelicate tendrils serve as soft lining for their nests: it growsplentifully beside our streams; but far away in Lapland, during the shortsummer when the flowers all at once burst into bloom, it may be seen infull beauty. The Laps cut this moss in layers and dry it in the sun, toform a soft rug for them to sleep under during their cold nights. Thenthere is the velvety moss which, like the many-coloured lichen, loves tocreep over old buildings, and make the ruined and desolate places brightwith a beauty not their own. 

Speaking of mosses reminds me of a story which is told us by a doctor namedMungo Park, who was nearly lost in an African desert about a hundred yearsago. Day after day he had toiled on, under the burning sun, until he wasalmost in despair; for he had been robbed and deserted, and felt as ifthere was nothing left for him but to lie down and die in the wilderness, or become a prey to the savage animals which ranged over the country; andthe remembrance of those at home in Scotland who would never know what hadbecome of him, made him sick at heart. As these sad thoughts filled thetraveller's mind and took away all his courage, his tired eye lighted upona tiny tuft of moss, showing green and fair even in the parched soil of thedesert. It was the Lesser Fork-moss which grows in our shady woods, andbeside our ponds and ditches. We should perhaps hardly notice it unless wewere shown its beauty by a microscope, for it is one of the smallest andhumblest of things that grow; but as he looked at it, tears of joy cameto his eyes. Silently springing up in that thirsty land, the tiny mossspoke to the lonely exile of the care of God for the very smallest of Hiscreatures, whether the restless brown bird of which the Lord Jesus spokewhen He bade His disciples not to fear, saying, "Ye are of more value thanmany sparrows, " or the creeping moss which spreads from stone to stone. 

In a moment all was changed for the weary traveller. He felt that he wasnot alone in that great solitude, for God who had cared for that tuft ofmoss, and kept it green and fresh by means of some hidden spring, surelycared for him, His own child, and would show him the right way out ofthat desolate place. Thus the burden and the heat were forgotten in happythoughts of the faithfulness of God; and he went on his way with newcourage, and soon found the path which he had lost; but he never forgotthe message which the little moss had brought him. Though the whole plantwas not larger than the tip of his finger, he managed to keep it safelythrough all his journeys by land and sea, and had the pleasure of seeingit flourish under our cold skies just as well as it had done beneath theburning sun of Africa. If you are fond of poetry, you may like to read somelines written by the poet McCheyne about this incident. 

 "Sad, faint, and weary, on the sand Our traveller sat him down; his hand Covered his burning head; Above, beneath, behind, around, No resting for the eye he found-- All nature seemed as dead. 

 "One tiny tuft of moss alone, Mantling with freshest green a stone, Fixed his delighted gaze; Through bursting tears of joy he smiled, And while he raised the tendril wild, His lips o'erflowed with praise. 

 "'Oh, shall not He who keeps thee green Here in the waste, unknown, unseen, Thy fellow-exile save? He who commands the dew to feed Thy gentle flower, can surely lead Me from a scorching grave. '"

The poem has many more verses, but I think these the prettiest. Moss hasbeen spoken of by a poet as the "nest of time"; it has also been called"nature's livery, " because the earth is clothed with it; and I have readthat Mungo Park's little teacher may be found upon many a wall near London, and also clinging to those great stones which were once part of the wallsof far away Jerusalem. It is nice to think that the little green plants, which we have such reason to love--because they are brightest and best inthe winter-time, when all our

 "Gorgeous flowerets in the sunlight shining, Blossoms flaunting in the eye of day, Tremulous leaves, with soft and silver lining, Buds that open only to decay. "

have faded--grow all the world over; even down in the mines of Sweden theshining Feather-moss is said to light up the darkness with a tiny glimmerof its own. 

When we were speaking of the fossil animals which are found hidden deep inthe "crust" of the earth, you may remember that I told you that upon thehard grey-coloured clay which forms the roof of coal-mines beautifullytraced patterns of ferns are sometimes found. I have heard that half theplants the remains of which are found buried in the coal-measures areferns, but ferns which are now known to us as but three feet in height, appear in those early times of our earth's history to have been grand treeswith trunks three feet through, and fronds of great length. 

If you want to see tree-ferns growing wild now, you must go to New Zealandor Australia, or to the south of India: but you may perhaps some day havean opportunity of looking at pictures of some of the giant mare's-tails, and other plants with beautifully sculptured stems, of which traces havebeen found in our own English coal-fields; meantime, look at the vividword-picture which Dr. Buckland has given of what he saw in a Bohemianmine. He says: "The most elaborate imitation of living foliage upon thepainted ceilings of Italian palaces bears no comparison with the beauteousproportions of extinct vegetable forms with which the galleries of theseinstructive coal-mines are overhung. .. . The effect is heightened by thecontrast of the coal-black colour of these vegetables with the lightgroundwork of the rock to which they are attached"--for you must not forgetthat it is upon the roof of the mine that the impressions of the plantswhich have been turned into coal are found, not upon the coal itself, though even there they may be discovered by a microscope. 

And now leaving the mosses and lichens, ferns and mushrooms, we will turnto the "herb yielding seed, " and speak of the great family of grasses; andto begin with I will quote for you two verses which were brought to me bythe children when I had asked for texts about grass. 

This is one: "If God so clothe the grass of the field, which to-day is, andto-morrow is cast into the oven, shall He not much more clothe you, O ye oflittle faith?"

And the other is: "The grass withereth, and the flower thereof fallethaway: but the word of the Lord endureth for ever. "

When we were speaking about the former of these verses, I told themthat by "the grass of the field" we must understand not only grass, butthe wild flowers which grow upon the green slopes of Palestine in thespring-time, when God

 "Lets His own love-whispers creep Over hills and craggies steep. "

They bloom but for a short time--from February to April; for in May aburning wind from the desert sweeps over the flowery meadows, and in oneshort day the grass has withered and its flower has faded. All "the graceof the fashion of it perishes, " and there is no more beauty in the fieldstill the return of spring makes them bloom again. 

In a country where wood is as scarce as it is in the Holy Land grass andflowers are all cut down together, and burnt to heat the ovens in whichbread is baked. The flowers of the field may live but a day, and thenwither on their stalks under the hot breath of the desert-blast; or theymay be cut down and "cast into the oven. " But the Lord spoke of them thatHe might teach His disciples that they must not be anxious about how theywere to live in this world, because God their Father who "so clothed thegrass, " cared for them much more than for the birds, and all the helplessliving things which are never forgotten by Him. 

The flowers have no care. Those crimson lilies, which shine like starsamong the grass in Palestine in the spring-time, do nothing to make theirown rich dress. But God has thought it worth while to clothe them, as wellas the daisies of our English meadows, in grace and beauty; and fair andsweet as they are, not for themselves, but as the overflowings of God'sbrimming cup of love, From His own word we learn to "consider the lilieshow they grow, " and receive through them the same lesson which theFork-moss taught the lost traveller. 

 "For who but He that arched the skies, And pours the day-spring's living flood, Wondrous alike in all He tries, Could rear the daisy's purple bud?

 "Mould its green cup, its wiry stem, Its fringčd border nicely spin, And cut the gold-embossčd gem, That, set in silver, gleams within?

 "Then fling it, unrestrained and free, O'er hill and dale and desert sod, That man where'er he walks may see, In every step, the stamp of God. "

The verse which speaks of the "withering" of the grass, becomes even morestriking if we remember that grass in Eastern lands often grows so tall asto reach to the saddle, as a horseman rides through it. But this tall grasswithers away as soon as it is smitten by the burning heat of the sun. The apostle Peter speaks of all the glory of man as like grass which haswithered; and then, in contrast with what so quickly perishes, he remindsof what can never grow old or pass away--"the word of the Lord, " which"endureth for ever. "

While we were speaking of the verse in Genesis which tells us that "everyherb bearing seed, which is upon the face of all the earth" was to be foodfor man, I asked the question: "What are the grain-bearing plants?"

Every voice at once replied, "Corn"; and certainly corn is one of the mostbeautiful, and the plant which has in a special manner given "bread to theeater. " "But, " I continued, "are there not other grasses whose seeds supplyfood for us?"

The children thought awhile, and then said, "Barley, " "rye, " "oats"; andpresently, thinking of other countries besides England and Scotland, someone ventured, "rice"; and Chris, remembering the tall Indian corn whichgrows so abundantly in America, suggested "maize. "

So we went on to notice (Genesis 1. 29, 30) that corn and grain of variouskinds are the food specially prepared by God for man. There was the "greenherb" for the animals and birds and creeping things; and for us, the "herbyielding seed. " How beautiful it is to see that at the very outset foodwas provided for man, even before God had made him; and that all throughthe long years which have passed from that time till now, it has neverbeen wanting. It is true there have been terrible famine years, when thewheat-harvest has perished, or when the rice-crop, upon which the livesof thousands of people in India and China depend, has failed from want ofwater; and the hand of God in judgment may at times be seen in these yearsof drought; but through His goodness in giving "rain from heaven, andfruitful seasons, " the earth still brings forth food, and will do so, forGod's own word assures us that "while the earth remaineth, seedtime andharvest . .. Shall not cease. " It is cheering to think of this when we passthrough a corn-field, and admire the red poppies shining here and thereamong the wheat, and the full ears of corn waving in the sunshine, untilthe field looks like a sea of gold. 

Interesting too it is to see, as Ernest and his friend did the other day, all that must be done ere those waving ears of corn become a loaf such asyou see on the table every morning: for in this country we do not feed on"parched corn, " as it is described in that lovely story of Ruth the Moabitewoman, from whose line descended our Lord Jesus Christ, "Son of David, Sonof Abraham. "

As they were walking along the road, the boy noticed a large piece of breadwhich someone had thrown away. 

"How wrong to throw away such a nice piece as that!" he remarked to afriend at his side. 

"Indeed it was, " she replied. "Whoever threw it away never thought how muchit cost to make that piece of bread. " And she began to tell how the hardground must be broken by the plough, and smoothed by the harrow, to makeit ready for the seed; then, after the seed has been sown and covered up, water, air, and sunlight are all needful, that the roots may sink down deepinto the earth, and the green stalks shoot up into the light; so that wherethere was once only the bare brown field may be seen "first the blade, thenthe ear, after that the full corn in the ear"--the harvest-field in all itsglory. As the "Sower's Song" says:

 "Fall gently and still, good corn; Lie warm in thy earthly bed, And stand so yellow some morn, For man and beast must be fed. "

Then come the reaping and the threshing, and the winnowing and crushing ofthe grain, and the making of the flour into bread, and its baking. All thismust be done before our tables can be furnished with "our daily bread. "

[Illustration: WITH THE REAPERS. ]

For the birds, which "neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehousenor barn, " God makes the grass to grow of itself; but all thoseseed-bearing plants, which He has given to man, must now be cultivated. Rice needs a great deal of water that it may grow; and corn, if no careis given to its cultivation, soon becomes but a poor and useless sort ofgrass. It must be sown fresh every year in ground which has been made readyfor it. Did you ever pluck one of the golden ears from a field of corn, andsit down and count how many grains there were upon one slender stalk? Andthen did you think that every little grain in that ear was itself a seedwhich, just as the egg contains the bird that is one day to fly and sing, wraps up within itself a young wheat-stalk with all the golden ears whichmay wave and rustle when next year's harvest time has come? No longer thenthe one lonely seed dropped by the hand of the sower into the good soilprepared for it, but many, many grains instead. So true is it that

 "A grain of corn an infant's hand May plant upon an inch of land, Whence twenty stalks may spring and yield, Enough to stock a little field. 

 "The harvest of that field may then Be multiplied to ten times ten, Which, sown thrice more, would furnish bread Wherewith an army might be fed. "

And such life is there in seed, that even grains of corn which had beenhidden away for thousands of years--wrapped up in an Egyptian tomb withina mummy like those you saw at the Museum the other day--when sown stillbrought forth fruit; not in Egypt where they first grew, but in England. But those grains which had slept the sleep of ages would never have thuswakened into life and fruitfulness unless they had been sown in the earth;for before we can see the "full corn in the ear, " the one grain from whichso many were to come, must "fall into the ground and die": in darkness andsilence and death the plant is born, and begins to show signs of life. Didyou ever think of this?

The Lord Jesus once spoke of it to two of His disciples, Andrew and Philip. I do not know whether they understood then that He was speaking of Himselfwhen He said the words, "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a cornof wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. " "Much fruit"--even that great multituderedeemed by His blood, who shall be with Him and praise Him for ever, asthey remember how He died that they might live. 

I hope that you belong to the happy company who shall sing that new song inheaven. If you have known and believed the love of God in giving His ownbeloved Son to die instead of you, and the love of Christ in coming intothe world and laying down His life for you, you can say of the Lord Jesusthe very words which the great apostle Paul said, when he spoke of Him as"the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me. "

How much there is for us to learn, and how much to admire, in the wonderfulworks of God! Far, far more than we have been speaking of to-day in thelichens, covering the bare rocks with "cloth of gold, " and in the leafymosses which the birds weave into soft lining for their nests; the palms, pines, reeds, and grasses, and the beautiful waving corn, which is God'sspecial gift to man. But we must now turn to the third division of plants, which is described as "the fruit tree yielding fruit after its kind, whoseseed is in itself. "

There is a pretty poem which Sharley learnt the other day, beginning--

 "I praised the earth, in beauty seen, With garlands gay of various green. "

When she had repeated it to me, I asked, "What are the 'gay garlands, 'Sharley--flowers?"

But no, they could not be, because the flowers are not "green"; so Sharleyanswered that she thought they must be beautiful trees with which the earthis covered; for their brightly coloured leaves, especially in autumn, areas gay as wreaths of flowers, with their many shades of red and brown, aswell as "various green. "

The more we notice the trees and flowers, the more we wonder at theirloveliness; for God has "made everything beautiful in his time, " whetherthe rich trees of autumn or the tender green of the spring-time, when allthe earth seems young again. 

Beautiful indeed this earth must have been; still so fair, even in itsruins; when it came fresh from the hand of God, prepared by Him to be thedwelling place of His creatures; but who can tell how fair it will be whenevery trace of sin and its sad work shall be gone for ever, and the LordJesus, the Prince of Peace, shall reign over it?

And although it is all done so quietly and secretly, and seems so naturalto us that we hardly give it a thought, even still more wonderful thantheir beauty is the way in which these trees, yielding fruit after theirkind, "whose seed is in itself, " go on constantly, not only living, butproducing other living plants, which increase and multiply, each in itsturn again producing more and more "after its kind. "

Perhaps you save up your pennies, as I did long ago, until you have enoughto buy a packet of flowerseeds. As you unfold the packet, and see thepictures of the flowers that are to be, on the little papers inside--thescarlet poppy, the yellow marigold, the blue lupin, and the many-colouredsweet peas--you almost feel as if you already saw these bright flowersblooming in your garden. But open the little parcels one after the other, and what do you find? Nothing bright or sweet or beautiful; only littlebrown seeds, tiny as grains of March dust, or so light and feathery thatyour breath would blow them away. 

Do you then throw them into the fire, and say they are no good? Not so. Youtake the greatest care of these little grains. You prepare the earth, andmake a soft bed for them, then cover them up, carefully marking the spotwith the name of the flower whose seed you have sown there. You water thatbare place, and wait to see green leaves push themselves up through thedark soil; for well you know that within each tiny brown seed the flowerthat is to be, lies hidden. 

To see your seed grow, and your plant live and bloom, does not surprise youat all. But how astonished you would be if, in the spot where you had sownwhite candytuft, you were to find yellow tulips!

Such a thing can never be; for the mother-plant from which the seed camemust always produce plants of its own kind. You never saw a bean grow intoa cherry-tree, or a pink change into a rose, did you? God gives the seed abody "as it hath pleased Him, and to every seed its own body. "

It is true that what are called "varieties" can be produced amongcultivated plants, as among birds and animals, by change of food andclimate, and by care and training. The same plant will soon look verydifferent if taken from a dry, sunny spot, and placed in a damp, shadycorner. I have heard that if plants are moved from their home on theseashore, and placed in a dry, hot place, their thick, fleshy leaves willin time quite change their character, becoming thin and hairy. In the sameway a tree, if given room, will spread its branches wide, but will shootupwards if hemmed in on all sides. It is important, however, to rememberthat man has never been able by his skill to produce a new kind of eitherplant or animal. But we were speaking of your seeds, so tiny, yet so unlikeeach other. These differences become much more apparent if the seeds arelooked at through a microscope, and the varieties in their way of growingare endless. 

You know where to look for the tiny seeds of the apple-tree; but may nothave noticed, that while they lie safely hidden inside the fruit, thestrawberry's yellow seeds are outside. Then some seeds, such as peas andlaburnums, grow in pods. Some, like the hips and haws, we must look forbetween the stalk and the flower, or in the place where the flower hasbeen. You may have seen a hawthorn-tree in the spring all white with itsscented blossoms. If you pass by the same place months later, when springand summer are past, what a change! Where the sweet flowers had been, thered berries, which the birds like so well, hang in clusters. This is whathas happened: the wind has blown away the soft blossoms; then the partsbeneath them which held the seeds grew larger and turned into berries; thesun shone upon them and dyed them their brilliant red; and now they arequite ripe, and ready for the birds' winter supply; or perhaps one here andthere may bury itself in the ground, and become a young hawthorn. 

The power of life in the seed is a very wonderful thing. I have read of agrave far away in Hanover upon which a very massive stone was laid, andupon the stone were engraved the words, "This grave shall never be opened. "We know that the time will come when the seal of every tomb will be broken, but even now it may be seen that those proud words were written in vain. A seed which had fallen into the grave has grown into a tree, which hasactually raised and pushed aside the heavy stone to make room for itselfand force its way into the light and air. 

I wonder if you ever thought of the fruits which you so much enjoy, asseeds? Such they really are. Almonds and grapes and oranges, yes, andthe blackberries of the hedges, are either the seeds of plants or whatare called their seed-vessels, because they hold the seed. But fruitslike apples and pears have a double use; they were made not only toserve as seed-holders, but God has given them to us for food. And thosehorse-chestnuts you are so fond of gathering--next time you pick one upjust stop and think that in the round smooth nut, which you can hide inyour closed hand, lies the baby plant which may one day become a spreadingtree like those you have seen in the park. Can you believe that such amighty tree, with its branches and leaves and blossoms, is folded up in onesmall horse-chestnut, such as that with which you were playing the otherday, whirling it round your head at the end of a string? The life of aplant, could it be told, would be indeed a tale of wonder; and I shouldlike to try to tell you a little more about it, as well as something abouthow flowers are made; but as we have had so long a chapter, we must endwith another story, the true story of what a flower, growing alone in ayard, just springing up in its green sweetness between the flagstones, taught a poor man who was as lonely as itself, and also very unhappy. 

He was a Frenchman, and had been in prison a long time, because the EmperorNapoleon considered him his enemy. One day while he was walking in theprison-yard, pacing backwards and forwards, up and down the narrow spacewhich was allowed him, he noticed something green at his feet, and stoopingdown to see what it could be, found that a busy little plant was bravelypushing its way up between the crevices of the paving stones, to reach suchlight and air as could be found in a prison-yard. "How could it have comehere?" the prisoner thought. A seed must have been dropped by some passingbird, and "the scent of water" from some hidden spring must have caused itto bud and to send down the slender fibres of its roots, with their littlesponges, to suck up all the moisture, so that the plant should grow, andshoot up those fresh green leaves which had attracted his attention. 

If the poor prisoner had been happy and busy, he perhaps would have thoughtno more of the little plant; but he was very sad and lonely, and he couldnot be busy as he had no books to read, and all the occupations which hemost cared for had been taken from him. So this living thing was to himlike a country in which he was constantly discovering some new wonderand beauty. He loved to watch the lonely plant, which was, to his fancy, a prisoner like himself; and when at last the buds unfolded, and theflowers--such sweet flowers with such gay colours--bloomed, he was filledwith delight; he guarded his treasure with the most anxious care, for ifa hasty foot had trodden it down, he would have lost a friend which hadcheered for him many a sad hour. 

But I have not yet told you what this prison-flower taught the lonelyprisoner. As day by day he watched the growth of that humble little plant, God spoke to him. He had spent his life without thinking much about God, and when he had thought about Him, he had been like that poor proud man ofwhom God's word says that he is a "fool, " although men may think him veryclever. 

He had many times said in his heart, "There is no God;" and he used to tryto believe that there was no one greater or wiser than a man like himself, and that all that he saw in the world--the mountains, and sea, and all thewonderful works of God--came of themselves; or, as he said, "by chance. " Hehad even written these words upon the wall of his cell, "All things come bychance. "

But it was not by chance that he was allowed to see something of the workof God in one little flower. As day by day he watched the leaves grow, thebuds unfold, and then the blossoms open in all their fragrance, he knewthat God alone could work the miracle of life and growth which was going onbefore his eyes. His proud, scornful heart was bowed in the presence of apower at which he could but wonder, for it was past all his understanding, and he humbly owned that God had taught him by his pet plant lessons whichthe wisest men in the world could not have taught. 

It was by means of the flower, too, that at last the prison doors wereopened, and a message came to tell him that Napoleon had given him leave togo home. 

It would take too long to tell this part of the story, but you will not besurprised to hear that, like the African traveller, he could not bear topart with his cherished flower. He carefully dug it out from between thestones, carried it home with him, and never forgot the simple but greatlesson which he had learned while in prison. 

We have been able to say very little about the "green earth, " and thewonders of the work of God on the THIRD DAY of Creation, but perhaps youwill understand something of what a student of nature meant when he wrote, "The earth may be looked at as a vast seed-plot of life, seen from thepoint of view of the Great Sower. "

I think you will like these verses which were repeated to me by an oldfriend who remembered having learnt them from his mother's lips, long ago. They seem just fit to close our chapter about the earth in its verdure andbeauty. 

 "All the world's a garden, God hath made it fair; Living trees and flowers He hath planted there. Rain and sunshine giving, All His goodness prove; There is nothing living But has felt His love. 

 "Every home's a garden, Clustering side by side, Each to others yielding, Flow'rets should abide. Word or thought of anger Ne'er should enter there; Buds of loving kindness Opening everywhere. 

 "Every school's a garden, Hedged and fenced around; Nothing vile or useless Should within, be found. Teachers are the gardeners, Sowing precious seed, Training up the tender plants, Plucking every weed. 

 "Every heart's a garden; It should bring forth fruit; But foul weeds and briars In its soil have root. Envy, wrath, and hatred, Malice, strife, and pride, Lies and disobedience, And many more beside. 

 "Cast them out, I pray, Lord, And supply in place Gentleness and goodness, Lovely plants and grace; Patience and longsuffering, Faith and hope and love-- These will bear transplanting To the world above. "

THE FOURTH DAY. 

SUN, MOON, AND STARS. 

"_When I consider Thy heavens, the work of Thy fingers, the moon and thestars, which Thou hast ordained: what is man, that Thou art mindful of him?and the son of man, that Thou visitest him?_"--PSALM viii. 3, 4. 

"_The day is Thine, the night also is Thine: Thou hast prepared the lightand the sun. .. . Thou hast made summer and winter. _"--PSALM lxxiv. 16, 17. 

"_Truly the light is sweet, and a pleasant thing it is for the eyes tobehold the sun. _"--ECCLESIASTES xi. 7. 

"_One star differeth from another star in glory. _"--1 CORIN. Xv. 41. 

When we had got as far in our reading of the first chapter of Genesis asthe fourteenth verse, we noticed that it is very like the third; for bothverses begin with those wonderful words which none but God could say--"Letthere be. "

But there is a great difference between the "light" of the third verse andthe "lights" of verses fourteen and sixteen. The sun is called "the greaterlight, " and the moon, which is so very much smaller, "the lesser light";but in the language in which this part of the Bible was first written, these two lamps which give us light are called by a name which means, notthe light itself, but that which holds it; not, as we might say, the candlewhich gives light as it burns but the candlestick in which it is set. 

Let us read again carefully what God has told us about His work on theFOURTH DAY, and I think we shall see, as we noticed in the chapter on"Light, " that we are not told that it was upon that Day that the sun andmoon were _created_. 

"And God said, Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven to dividethe day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and fordays, and years. And let them be for lights in the firmament of the heaven, to give light upon the earth: and it was so. And God made two great lights;the greater light to rule the day, and the lesser light to rule the night:He made the stars also. "

You remember that in the whole of this chapter which speaks of God's workin creation, the word "created" is used only on three occasions, though inthe verse which tells of the creation of man, it is three times repeated(verse 27). And now I want you to turn to the hundred and fourth Psalm, andnotice the verses which speak of the Days of Creation: you will see thatlight is spoken of in the second verse, and in the nineteenth we read--

"He appointed the moon for seasons: the sun knoweth his going down. "

Those who know the Hebrew language tell us that the word "appointed" inthis verse is the very same as that which has been translated "made" in thesixteenth verse of the first chapter of Genesis--so that we may read, "Godappointed two great lights, " just as in the eighth Psalm we read, "The moonand the stars, which Thou hast ordained. "

We have seen that God could give light without the sun or moon;--an oldwriter quaintly says that before the sun was made "the whole heaven wasour sun"--but He was pleased upon this Day of His creation to command thelight, which He had called out of the darkness, to gather round the sun, so that he might, as the great light-bearer in all his splendour "rule theday"; and to cause light from that glorious sun to fall upon the moon, sothat she, with her silvery shining, might "rule the night"--both sun andmoon thus giving "light upon the earth. "

May is fond of repeating a verse, which I daresay you know, about a littlegirl who, when it was too dark for her to see any more, folded up her workand put away her playthings with a "good-night, good-night" to them; forthe time for working and playing had come to an end. "But, " the verse goeson--

 "She did not say to the sun 'good-night, ' Though she saw him set like a ball of light; For she knew he had God's time to keep All over the world, while others sleep. "

Yes; this wonderful "ball of light"--so bright that the brightest lightwe know of looks dull when held up before its dazzling face--is ever, night and day, sending out rays of light and heat, like streams from anoverflowing fountain, always making daylight somewhere. When you lie downin your bed, and settle yourself to sleep sound till morning, your littlecousins in Australia and New Zealand are just beginning to sit up intheirs, and to rub their eyes, and think it will soon be breakfast time;and in the evening, when their day is done, yours will be just beginningagain. 

If there were any part of the world upon which the sun never shone, howcold and dark and desolate that forsaken spot would be! If no waves of heatwarmed the earth, not a seed could spring up; no plant could live, no treebear fruit, no flower lift up its head to the kindly light and show itsfair colours; for do you not remember we learnt that the colours of flowersall come from the sunlight? Without the sun, the green earth would bechanged into a frozen desert, with nothing living or moving upon it. 

In old times the clever Greeks, who knew nothing of the God who made thiswonderful star--for the sun is really a star, and the thousands of starswhich we see on clear nights are suns, some larger and some smaller thanour sun--worshipped it as the god Helios; and the Grecian philosopher whofirst ventured to say it was not so was tried for his life at Athens forhis impiety; yet even he saw nothing in this wonderful light-bearer but ared-hot stone, half as big as his own country. If you have learnt better, if you know that "to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are allthings, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him, " you can think how good that gracious God has been in notleaving the world in the dark and cold, but giving this great light toshine upon us, and to cheer us by his warmth. For though the sun is so veryfar away, "there is nothing hid from the heat thereof"; every little leaf, every tiny creature that creeps upon the ground, lives and grows in thelife-giving rays of the sun, and would perish without them. Have you everstopped to think of what is more wonderful than this?

God, who made the sun, is Love, as the text you know so well, tells us; andHis love is like His sun, always shining down upon you. All the love andkindness which you have known from the day when you came into the world, alittle helpless creature, with "no language but a cry"; all this love whichsurrounds you and has made your life so happy and bright, comes from Him;for "love is of God, " and "God is love. "

But it is only when God turns our hearts to Himself, so that we can saythat we have "known and believed" His love to us, that we can really thankHim for it. When one, who knew what it was to have had his own dark heartlighted up by this great love, was thinking of these things, he wrotesome words which I am going to write down for you, for they deserve to beremembered. 

"The creation of the sun, " he says, "was a very glorious work; when Godfirst rolled him flaming along the sky, he shed golden blessing on everyshore. The change in spring is very wonderful; when God makes the fadedgrass revive, the dead trees put out green leaves, and the flowers appearon the earth. But far more glorious and wonderful is the conversion (thatis, the turning to God) of the soul. It is the creation of a sun that is toshine for eternity; it is the spring of the soul that shall know no winter, the planting of a tree that shall bloom with eternal beauty in the paradiseof God. " McCheyne wrote like this because he knew that

 "When this passing world is done, When has sunk yon glaring sun, "

the spirit, that part of man which can never come to an end of its life, will still be living somewhere; and that those only who have been turned toGod, and are His children by faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, will live withHim all through that great _for ever_ which will go on when sun and moonand all that we can see may have passed away. 

And now, before I try to tell you a very little about the sun, I shouldlike to know whether you have ever learnt any astronomy. My childrenthought it a hard name, but its meaning is beautiful, for it is only theGreek way of saying, "the law of the stars. " Astronomy is the science whichteaches us about the heavenly bodies, as the sun, moon, and stars aresometimes called; and all that we can learn about them is very wonderfuland interesting, so that the more we know, the more we want to know. Butthe pleasantest way for you to learn would be if someone would talk to youa little, especially about the stars, and take you out of doors on clearnights, and show you some of those which are best known, so that in timeyou would learn to look for them yourself; _that_ would be a delightful wayof beginning to learn. 

I remember that I had a great wish to know about the differentconstellations, or groups of stars; I wanted to know where to find Orion, with his seven brilliant stars, and those other seven stars which form thegroup called Charles's Wain; from an idea that they are so placed as togive a rough sketch of a waggon and three horses; and the wonderful clusterof the Pleiades--for I had heard of all these constellations; but I did notlike the trouble of learning about them in difficult books. One day I met agentleman who was very fond of sailing about in his yacht, and I thought hewould teach me all about the stars, for I had heard that sailors knew themwell. But, to my disappointment, I found that my new friend, though he wasvery kind to me, was not able to answer my questions; he said he did notknow much about the stars, and that it was in the old times, before shipswere steered by the compass, that sailors learned so much from watchingthem; though the moon considered in reference to the fixed stars is of verygreat importance as enabling them to ascertain their position. 

Though it is a long time ago, I can remember how surprised I was when Ifirst understood that the sun was a star, and that there are other starsvery much like him, but most of them so very far from us that it is notpossible to measure their distance. We do know how far our sun--the Starof Day, as he is sometimes called--is from us. Perhaps it may help you alittle if I tell you that the astronomers say that if the sun was as faraway from us as the nearest of these stars, he would appear but a point oflight; but I think you will best understand how great the distance is if Itell you that a train, rushing along at full speed, as you see the expressgo by, and never resting, day or night, would take two hundred and tenyears to reach him. 

We cannot be surprised that very little is known certainly about a star sovery far off, and yet nearer to us than any of the little points of lightwhich you see so thickly sown over the sky; but we know that he is a greatglobe, like our earth, only twelve hundred thousand times as large--as muchlarger, I told the children when we were having our lesson in astronomy, asMay's curly head was larger than the little blue bead which I put upon it. 

But this great globe is unlike the earth in one respect; for while _it_ isin itself quite dark, the sun which is used in the Bible as an emblem ofGod Himself shines by his own glorious light, and though he is believed tobe made of the same materials as our earth, it is likely that they are in astate of very great heat. 

Astronomers, who look at the sun through their wonderful telescopes, andso get much nearer to him than we can, tell us that we never see the sunhimself; but that what we look at is the bright garment of light which iswrapped around him. They tell us also about great holes which sometimesappear in this bright covering; and they believe that they have actuallyseen, through these holes, the dark globe which is the real sun. Theseholes are called spots upon the sun, and very dark they look upon hisbright face. The astronomers have long tried to find out what makes thesun-spots, and some of them now think that they are caused by furious windswhich make great rents in this bright garment; for they tell us that thereare sun-storms far more terrible than any storm that ever raged on sea orland. 

It was while patiently watching the movement of these dark spots, throughthe little telescope which he had made and set up in Rome, that Galileo, nearly three hundred years ago, discovered that the sun moves round uponitself once during twenty-eight days, just as the earth turns round onherself once in twenty-four hours. But he lived in a time when it wasbelieved that our earth was the centre of the universe, and that to saythat it was only one of many planets moving round the sun was to deny theword of God; so to save his life, he pretended to give up what he knew tobe true, and promised that he would never teach it again. 

You remember that our earth has an atmosphere, a globe of air which wrapsit round. We are told that the sun, too, has an atmosphere--a colour-globe, as it is called, because it is believed to be not air, but fiery gas. Then, outside this colour-globe, is something very lovely; that corona, or crown, of silvery light, which can be seen only during an eclipse of the sun. Butwhat is an eclipse?

When the moon, which has no light of her own, passes directly between theearth and the sun, so as to hide his face from us, we say there is a solareclipse, or obscuring of the sun's light. When the earth comes directlybetween the moon and the sun, instead of the sun's light falling upon themoon, _she_ is eclipsed by the dark shadow of the earth passing over herface. I think you may have watched an eclipse of the moon: a solar eclipseis a much rarer sight, and there is something awful about it: as thedarkness deepens, the stars begin to shine out, and it seems so much likenight that the cocks and hens have been known to go to roost at midday. It is then, when the bright, dazzling face of the sun is hidden, that hislovely crown is seen, as a ring of soft light appearing all round the darkface of the moon. 

Now let us think of some of the things that this wonderful Star of Day doesfor us. In the first place, he is the great source of light and heat, as heshines, not for us alone, but upon all the other planets--those which areso near to him as to get more heat than we could bear, and those which areso far away that it seems to us as if they must be very cold indeed. 

But, if we leave these distant worlds and think of our own, how wonderfulit is to know that, as we learnt when speaking of Light itself, not fromthe sun alone, but from every star, waves of light and heat, like tinymessengers from them to us, are always speeding on their noiseless way. They travel to us through space, or rather through something finer than airor water, which fills all the room between us and them--for no place in theuniverse is really empty. 

You may be surprised to hear that these messengers come from the stars byday as well as by night; but remember that they are _always_ shining intheir places in the sky. We cannot see the starlight waves while the sun'sgreat light is shining upon us; but you know how beautifully they shine onclear nights, when there is neither sunlight nor moonlight to quench theirsoft beams. 

But after all, the stars are so far away that we must think specially ofour own star, the sun, as the source of light and heat; he also makes forus all form and colour, and gives us the pictures drawn by his light whichwe call photographs, and which make us know something of people we havenever seen, and places which we may never visit. 

You remember that sunlight also helps the plants to sift the air, so thatthey take from it the part that suits _them_, and leave behind the partthat suits _us_--that precious oxygen which is so necessary for all animallife. 

Then we must not forget the work done by the heat-waves. These are called"dark, " because they cannot be seen. They not only strike upon the land, waking up the hidden seed, and warming it into life, but they are the greatwater-carriers. When we were talking about the clouds we learnt that fromevery wet place, as well as from the seas, lakes, and rivers, water isconstantly being drawn up, so that we can see it again in the fleecy cloudswhich float across the sky, and again when it comes down in the showerswhich water the earth--the tiny heat-waves are the messengers which performthis work of evaporation. 

When we were speaking about the world of water, we learnt that the moon isthe chief cause of the tides, by whose constant ebb and flow the ocean andrivers are purified; in like manner the sun, by causing the winds to blow, keeps the air fresh and pure; but this is a subject rather beyond us. Wecan, however, remember that one more thing which the sun does for us is totell us the time. God gave him "to rule the day . .. And to divide the lightfrom the darkness, " and he marks how long our day is to be, "keeping time, "as May's verse says, all the world over--for he is the great clock whichtells the hours and the days--a clock which never needs to be wound up, and which we can trust, for it never goes wrong. And he is a constantsilent witness to us of the power and the goodness of God, as "day unto dayuttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speechnor language; their voice is not heard"--but "the heavens declare the gloryof God . .. In them hath He set a tabernacle for the sun. " If, as we look atour watches, we are certain that men must have made them, how sure is itthat God made this great time-keeper, light-giver, and life-sustainer--thismighty magnet that guides and controls the world of which it is theglorious centre!

The sun "divides the light from the darkness" by being seen by us or hiddenfrom our sight. If you watch, after the sun has risen in the morning--andyou _can_ watch him in the winter, when you are often up before he is--youwill see that he seems to climb the sky, always mounting higher and higher, until he is shining right above your head. Then, as the day goes on, andit gets towards afternoon, he seems to go down, down, until he sinks intothe far away place where the earth and sky seem to meet, and we see him nomore. It is while he is hidden from sight in the far west, behind that linewhich we call the horizon, that night wraps us in its deep shade; for thesun, the day-star is, gone. 

I wonder whether you have ever thought of this darkness, which would be sodreadful did it last long, as one of the blessings which God has given us. The night is the time of sleep and rest for animals and plants, as well asfor weary men and women, and children who can get tired even with theirplay. God watches over you while you sleep--"the darkness and the light areboth alike" to Him--and you get up in the morning fresh, and ready for anew day. 

It is while we are in this world, which is a place of toil, and labour, andsorrow, that we need the rest and quiet which the still, dark night brings;but God has said that there is a rest for His people, His Sabbath, whichcan never be broken; and when He speaks, in the last book of the Bible, ofthe bright, golden city, He says, "there shall be no night there. "

Not long ago a. Boy was dying. He had been ill a long time, and all throughthe hot summer nights he could not sleep, for his weary cough kept himwaking. Frank had not much to cheer him, for his house was in a noisystreet, where the carts were constantly rattling to and fro; and verylittle fresh cool air found its way to the room at the top storey, where helay on his bed, often suffering and always very tired. 

Once, when someone brought him some flowers, he was so delighted that heburied his poor pale face in them, and seemed as if he would drink in theirsweetness. 

"Oh, I do love roses!" he said; and the flowers came as God's own gift tohim, in that poor place where nothing green was growing. But better thanthe flowers was the message which came with them. 

The lady who sent them from her garden was sure that Frank knew the LordJesus Christ as his own Saviour, and that he was on his way to be with Him, and so she sent him those precious words which He spoke to His disciples atJerusalem, but which belong also to every one who is a child of God throughfaith in Him--"The Father Himself loveth you"--this was the message whichwas sent with the flowers; a beautiful message, was it not?

But I wanted to tell you about the last day of Frank's life in that poorroom in the noisy street. He was very weak and tired, and could not bear totalk much; but his father sat by his bed, and read to him the last chapterof Revelation. When he came to the words, "And there shall be no nightthere; and they need no candle, neither light of the sun; for the Lord Godgiveth them light, " he stopped and said as well as he could, for his heartwas sore at the thought of the parting which was drawing so near, "Frank, my boy, this is your last night; you are going where there is no night. " Itwas even so. Before morning came, Frank's redeemed spirit had gone to be"present with the Lord. "

Do you know a hymn beginning

 "Oh, they've reached the sunny shore, Over there!"?

One of the verses comes to my mind when I think of those last words whichFrank's father read to him. The hymn speaks of the "street of shining goldover there, " and then goes on--

 "Oh, they need no lamp at night, Over there! For their Saviour is their light, And the day is always bright, Over there!"

There will be no need of the sun to measure the time when that eternal dayhas come; but now you know that his presence or absence makes our dayslonger or shorter. In summer, when he is sometimes above the horizon forsixteen hours, what beautiful long, light days we have! But in winter, whenhe rises late and sets early, our days are sometimes not more than half thelength of the longest summer day. 

I remember we had rather a long talk upon a difficult subject, after we hadconsidered how the sun measures the length of our days. We were speakingof the verse which tells us that God said, "Let there be lights in thefirmament of the heaven to divide the day from the night; and let them befor signs, and for seasons, and for days and years. "

I am afraid I did not make this clear to the children, for it is difficultto understand how the sun makes one season different from another; but Iwill just tell you a little about it, and you may learn more by-and-by. 

You know that there are four seasons: the Spring, when the grass begins toshoot forth its fresh blades, and the trees unfold their buds; the Summer, when the roses bloom and the fruits ripen; the Autumn, when the corn andfruits are gathered in; and the Winter, when the earth rests, often closelywrapped in a soft mantle of snow. 

All these changes pass before our eyes. But if we wish to understand how itis that the sun is the cause of one season being so different from another, we must remember that as the earth takes its yearly journey round the sunit changes its place, getting nearer to him or farther away from him. Inour summer-time the part of the earth where we live is turned more towardsthe sun, and so gets more of the light and heat which have their homethere, than at any other time. Our winter days are so short, because atthat time we are turned from the sun more than at any other. And in thespring and autumn we are not so much turned away from him as we are inwinter, nor so directly in front of him as we are in summer. 

You must remember also what you learnt about the motion of the earth, andhow things are not what they seem. You know that the earth turns round oncea day, though it _seems_ as if it stood still, and the sky, with its sunand moon and stars, turned round. 

When you watch the rising sun, remember that, though it seems actually toclimb the sky, and to mount higher and higher as the day goes on; and then, when it is setting, to go slowly down, down, behind the far away hills orthe shining waves--it is all seeming. Just as, when you are going alongin a fast train, the fields and trees and sheep all seem to be in motion, flying past you; yet you know that _you_ are moving as the train moves, andflying past _them_; so it is not the sun moving across the sky which makesday and night, but these changes are caused by the movement of our earth, as she spins round upon herself like a great top. 

You remember that Galileo was accused of denying the truth of the word ofGod, because the Bible speaks in many places of the sun _"arising"_ and_"going down. "_ His accusers forgot that God does not teach us astronomy, but speaks in His word of things as they appear to our eyes. 

We have seen that our earth, with her faithful companion the moon, is notonly the traveller round the sun; he is the great centre, and around himall the moving-stars, or planets, travel in their varied paths. But themoon has a little journey of her own to take besides this long one, for shetravels round the earth, and takes nearly thirty days on her way. 

You know that the moon is always changing; you can never see it for two orthree nights quite the same, but it seems each night a little smaller or alittle larger than when you last saw it. When you looked out of the windowsthe other night, just before you went to bed, it was a very young moonindeed that you saw--not more than two days old, as we say in reckoningthe moon's age. How small and thin it was--just like a curving rim of palelight upon the dark sky; but as you watch this crescent--or growing--moon, you will see it constantly getting larger and brighter, until from beinghalf-moon it has become full-moon, for it faces the sun, and is bright allover that part which is turned towards you. When we speak of the "face ofthe moon, " we mean that side which is always turned towards us. But whydoes "the gentle moon" always turn the same face to us? Astronomers tell usthat it is because she also turns slowly round on her own axis while she istravelling round the earth. _How_ this is, I don't think I can explain toyou: but it is true that we can see only one side of the moon, that sidewhich catches the sunlight, and that hardly anything is known about theother side. 

Next time the beautiful moonlight nights come, remember, as you watch allthese changes, that this "waxing" and "waning" of the moon comes to pass, not because she really changes her shape, but because, as she goes roundthe earth, we see sometimes more, sometimes less of the bright part whichis lit up by the sun. The moon is dark in herself, like our earth; not likethe sun, and those stars which shine by their own glorious light; if shehad light of her own, it would be full moon every night; but all that softbrightness which makes everything look so beautiful in the quiet moonlight, really comes from the sun. When the sun has gone down, as it were, into thesea, or has disappeared behind some distant mountain, how do you know thatthere _is_ any sun? Look at the moon "walking in brightness, " and rememberthat it is only as the light of the absent sun falls upon her and isreflected from her face (just as Chrissie said he had often seen the lightof the setting sun thrown back from the windows) that she can shine at all. 

[Illustration: "YON CRESCENT MOON, A GOLDEN BOAT, HANGS DIM BEHIND THETREE, O!"]

Little children love the moon. I have seen a baby who could hardly speak, clasp her tiny hands and call out, "Have it! have it!" as she saw it glowlike a lamp behind the trees; and we do not lose this love as we growolder. 

When we remember that the sun is four hundred times farther away from usthan the moon, it makes our earth's silent companion seem very near bycomparison; but still you will not think the journey to the moon a shortone, when I tell you that if you could travel through the fields of air, rushing along in a fast train, never stopping day or night, it would beeight months before you got to your journey's end. And when you did getthere you would have arrived at a more desolate country than you everdreamed of--a place much like what we might imagine our earth would havebecome if there were no water, no air (for if there is air, it is so thinthat no creature like any we know could breathe it), no greenness orbeauty, though there might be scenery grand in its awfulness. 

Have you ever looked through a telescope at the moon? I have. Last summer Iwas staying at a seaside town, and one evening I noticed a crowd gatheredon the sands. As I came nearer, I found that a man was showing the moon andplanets through his telescope to any who wished to see what they could see. He was selling peeps through the telescope, which was a pretty good-sizedone, at a penny a peep. Now, though I had read a great deal about the moon, and had seen in books photographs of what are called lunar landscapes, Ihad never once had a chance of looking at her face through anything but abit of smoked glass, at the time of an eclipse. 

So I paid my penny, and when my turn came I stood upon the stool and had mypeep. I can only tell you that the moon did not look nearly so beautiful tome through the showman's little telescope as she did when my peep was over, and I saw her once more sailing through the deep blue of the sky, the queenof night indeed. 

I had read that astronomers had found that the nearer their greattelescopes brought them to the moon, the more like a barren rock shebecame, and when I had this nearer view of her than ever before, she lookedto me just as she had been described, like "a burnt-out cinder. "

You know the shadowy figure which you can see, sometimes more distinctlythan at others, on the face of the moon (when I was a child I was told thatit was "the man in the moon"!), this appearance is caused by deep valleys, or by the shadows of terrible mountain peaks, which were once volcanoes, throwing out smoke and lava. While I was looking through his telescope, theshowman pointed out to me two of the highest of these peaks, and told metheir names, that is the names which the astronomers had given them; forthese rocky heights have been marked upon maps of the moon, just as theWelsh mountains are marked upon the map of England and Wales. Upon thesemaps we can find Mount Tycho, Mount Gassendi, Mount Copernicus--all ofthem extinct volcanoes--and the name of Apennines has been given to a vastmountain-chain; and the heights of all these mountain peaks have beenascertained by measuring the shadows cast by them. There are oceans andseas also marked upon these moon-maps, but they were named at a time whenit was not yet known that they were great plains; for, as I told you, notrace of water, cloud, or even mist has been discovered there. 

Are you sorry to hear that the moon which looks so lovely to our sight, isfound by those who can get a nearer view to be such a weird and desolateplace that it seemed as if only death reigned there? I know I was, whenfirst I read about it, and saw a picture of the moon, and wondered at itsbare mountain peaks, with their rugged craters and dreadful precipices, andits "Ocean of Storms" and "Lake of Death, " as two of the sea-like plainshave been called. I wondered how it could have become, as it were, like adead earth; but this is one of the things which God has not told us about. What He _has_ told us is that He made this "lesser light to rule thenight, " and as she moves over the sky in her calm silent beauty, she speaksto us of His goodness in giving not only the sun to rule by day, but themoon and stars to rule by night, those wonderful stars whose silent voiceis ever making known His power, and telling of His glory; as the poetAddison has beautifully said--

 "For ever singing as they shine, The hand that made us is Divine!"

This is a long chapter, but we have been speaking of a vast subject, andbefore I close it, I want to refer to two wonderful things about the stars, to which God draws our attention in His word. He tells us that "one stardiffereth from another star in glory, " and astronomers have discoveredthat there was a deeper truth than they at first imagined underlying thesewords. 

But what I specially want to speak of for a moment is the number of theseheavenly bodies, and their distance from us. 

In the hundred and thirty-seventh Psalm, two verses are placed closetogether, the one speaking of the power and greatness of God, the other ofHis tenderness and compassion towards His creatures. 

"He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds. "

"He telleth the number of the stars; He calleth them all by names. "

And in the Book of Job we read--

"Is not God in the height of heaven? And behold the height of the stars, how high they are!"

There are wonderful things to learn about the colour of the stars, someyellow like our own sun, others of a dazzling whiteness, and others givingout beautiful rainbow-coloured light. But these wonders you must studyby-and-by; just now we will speak first of their amazing number, as theyappear to our eyes when by the help of the telescope we peer deeper anddeeper into the blue depths of the sky. When alluding to the stars in ageneral way we include the seven planets--one of them our own earth--whichmove round our sun, and are as it were so near home that five of them maybe seen without the telescope--though not more than three are visible atthe same time--and also those myriads of "fixed stars, " all of which aresuns, many of them much larger than our own glorious sun, and removed fromour ken by distances which our minds refuse to grasp. 

I have been told that the number of stars which can be seen with the nakedeye is five thousand, but that only half that number are visible at thesame time. 

If you ask me how many can be seen with the help of the telescope, I cannottell you, because more powerful glasses are constantly being made, only todiscover worlds beyond worlds, ever new and more distant, strewn in spacelike golden dust, while stars hitherto invisible through the most powerfultelescope can now be made to leave the impress of their rays upon thephotographic plate--so that a great astronomer of our time can show uspictures of "invisible stars. "

God who made them, God who has appointed to each its own path through theheavens, and also guides and controls each world and system of worlds inits course, so that in all His universe there is no jar, no clash, no beingbefore or after time--He alone can tell their number. 

And when we consider their height, their amazing distance from us and from, each other, the wonder only grows. 

If we think of the worlds hung in space like our own, our nearest neighbouramong them, the "red planet Mars, " is thirty-five millions of miles away, while the grand planet Saturn--the "ringed world"--though lighted up by oursun, is so distant, so "_high_, " that the ever-hasting traveller whom weimagined some time ago rushing through space at the speed of an expresstrain, would take two thousand years on his endless journey. Yet Saturn'srays actually come to our eyes from this vast infinity of distance--whilethe light of the nearest star--and you know we say "quick as light"--takesmore than four years to reach us. 

These things, so far beyond our scanty thoughts to conceive, are indeed toogreat for us, but how simply the Bible speaks of them--

"By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them bythe breath of His mouth. "

"By His spirit HE hath garnished the heavens. "

"It is HE that buildeth His storeys in the heavens. "

In the next chapter you will read a true story which I told my scholars asa reward for their attention while we had been speaking on a very difficultsubject. I hope you will be as much interested in John Britt as they were. 

Here are some beautiful verses, speaking of the way in which "the heavensdeclare the glory of God, " and my story shows how they may "utter forth aglorious voice" to ears closed to every earthly sound. 

 "The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, The spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their great original proclaim. Th' unwearied sun, from day to day, Doth his Creator's power display. And publishes to every land The work of an Almighty Hand. 

 "Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale, And nightly to the list'ning earth, Repeats the story of her birth: While all the stars that round her burn, And all the planets in their turn, Confirm the tidings as they roll, And spread the truth from pole to pole. 

 "What though, in solemn silence all Move round this dark terrestrial ball; What though no real voice nor sound Amidst their radient orbs be found; In reason's ear they all rejoice, And utter forth a glorious voice; For ever singing as they shine-- The hand that made us is Divine. "

ADDISON

STORY OF A DEAF BOY WHO HEARD THE SUN PROCLAIM THE GLORY OF GOD. 

This story is about an Irish boy who was deaf and dumb. Do you know whatthat means? Thank God, you who cannot know. I have been in a school whereevery scholar was deaf and dumb. These children had been patiently taughtthe finger language, and they had also learnt to express themselves by thequicker language of signs, so that they could understand a great deal, andcould do many clever things; but it made me very sad to see so many of themat once, for I knew that this world was to them a silent world. They couldsee people speak and smile, but never hear one sound; they might watch thefingers of anyone who was playing the piano move quickly over the keys, butnot one note of music could reach them. Think how sad it must be never tohave heard your mother's voice, never to be able to speak to those you loveexcept by signs, which can tell so little of what you want to say, evenif they are understood. Ah, you cannot tell _how_ sad it is! Ernest andSharley and May were with me when we went to the school; and when some ofthe elder boys acted little plays, just as you might act "dumb charades, "to amuse the visitors, they were delighted with their cleverness, andlaughed heartily; and I daresay the boys were pleased to see them laugh, though they could not hear them. These boys spoke very quickly on theirfingers, and wrote beautifully on the black board, in answer to questionswhich they were asked. I do not remember what these questions and answerswere; but I know we all thought some of the questions too difficult, andwondered at the good and thoughtful answers which were given. They remindedme of the reply to a difficult question I once saw a deaf and dumb boywrite. 

The teacher of his school asked the visitors who had come to see it, toput any questions they liked to the boys. Some questions in history andgeography and arithmetic were asked and answered; and then a lady said, "Ask them to tell what is the amount of the Christian's riches. "

There was a pause; but presently a boy of fourteen stepped forward, tookthe chalk, and wrote this text as the answer: "Having nothing, and yetpossessing all things. " I think he must have known what it is to be "richunto God. "

It is sad to think that when the ear, that "gateway of knowledge, " is shut, a poor child may, for want of teaching, and often for want of love andsympathy, grow up almost like an animal; his friends thinking him stupid, because he cannot ask questions or tell anything that is in his mind, untilat last he really becomes stupid, and his mind grows dull from want of use. 

I am glad to tell you that a way has lately been found, by which childrenwho have never heard a sound may be taught, not only to understand thespeech of others, but to speak themselves. It is true that their talksounds strange and unnatural, and is not easy to understand, but wherethis method is known it makes a wonderful difference in the lives of thepoor children who have been so cut off from intercourse with others. By carefully watching the lips of their teachers, those who learn this"lip-reading" can tell what is said, and I have seen them write it down, just as you would write a dictation lesson; and quite as correct, thoughthey only see the words, and you hear them. But before they have learned tounderstand in this way, and still more before they have learned to speak, great patience is needed, both in teachers and children. I have heard thatin the schools where lip-reading is taught, the children are forbidden tomake signs to each other or talk on their fingers, and so some of themlearn this much better plan wonderfully quickly. 

Sometimes children become deaf after a fever, sometimes from a fall ora heavy blow, or from a fright; some are born so. I do not know how ithappened in the case of this boy whose story I want to tell you, becausethe lady who has written an account of him never knew him till he waseleven years old; but I think he must either have been born deaf, or havelost his hearing when he was a baby, for he had never spoken a word, and upto the time when his story begins he had never been taught anything. Hisname was John Britt, but everybody called him Jack; not that it matteredto him what, he was called, for he had never heard his own name, nor theshouts of the boys with whom he played, nor the crowing of the cocks, asthey flapped their wings in his mother's yard; all the world was dumb andsilent to poor Jack. 

When he first came to the house of the lady who was to be such a kindfriend to him, Jack looked a very stupid boy. I am sure he was shy too, forhe had never before been in any house but the poor little cottage where hewas born, or the cottages of the neighbour folk; and when this lady fromEngland tried to make him understand that she wanted to be friends withhim, he kept looking round at all the fine things in her drawing-room. Somepeople would have thought him a very rude boy, but she only watched himwith pitying eyes, and longed to teach him about God. But how could shebegin to teach him, since he could not hear a word she said?

This was what May was most anxious to know; and I could not tell her howthe very beginning was made, nor how Jack liked his first lesson. It musthave been a very difficult task, but you know what you have often heard, "Where there's a will there's a way. " Jack's lady greatly longed to dosomething for the poor boy; she was deaf herself, and was obliged to usean ear trumpet, by which the voices of those who spoke to her were broughtnearer to her ear, and perhaps this made her pity one who had never heardat all, more than she might otherwise have done. But God had given her afeeling of love and tenderness towards him, and a great longing and earnestpurpose to help him, and He showed her the way to put His truth within thereach of this poor boy, whose life had been almost as lonely as if he hadbeen, shut up in prison, and gave her faith and patience, and courage toundertake what seemed a hopeless task. One of the things she did was toget a box of letters, and she held Jack's hand while he copied them on aslate--I think this must have been his first real lesson--and when he hadcopied the letters a great many times, without any idea of what he wasdoing, but just to please his kind friend, she took the three letters D-O-Gand put them together. Her pet dog was lying in his basket by the fire, andshe pointed to him, and then pointed to the letters, and after she had donethis over and over again many times, she saw that the boy was beginning tounderstand that the letters, in some strange way, must have something todo with the dog. When this step was gained, she threw the D, O, and G backinto the box, and Jack had to pick the three letters out, one by one, andput them together again. Then, when this word was quite learnt, she taughthim the names of other things which he knew--all in three letters--and lastof all showed him how to make the letters on his fingers, teaching him whatis called the deaf and dumb alphabet. 

All this seemed a pleasant game to poor Jack, and he little thought that hewas being taught to read, and to speak on his fingers while he was playingat it. As time went on, the boy became very quick at this game; he knew howto write a great many words, and to spell them in the finger alphabet, andthe more he learnt the more he wanted to know. He now began to bring allsorts of things to his teacher, spelling "W-h-a-t, what, " on his fingersagain and again, until she had taught him their names. She saw that hismind, which had been almost asleep, was fast waking up, and she prayed Godto show her how to teach this child not only words and names, but that"fear of the Lord" which "is the beginning of knowledge. "

Jack's lady well knew that though he was so clever and quick at learning, he knew nothing about the God who had made him for Himself, nor about theLord Jesus Christ who had paid such a price--His own precious blood--toredeem poor Jack, and buy him back for God. She never forgot whileteaching him, that he had within him a priceless treasure of which he knewnothing--that immortal spirit which must go on living always, somewhere--and so, more and more earnestly her cry went up to God: "Teachme how to teach this boy about Thee!"

At last the opportunity come. One day Jack pointed upwards at the sun, andshowed by signs that he wished to know who had made that great light in thesky--had his lady made it?

She shook her head, as he next made signs for the names of two or threepeople, asking whether the sun had been made by them; and then she pointedto heaven and spelled G-O-D. She told him three things about God: He wasgreat, He was kind, He was always looking at Jack. 

Soon after this the boy came again with his eager "_What? what?_"--andexplained that he could not find out how the sun was made, because it wasso bright that he could not keep looking at it; but he said he knew allabout the moon. It was rolled up into a ball and then sent across the sky, just as he would roll a marble along the floor. And the stars--he knew allabout them too; someone had cut them out with a pair of scissors, and stuckthem into the sky. 

I need not tell you that the children, who had just been learning that thestars are suns, were much amused at this notion of Jack's. 

And now this poor boy began to search for God. He came to his lady and toldher that she was "bad Ma'am, " and had told what was not true; for he saidhe had been everywhere to look for God, he had even got up in the night totry to find Him; but nowhere, in the streets or in the fields, had he seenanyone tall enough to reach the sky, so that he could put up his hand andstick the bright stars there. And so he repeated many times, "God, _no_;God, _no_, " until she could not bear to hear him; for she knew that Satanwas trying to take away from him the thought of God, and make this poor boylike the fool of whom the fourteenth Psalm speaks, who "said in his heart, No God. " Jack's lady was silent, for she knew not what to say; but againshe prayed to God to teach her how to teach him; and then she did what theboy thought a very strange thing, and I am sure you will think it so too. 

A pair of bellows was hanging beside the fire; she took them and began toblow the hot coals into a ruddy flame. Then suddenly she turned to Jackand blew puff, puff, at his hand. He did not like the cold air, and shrankback. When she blew again, saying, "What? what?" just as he had done, hegot angry and said she was bad, and it made him cold. She still pretendedto be very much surprised that he should feel anything uncomfortable, andlooked all over the bellows as if in search of something; then she blewagain, and explained that she could not see anything, repeating just as hehad done, "Wind, _no_: wind, _no_. "

With joy and wonder she saw that her lesson had been understood. Puttingtwo fingers side by side--the only way which he could think of to expresslikeness--Jack repeated over and over, "God like wind; God like wind. "

After this he often spoke of God; once when he had been trying to look atthe sun, he shut his dazzled eyes and spelt on his fingers, "God like sun. "The lightning was to him "God's eye"; the rainbow, "God's smile"; and ofliving creatures he would say, patting them kindly, "God made, God made. "

About this time, while Jack's lady was still praying for him, and askingGod to show her how to teach him the sweet story of the love of the LordJesus Christ his Saviour, a fever came to the place, and the boy saw thestrange and sad sight of many funerals passing along the road, as one andanother of those whom he had known when they were strong and well, fellsick and died. One day he spoke about them, asking by signs whether theywould ever open their eyes again. Without answering his eager question, thelady took a piece of paper and began to draw, and Jack stood by lookingat her. It was a strange picture, and she went on explaining it as shedrew. First Jack saw a crowd of people--men and women, boys and girls--andhis teacher told him to look at them well, for he, Jack, was in thatcrowd--everybody was there. Then she drew a great pit, and out of it cameflames; and she told him that all in that crowd were "bad, bad, " and thatGod was very angry with these bad people, and said they must all go intothat dreadful pit. 

Poor Jack looked in her face with a frightened stare; he knew that he wasin that crowd, that he was one of those bad people. "Must I go there?" hisanxious look seemed to ask. Still she did not speak, but went on drawing, and as she drew one man, standing alone, she told Jack that He was the Sonof God, come down from heaven--come to die instead of that crowd of badpeople, so that they might be saved from that dreadful pit. Then it was herturn to look anxiously into the boy's face. Had her poor Jack understoodthe picture?

Yes, he had understood; and his next question showed that he was thinkingearnestly of what she had told him. 

Pointing to the crowd of people, he said they were "_many_, very many"; butthe Man who come to die instead of them was "_One_, only One"; and thenagain he asked, "What? what?" in his eager way. 

How should this question be answered? How should Jack be shown that whileall in that crowd of people had sinned--all "come short of the glory ofGod"--the Holy One who came to do God's will and to give Himself a ransomfor them, had glorified Him on the earth, and finished the work which HisFather had given Him to do?

His teacher did not now draw a picture; but she made one in another way. There were some dead flowers in the room; taking a pair of scissors, shecut them up into little bits, till they lay in a brown heap on the table. Jack watched her do this, and then he saw her take from her finger her goldring, and lay it down beside the brown heap. Pointing to the dead flowers, she said, "Many"; pointing to the ring, she said, "One"; and then asked, "Which will you have?"

With a laugh of delight, Jack made her see that he understood this picturealso. The brown heap of worthless, withered flowers was like that crowd ofpeople--"many, " but all bad; the ring, all of gold--only "one" thing, butso precious--was like Him who died to save them; and over and over again hespelt, "One! One!"

Then presently, as the thought came to him that he, Jack, was in thatcrowd; that he was one of the "many" for whom that holy One had givenHimself, his heart was full; he burst into tears, and looking upwards hespelt again, "Good One! good One!" and ran for the box of letters that hemight learn His name. 

And so this boy learnt for the first time that Name which is above everyname, the Name of Jesus. 

It would take too long to tell you how Jack learnt each day something moreabout the Lord Jesus Christ. You see he had to be taught the story of Hiswondrous birth; of His life in this world, so full of deeds of love andpower, and words of grace and compassion; of His obedience unto death, eventhe death of the cross; and how He was raised from the dead by the glory ofthe Father, and ascended up to heaven. All this, which you have heard sooften, was not the "old, old story" to him, but quite new; the "good newsof God concerning His Son"; and he did indeed receive the truth in the loveof it. 

His teacher still found that the best way of teaching him was to give hima picture of something which he could see; and her account of the way inwhich he learnt the great truth of resurrection, by her showing him howhyacinth-roots, which seemed dead and worthless, would put forth leavesin the spring-time, and "blossom in purple and red, " is very interesting. After he had learned this lesson, he could never stand beside a gravewithout asking reverently whether the one whose name was upon the headstone"loved Jesus Christ. "

About this time there came a great change in Jack's life, for he left hishome and went to England. The friend who had been so kind to him was goingback to her home, and could not bear to leave him behind, so she asked hisparents to allow him to go with her. They did not refuse, for they werevery grateful to her for all that she had done for their poor boy; and hismother said, "Take him; he is more your child than ours. " So Jack wentfirst to Dublin, where nothing he saw struck him with such wonder as theships in the river; and then he went on board ship and sailed over the sea, and up the river Avon to Clifton. In this beautiful place he lived for ayear. He became a good and faithful servant to his mistress, and especiallyloved to wait upon and play with "Baby-boy, " a little nephew of hers ofwhom he was very fond. 

But you must not think Jack was always good. He had a very angry temper, and would sometimes go into a passion, and cry in a very naughty way; orelse sulk so as to make not only himself but his kind and gentle ladymiserable; and sometimes he had to be punished for his bad ways. Butwhenever he had shown this naughty temper, the time came when he was very, very sorry. He would go and have what he called "a long pray, " and tell Godall about it. I do not know whether it was at such a time that he spoke tohis mistress about the "red hand;" but before I tell you of this, which hasalways seemed to me very beautiful, I must try to remember for you part ofan address to Sunday scholars, which my children heard just at the timewhen I was reading to them the story of John Britt. 

This address was given by an uncle of Ernest and Sharley, and they wereboth there. He spoke about how the eye of God looks us through and through, searching right down into our hearts, and seeing every bad thought there;and then he spoke of God's book, in which all about us is written down, andof God's hand, which writes all down in that book. He said that when hewas a child, and thought of God's book, it made him tremble all over toremember what must be written there about _him_; and then, speaking veryearnestly to the little scholars, he said, "Think of your name at the topof a page in that book, and then, one after another--none left out orforgotten--every naughty word you have spoken, every naughty thing yourhands have ever done, all written on that page!"

When he had spoken for some time in this way, Ernest's uncle George saidthat if any of the children to whom he was speaking really did thinkof this dreadful page, and did not try to hide away from God, but wentstraight to Him about it, and said, "O God, I am such a sinner!" that crywould be written down there too. And we must never forget that because ofthe work Jesus "finished" when on earth, it is righteous for God to blotout the whole black list of every one who "comes to the Father" by Jesus. 

I do not know who had told Jack about God's book, but one day when he wasalone with his lady, he began to speak to her very earnestly. He told herthat he knew that if he should die, like those people who had died of thefever, he would be put in the grave, but that he would not stay there forever. He said that after he had lain there a good while, God would call"Jack!" and he would answer, "Yes; me Jack. " Then he would stand beforeGod, and in His hands would be a very large book, a "Bible book. " He saidGod would turn the pages until he came to one where "John Britt" waswritten, and then He would look to see if there were any "bads" writtenthere; but God would find no bads, "no no, nothing, none. "

"No bads?" said the lady. "Have you never done anything wrong, Jack?"

"Oh, yes, " he said quickly, "much bads"; and then he went on to show herhow the Lord Jesus Christ had taken the book and had found that very pagewhere Jack's own name was, and where all his "bads" were written down; andHe had put His hand all down that page, so that when God looked at it, noneof Jack's "bads" were there; only Jesus Christ's blood. "Then, " he said, "God would shut the book, and Jesus Christ would say to God, '_My_ Jack!'"Perhaps you wonder what those bad things were which this boy knew he haddone. I will tell you of one thing which he particularly remembered. Once, long ago, when he was quite a little boy, he had stolen a halfpenny fromhis mother; this was one of the wrong things which he thought of as writtendown upon that page, and he knew that without the precious blood of theLord Jesus Christ, God's Son, even that one sin would have been alwaysthere. And so he often told people about this, and would smile withhappiness, and say, "Jack very much loves Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ lovespoor Jack. Good Jesus--die--save poor bad Jack. "

There are some things which are told us in the Bible which Jack did notknow. He thought that when the last day was come, all who were in theirgraves would be raised, and all stand before God; he was not afraid when hethought of that great day, because he knew that "perfect love" which castsout fear, but it would have been very sweet to him to have known that theLord Jesus is coming for His own, and that at His call "the dead in Christshall rise first, " and then all the living people who are "Christ's at Hiscoming" shall be changed, and all together be "caught up to meet the Lordin the air, and so be for ever with the Lord. "

Jack is one of those who have "fallen asleep in Jesus"; he died when he wasa little more than nineteen, and the shamrocks, which he loved because hewas an Irish boy, have long been growing green upon his lowly grave; butwhen the Lord calls His own to meet Him in the air, the deaf and dumb boy, just because he is _His_ Jack, will be sure to hear that awakening voice;although he never heard any voice on earth; and to answer to the call. 

But I must tell you a little more about his short life. When he wasfourteen, his mistress left Clifton and moved to a very pretty house in thecountry, and there Jack was given a little room over the coach-house to bequite his own, so that he might go there to write or draw, when his workwas done. And now, to his great delight, he was trusted to take charge of ahorse; he took such care of it, and kept it so clean and neat, that beforelong another horse was given to his charge, and he had also to look afterthe cow, so that he must have felt that he was quite an important person. 

You will be interested about his drawings when I tell you that he workedso hard at them, because he had a wonderful plan in his head. You mustnot think that he had forgotten his old home; though he was so happy inEngland, his great longing was to see his dear parents once more. He didnot wish to go back to Ireland, but he thought if he could only earn enoughby his beautiful drawings to buy a little cottage and a cow, he would sendfor them to come and live near him, and then his joy would be complete. 

He used to pray a great deal about this, kneeling at the window, that "Godmight look through the stars into his heart, " and see how very much heloved the Lord Jesus Christ; and he used to say that he knew God had"looked at" his prayer, just as you might say, "God has _heard_ me prayingto Him. "

Five years passed in that quiet home, and then the cough, which hadtroubled him for some time, grew much worse, and he seemed to understand, without being told, that he was soon going to die. 

When he came down one morning, looking sadly pale and tired, his mistressasked, "Have you slept, Jack?"

"No, " he said, smiling sweetly. "Jack no sleep. Jack think good JesusChrist see poor Jack. Night dark, heaven all light; soon see heaven. Coughmuch now, pain bad; soon no cough, no pain. "

You can see that, when he spoke on his fingers, Jack's way was to make hissentences short by leaving out all the little words, much as children dowhen they first begin to talk. 

During the few months of life which remained after he became so ill, hissister Mary was with him, and his soldier-brother Pat got leave to come andwish him good-bye. For Jack was really going to Him whom having not seenhe loved, and at the last moment of his life his great comfort and joywas in thinking of the love of Christ to him. He would say, over and over, "Jesus Christ _loves_ poor Jack, " and then speak of the "red hand" that hadblotted out all his sins--those many sins which God would remember no more, because "good Jesus Christ" had given His own life for poor Jack. 

The snow was falling fast when they laid the body of this dear boy in thequiet churchyard, far away from his Irish home. His beloved mistress andhis sister Mary were there. How wonderful it is to think that the firstsound that will fall upon those ears, deaf all his life long to every humantone, will be "the voice of the archangel and the trump of God, " callinghim, and all those who sleep in Jesus, to rise in their bodies of glory, "to meet the Lord in the air, " and to be with Him for ever!

 "Then, when the archangel's voice Calls the sleeping saints to rise, Rising myriads shall proclaim Blessings on the Saviour's name. 

 "'This is our redeeming God!' Ransomed hosts shall shout aloud Praise, eternal praise, be given, To the Lord of earth and heaven. "

THE STONE BOOK. 

"_The heaven, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath He givento the children of men. _"--PSALM cxv. 16. 

"_Speak to the earth, and it shall teach thee: and the fishes of the seashall declare unto thee. _"--JOB xii. 8. 

"_Be still, and know that I am God. _"--PSALM xlvi. 10. 

We have been reading a little about the story of the heavens. Now I want totake you from the starry heights to the dens and caves of the earth, and tospeak to you a little about--not astronomy, but geology, as the science orstudy of the earth is called. This is a very interesting study, but one inwhich we may easily make serious mistakes; for we have not here the firmground under our feet which the Word of God gives us, and we must alwaysbeware of saying, "This thing _is_ so, therefore that other thing _must_ beso"; or, "This thing is not, therefore that other cannot be. "

When we first began our talks, we read that "In the beginning God createdthe heaven and the earth"--all that which is meant when we speak of the"Universe. " This is just what we need to know; and how gracious of God theCreator to speak to us about His own works, and set at rest all the guessesand reasonings of our minds as to how and when this earth first came intoexistence!

Then we noticed that there is a pause, how long a pause we know not. Thesilence of God, as it were, falls upon the scene; we hear nothing moreabout the heavens, and nothing of the earth between the time of itscreation and its state as described in the next verse--a desolate, waterywaste, upon which darkness brooded. 

It is a great thing to know how to listen when God speaks to us, and tobe silent when He is silent. "By faith we understand that the worlds wereframed by the word of God"; this is what He has been pleased to tell us, and we cannot go beyond it. 

In the chapter called "Ruin and Darkness, " we learnt a little about the"crust" of the earth; and I told you that those who have studied it believethat they can read in it, as in a book, marks of the many changes whichhave passed over it since the Creation. 

As they search into its depths and bring out to the light of day remains ofplants and animals which lie buried there, they point to these "footprintson the sands of time, " and tell us that our earth is very, very old; _how_old they do not say; they can only guess. 

But long before anyone began to lay bare the recesses of the earth and toponder its age, God had told us that it is older than our little minds canconceive, for He created it "in the beginning. "

Men of science also when they speak of the work of God on the SIX DAYSof His Creation, say they could not have been actual days of twenty-fourhours, as time is now measured. I have told you that in speaking of whatGod does we must never say a thing _could_ not be; but rather lay our handupon our mouth, or speak as Job did when he answered the Lord and said, "Iknow that Thou canst do everything, and that no thought can be withholdenfrom Thee. " But we may also remember that, as God measures time, "One dayis with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day";"for a thousand years in Thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night, "

I wonder--as we have read now four times, at the close of each of God'swonderful days, "The evening and the morning were the first, " "the second, ""the third, " "the fourth day"--whether you have stopped to think why theevening is always put before the morning; surely this way of reckoning timeis very unlike ours. 

Is it not so reckoned because as light was made to shine perfectly upon theearth, when God called it out of the darkness, there was no dawning of thatfirst day? It began when God said, "Let light be: and light was"; then, with the gradual disappearing of the light, "there was evening, " nothingbeing told us about the "unfurled flag" of night, or the dawning of thesecond day. 

This at least we know, that whether in the beginning, when the strongfoundations of the earth were laid, or during those periods of time whenGod was working to bring it into order and beauty, "no touch of man's rudehand" interfered. The goodness of God was seen in storing it with mineraltreasures for his use; covering it with vegetation which has lived and diedand laid up vast abundance of coal; peopling the air and the waters withbirds and fishes. But with all this man had nothing to do, for one of thevery last acts of Creative Power was that which called him into existence, and set him, as lord of all, in a place so carefully and wonderfullyprepared for him. 

And as we look back over those Days of Creation of which we have beenreading, let us remember that each successive Day led up in perfect orderto making his dwelling-place perfectly fitted for him, the creature ofGod apart from all others, specially formed for Himself. As has beenbeautifully said, "when the sea was gathered into one place and the dryland appeared, a secure footing was found for man; when the waters abovethe firmament were separated from the waters below, man, the highest of allcreated things, could look up"--all was done in reference to him, when asyet he was not. 

We shall not read about the work of God on the Fifth Day in this chapter, but I want you to turn to the account of it given in the first chapterof Genesis, and you will see that there for the first time in the Storyof Creation the word "life" is used. God speaks to us no longer of onlyinanimate or lifeless things, such as the sea and the dry land, the earthwith its herbs and trees, and the two great lights which were made to givelight upon it. He tells us now of creatures which live and move and havea being, each "after its kind"; each exactly fitted to enjoy life in theplace prepared for it. 

The story of the way in which God in His mighty and gracious workingprepared earth and sea and sky to be the home of creatures which were yetto be brought forth and created, is very wonderful. But when we read of"the moving creature that hath life, " and of "every living creature thatmoveth, " we come to what is still more wonderful. 

You remember in the history of the plagues in Egypt, that when the wise mentried to imitate what God was doing in sending His judgments upon the land, there was a point at which they stopped, and could go no farther, "This isthe finger of God, " they said. 

What was that point? It was when they tried, by their enchantments, toproduce one of the meanest, as we should say, of _living_ things. 

And so it has always been: man, the highest of God's creatures, apart fromall the rest, is still a creature, and he never has been able to usurp thepower which belongs to God alone. 

It is true that man can destroy animals, and so hunt them down as to renderthem extinct; he can also, as we have seen, by great care and skill andlong patience, produce what are called "varieties" of both plants andanimals, increasing the size of leaves and blossoms twenty, thirty, even ahundredfold; but though he may talk of the formation of new flowers, withendless shades of colour, they are not really new, but only varieties ofthose already existing. You remember, when we were speaking of the "GreenEarth, " we learnt that never, from the beginning of his life on earth, hasman produced a new _kind_, or species, of either plant or animal. 

We must never forget this. God, who said to the mighty ocean, "Hithertoshalt thou come, and no farther: and here shall thy proud waves be stayed"(Job xxxviii. II), has also set a bound beyond which man, however great hispowers may be, is not permitted to go. Life, in all its forms, from thelowest to the highest, belongs to God. 

But perhaps you are asking why I said that we do not in the Story ofCreation read anything about _life_ till we come to the work of God on theFifth Day. Are not the trees and plants alive? Do we not say of a blastedtree or withered flower, It is dead?

It is quite true that plants have a life which shows itself as we have seenin their growth, and even in some "sensitive" plants, by their shrinkingfrom the touch. In the wheat-fields the order of the unfolding of the lifeof a plant "whose seed is in itself, " may be seen, as we watch "first theblade, then the ear, afterwards the full corn in the ear. " But this life isvery different from that of the lowliest animal which has power to feel andto give expression to its feelings, power to move from place to place, andwhich shows in its own way of living an intelligence which is not seen inthe very highest forms of vegetable life. At the same time it is true thatin their lowest forms animal and vegetable life approach each other sonearly that it is often difficult to say where the one ends and the otherbegins. 

But without the plants and their ceaseless work, as the "sleeplessuniversal providers of the earth, " as they have been called, all animallife would fail and die; for they are the means by which all thenourishment which is contained in earth, air, and water can be made of useboth to themselves and to the animals. 

And is it not very beautiful to see how God has made one part of Hiscreation dependent upon another, and all dependent upon Him? Does it notshow us His care for His creatures, and especially for that wonderfulcreature--the last and best of all, who was created for the earth and theearth for him--when we see, as we have seen so constantly, that before theinhabitants of earth, air, and sea came into being, He had caused the earthto bring forth that which should give to every living thing the means ofsustaining life?

I have called this chapter, which does not speak of the work of God on anyspecial Day of Creation, THE STONE BOOK. A wonderful book it is for thosewho can read it; its leaves are the successive layers of the earth's crust;its letters are not only the remains of plants, but the fossil-shells andbones of animals imprisoned there, which tell us that creatures, all insome way unlike any we now know, once lived and died, and are still to befound, not in their ancient forms in rushy mere of tangled jungle, but in"graves of stone and monuments of marble. "

When we were speaking of the coal-mines I told you something aboutthe remains of giant ferns, sedges, reeds, and mare's-tails of farlarger growth than any now known, which have been found there. You arefamiliar with fossil-plants, but I do not think we have spoken muchof fossil-animals, which are found in all except the oldest layers ofrock--the first pages of the "Stone Book. "

The children had been with me to the Museum in the town in which we lived, and had looked with wonder at the huge creatures whose skeletons havebeen built up bone by bone, after being taken from their rocky tomb--forthis earth of ours which has seen so many changes has been rifled of hertreasures; not the gold and silver, coal and iron with which she is sorichly stored, but the wonderful specimens of God's work in bygone ageswhich He has allowed us to see; so that we cannot doubt that such creaturesonce existed, though we may know nothing with certainty as to the time oftheir first appearance in the sea and on the dry land, and can only guessat the kind of life they lived. 

You remember that we spoke, in the chapter about the earth's crust, of the"fire-made rocks, " which were once in a liquid state from intense heat(we could not expect to find any remains of plants or animals there, andnone _have_ been found), and of the "water-made rocks, " which have beengradually accumulated by the action of water in wearing down the land. These rocks lie in layers, and fossil shells, plants, and bones of animalshave been found in them, as we have already seen. 

But how did these fossils get into the rocks? And how is it that they havebeen found in all countries and at all heights above the sea?

Before I try to answer these questions, I must tell you that whengeologists speak of "rock" they mean everything which has gone to form thecrust of the earth, whether clay, or loose sand and gravel, or the hardheavy granite which some of us had seen crowning the Dartmoor tors. 

It is thought that the huge creatures whose bones have been found atdifferent depths in the earth's _strata_ were buried there when the "rock"which formed the layers was soft; perhaps in the mud of lakes, or in peator sand at the mouths of rivers. Then, as time went on, their softer partsperished, but the harder turned to stone, thus forming the "letters" in thestony pages from which those who study the earth try to read something ofits history. Then, as sea-shells are found inland, deeply buried in thehills, it is thought that the land in which they were buried has beenraised by earthquakes, or thrown out by volcanoes: or was altered inposition at the time when the earth's foundations were overflowed witha Flood, and "the waters stood above the mountains. " As geologists readthe Stone Book, like the writing of Eastern lands, _backwards_--as theysearch deeper and deeper into the crust of the earth, they speak of itsOld life, Middle life, and New life: but we must remember that they _do_read backwards, calling the older life what is really the younger. Andwe must also bear in mind that many of the words used in what is calledscience--especially those relating to the study of the earth--betray ourignorance rather than prove our knowledge. The marking off stages in thelife-history of the earth, and speaking of its Old, Middle, and New Age hasbeen done to help in the study of its crust. Nothing is known, however, with certainty about these different periods or where one ends and anotherbegins, and no one knows whether the first, or oldest, layer has yet beendiscovered. One geologist says, "I have found it, " and presently anotherpenetrates a little deeper, goes a little farther back, and finds one lowerstill. Nor can anyone say certainly where a fossil-fern or the mummy ofan old-world fish appeared for the first time, and though many plants andanimals which are found in a fossil state have long been extinct, yetthere are many more which appear at a very ancient date and have continuedunchanged to the present time. 

There is a famous cliff in Dorsetshire upon which may be read, almost asupon a map, the record of the changes which have passed over it during itslife-history. 

On examining the strata, or layers which lie one above the other, geologists find the first, or lowest of all, to be Portland stone, whichwas formed by the accumulation of lime at the bottom of the sea. 

The second layer shows that this sea-bed in time became dry land, and wascovered with soil--what had once been the seashore gradually giving placeto a forest. 

But how do we know that such a wonderful change was wrought in process oftime?

We have clear proof that it was so from the vegetable soil still remaining, and the numbers of trees the remains of which are embedded in the rock, many of them standing upright as when growing. 

The third layer seems to show, from the limestone and the fresh-watershells embedded in it, that the level land where the forest grew sank lowerand lower until it formed a hollow which in time became a lake. 

The fourth layer, which "ends this strange, eventful history, " givesevidence of the whole land having been again covered by the ocean, andagain raised above the waters!

If we were studying geology together, I should like to take you with me tothe Museum, and we would first look at the fossils which are believed tobelong to the most ancient time of life upon the earth; then we would passon to those belonging to the second or "middle" stage, and then to thethird, or "new" stage, letting these wonderful stones, taken from mountainheight or deep sea bottom, or from the depths of the earth itself, telltheir own eloquent story. 

But what I should like you to remember is that geologists of our own timetell us that the lowest layer of the earth's crust which has yet beenexplored appears to be made of vegetable remains, so crushed and altered bytime and by the tremendous pressure of rocky layers lying above it, that though it is probably of the same material as that which forms thecoal-measures, it resembles the blacklead of which pencils are made muchmore than the coal which you know is what has been formed by the decay ofburied forests and jungles. 

In this layer of "graphite, " geologists with the help of their microscopeshave searched in vain for any trace of what once was living, but they thinkit may have been formed from the "flowerless" plants, or even from thosestill more lowly, too minute when living to be seen by the naked eye, andconsisting of one tiny bag or "cell. "

They tell us that these "infant" plants were followed by those of largergrowth, specimens of which are found in layers of rock and clay nearer thesurface, and are followed by remains of the "herb yielding seed, and thefruit tree yielding fruit after its kind"--for mummies of seed vessels andfruits have been found in coal-fields in many parts of the world. 

It is interesting, too, to see that as far as we can tell at present, inthe case of fossil-fish and other living creatures, the lowest forms arefound _first_ (that is, _farthest back_), and are followed by remains ofcreatures higher in the scale of life; that is to say, not so simple instructure. In using the words "higher" or "lower, " we do not mean thatthere is anything imperfect about the humbler creatures; they are exactlysuited to the life which has been given to them to live, but their form isvery simple compared with that of "higher" animals, just as a three-leggedstool is much more simple in its construction, and is made of fewer parts, than a watch. I may tell you a little about these lowly creatures when wespeak of the FIFTH DAY of Creation, and then you will see that they wereall made according to a "perfect goodly pattern" or plan, and each "afterits kind"; for if we read the pages of the Stone Book aright, we shall seeplainly written there that from the first beginnings of life, as far as itis given us to trace them, the goodness and wisdom and power of God areshown in the way in which the smallest creature of His hand is suited tothe place appointed to it to fill, by Him who is "good to all, " and whose"tender mercies are over all His works. "

But there is a great difference between what we may thus glean from thestudy of the earth, and what is revealed to us by the clear teaching of theWord of God, as He tells us what He did in His wonderful work of Creation, and how He "saw everything that He had made, and behold it was very good. "

When God speaks, all is clear and simple and true; and is to be understoodby believing His word: when we come to the thoughts of men about whathappened in the far past, especially when they try to settle not only the_when_ but the _how_ of His mighty working, much is dark uncertainty. 

Should we then _not_ study the letters of the Stone Book? I did not say so;"God has made everything beautiful in its time, " and His handiwork in thepast as well as the present is indeed worthy of our attention. But inreading books about geology, more perhaps than in any other study, you needto ask God to teach you to hold fast by His Word. 

Then, if you read that many geologists now believe that there has been nospecial creation of fish or bird or beast of the earth, but that "all themany forms of plant and animal life have been unfolded out of a few simpleforms, just as the stem, the leaf, and the flower are evolved out of asimple seed"--you will say at once, "That cannot be; for God has plainlytold us of both plants and animals that they were made each 'after itskind, ' and therefore there can never have been such a thing as a fishdeveloping into a bird, or a bird into a lizard: nor, so far as I haveseen, is any such creature to be found in a fossil state. "

I heard some time ago that a young man who was studying to become a doctor, said to his father, "When I go to some of my lectures on biology" (that isthe study of life), "the only thing that I can do when I hear things saidthat are quite contrary to the Bible, is to keep saying to myself, 'It'snot _true_, it's not _true_. '"

I think this young man was right: he had settled it in his heart thatwhatever he might hear, he must think as God thinks. He was like one whowhen just starting in life, wrote these words on the flyleaf of his littleBible--"Man has faith in his compass, yet he cannot understand it. He takesit as his guide across the trackless ocean. He relies implicitly upon it, and well he may trust it. This Book is my compass. I have faith in it, thanks to God: it explains itself; I take it for my guide across the oceanof life--I rely upon it. Man may jeer at my faith, but my compass is vastlymore reliable than his--still better may I trust mine. "

 "HIDDEN TREASURES. 

 "The gems of earth are still within Her silent unwrought mines; There hide they, all unknown, unseen, No sparkle upward shines. 

 "The stars of heaven, how few and wan Are all we see below Compared with what remain unseen Beyond all vision now!

 "Who knows the untold brilliance there, The wealth, the beauty hid? Like sparkle of a lustrous eye Beneath its veiling lid. 

 "So with the heaven of better stars Of which these are but signs: So with the stores of wisdom hid In everlasting mines. "

H. BONAR. 

THE FIFTH DAY. 

"THE MOVING CREATURE THAT HATH LIFE. "

"_This is the finger of God. _"--EXODUS viii. 19. 

"_The Lord . .. In whose hand is the soul of every living thing. _"--JOB xii. 10. 

"_O Lord, how manifold are thy works! in wisdom hast Thou made them all:the earth is full of Thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein arethings creeping innumerable, both small and great beasts. _"--PSALM civ. 24, 25. 

We now come to the time when the empty water, air, and land were filled. The work of God on the FIFTH DAY is spoken of in verses 20 and 21 of ourchapter. In reading them we noticed that in respect of the "great whales, "or sea monsters, the word "created" is again used, as it was in the firstverse; and then, as we read the twenty-third verse, we had a little talkabout the words now used for the first time in the story of Creation, "andGod blessed them. "

How beautiful it is to see that as soon as God had caused the waters to"swarm with swarms of living souls" (look at the margin of your Bible asyou read the twentieth verse)--as soon as we read of creatures to whom Godgave a life different from that of a tree or a flower, a life that couldenjoy itself in the home prepared for it--all these living things wereblessed, that is, made happy, by Him who called them into being!

God's world was a happy world for the humblest creature of His hand; and ifit is now a sad world, where the groan of many a suffering animal goes upto Him who hears the ravens when they cry--whose fault is it?

Did you ever think how kind we ought to be to the creatures which, innocentthemselves, have shared the sorrow brought into the world by man'sdisobedience? I heard someone say the other day, "It is terrible to seeanimals suffer: to see cattle overdriven, and sheep dying for want ofwater, and defenceless creatures cruelly used. But when I see any of thesethings, I have to feel--_I_ am to blame for that. "

When I asked my scholars, "What is the meaning of _abundantly_?" Sharleysaid, "It means enough and over. "

Do you like her answer?

As the sea everywhere, even down in those depths where the sun's lightcannot pierce through the masses of water, is peopled by millions ofcreatures--every drop of water, as we might say, _alive_ with life--Ithought it a good one. A great poet has spoken of the "multitudinous seas, "but whether this was in allusion to their wealth of life, or to theirmyriad waves, I do not know. Certainly in his time very little was knownabout the dwellers in the deep, deep sea, compared with what we may learnin the present day, when the sounding-line has reached the bottom ofthe Atlantic, and actually brought up some of the clay that forms itsfloor--clay which is made up of the skeletons of myriads of creatures. Itwas once thought that no life could exist in the ocean-depths, but we nowknow that life is everywhere--in air and water, upon the earth and withinit, in the lowest depths of the sea, and on the highest mountain peaks, inhot and cold climates, and in the bodies of animals: all around us--earth, air, and water--teems with life. 

Now let us read once more the simple words which tell us all we can reallyknow about what is so wonderful: "And God said, Let the waters bringforth abundantly the moving creature that hath life" (or, as it may betranslated, "Let the waters swarm with swarms of living souls"). 

We will not read farther to-day, as I want to tell you in this chaptersomething about life in what are called its lower forms, and we shallfind that wherever we may look, every creature is perfect in itself, andperfectly suited to the life appointed to it by its Creator, and the homewhere He has placed it. 

My children had learnt something about the two great divisions of animals, those which belong to the great Backboned Family and those which have nobackbone. It is of the latter that we shall speak today. You know that afish has a backbone, and that it is beautifully formed, for you have oftenseen it; but perhaps you have not noticed that a lobster, though called oneof the shell-fish, is quite unlike the true Fishes: its skeleton is notinside, but outside; there are no bones within, but all the soft parts areinside, and the hard parts outside; while the body of a fish is formed onjust the opposite plan. The fish is called a _Vertebrate_ animal, becauseit has a backbone, made up of numbers of separate bones called vertebras. Some of us know that this word comes from the Latin, and means _that whichturns_, because these many small bones are so beautifully jointed togetheras to be all perfectly moveable, so that the long bone which they form isvery flexible. Some snakes have more than three hundred of these vertebrę, and you know how they can coil and twist their glittering length. 

The marks of a Vertebrate animal are very easy to remember. 

It must have this wonderfully jointed backbone, and also what is called theskeleton, which is a framework of bone. 

A spinal cord (from which this division of animals is sometimes called the"Chordate"). 

Four limbs, and red blood. 

In these respects all the animals which belong to this division are alike, though in general appearance they may be as unlike each other as a horse isunlike a bird, or a crocodile unlike a herring. 

Few things in nature are more wonderful than the way in which thisVertebrate plan has been fitted to animals differing from each other in allother respects. 

Now let us look at the marks of an Invertebrate or Inchordate animal. 

It has _no backbone_, and instead of a bony framework _within_, to supportthe soft parts of its body, it generally has a hard shell, or thickenedskin _outside_, to protect the softer inner parts. 

It has _no red blood_. 

Now, just as plants have been arranged in different classes, so animals areclassified according to the various plans upon which they have beenformed. So, besides the two great divisions of the Vertebrates and theInvertebrates, the latter have been classed as--

(a) _Radiata_, or Rayed Animals--those whose parts all radiate from acommon centre--such as the starfish, red-coral, sea-anemone. 

(b) _Mollusca_, or Soft-bodied Animals, protected by shells--such assnails, oysters, limpets. (The members of this family are numerous indeed). 

(c) _Annulosa_, or Ringed Animals--those whose bodies are composed of manyparts, jointed together--such as crabs, spiders, bees, ants, centipedes, shrimps, and many more; for this great family has relations among all theinsect tribes. 

It is very beautiful to see that God has formed His creatures on suchdifferent plans, and though we shall be able to say very little about them, I hope you will by-and-by study Natural History, and learn more and moreof His care in fitting each for the life it has to live. But remember thatall these types of animals, the Radiates, Molluscs, Articulates (as themembers of the "ringed" family are sometimes sailed), existed in the mostancient times: they lived side by side, as it were, and were not, as somephilosophers would have us believe, derived from each other. Each was"after its kind, " and each species remains; animals may alter from changesin their way of life, but there is no passing from one _kind_ to another. 

Now I think you will be interested to hear that in the Stone Book, someof the most ancient "letters" are formed from creatures belonging to theInvertebrate Group. We were speaking just now of the white clay brought upfrom the depths of the Atlantic Ocean by the sounding line. The microscopeshows that it consists of the imperishable part of creatures, tinier thanany you can imagine, which had the power when living of extracting from thesea-water--as I told you is the way of the corals--the lime which formedtheir outer coat, or skeleton. These busy workers lived their little day, and then as they died, the shell-like coverings sank to the bottom of thesea, forming, as ages passed, thick beds of chalk, such as that of whichthe white cliffs of Dover are built up. 

Then, as the sounding-line searches still deeper ocean-depths, it brings upa red clay, and this again is shown by the microscope to be composed partlyof very minute creatures of a reddish colour, which live near the surfaceof the ocean, but when they die sink to the bottom. 

Sponges, too, which form the home of great numbers of little radiates, growupon the ocean floor or near the bottom of the sea; their tiny tenants, like minute cells, living upon still smaller creatures contained in thewater which is held by the sponge. 

And we are told that in some places the bottom of the sea is strewn withstar-fishes and their relations, some of them very beautiful in form andcolour, but all formed on the same plan of a central plate, from which fivearms or fingers radiate. 

Do we not better understand that the waters did indeed "swarm with swarms"when we learn even a little about these living creatures, many of themso small that we should not be aware of their existence if we had nomicroscope to reveal to us their countless myriads?

The Mollusca form a very large group of Invertebrate animals; they liveon land as well as in the water, but the aquatic species are much morenumerous than the terrestrial, and the deep-sea dredgings are constantlybringing to light new forms. Some of the shells which protect their softbodies, and are formed by the animals themselves, are marvels of beauty, and many of them are secured from injury by a waterproof coating. A numberof extinct animals, such as Ammonites and Belemnites, belong to thisgroup--their shells may be seen in any good museum; those of theBelemnites, as their name implies, are shaped like a dart; those of theAmmonites, like that of the beautiful Nautilus of our times; but thefisherfolk of Whitby, where they are found in numbers, say they are "snakesturned to stone. "

But as we have been speaking so much of sea-creatures, I think we willnow leave the oysters, cockles, mussels, and razor-fish, and choose thefamiliar garden-snail as our specimen of the Mollusca, or Soft-bodiedFamily. I fancy you need no introduction to that snug little householder. Often, however, as you have touched his soft horns, you possibly do notknow that the very house in which you first made his acquaintance has beenhis habitation ever since; for young snails come from the egg with theshell upon their backs, and they never quit that first house for a largerone, for as they grow, their shell-house grows too. Look at this emptysnail shell, and say whether God has not given a beautiful coat of mail toprotect a creature without a bone in its body, and so sensitive that

 "Give but his horns the slightest touch, His self-collecting power is such, He shrinks into his house, with much Displeasure. "

But _how_ does the house grow large so as to suit the growing tenant? Mostshells are made from a part of the animal called the mantle, and increaseround the rim; if the snail's house is broken, its slime will harden overthe injured part and repair it. Then, when the cold weather comes, and thesnail prepares to bury itself underground for several months, and takeits winter nap, it makes a strong cement of earth and slime, with whichit builds up the open part of its shell--but, wonderful to think of, theclever little mason leaves, as it were, one brick out of the wall, and thusthere is a tiny opening, too small to let in the water, but large enough toadmit air sufficient to keep him alive during his long sleep. 

Now that our snail has been good enough to put out those four horns of his, let us ask what purpose they serve, and why they are placed' where theyare. The answer is very simple; these "feelers" are to the snail instead ofarms and legs; and the upper pair have eyes at the end, so that the warylittle traveller, as it drags itself along a broad cabbage leaf, leaving aslimy track behind it, can tell, both by sight and touch, what obstaclesmay lie in its path. I don't know whether you have ever seen the eggs ofsnails; I have not, but I have heard that they are about the size of peas, and are buried in the earth, as the crocodile's eggs are buried in thesand. 

Of the many families of Ringed or Jointed Animals, we will choose the Crabsand Lobsters first. They are encased in armour of shell, and this has givento them and their relations the name of Crustaceans, or Crusty creatures, because what bones they have are outside, not hidden beneath the flesh. Butunlike the snail's house, which grows with the growth of its inmate, andunlike _our_ skeleton which grows as _we_ grow, this close-fitting armourdoes not increase in size, nor is it elastic enough to expand, but everyyear one coat of mail is cast off, in a way not unlike the sloughing of theserpent, to make room for a fresh soft suit. This new suit soon hardens, and the creatures embrace the opportunity to make a little progress ingrowing, which they do by fits and starts, not continuously; for the shell, when once hardened, gives them no room to increase in size--they have towait till next year! The long pointed claws of the crab and lobster areeasily broken, and sometimes lost altogether, so that the power which theyhave of growing new ones is a wonderful provision for their life among therough rocks and tangled sea-weeds. 

One of the crusty creatures you know well enough, and you can find itwithout going to the seaside, I mean the wood-louse, which I used to hearcalled a "carpenter" when I was a child. In damp places, you can hardlyturn over a mossy stone, or pick off a bit of bark from a fallen tree, without disturbing a whole colony of these slate-coloured creatures, withtheir mailed coats, made of ten rings, or plates of armour. They seemto know the use of their armour well enough, for if disturbed you willsee them either scurry off as fast as their many little feet can carrythem--and they are able to run forward or backward at pleasure--or elseroll themselves up into tight balls, so that feet and head and feelers areall safe, under the ringed shield which God has given them as a defence andprotection. 

Many such creatures, rolled up just as the wood-louse curls itself, intight balls, have been found in a fossil state; and there is a littlepetrified crustacean with wonderful eyes, which has been found in the slatequarries of South Wales. It is called the Trilobite, because it is composedof three lobes or divisions, and is an animal of the same kind as thelobster. Be sure you look for it, if you are fossil-hunting in the Museum, for it is a most interesting specimen, and has been found in rocks deepdown in the earth's crust. 

Now, next to this Crab and Lobster family, come that of the Spiders, andthen that of the Insects. 

Perhaps you will say, "But what are spiders, if they are not insects?"I know I used to think they were, until I found that no creature can bereckoned one of that large family unless it has _six legs_--not even onemore or one less. Now, a spider has eight legs, and it has no wings, whileall true insects have either wings, or what seems to be the beginning ofwings: also although some spiders have as many as eight eyes, they are all"simple, " while the eyes of insects are "compound"; that is, great numbersare massed together at each side of the head, like the "facets, " or littlefaces, of a precious stone. As insects have fixed eyes, which cannot move, they would be very badly off without these many points of view. 

I wonder whether you ever had a good look at a spider, or whether youlearnt when you were almost a baby to think it a "horrid creature"; so thatnow, when you might be watching it at its work, your first notion is to getout of its way as fast as possible. 

Some creatures are really harmful, and it is right to keep out of theirway, but it is never right to despise a single thing which God has made, and when we think that the spider is one of His creatures, one which Hecalls "exceeding wise, " it does indeed seem a pity not to learn somethingabout it; and the best way to learn about spiders, as well as all the restof the animals, is not only to read about them--though that is a very greathelp to begin with--but to observe and study their habits for ourselves. 

Ernest is fond of repeating a poem about King Robert the Bruce; how, as henoticed a spider six times fail to climb up its slender thread, but succeedat the seventh attempt, he took courage to make one more effort for hislost kingdom, and succeeded. 

This was long, long ago; but Kings and Commons have yet their tugs of war;and for old and young it is still all honour to those who

 "Try, try, try till they win, Brave with the thought that despair is a sin-- Who fights on God's side is sure to win. "

There are a great many spiders, of which we cannot now learn much more thanthe names which have been given them; but the true story of their lives, and the wonderful way in which they overcome all sorts of difficulties, ifrightly read, would make us feel that many a lesson of patient toil may belearnt from such busy little weavers, and engineers, and divers. 

Here are a few of them: The Hunters--they live in crevices of walls andhouses, and have their name because they wander about constantly, readyto steal upon any insect which may come in their way; the Vagrants, who, though they will run to catch their prey when it is in sight, lie in waitfor it, rolled up in a leaf, or hiding at the bottom of a flower, justwhere the flies are sure to come for honey; the Water-spiders--they manageto live under water in a nest so nearly made of air, though in the midstof the water, that this spider has been looked upon as the inventor of thediving-bell. Then there is the industrious Mason, which bores a hole in theearth, makes the walls of its little tunnel as smooth as if it worked withtrowel and mortar, and then hangs them with delicate silken curtains of itsown spinning and weaving; the Trap-door spider, so called because the mouthof its burrowed nest is fitted with a cleverly hinged door, which the ownerof the nest can shut with its claw when it leaves home; the Pirate, whichmakes a leafy raft, and skims along the water after the insects which suitits taste; the Gossamer spider, which rises so high in the air, and floatsat its ease in its own balloon--and Epeira, the Garden spider, whosebeautiful web, covered with dewy diamonds, we have all seen, laid like somefairy lacework, over the hedges, on an autumn morning, as if the littleweaver had been early at its work, as "wise" people usually are; and, asGod has deigned to tell us, He Himself has been. 

[Illustration: THE GARDEN SPIDER. ]

As we can only find time to study one spider, this shall be the one, for wehave not to go far to look for it. 

First let us consider why it makes its beautiful web, so slender and soeasily destroyed that it is used as an emblem of the "hypocrite's hope"which "shall not endure"; and yet so strong when we think of the littlecreature whose cunning "hands" have woven it. The spider lives upon fliesand other insects, but is itself without wings, so that it would beimpossible for it to catch its prey if it had not been given power whichthe animals on which it feeds do not possess--the power to lay snares; thisis why it takes such trouble with its beautiful web, and makes the cordsfrom which it is woven so fine, and yet so strong. The web is the snare inwhich the insects on which it lives are caught, and from which they have nopower to escape, for as soon as the insect is entangled, the spider, in hishiding-place, knows by the shaking of the threads that his prey is secure, pounces upon it, benumbs it by one prick of his poison-fang, binds it fastwith silken threads, and carries it off to his "dismal den, " as the verseabout "the spider and the fly" calls the place where he lies in wait forany winged thing which may "come buzzing by. "

But this subtle and beautiful snare--how is it made? Where do the threadswhich form the silken meshes come from? Ah! you have seen the cocoonswhich silkworms spin, have you not? The weaver-spiders get their threadsjust as the silkworms do, from their own bodies; each thread comes from anexceedingly small hole; there are four of these holes in the spider's body, and the threads are made of a sort of gum which is almost liquid, but whichbecomes hard when it is exposed to the air. The spider spins and twists itsslender threads just as a rope-maker twists his ropes, only using its feetfor hands--for each fine thread in the web, which you could break with onetouch of your finger, is made up of many finer ones, and thus renderedstrong. The only tools which the spider uses for his rope-walk and in hisloom, are his own claws, which are furnished with comb-like fingers, and anextra claw, for winding up the thread into a ball. 

If you could watch the spider at his work, you would see that he firstmarks the outline, by passing this thread from one leaf or branch toanother, until the circle is as large as the web he intends to make; thenthis circle is filled with lines, which are woven from the outside to thecentre, and resemble the spokes of a cart-wheel. A spider has actually beenseen trying the strength of these cords which form the foundation of hisweb, breaking any that are not strong, and weaving others in their stead;for he has a sure instinct which tells him that if the framework is faulty, all will fall to pieces; and only when, by pulling each thread separately, he is certain that each will hold, does he begin to work from the centre, and spin ring after ring, the threads which pass from one spoke to another. When all is finished, the workman rests from his labour, and may often beseen sitting in the place which he has left for himself in the middle ofhis own web, watching with all his eyes for his prey. 

A careful little fellow too is the spider; he is not ashamed to mend aswell as to make, and you may see him busily repairing his broken net, andmay know, by means of this little barometer, what weather to expect; for heis too wise to waste his silken threads and busy skill in making or mendinga net for a coming storm to break. 

 "When the spider works away, Be pretty sure of a sunny day. "

Very soon after the little spiders leave the silky ball in which they arehatched, they begin to make webs of their own; but I. Have heard that thesefirst attempts look very irregular, which shows us that although God hasgiven them the instinct by which they set about weaving snares, they learn, as we do, by painstaking and practice, to make their work more and moreperfect. 

Perhaps one reason why God has allowed us to watch the spider lay snaresfor his prey, is to keep us in mind of the snares of which He tells us inHis Book. There are many very important passages about snares to which wedo well to take heed. 

While I was telling you about the way the spider has of pulling each of thecords which form the foundation of his web, one by one, to make sure thatthere is no weak place in any of them, I remembered something which a younggirl once said to her mother. Alice had always been a merry, happy child, the light and joy of her home, and she loved her father and mother andlittle brothers and sisters, and the lambs and birds and flowers and summersunshine, and games and treats, just as much as you do. But as she grewtall, Alice was not so strong; the child who, when she was nine years old, had "climbed the dark brow of the mighty Helvellyn"--running on beforeall the rest, until the guide called her his mountain-goat, and actuallygetting first to the top of the mountain--when she was about seventeen, began to fade like a flower, and to grow weaker and weaker day byday. [Footnote: _The Master's Home Call_. Memorials of Alice FrancesBickersteth, by her father. ]

Her parents sorrowfully took her from place to place, hoping that fresh airmight give new life to their child, and bring back the roses to her palecheeks. But nothing made her better, and at last, when they brought herhome again from the seaside, her father thought the time had come to tellAlice that the doctors all said the same thing; she might live a few monthslonger, but she would never, never be well and strong again, for she wasnot only very ill, but dying. 

[Illustration: MOUNTAIN PEAKS. ]

It was lovely bright summer weather; you would have thought the sunshineand the soft air would have made anyone well, as Alice lay on the sofawhile her dear father read to her. They had been reading the Epistle to thePhilippians, and when they came to the verse where the Apostle Paul says, that to him "to die is gain, " and to that other verse which speaks ofdeparting "to be with Christ, which is far better, " though he could hardlyspeak for tears, he told her just what the doctors had said. 

I do not know whether Alice had ever thought of not getting better, butlong before her illness, when she was strong and well, she had come tothe Lord Jesus Christ--and now He was her Saviour and Friend, so that herfather was not afraid to tell her that she was going to Him. This is whatshe said, as soon as he had told her:

"Dear father, I am not afraid to go. How I thank you for telling me. " Then, when the tears came at the sight of his grief, she added, "It is onlyleaving you all; but Jesus will be there. What should I do without mySaviour now?"

From this time Alice very often spoke, about dying, but she always calledit "going home. " It was very soon after her father had told her, that shesaid to her mother those sweet words which came to my mind when we werespeaking of the little spider making quite sure that his threads werestrong, with no weak place anywhere. 

"I feel just like a sailor, " Alice said. "When he is called to go aloft, hetries all the ropes to see if they are firm. I have been trying them all, and, mother, they are all right. "

Another time, when someone said, "You always looked happy, Alice, " shesmiled and said, "Yes, but I am happier now. " And when he asked, "Have youno fear whatever?" she replied, "None whatever. "

But had this always been so? Ah! no. It is true that she had always been aloving child, and had many bright ways about her which made people fond ofher, so that it was no trouble to her to win love from all around her; butAlice had a very strong will, and liked to do just as she pleased, and asshe grew up she often showed that she was indeed far away from God, andone of those "lost sheep" whom the Lord Jesus, the Good Shepherd, came to"seek and to save. " But He had sought and found her, and now He was gentlycarrying her home on His shoulder. 

This is what Alice herself said about it: "I used to be afraid of death;but God has taken it all away. I cannot understand people calling it 'beingin danger. ' Once my sins seemed to me as a mountain-pile, but they have allbeen laid on Jesus, and His blood is peace. It is all done for me. I havenothing to do but to keep clinging to Jesus till I see Him. "

I wonder, when she spoke of having had all her sins laid on Jesus, whetherAlice was thinking of that verse which says, "All we, like sheep, have goneastray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid onHim the iniquity of us all. "

How well it was for her that she had learnt to know her Saviour before thetime of illness came; for she was then so weak and so very, very tired thatshe could not think much; but only, as she said, "keep clinging to Him. "And as she grew weaker and weaker, I am sure the Good Shepherd taught herthat even if she could not cling to Him--and it was no longer "the weakclinging to the Strong, but the Strong clinging to the weak"--she was safe, for He has said of His sheep, "I give unto them eternal life; and theyshall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand. MyFather, which gave them Me, is greater than all; and no man is able topluck them out of My Father's hand. I and My Father are one. "

Alice had near her bed, where she could always see it, a beautiful pictureof a shepherd with a lamb upon his bosom. She was very fond of looking atit, and saying how it made her think of herself. "If you see a flock ofsheep going along the road, and one of them is very weary, " she said--oneday when she was very tired, and her feet were very hot, so that she feltas if they would never be cool again--"you would not like to see them go ondriving it, but would wish to see the shepherd take it in his arms to thefold. " She asked that these works, "My Beloved is mine, and I am His, "should be put upon her gravestone, saying that it was her favourite text;and against her name in the family Bible she wished them to write, . .. "soHe bringeth them unto their desired haven. "

When she was almost Home, her father spoke to Alice about the many she hadto love on earth, and the many in heaven; for two little sisters, Constanceand Eva, were already with the Lord. Looking up with a smile, as if shereally saw the One who had been her Friend in life, and from whose lovedeath could not separate her, she said softly, "Whom have I in heaven butThee?"

I think these were her last words; a little before, she had said, "It seemsstrange to be going where you can none of you come with me; but He isthere, and that is enough. "

If you are like the rest of my young friends, you do not mind having theSpider's history interrupted, that we might think of this sweet story ofAlice, and how she too "tried the ropes, " and found them "all right. " Butthere was one great difference, was there not? The spider's ropes are spunout of his own body; they are twisted so strongly and firmly by his ownfeet; but Alice knew that if she was to be safe in life and in death, nothing of her own was strong enough to hold by; she could be saved onlybecause the Lord Jesus Christ had finished the work which God gave to Himto do. It was because Alice knew Whom she had believed that she could sayshe had tried the ropes and found them all right; she knew they would bear_any_ strain, and so she could answer that question about being afraid, andreply that she had no fear whatever. 

I want just here to copy for you some beautiful lines, written by one who"fell asleep in Jesus" when he was quite young, not yet sixteen; they werefound in his pocket-book. 

 "Oh! I have been at the brink of the grave, And stood on the edge of its dark, deep wave; And I thought, in the still calm hours of night, Of those regions where all is for ever bright; And I feared not the wave Of the gloomy grave, For I knew that Jehovah was mighty to save. 

 "I have watched the solemn ebb and flow, Of life's tide which was fleeting sure though slow; I've stood on the shore of eternity, And heard the deep roar of its rushing sea; Yet I feared not the wave Of the gloomy grave, For I knew that Jehovah was mighty to save. 

 "And I found that my only rest could be In the death of the One who died for me; For my rest is bought with the price of blood, Which gush'd from the veins of the Son of God; So I fear not the wave Of the gloomy grave, For I knew that Jehovah is mighty to save. "

How happy it was for his parents to read these words in their dear boy'sown writing, after they had laid his body to rest in the grave which had noterror for him!

But to return to our Spider, or Spinner, as his name means. You have notonly watched him coming down from the ceiling upon his own strong rope, spinning it longer and longer as he travels, but have seen him crawlingalong the ceiling head downwards, and perhaps wondered that he did notfall. If you were to look at one of those eight feet of his through amicroscope, your wonder would be turned into admiration, as you saw thebeautiful little brushes by which he is enabled to cling fast to the smoothsurface, and walk along the ceiling as securely as you do on the floor. 

And now I will leave you to read in some interesting book how prisonershave tamed House-spiders, and about the Water-spider which has been knownto spin its nest in a tumbler of water, and the great Americans, as largeas sparrows, which catch tiny birds; for it is time to pass on to theInsect family. But I must first tell you a story about a Tarantula, a verylarge spider, which lives in the south of Europe, as well as in tropicalcountries, and makes holes for itself about four inches deep in the ground. 

Two officers from India agreed to spend their furlough together in a visitto Australia, the one for the sake of making researches in natural history, the other for any chance interest or amusement that might offer itself in anew country. 

The former, Dr. Prendergast, was one day writing in his log cabin, when ahuge Tarantula spider gently lowered itself from the roof by its slendercord, and dangled in front of him. "Ha!" said the naturalist, making sureof the handsome specimen that had thus unwittingly come within his reach, "I'll have you, my good fellow"; and taking a valuable pin from his necktiehe made a dexterous shot, and pierced him through the body. 

To his dismay, however, the spider, quite equal to the occasion, turnedand bit him so sharply that he drew back with a cry, and before he couldrecover himself, the Tarantula had scrambled back up its rope, bearing thepin with it, and was again safe in its hiding place in the roof. 

Now as the pin contained a precious stone which Dr. Prendergast had had setin order to carry it about in safety, he was exceedingly annoyed at thisloss, and he and his companion searched the roof with care in the hopeof finding it; but all in vain, and Dr. Prendergast could only reproachhimself with having made such a foolish experiment. 

A few days later he was again writing in the same position, when he beheldhis enemy the spider once more descending from the roof, and to hissurprise and joy it carried with it the pin, still sticking through itsbody. This time our naturalist made no vainglorious display of his power asa marksman, but beating down the spider with the nearest object at hand, he again possessed himself of the lost treasure, now doubly valuable onaccount of its extraordinary adventure, and his mother, for whom he waspreserving the beautiful stone, afterwards wore it, set in a small brooch. 

There are six "orders" of Insects, arranged according to their form, andthe number of their wings, and one of each is chosen to represent the wholeclass. 

First, the Beetle. 

Second, the Grasshopper. 

Third, the Dragon-fly. 

Fourth, the Bee, the Wasp, and the Ant. 

Fifth, the Butterfly, and the Moth. 

Sixth, the Fly and the Gnat. 

I wonder which of all these we had better discuss; for there are suchwonderful things to tell even of the tiniest creeping and winged creature, that I only wish we had time for them all--the honey-making bees andthe paper-making wasps, the many coloured dragon-flies, the moths, thebutterflies and the beetles--but as we must choose one out of this greatfamily, it shall be the "wise" and busy little ant: for how are we to learnthe lesson which God has given her to teach us, if we do not, as He bidsus, "consider her ways?"

Before we attempt to do so by noticing her "city, " so full of life andbustle, suppose we ask ourselves for a moment how it is that we see so veryfew insects in winter. Did you ever stand very still, in the silence ofa clear frosty day in the country, and wonder what made all around sostrangely quiet?

One reason is, that the myriads of insects, whose hum and buzz make a goodpart of the noise and stir of a summer afternoon, are all gone. No whirringwings rush past; there is no sound of "dragon-fly, or painted moth, ormusical winged bee" to break the stillness; all the insect-world seemsdead, or flown south with the swallows--though, as there are still spiders'webs to be seen, each delicate thread marked in sharp outline, like therigging of an icebound ship, it would seem that there must still remainsome unwary fly to be taken in the beautiful snare. 

But _are_ they all dead and gone, those happy winged things that danced upand down in shady nooks, or so lately shone like jewels in the sunshine?Where are the topaz-coloured butterflies that glanced from flower toflower, the emerald tiger-beetles, the ladybirds, and the grasshoppers?

Some of them are indeed dead; their little life, bounded by a few summerdays, was soon lived out; they have laid their eggs, making carefulprovision for the protection and food of the young ones which they willnever see--for the eggs of insects will bear the cold which so soon provesfatal to their mothers--and their little hour of work in this busy worldis finished; but many more are only very fast asleep. Like the dwarfishEsquimaux, when _their_ long dark winter comes, and they draw their mossyblankets over them, they are taking their winter rest, and lie hiddensafely in depths of soft moss, or beneath the bark of some ivy-grown tree, or deep in the lap of Mother Earth herself. 

And with many of them, before they wake to life again, such changes willhave taken place that they will come forth from their hiding-places likenew creatures, fitted to enjoy a new mode of living. It is not difficult tosee that this winter-sleep, or torpor, is no wasted time, but a means bywhich God has ensured the lives of hosts of His creatures which, having noextra clothing to protect them from the frost, and no power of migrating toa land of sunshine and plenty, would otherwise be liable to perish duringthe long season of cold and dearth. 

So when

 "Bright yellow, red, and orange, The leaves come down in hosts, "

those insects whose life is in "the herb of the field" have the instinct("that power, " as it has been well explained, "of doing without thinkingwhat _we_ do by thinking") which makes them seek out some safe shelter orquiet hole, and there give themselves up to sleep, awakening only whenthe time of the singing of birds has come, and all the green things aresprouting and budding, and there is food for them everywhere. 

Those who have watched this mysterious slumber, tell us that when it beginsthe insect is as if benumbed, and will move when touched; but that as thecold increases, the torpor deepens, until the little dormant creature seemsno longer to breathe, but lies to all appearance dead, until the warmth ofthe sun shall break the spell, and call it up to life again. 

We are a long time reaching the ant-city, but it would be quite an insultto the Insect-family to give no thought to the most wonderful thing aboutit--the "transformations" by which many of its six-legged members passthrough their three distinct stages of existence; so it will be wellto turn over a few pages in the story of the Butterfly, one of thefamily-branch called Lepidoptera, because its wings are covered withthousands of tiny scales, which enclose the colouring that makes them assoftly tinted as the flowers upon the nectar of which it feeds. 

 [Illustration:. .. "Little butterfly, indeed I know not if you sleep or feed. "]

When we, by rough handling, brush the bloom off a butterfly's wing, we havereally torn away these delicate scales. 

Let us suppose we have been so fortunate as to find a Red-admiral, themost gorgeous of British butterflies--often found late in the summer nearnettles, because its caterpillar used to like their leaves better than anyother. 

We will look at this beautiful insect and see what it _is_, and then goback in its history and find out what it _was_. 

It has six feet, and its head bears two horns or feelers ("antennę, " theyare called), two large eyes which, when seen under a microscope, seem as ifcut like precious stones, and a trunk like that of an elephant, which itcan uncurl so as to suck the honey from the very heart of the flowers. Itslegs are hairy, and very little used; its body, light and slender. Of thebroad, beautifully-marked wings, generally erect when at rest, we need notspeak, for it would be impossible to describe them. 

Now for a page or two in the early history of this brilliant creature. We will go back to the time when it was a tiny egg, laid by the motherRed-admiral shortly before her own death; this egg soon develops into the"larva, " or caterpillar--the word, which means a _mask_, expressing thatthe butterfly that is to be, is thus disguised in its first form. 

How admirable are God's orderings--the same spring sunbeams which, as itwere, waken up the living creature sleeping in the egg deposited by Mrs. Red-admiral, also cause the green things, upon which it will feed sovoraciously, to appear!

For the little worm is a tremendous eater; it seems to do almost nothingelse during its grub existence; but eats and grows, eats and grows;constantly changing its skin for a new one in order to obtain room foritself, while it is laying up a store against the time when it will beunable to take in food. 

At last it really seems tired of eating, and after it has cast its skinfour times, the fifth one becomes thick and hard, and the caterpillar hangsitself by a fine silken thread of its own spinning to a twig, and passesinto its second stage--that of the "pupa, " or chrysalis, from which it willawaken, a thing of life and beauty, to live in the air instead of crawling. 

[Illustration: (A) CATERPILLAR; (B) CHRYSALIS. ]

The name "pupa" or doll, was given to the creature in this stage, becauselong ago people thought the way in which insects are thus enclosed wassomewhat like the way in which the babies used to be wrapped round inbandages or "swaddling clothes": it is also called a "chrysalis, " becausesometimes dotted with gold or pearly spots. But the wonder of it is thatinside that narrow shell lies an insect quite unlike the caterpillar whichlay down to rest; a creature with legs and wings beautifully folded, allready for use when the time for its release has come. 

How little we dream, as we watch a caterpillar crawling along a leaf, ofwhat lies hidden beneath its skin! Yet I have read of a naturalist whoproved for himself that it was actually so. Having killed a full-growncaterpillar, he let it remain for a minute or two in boiling water, thengently drew off the outer skin, and beheld to his delight "a perfect andreal butterfly. " But though I tell you of this, I do not wish you totry the experiment, as he warns us that it requires great care, for thelimbs of the butterfly are very tender and small, and folded in a verycomplicated manner. Nor should I advise you to try hatching butterflieslike chickens, by enclosing some chrysalides in a glass shaped like an egg, and placing them under a hen, though it has been done successfully!

There seems no doubt that all the while the caterpillar sleeps within itschrysalis, it is being made ready for the new kind of existence it is toenjoy; and just as, while the grub lay dormant in the egg, its food wasbeing prepared, so while the butterfly that is to be sleeps in its darktomb, the flowers upon which it is to live are slowly unfolding to thelight. 

And now, what words can describe the wonder of the _third_ chapter of thisstory of life in its changes? The pupa dies and falls to pieces, "An inner impulse rends the veil Of his old husk, "

and the butterfly comes forth, a glorious creature, "a living flash oflight" whose home is in the sunbeam!

What a change! No wonder that it has so long been looked upon as a parableand type of resurrection, an image of what will come to pass when the LordJesus comes, according to that promise which was a comfort to that littlegirl in the Children's Hospital, for His own--whether they have "fallenasleep in Jesus, " or are living on this earth--and all "they that areChrist's at His coming" shall be "changed in a moment, in the twinkling ofan eye. "

To both alike the Lord will give a body of glory, "fashioned like unto Hisglorious body, " a body which knows not, weakness or suffering or death--"aspiritual body. "

You remember--do you not?--that a type is but a very small and faintpicture of the real thing; yet, when you see a butterfly, and think of whatit once was and what it has become, let it preach its little sermon to you;say to your own heart, "If that wonderful moment, which is so soon coming, were to come just now, should I be one of those who are Christ's at Hiscoming? Would my body be changed and made like His glorious body? ShouldI 'be caught up together with them' (those who 'sleep in Jesus') 'in theclouds, to meet the Lord in the air, ' and so be for ever 'with the Lord'?"

And now as we turn from the wonderful story of the butterfly, in which wemay, as has been said, "see the resurrection painted before our eyes, "to the busy little ants; let us see that it is the sluggards, the lazypersons, who are especially told to "consider" their ways. To do this wemust visit them in their own home, which we shall find in some pine-wood, like the "pincushion-wood, " or in some grassy thymy spot, covered withlittle green tufts. Each of these grassy hillocks is an ant nest, and ifyou look inside you will find that it contains a great many tiny rooms, connected by galleries. Some of the rooms are hollowed out below thesurface of the earth; these are the cellars where the baby-ants are keptwarm in cold weather, while in summer they are taken by their watchfulnurses to the cool upper storeys. 

Now I have read that every ant-city has its wary sentinel, to keep watchand ward, and give warning of the approach of the foe. And when he doesgive warning there is a great hurry-scurry in the town; young ants, whetherin their larva or pupa stage, must be carried down to the cellars forsafety, and all the provisions which have been collected and stored withso much care must also be removed to a secure hiding-place. But who is toaccomplish all this?

If you notice carefully, you will see that it is a mistake to think ofthese insects as all of one kind, and you may have heard that they havebeen divided by those who have studied them, into three classes--males, females, and neuters. 

It is about the neuters we will talk now, for these busy, unselfish littlecreatures do all that has to be done; the whole work of the ant-city isleft to them. It is they who collect the food--and very clever hunters theyare, carrying their prey, whether alive or dead, right home to the nest; itis they who build the nests with their chambers and galleries, and bring upthe little ones. Yet these earnest little workers have no wings, and musttoil along upon their feet, while the ladies and gentlemen lead much easierlives, and fly about at will. 

Still I do not think the workers are to be pitied, for they know theirwork, and do it in a very beautiful and unselfish way; and we must notforget that when the earth was in all the freshness of its beauty--noserpent's trail, no touch of fallen ruined man to mar its perfectness--"theLord God took Adam, and put him into the garden of Eden, to dress it and tokeep it. " As an old writer says--"What was man's storehouse was also man'sworkhouse; his pleasure with his task . .. If happiness had consisted indoing nothing, man had not been employed. "

A child, who has been set to watch beside the cradle of a baby brotheror sister, and wants very badly to be off to play, may learn a lesson ofpatience from the way in which these little workers take care of thebabies which are their special charge--for I suppose an ant's egg may beconsidered in its tiny way like a baby in its cradle. 

These eggs are at first so small that you could scarcely see them, andthey would probably never become living ants if not diligently tended; butunder the care of their nurses they soon grow larger, and at the end of afortnight the baby ants creep out, not bigger than grains of sand, but withhead and wings complete. The first want of every living thing is food, sothe nurses begin to feed their charge by placing the little open mouths totheir own, and giving them the food which they have stored. Then I havewatched them carrying them up and down, that they may enjoy the warmth ofthe cellars or the air and sunshine of the upper rooms, just as if theyhad a thermometer to tell them the exact amount of heat or cold that wasneeded. And I must not forget to tell you that part of the duty of thenurses is to keep their babies white and clean, and this they do notneglect, but wash them with their tongues, as pussy washes her kitten. 

Even when their nurslings are full-grown, and begin to spin a silken cocoonround themselves, and it would seem as if, being no longer in need of food, they might be left to themselves, the untiring workers do not give up theircharge. We may see them carrying little oval bodies carefully about: andthese are the cocoons which they take to the top of the nest every morning, and back again at night. Most wonderful of all, they have an instinct whichtells them when the perfect insect within the cocoon is ready to escapefrom its prison-house, and also that it is not strong enough to force itsown way through. Working three or four together, very gently and patientlythey open the silken covering, just where the insect's head lies, cuttingthe threads one by one until a hole is made, large enough for the young antto crawl through. 

When at last released from what has been its cradle and its prison, thetiny creature is still wrapped in a thin covering, which the kind nursesremove. They carefully stretch out the wings of the males and females, andpile the empty cocoons outside the nest ready for building; for waste anddisorder are unknown in an ant-city. 

Nursery days ended, the young insects are now shown "all over the house, "conducted from one "winding stair" to another, taught to know friends fromfoes, fed and petted, until they take their airy flight beyond the reach ofthe wingless caretakers of their infant needs. 

By-and-by you will read more about how the workers, by their busy toil, "Raise such monstrous hills along the plain Larger than mountains, "

in proportion to their own small size; you will read also strange storiesof how they collect the eggs of those little green insects which you maysee in such numbers upon a rosebud, and tend them with great care--becausethese tiny aphides are their "cows, " and they "milk" them by gentlystroking them with their antennę, and so obtain a kind of honey--also howthe red and black ants occupy the positions of masters and slaves, theblacks doing all the hardest work, and being kept strictly indoors; and howit is not _all_ work, even with the workers, for they have been caught atplay, having high games of leap-frog and hide-and-seek!

Interesting as is the mode of life among our ants at home, not less so isthat of those found in Southern Europe and in Syria, as well as in India. They are called "Harvesters, " because they "prepare their meat in thesummer" by gathering the seeds of grasses, and storing them in granariesagainst the winter. I have watched long trains of these ants going andreturning with their loads, keeping their "own side" as carefully as ifpassengers in London streets. A naturalist who was watching such a train, once strewed a number of grey and white beads about, and waited to see whatwould happen. One unsuspicious ant seized a bead and trotted off with itto the nest; but not so a second time; the mistake was soon found out, andthe (to them) worthless beads were left untouched by the wary workers, whobefore they stored the seeds in their granary, took off the chaff and leftit in heaps outside, to be blown away by the wind. 

It has been thought strange that the seeds thus collected do not sprout andgrow, but for this moisture would be necessary, and the ants keep theirgrain as free from it as possible, spreading it out in the sun to dry, andstoring it in granaries, underground like the nurseries, but quite distinctfrom them. 

If you have ever disturbed one of their nests, you do not need to betold that ants, as well as bees and wasps, have stings, with a "poisonapparatus" like that of a serpent. 

How wonderful are these tiny creatures made by God, who has set them intheir places in His creation, and given them their work to do, and theinstinct which enables them so faithfully to play their part in the greatworld, that they are set as a pattern for us to imitate! How true it isthat

 "Each shell, each crawling insect holds a rank Important in the scale of Him who framed This scale of beings; holds a rank which, lost, Would break the chain, and leave a gap behind Which Nature's self would rue. "

And what may we learn from the Harvester-ant, who "provideth her meat inthe summer"?

I think I can hear you answer, "A lesson of prudence and foresight. "

Surely this is so: "The ants are a people not strong but they prepare theirmeat in the summer"; on this account they have their place among the "fourthings which are little upon the earth, but they are exceeding wise, " andwe do well to consider their ways and learn the lesson which they teach us. 

Before we quite leave the ant-city, I should like to tell you that the eggsof ants grow while hatching, to accommodate themselves to the increasingsize of the tiny creature within them. There are many interesting thingsto be observed about the eggs of insects; as to their colour, they aregenerally of that best adapted for concealment; as to the way in whichthey are hatched, I have heard that the mother insect--the Earwig was theone mentioned--sometimes sits upon her eggs, and that one of the spidershas been seen sitting upon the silken bag which contained its eggs, andcarrying it away if disturbed. 

I ought to have told you that there are two great divisions of the insectfamily--those which suck liquid food through their proboscis or trunk, such as flies and butterflies, and those--such as the beetles, bees, andlocusts--which bite and eat solid food with their jaws. Dearly as I shouldlike to tell you about bees, both "solitary" and "social, " "masons" and"carpenters, " we must not make this chapter longer, so we will speak onlyof the Locusts. 

If I could let you have a peep into the box where I keep a specimen-locust, which came to me by post from his native country, you would notice hispowerful jaws, which are so strong that they inflict a severe wound; but itis not on account of their bite that locusts have been used by God as His"exceeding great army" to punish those who hardened themselves against Him;but because wherever they alight in their countless myriads, they devourevery green thing, turning a fruitful field into a barren desert in a fewhours. 

[Illustration: THE LOCUST. ]

Did you ever _see_ as well as hear a grasshopper? The locust is an insectof the same kind, and I have heard that African locusts in the first stageof their life are as green as grasshoppers, but wingless--though theyafterwards have very pretty wings. They are described as crowding together, "standing upon each other in heaps four or five deep, or graduallyadvancing over each other's backs, eating all before them. "

A flight of locusts is indeed a wonderful sight. An African traveller oncesaw advancing towards him a dark cloud; the seeming storm came nearer andnearer; ah! it was no snow-storm or hail-storm, but a living cloud oflocusts. He thus describes it, as it came upon him and his companions:

"Each flake of snow was a locust; we stood with our backs to them, andthey struck us over the face and ears; we had to protect our eyes with ourhands; the ground where the flight had settled was soon bare, and the treesleafless. " Can you wonder that such a storm-cloud should be dreaded beyondany other, and that when the Egyptian sky was darkened by it--and "beforethem there were no such locusts as they"--Pharaoh besought that God mightbe entreated to take away this "death" from him and from his land? And theywere not the only creatures used by God at that time to punish the proudand wilful king who refused to let His people go that they might serve Him. 

But we must now end this long chapter, remembering that we have spokenof only a few of the living creatures which belong to the vast family ofanimals which have no body framework or skeleton; you can read in largerbooks the wonderful things which are told about jelly-fishes and sponges, bees and wasps, flies and gnats, and green tiger-beetles--for when wehave made a beginning in these little talks of ours together about God'screatures, it will be pleasant to go on; so pleasant for some of us that, having once begun, the difficult thing will be to know where to leave off. 

I wish I could show you some pictures which I have seen of fossil insects. I believe white ants and dragon-flies, and even a butterfly, have beenfound among the rocky strata, but those of which I speak were preserved inamber, which is a clear yellow substance, long thought to be a mineral, but now recognised as the hardened resin of ancient pine-trees. In thistransparent sepulchre bees and wasps, gnats, spiders, and beetles have beenburied, some uninjured, and others with broken legs or wings. They musthave got into the sticky gum while it was moist, and been unable toescape--and so have lain for ages in their transparent tomb. 

I wonder whether these verses, which came to my mind while we were speakingof the lessons we should learn from those creatures which faithfully usethe wisdom given them, are new to you. 

 "_Never man spake like this man_. "

 "From everything our Saviour saw, Lessons of wisdom He would draw; The clouds, the colours in the sky; The gently breeze that whispers by; The fields, all white with waving corn; The lilies that the vale adorn; The reed that trembles in the wind; The tree where none its fruit can find; The sliding sand, the flinty rock, That bears unmoved the tempest's shock; The thorns that on the earth abound; The tender grass that clothes the ground; The little birds that fly in air; The sheep that need the shepherd's care; The pearls that deep in ocean lie; The gold that charms the miser's eye: All from His lips some truth proclaim, Or learn to tell their Maker's name. "

CAROLINE FRY. 

THE FIFTH DAY. 

"FOWL OF THE AIR, AND FISH OF THE SEA. "

"_And God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding exceeding much. .. . He spakealso of beasts, and of fowls, and of creeping things, and of fishes. _"--IKINGS iv. 29-33. 

"_The fowl of the air, and the fish of the sea, and whatsoever passeththrough the paths of the seas. _"--PSALM viii. 8. 

We have already seen that it was on the FIFTH DAY that the two greatoceans--the world of air above, and the world of water below--were peopledwith inhabitants; that "God saw that it was good, " and that all these happyliving things began their life blessed by Him who gave it. 

I wonder whether it will surprise you to hear that in some respects theinhabitants of these two worlds are alike. 

Perhaps if you think of a fish and a bird--say a herring and a sparrow--youwill say two creatures could hardly be less like each other; the bird hassoft warm feathers, and the fish has scales, overlapping each other as theslates on the roof of a house do, thus making a perfectly waterproof coatfor its whole body; the bird has legs and wings, and the fish has neither;the bird can chirp and sing, while fishes generally make no noise. 

But if you could look inside the feathers and the scales, you wouldsee that there is a likeness in the bony structure of these creatures, otherwise so unlike. Both are vertebrate animals, though the backbone ofa fish is in some respects unlike that of a bird, still the _plan_ is thesame, and it has been truly said that "among the many wonders of naturethere is nothing more wonderful than this--the adaptability of the oneVertebrate type to the infinite variety of life to which it serves an asorgan and a home. " But when you said that the herring had neither legs norwings, you forgot to notice the fins, by means of which it moves from placeto place in its watery home; as the bird, on its strong wings, makes itsway through the fields of air. Birds too, lay eggs, and so do most fishes, some of them even making nests; so there are points in which they resembleeach other, are there not?

But while we know a good deal about the ways and habits of birds, verylittle is known of the life of a fish; for it is much more difficult towatch its way of living, and what is known about animals has been learnedby watching them patiently. 

Sometimes when you are in a boat sailing over very calm, clear water, youmay look down and see the fishes darting here and there, and you may eventhink that if the boat would but stop you could catch one in your hand; butthe only way in which you can really watch fishes sufficiently to see theirmode of life, is by studying the habits of those which have been caught andput into glass tanks in an aquarium, where they live and move about just asbirds do in their cages; only the fishes' tank must contain water as wellas air. 

Some time ago I went to an aquarium; it was close to the sea, so that therewas no want of water to fill the tanks. At the bottom there was sand, andthere were bits of rock, among which brown and green seaweeds were growing, in order that the prisoners might forget that they were shut up in a glassprison-house, and feel as much at home as possible in their captivity. 

There they were, big fish and little fish, flat plaice and longserpent-like eels--fish of all sorts, of all shapes and sizes. There wereother creatures as well as fish; lobsters and crabs and star-fishes; andthe anemones, which "blow flower-like, " and have such lovely colours thatthey are sometimes called "sea-roses, " were waving their bright fringes toand fro, and catching the shrimps for their dinner with those same softfingers of theirs. I should like you to see an aquarium such as this was;but if you cannot just now, I daresay you may have the chance of watching agold-fish in a globe of water, and noticing how it uses its fins to balanceitself and steer its way through the water, and its tail to move itselfalong so gracefully and swiftly; how it has two pairs of fins, which servefor legs and arms, besides three others, the use of which you cannot sowell make out; and how the boat-like shape of the fish helps it to cut itsway so rapidly through the water. If you keep drilled those two bright eyesover which God has made you officer, you will notice something near thefish's eye which keeps opening and shutting like a little door. That littledoor covers the gills, and it opens and shuts every time the fish breathes. But now comes a question which used to puzzle me--that is, What does a fishbreathe?

[Illustration: A CRYSTAL-WALLED PRISON]

When I heard, long ago, that fishes cannot breathe if they are taken out ofthe water, I used to think that they breathed the water; for then I knew nobetter than the boy who, when he had at last caught a minnow, put it into abottle with plenty of water, and corked it up tight, in order to keep hisprize safely. 

Of course the poor little fish was dead before he got home. It died, notfrom want of water, but from want of air; for fishes draw in and send outthe air through their gills, which are to them what your lungs are to you. 

Those fringes which you see when the little doors open, are the gills. Theyare so red because they are filled with blood; indeed, they are made ofa great number of little blood-vessels. As the fish swims along with itsround mouth open, it does not swallow the water, but lets it run over itsgills, and then out it comes at the little doors; the red fringes take theoxygen out of the water, and it goes into the fish's blood. The water isthe fishes' atmosphere, and it is only from it that they can get air tobreathe; so that if the glass globe were broken, and the pretty goldfishwere let fall upon the carpet, unless they were quickly put back into waterthey would gasp and die from want of air; just as you would, if someoneheld your head long under water. 

So you see that the home of the fish is perfectly suited to it. In theaquarium you would observe that while most of the fishes dart hither andthither, there are some which never rise to the surface of the water. Theseare the flat-fish; and they keep at the bottom, because for some wisepurpose God has made them without the power of rising and sinking likeothers. 

Inside most fishes there is a bag filled with air, as is the india-rubberball which you delight to bounce so high. The fish can make this littleballoon larger or smaller, just as it wishes to be itself lighter orheavier. As it swims along, it is usually about the same weight as thewater; but when it wants to dive, the fish squeezes its air-bag tightlytogether, which causes its body to become heavier than the water--for airpressed closely together becomes heavy, and its own weight sinks it down. When it wants to rise again to the surface, it ceases to squeeze this bag, the air in the little balloon expands, and the diver rises again and floatsor swims because its body is now lighter than the water. 

Is not this a very perfect and beautiful plan? How true it is that God hasprovided for the wants of all His creatures, and fitted them for the lifedesigned for them!

But besides rising or sinking when they please, fishes can turn themselvesabout very quickly. To understand how they do this, you must look at thelong bone which runs right through the body, from head to tail. You willsee that it is made, like your backbone, of a number of small bones whichmove upon each other so easily that they enable the fish to turn itselfrapidly, as you see it does. The wonderful way in which these tiny bonesare fitted together by what is called the "ball and socket arrangement" maybest be seen in a large fish, such as the salmon; but a sardine's frame ismade in the same beautiful way. 

The scales, overlapping each other as they do, serve to protect the fishin its journey through watery ways, and their smooth, polished surfacerendered slippery by a sort of natural oil, helps it to move quickly. Wehave imitated the scales of a fish in the way in which we arrange slatesand tiles to keeps our houses dry. You know how the slates on the roof ofyour house overlap each other, so closely that no rain can get betweenthem. 

When I tell you that there are said to be nine thousand different kindsof fish in all parts of the world, you will understand that even in alarge aquarium you can see but few varieties. In England alone hundreds offresh-water fishes are known, while those whose home is in the sea are muchmore numerous still. 

It has been found that if fresh-water fish is taken out of its naturalelement and put at once into the sea, it will die. But there are some fish, like the salmon, which live in the sea, but go up the rivers to lay theireggs, and then back again to their proper home; taking "change of air, " asit were, but taking it gradually, and not plunging into a foreign countryall at once. 

Some fishes are great travellers. I have heard that what is called a"shoal" of herrings consists of millions of fish, and takes up a place inthe sea larger than the area of London. This fish takes its name from anold word which means an army; and the herring-army has to come a long, longmarch--if we so speak of a journey through "the paths of the seas"--beforeit, as it were, encamps near our shores. 

In winter the herrings are far away north, within the Arctic Circle, but inthe spring they go south, travelling in shoals, six miles in length, andthree or four in breadth. 

When one of these great shoals comes near our northern shores it divides, one part travelling west, the other east. It is in September that theherring fishing begins, and a busy time it is for the fishermen. 

The fish are always caught at night, and the darker the night the betterchance there is of a good catch. When I was a child I used often to standand watch the boats setting out about sunset, and many a time did I wish Imight be of the party, for I thought no treat could be greater than to beallowed to stay out all night and see the nets full of shining fish drawnin over the sides of the boat. However, the fishermen are too wise to takechildren with them, for any noise frightens the herrings, so the fishing isdone in silence, under the quiet stars. If you saw a herring-net taken in, you might forget yourself so far as to scream with delight at the sight ofthe fish flashing like silver, and bright with blue and purple hues whichno painter could copy. But the rainbow colours, like those you see upon asoap bubble, are almost as soon gone; they will have lost their brilliancybefore the boats come in, and the men begin to throw the fish on shore, andto count them. 

One fish, "the Arrow of the Sea, " is never so beautiful as when it isdying. I have read that the Romans--after they ceased to be a brave people, and became idle and pleasure-loving--used to have these fish brought inbefore dinner and shown to the guests. The gay, thoughtless ladies, as theyclapped their hands with delight at the beauty of the quickly-changingcolours--white turning to sky-blue, and then to deep red--cared no more forthe suffering of the poor fish, gasping and dying before them, than for thefading petals of a rose; so hard-hearted can people become, who think onlyof their own pleasure. If poor Jack had been there, it would have madehim grieved and angry indeed to have seen one of the "God-made" creaturestreated so cruelly, would it not? You remember how he loved all livingthings, and could not bear that they should be hurt. 

From the Gold-fish, with their brilliant, flashing scales, you can formsome idea of how brightly coloured the fish in tropical seas are; but themost brilliant fishes have not always the most graceful forms, nor are theyso good for food as those better known to us. 

It is very interesting to observe that the sea-creatures which live uponthe surface of the ocean are bluish or quite colourless and transparent, assome jelly fish, which look as if they were made of glass, and one kind offish of which I have heard that its body is so transparent that the wordsof a book can be read through it. Others, not very unlike, but whose homeis at the bottom of the sea, have opaque and mud-coloured bodies. Wefind that many creatures are of the same colour as their dwelling-place;butterflies are bright, like flowers, insects living on leaves are green, desert creatures are yellow or sand-coloured, those which live among thesnow are white or grey, while the winter lasts, though some of them changetheir coats during their short summer. In this way the hunters and thehunted alike escape observation. 

Fish have been divided into different classes: there are those which havebony plates instead of scales, as the Sharks and Rays, and many fisheswhich exist only as fossils; and those called the "splendid" fish, from thebrilliancy of their coats of mail, which lock together like ancient armour. Most of them are extinct species, but the Sturgeon is one of these armouredfishes. Then the Mud-fishes form another class. But by far the mostnumerous is that to which the Bony-skeletoned fishes, with scales likethose of the Salmon, belong. A few species are destitute of any bonyor scaly covering; and one of them--the Electric Eel of South Americanrivers--protects itself by giving a sharp electric shock to any creaturethat comes in its way!

The eyes of fish are sometimes large, and they can see a long way, andalso hear very quickly. Turbot, plaice, and other flat-fish, which have noswim-bladder, lie with one side in the mud at the bottom of the sea orrivers--Can you guess in which side of the head their eyes are placed?

"In the uppermost, and sometimes _both_ eyes are there. "

You are right, for there would be no use for an eye in the side turned tothe mud. 

As far as we know, fish are not clever creatures, but I have heard thatsome kinds, kept as pets, have learnt to know the sound of the dinnerbell just as well as the lions and tigers at the Zoo know their bell; andyou have seen how _they_ rush about their cages, and roar with hungryimpatience when it rings. I have read that some fishes of various kinds, such as Cod and Ling, kept for the use of the owners in a pond to which thetide came, near a house in Scotland, and regularly fed with limpets by anold woman who had charge of them, knew her voice, and would put out theirheads and crowd to the side of the pond when she came near, and even lether take them up and stroke their cold backs; but I doubt that you willfind your gold-fish so intelligent and affectionate. 

I must not forget to speak of the fishes which make nests, for veryfew such have been discovered, and they are considered curiosities offish-life. Perhaps when we know more of the habits of the finny-tribe, weshall find that some others provide for the safety of their young in asimilar way, but at present I believe the Stickleback, which not only makesa nest but takes care of his young brood until they are six days old andcan "find for themselves, " is the only one known in Europe. In Demerara, afish called the Hassar makes a floating cradle of grass or leaves for itseggs, over which it watches carefully, being ready to defend it bravelywhen attacked; thus in Australia, an eel called the Jew-fish was one daynoticed swimming round and round a clear place among the reeds, and itturned out that it was guarding a nest of stones which it had placed in theriver bed. 

There are one or two strange fishes which you will not see in any shop;though if you have friends who "follow the sea, " they may have told youof the Sun-fish, sometimes caught in the west of Ireland; very large andround it is, of a silvery-white colour, so that on dark nights, when thefishermen have seen it shining as it swam, just under the water, it hasseemed to them like the sun shining behind the clouds on a showery day; andthey have given it this name. 

You may too, have heard strange tales of another round fish, called fromits shape the Globe-fish, and from its skin the "Sea-hedgehog"; it iscovered with sharp thorns, and has the power, by swallowing air, of sogreatly increasing its size (without sharing the fate of the poor toad inĘsop's Fable) that it not only can rise to the surface of the water, butfloat as long as it pleases. Then there are the blue Flying-herrings, withlong fins, which you would see if you took a voyage to Australia. Thesepoor little creatures have enemies both in birds and fishes. When thesharks want to make a meal of them, they leap into the air, using theirlong fins almost as a bird uses its wings, and are able to keep up for somedistance; some say they can fly five hundred feet; but alas! when they areon the fin, the sea-gulls are eager and ready to pounce upon them, and theyhave to take refuge in the sea again. With all their beauty, they havea hard life of it, constantly escaping away from the sea-gull, into theshark!

And now, when we have time, I think both you and I shall be pleased notonly to observe carefully the fishes which we see every day, but toread about others; about the sword-fish, which has neither scales forits protection, nor teeth, but whose snout forms a bone, four or fivefeet long, set with sharp pointed teeth on each side--somewhat like adouble-edged saw; this bone is a most formidable weapon when used againstlarge fish, and is so strong that it has even pierced through the planks ofa boat; about the tiny Sea-horse, with its head so curiously like that of ahorse, and its wing-like fins; about the Whale, which is not really a fishat all (and why it is not will be something for you to find out), besidesa great many monsters of the deep of which I have not time to tell you. We have already had a much longer talk about fish than my children had, although it was while we were speaking about fishing, and how the night isthe usual time for it, that we read two accounts of great numbers of fishbeing caught in the sea of Galilee--not at night, but in broad daylight. 

One account is given in the gospel of Luke. You know that--the disciples, Simon and Andrew his brother, and James and John his brother, werefishermen, and used to launch their boats upon the Sea of Galilee, and letdown their nets into the deep blue water. It was when they had been fishingall night, and had caught nothing, that they left their boats beside thesea, and were busy washing their nets. 

[Illustration: "THERE IS NOT A BREATH THE BLUE WATERS TO CURL. "]

Fishermen feel very downhearted and disappointed when the morning comes, after they have been out all night, and finds them with only a few fish intheir boats: but these fishermen had got one fish. Peter said, "We havetoiled all the night, and have taken nothing. "

The Lord Jesus knew all about that long night of toil, as He sat in Peter'sboat, and taught the crowds of people who stood on the shore; and He knewhow disappointed those tired fishermen must be. Presently He spoke toPeter, and said, "Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for adraught. And Simon answering said unto Him, Master, we have toiled all thenight, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at Thy word I will let down thenet. "

Night is the best time for fishing, and all night they had toiled in vain. The empty nets were there; but in Simon's boat was the One who had made thefish, and He caused them to fill the nets in such numbers that the slendercords broke, and both the boats were overladen. 

"When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, Depart fromme; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. "

He felt what it was to be in the presence of the Lord; how unfit he was tobe near Him; but yet he could not bear to let Him go; Jesus said to Peter, "Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. "

"What does it mean?" May asked, when she had read this verse, "How couldPeter catch men?"

To find the answer to her question, we read in the second chapter of Actsabout the first time Peter preached at Jerusalem, and how he told thevery people who had taken Jesus of Nazareth, and "by wicked hands" had"crucified and slain" Him, that God had raised Him from the dead, and "madethat same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ. " We readthat while he spoke of Him three thousand people received his word gladly. Surely at that time there was a fulfilment of the Lord's promise to him. Peter had indeed become a fisher of men--rescued from the cold waters ofdeath, caught away from the grasp of Satan, henceforth to belong to Christfor ever. 

But before this time there had been that other scene beside the Galileanlake, of which we read at the end of the gospel of John. 

Again after a weary night's fishing, the disciples had taken nothing;again, at the word of the Lord, the net was cast over the side of the boat, and drawn in "full of great fishes. "

The Lord Jesus, after he rose from the dead, was still the same, alwaysthinking of His dear disciples, and caring for them. You remember that Hewould not allow the crowds of people, who had come from far to hear them, to go back to their homes hungry and tired, but that He made them rest onthe green grass while He fed them with the loaves and the little fishes. Now He knew all about Peter and James, and John and Thomas, and those twoothers who had gone fishing with them. They had been out all night, andwere very hungry, and directly they came to land they could see that theirLord had been thinking of how they would feel; for all that they wanted wasready--a fire of coals on the shore, and fish laid upon it, and bread--andthey heard the voice which was so dear to them, that well-known voice whichhad once come to them across the stormy waves saying, "It is I; be notafraid, " now bidding them, "Come and dine. " And it was from those kindhands, which had been pierced when He suffered the cruel death of thecross, that they received the bread and the fish which was prepared forthem. 

What a wonderful time to remember! I think Peter must have been thinking ofit when he said to Cornelius, We "did eat and drink with Him after He rosefrom the dead. " Perhaps he also thought of another time when the Lord askedfor some food, "and they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of anhoneycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them"--to show them, whilethey yet believed not for joy and wondered, that it was indeed Himself whowas standing among them, risen from the dead. 

You will find that there are a good many places in the Bible where fishare spoken of. I hope you will have in your list one which was given me bySharley only; although I had expected that everybody would have found it. It is mentioned in the gospel by Matthew, alone. We are not told what sortof fish it was in whose mouth Peter found the "stater, " a piece of moneyworth about three shillings, which was exactly enough to give, as the Lordtold him, to those who had come to ask for money to meet some expensesbelonging to the temple. Every Jew paid a fixed sum, and this piece ofmoney in the fish's mouth was just twice that sum. How beautiful that theOne who was God, and had power over the fish of the sea, to send them intoPeter's net, or to make even a fish bring to Him the coin which was wanted, should put Himself beside Peter, and say, "Lest we should offend them, gothou to the sea, and cast an hook, and take up the fish that first comethup; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a piece of money:that take, and give unto them for Me and thee"! Ah, but we know that theLord Jesus Christ was "meek and lowly in heart" and He loved to put Hisdisciples with Himself, as children of God His Father!

A writer who lived at the time when our "King James's" Bible wastranslated, speaking of the sea as "the great pond of the world, " says, "Weknow not whether to wonder at the element itself, or the guests which itcontains. "

As we have been learning a little of the ways of the inhabitants of theocean of air, as well as those that people the world of water, let me closethis chapter by quoting an American poet's beautiful verses:--

"TO A WATER FOWL. 

 "Whither, midst falling dew While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Far through their rosy depths dost thou pursue Thy solitary way?

 "Vainly the fowler's eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, As, darkly painted on the crimson sky, Thy figure floats along. 

 "Seek'st thou the plashy brink Of weedy lake, or marge of river wide, Or where the rocking billows rise and sink On the chafed ocean side?

 "There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast-- The desert and illimitable air-- Lone wandering, but not lost. 

 "All day thy wings have fanned At that far height the cold, thin atmosphere; Yet stoop not, weary, to the welcome land, Though the dark night is near. 

 "And soon that toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer home, and rest And scream among thy fellows; reeds shall bend Soon o'er thy sheltered nest. 

 "Thou'rt gone; the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form; yet on my heart Deeply hath sunk the lesson thou hast given, And shall not soon depart. 

 "He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, In the long way that I must tread alone, Will lead my steps aright. "

W. C. BRYANT. 

THE FIFTH DAY. 

FLYING FOWL. 

"_Gavest Thou the goodly wings unto the peacocks? or wings and feathersunto the ostrich?_"

"_Doth the hawk fly by Thy wisdom, and stretch her wings toward thesouth?_"

"_Doth the eagle mount up at Thy command, and make her nest on high?_"--JOBxxxix. 13, 26, 27. 

"_The flowers appear on the earth; the time of the singing of birds iscome, and the voice of the turtle is heard in our land. _"--SONG OF SOLOMONii. 12. 

It was on the FIFTH DAY of Creation that the silence was broken by thevoice of birds. We are so accustomed to the various cries of animals, the buzzing of insects, and above all to the chirping and twittering andsinging of birds, that we can hardly imagine what a voiceless world wouldbe like. 

I have heard that far away in New Zealand, travellers who try to maketheir way through the great tangle of trees and creepers which is calledthe "Bush, " speak of the silence and loneliness of the dense forests asdreadful, and they particularly mention that there is no voice of bird tobe heard there. Very different is a place I know, where, although the treesin which they perch are by the roadside, and noisy carts and carriages arecoming and going all day long, yet the sparrows overhead keep up such aconstant chatter and flutter that once as I passed that way a countrymanlooked up at the trees and smiled, and said to me, "Plenty of company upthere!"

When I told the children this they were much amused, and I am sure theythought it would be very dull never to hear the crowing of a cock or the"quack, quack" of a duck--to say nothing of the soft cooing of doves in thewood, and the sweet, rich notes of the thrushes and blackbirds. 

A Frenchman, who has written a very large book all about birds, says thatif we were not so accustomed to them we should think a bird flying throughthe air the most wonderful thing we had ever seen--and I think he is right;but before we speak of these wonderful and beautiful creatures, let us readonce more the verses in Genesis which tell us of their birthday, beginningwith, "And God said, " and ending with, "And the evening and the morningwere the fifth day. "

We have been speaking of the living creatures which the waters broughtforth, and now we must think a little of the "winged fowl, " which were madeto people the "expansion, " and are sometimes called the "fish of the air, "as the fishes are called the "birds of the ocean. "

Of all the happy living things I think none _seem_ so full of joy as thebirds. Their very flight has such buoyancy and gladness in it, and theirsongs seem always to be telling of happiness. Did you ever watch thesea-gulls flashing and darting about, and then floating quietly above yourhead, or the swallows in their rapid flight, wheeling round and round, andthink how beautiful a thing it is just to see them on the wing, fluttering, soaring, floating in that ocean of air which is their home?

[Illustration: A "WINGED FOWL. "]

Birds are marked off from all other vertebrate animals by the possessionof feathers. How wonderful is the wing of a bird; spread wide when it isflying, and folded up like a fan when it is resting, perched upon thebranch of a tree, swaying to and fro in the sunshine. But how sad it is tosee such a wild, free creature as a lark, or even a thrush or a linnet, pent up in a narrow cage, where there is no room to stretch those wingsso strong and light, no swinging branch to rest upon; but all the littleprisoner can do is to hop from one perch to another, and beat its wingsagainst the "wiry grate" which shuts it in so hopelessly. I suppose wedon't think so much of captive birds as of other captives, because a birdin a cage is such a common sight, and when we hear it sing so sweetly itseems as if it could not be _un_happy; but when we say "as happy as abird, " I doubt if it is of birds in cages we are thinking after all. 

The cage may be of gilded wires, or of willow twigs; but both are alikeprison bars which keep the birdie back from the liberty to which it wasborn. At least this was what an English sailor felt when he met a mancarrying a cage full of birds. He had been a prisoner himself, awayin France, and had many a time longed to be free; and now when he sawthe birds in their gilded prison, he was not happy until he had made abargain and got them, cage and all, to do what he liked with. What wasthe astonishment of the man from whom he had bought them, when he saw thesailor open the cage door and let them out, one by one, until all thelittle prisoners were free!

As you have watched the birds in their flight, I daresay you have wonderedhow they can keep themselves up in the air. Even the little wren has someweight; much more the crows which make their nests in the topmost branchesof the trees. We say "as light as a feather"; yet the downiest feather hassome weight, and will find its way to the ground if not kept up by wind orbreath. 

It is true that the "feathered fowl, " as all kinds of birds are calledin the Bible, are very much heavier than the air in which they float andswim, using their wings for oars, just as the fish use their fins. Butdo you remember that little balloon inside the fish, which enables it torise through the water? A bird is almost a live balloon; as it flies, itbreathes air into every part of its body; this air becomes heated, and iskept warm by the feathers; and as hot air becomes light, the bird is somuch lighter than the air which surrounds it, that it can easily risehigher and higher, until, like the skylark, its little quivering body seemsalmost lost in the far blue sky, and its "waterfall of song" alone showswhere it is. 

[Illustration: "THE WHITE SEA-GULL, THE BOLD SEA-GULL, A JOYFUL BIRD ISHE. "]

The bones of a bird are very strong, but they are also very light; if youlook at the bones of a chicken, you will see that some of them are hollow;when the bird was alive, those hollow places were all filled with air. Takea dead bird and look at the quills at the roots of the feathers; and nowwatch that swallow as it darts so rapidly hither and thither. The bird isable to fill each tiny quill with air, so that its body becomes like aballoon, and it rises high above the roofs of the houses; then, like thefish, when it wishes to sink, it can breathe out all the air again, and soconstantly change its weight, and fly, now high, now low, faster than anytrain can rush or ship sail. 

There is a wonderful bird which sailors have seen a thousand miles fromland. It is called the Frigate-bird, and has never been known to rest onthe sea; it lives upon sea-creatures, but makes its nest on shore. Each ofits wings, if stretched out as when the bird is flying, measures more thanthe height of a man; yet even such an enormous bird as this does not sinkdown by its own weight, but flies mile after mile upon its strong wings, every feather of which unites strength and lightness, never resting tillits airy voyage is over, and it finds its nest. It is said that when stormssweep over the sea, this "ocean eagle" mounts upward until it has reachedthe calm which lies above the storm, and so sails upon its untroubled way. 

The feathers of birds are to them what its scales are to the fish, andhair and wool to other animals--a protection. They are not only light andstrong, but warm, and by their means, as a bird soars into colder regionsof air, it is protected from the cold: while for aquatic birds there is aspecial provision--by pressing with their beaks an oil-gland near the tailthey can waterproof their feathers! Now look again at your dead bird; youwill see that the wings and tail are formed of quills, while the surfaceof the body is covered with short feathers--even the ear being protectedby a little tuft--and all the spaces between are filled with the softest, warmest down. Could any creature be more beautifully equipped for itsjourney through the fields of air?

Then this soft, warm, light dress is renewed once or twice a year, generally so gradually that the change is imperceptible--but you may haveseen fowls and ducks straggling about the farmyard with half their feathersgone--on the principle of being off with the old coat before they are onwith the new. 

The eyes of both fishes and birds have an extra lid formed of very thinskin, which can be moved quickly over the surface of the eye, serving tocleanse it and protect it. 

There are three thousand distinct kinds of birds, but it would beimpossible to learn about so many, they have been divided into fivegroups--birds of Prey, Perching birds, Scratching birds, Wading birds, andSwimming birds. 

I must tell you that Chrissie and Sharley and May had learnt somethingabout these groups from a book of which they are very fond; it is called_The First Year of Scientific Knowledge_, and there are pictures in it ofthe different birds, beasts, and fishes which are mentioned. 

Now, let us think of some of the birds in the first group. Birds of Preyare those which hunt for their food, and eat the flesh of other birds, or of small animals, such as rats, and mice, or of snakes. All thesebirds--vultures, hawks, owls--have sharp hooked beaks, and long claws, alsovery sharp; they fly quickly, and soon overtake their prey, whether theyhunt by day or by night. 

The two birds of prey most often mentioned in the Bible are the Raven andthe Eagle. You remember how, when the terrible flood, which God sent uponthe earth because of the violence and wickedness of men, was over, and theArk rested upon the mountains of Ararat, Noah opened the window of the Ark, and sent forth a raven. This bird of prey could find food for itself, as it"went forth to and fro, until the waters were dried up from off the earth, "and it never came back to Noah; unlike the gentle dove who found no restfor the sole of her foot, but twice returned to her refuge, the second timecarrying in her bill the fresh green "olive-leaf plucked off, " which showedNoah that the waters were indeed gone. How wonderfully God, who feeds theyoung ravens which cry to Him, used those birds of prey to bring to Elijah"bread and flesh in the morning, and bread and flesh in the evening, "all the time that they were commanded to feed the prophet in his lonelyhiding-place by the brook Cherith. The Raven is the patriarch among birds;it lives to be a hundred years old--beyond the age of man!

The Eagle, the king of birds, is a large and beautiful creature with verystrong wings, and has its home in rocky places, difficult to reach. Likeall birds who live upon prey which they catch alive, it is bold and fierce. There is a verse which speaks of it as "hasting to the prey. " Eagles seizerabbits, hares, lambs, and young deer, and have even been known to attacka pony. They often carry off ducks and wild birds to their rocky eyrie, asfood for their young ones. The Sea-eagle lives upon fish which swim nearthe surface of the waves; it sees them afar off with its keen eyes, anddarts down upon them. 

[Illustration: "THE OWL WILL BUILD BESIDE A BARN, OR IN A HOLLOW TREE. "]

Most likely you remember the story of the Highland mother, whose baby wascarried away by a great eagle, and how she climbed the steep rocks untilshe reached its nest, and rescued her child. Her strong mother-love tookaway all fear of the dreadful height which even a young sailor feared toclimb, and of the wild birds who flapped their great wings at her, and thenfled screaming away; but I need not say more of this Scotch story, whichyou may have so often heard, so I will tell you of what happened once inSwitzerland to a little girl about five years old. 

She was playing near her mountain home, when a great eagle saw her, darteddown, and was just catching her curly little head in its strong talons, when a man with a gun, not far off, fired. He had been watching the eagle, but did not see the child, or he would have been afraid to fire, lest heshould kill her. When he came to pick up the dead bird he found the littlegirl beside it. She had been saved by the shot which killed the fierceeagle; but I have heard that when she had grown to be a woman the scars ofdeep wounds made by its talons upon her head could still be seen. No doubtshe often heard the story of how God had saved her from a double danger, and by-and-by she felt that she must ask Him to make her His servant allher life long, God heard her prayer, and allowed her to go as a missionaryto a far-off land. 

There is a beautiful verse in the thirty-second chapter of Deuteronomy, inwhich God compares His care for His people to the way in which the eaglecares for its young ones, and teaches them to fly. 

I do not know whether you know many of the second group, thePerching-birds; but I am sure you have seen parrots, and heard them too. These clever, gay birds must look beautiful indeed in their forest homein tropical countries, as they flash and gleam in the sunshine; but theirscreaming--you know what it is like if you have ever paid them a visitat the Zoo--takes something away from their charm. They have been called"feathered monkeys, " because they are so well able to climb trees. Look attheir dark grey toes, and you will see that two of them are turned forwardand two backward, so as to enable them to take a firm hold upon branch ortwig. They have such hard bills because they live upon nuts and seeds. Youhave seen how Polly holds a nut, and shells it with the sharp point of herbeak, keeping her eye on you all the time. 

[Illustration: "FEATHERED MONKEYS. "]

Perhaps you would not think it, but parrots are affectionate birds. A storyis told of one that was very fond of a servant girl in the house where helived. When she had a bad finger he would not leave her, and groaned as hesat beside her bed, as if he were himself in pain; and when she recoveredhe became quite cheerful again. But I think the account which Dr. Franklingives of the kindness of a parrot to its mate is more interesting still. 

He says he knew two parrots who had lived together four years, when thefemale became so ill from gout that she could not get down from her perchto reach her food. For four months the male bird went on carrying thefood to her in his beak; and when at last she fell from her perch throughweakness, he kept constantly near her, trying to raise her, and showing thegreatest care for her. 

When she could no longer eat, he tried in vain to open her beak, so as togive her food, uttering sad cries; or stood with his eyes fixed on her, mournful and silent. From the time of her death he pined away, and died afew weeks afterwards. 

Such stories are very beautiful, because they show, as a lover of animalsonce said, "what kindness God has put into the heart of His creatures. "

Of the Scratching birds, there is none which you know so well as the hen;indeed this group is often called by a Latin name, which means that allbelonging to it are of the hen tribe. 

Our fowls come from India, but they have been at home in this country fora long time, and are very common in Palestine. If you have ever seen amother-hen taking care of her chicks, calling them to her when she fearsany danger for them, and hiding them beneath her soft warm wings, you willbetter understand the words which the Lord Jesus spoke when He beheldJerusalem, the beloved city, and wept over it. Think of these words whenyou hear the hen call her chickens, and see them all come running to her, and hiding away under her wings, to be kept in safety from some foe which_you_ cannot see, but which _she_ knows to be lurking near, or perhapshovering above, ready to pounce upon a stray chick and carry it off. 

[Illustration: HARK!]

You may often see the Turkeys, Pheasants, Peacocks, and other birds ofthis Hen-family, scratching up the gravel; and you know, I daresay, thatgrain-eating birds have a little mill inside them called a gizzard, whichgrinds their food for them. Birds of prey have no gizzards, because theirfood does not need to be ground before they can digest it. 

The Wading-birds have long bare legs because they live in marshy places, and long necks and beaks to catch the small animals upon which they feed. Snipe and Woodcock have long tapering bills which are alive to the verypoints with what are called nerves, so that they may be able to feel forworms as they dig for them in the soft sand and mud, where they cannot seethem. Two birds of this family, the Stork and the Crane, are mentioned inthe Bible in connection with a wonderful power which God has given to somebirds, by means of which they know when the time is come for them to leavea country where their food is over and gone, and where the winter is toocold for them, for a warmer land, where they may find food convenient forthem, and from which they will know right well how to come back again whenspring returns, with its food and foliage. Such birds are called birds ofpassage; the Swallow is the one you know best, and it also is mentioned inthe verse in which so many migratory birds are grouped together, "The storkin the heaven knoweth her appointed times; and the turtle and the crane andthe swallow observe the time of their coming. " It is God who bids thesebirds "observe the time of their coming": no one knows why they go southfor the winter, nor how they can tell their way over land and sea, and comeback again to the very place from whence they took their flight. 

The Stork must be to the People in Palestine just such a "guest of summer"as the swallow is with us, for it regularly arrives about the end of March, and flies away in the autumn. 

Ships make their long voyages to the other end of the world and back withwonderful regularity, but though the helmsman has a compass to guide him, they do not arrive in port so exactly at their appointed time as the littleswallow, who has only the sense which we call "instinct" to guide it; onlyits own light, strong wings to carry it on its swift way, flying a mile aminute--for even to its little bones and feathers, every part of its bodyis filled with air, rendering it the most buoyant of winged creatures. 

I met with a beautiful passage about migratory birds in a book I wasreading lately. The writer says, "Were they planets revolving round thesun, their arrival could hardly be more accurately calculated by theastronomer. .. . The little birds are guided in their flight through thewaste, lone wilderness of the sky, and over wide seas, without a compassor a map or a path, by His counsel and will. And they obey that guidancewithout the slightest inclination to swerve from it or seek a way of theirown. .. . 

"Migratory birds passing from Africa to Europe over the sea, often alighton ships bound in that direction. Not unfrequently ship-captains tell usthat they have seen birds of prey, hawks, and owls, appearing on the mastson such occasions in the company of swallows, goldfinches, and chaffinches;and yet the cruel birds never touched the innocent ones. The migratoryinstinct seems to subdue for a season the predatory instinct. "

I want to tell you more about swallows, and especially a true but sadstory of a tame one; but first we will speak of one more group, theSwimming-birds. You may have often noticed a duck's foot, and seen how the"web, " or skin between the toes, can be folded up like a fan; or spreadout, when the bird is swimming; Geese, Swans, Sea-gulls, the beautifulgreat Albatross, all these and a great many more of this family; they havea kind of water-wing, which cleaves its way through the streams, and mostof them can also fly, although they are heavy birds. I have seen a flock ofgrey geese sailing on the sea, and the same flock at sunset coming home bya quicker way, looking like dark specks against the evening sky; but it isonly wild geese that will fly so far. 

Now then, we have had five groups. Let us count them. Birds of Prey, Perching birds, Scratching birds, Wading birds, Swimming birds, and I thinkI must add one more; for the Passerine, or Sparrow group includes mostof the small birds, such as blackbirds and thrushes, nightingales andswallows, larks and magpies, linnets and humming-birds, and I cannot tellhow many more "feathered fowl. "

[Illustration: FISHING. ]

Our story of a tame swallow must follow. There are four kinds ofswallows--the Swift, the Chimney-swallow, the House-martin, and theSand-martin; they all look much alike when on the wing, but there aredifferences, especially in the sort of nest which they build. Thehouse-martin makes its nest of mud, lined with grass or feathers, againstthe side of a house, and there lays its beautiful white eggs. 

A pair of martins built their cosy nest one summer beneath the eaves ofa house in the country, just under the window of one of the bedrooms. Swallows rear two broods every season, and one brood was rearedsuccessfully in this nest, but the second was not so fortunate. Late inSeptember--and you know the swallows are off to Africa in October--aservant found a poor little shivering bird on the steps. It was plain thatit had tried to fly from the nest, with its brothers and sisters, but hadnot been strong enough. The poor birdie seemed almost dead when it waspicked up, but in the family there was a lady who loved "all things bothgreat and small, " and she fed the tiny martin, and made a bed for it in awork basket lined with wool. She was delighted when she saw it tuck itshead under its wing, puff out its little feathers, and settle itself tosleep in her basket as cosily as if it had been at home in its parents'nest, and she began to think that she might be able to keep this littledeserted bird in an English home while all the other swallows had gone oversea for the winter. 

I need not tell you that the little martin gave plenty of trouble andanxiety in his rearing; but at last he got on so well that he was allowedto go out in the garden, and sit upon his mistress's hand, while he feastedon any spider, gnat, or fly which was caught for him. It must have been apretty sight to see the fondness of this pet bird for the kind friend whohad saved its life. He could not bear to be away from her, but would sit onher shoulder while she was at work or writing, and sometimes nestle underher chin; tiresome enough in his tricksy ways of pulling at her thread andsnatching at her paper, but still always borne with, because he was such apet. 

One day when his mistress was going out for a long walk, and intended toleave her bird behind, he insisted on going too. And go he did, perchedupon her finger; but on the way he became so clamorously hungry that shehad to take him into a butcher's shop, and get some meat for his dinner. 

She often wondered how long he would stay with her. The swallows had notyet gone; and sometimes he would look up and see crowds of them skimmingthrough the air, and darting about overhead. He would watch them, even callto them and answer their wild cry, then sweep round the room in imitationof their rapid flight; but always came back again to his old place on hershoulder. At last, while there were still flies to be caught; be becameso grown up as to begin to catch them for himself, though he had had noparent-bird to teach him; but still he was a tame swallow, liking to havehis head stroked, and enjoying his morning bath like any canary. 

After all the wild swallows were off to Africa, the little tame martinbegan to feel the cold. This wax what his mistress had been afraid wouldhappen, and she tried in every way to keep her pet warm. She wrapped him infur, and used to pack him warmly in a little box and take him to bed withher; but she was soon awakened by his creeping out of the box, and nestlingunder her chin. At sunrise he would career round and round her room, thenfly downstairs and begin to make himself very much at home at breakfast, pecking at the butter, and standing upon the edges of the cups; but neverso busy as not to dart to his mistress at the sound of her voice. Indeed hewas so unhappy when away from her that she used even to take him railwayjourneys, because she did not like to leave him behind. This way oftravelling, however, did not suit the little passenger-bird, for he wasalways in a fright, and glad to get home again. But many a country walk hetook with his mistress, perched on her shoulder or her wrist, much to thewonder of the country-folk, who used to crowd around and ask questionsabout such a rare bird as a tame swallow. Sometimes they would shake theirheads and say, "Well, well; did ever anyone see the like? I'll never shootanother swallow. "

As the winter came, all these pleasant walks were over. The poor birdiebegan to droop; it was impossible to keep him warm, though he often creptunder the parlour fender, to get as close to the fire as possible; and inspite of all that loving care could do, before the end of the year hisbright little life had been lived, and all his clever tricks, and airyflights and loving ways were over. 

The lady missed her pet sorely; and next summer when the low twittering ofthe swallows was heard again, as they came back to their old home to buildonce more, she watched them at their work with many a thought of her lostbirdie. 

This is why I said it was a sad story; but we must not forget that the ladyreally saved the life of the poor bird, when it had fallen from the nest. If she had stolen it away from its parents, and tried to keep it in ourcold country when they had gone to Africa, she would have blamed herself, and felt that she had been the cause of its death. It is cruel to takeyoung birds from the nest, for it is a great grief to the parent-birds tolose their little ones; and it is so difficult to rear them, that they arealmost sure to die, in spite of the great care you take of them. Some boysare fond of collecting birds' eggs, and know a great deal about them. Acollection of eggs--of all sizes and of all shades of colour, from purewhite to bluish green, or speckled grey--is a pretty sight; but if you gonesting, be careful not to spoil the beautiful little cradle which theparent-birds have made with such labour and care. And if you take one, oreven two, eggs for your collection, be sure not to touch the others, orit may be that the birds will desert them. I well remember the delight offinding a robin's nest when I was a child; but my brothers and I were notallowed to touch the eggs. We were told they did not belong to us, and thiscertainly was nothing more than the truth. 

It is beautiful to see God's care for all His creatures, especially thehelpless ones. When He was teaching His chosen people in the olden timesabout things which are pleasing or displeasing to Him, He told them a gooddeal about how they were to treat the animals. You would hardly expect tofind anything in the Bible about bird-nesting; and perhaps you might thinkthat if a boy found a nest with eggs or young birds in it, he might takethe young ones or the eggs, and if he chose he might take the mother-birdalso. 

But God said--

"Thou shalt not take the dam with the young: thou shalt in anywise let thedam go, and mayest take the young to thee, that it may be well with thee. "

He who cares for the sparrow would not allow the mother-bird to suffer byperhaps seeing her little ones die while she was shut up in a cage, toofluttered and frightened to help them; and He would teach us to be mercifuland tender-hearted towards those who cannot defend themselves or pleadtheir own cause, "even as our Father in heaven is merciful. "

I should like you to read in some nice book all about birds, a great dealabout their ways, and especially about the clever nests they build, ofwhich I have not time to tell you now. Also, I should like you to findout all you can for yourself. You may at least learn to know by sight andby sound some of our own songsters. It is often said that English birdshave sober plumage; and so they have, compared with the parrots and thehumming-birds that "flit about like living fires, scarce larger than abee, " and the wonderful bird of paradise, which the natives of New Guineacall "God's bird, " because it shines with silver and gold--but still wehave some very gay birds. 

It is true that the goldfinch and the kingfisher are not often seen exceptin picture-books; but our own little robin is a real beauty, is he not? Andwhat can be gayer than the feathers of some of our cocks, which strut aboutso proudly? Then, the more you notice the songs of birds, the more you willadmire them. The sweet notes begin before daylight in the spring-time, andthe cock-bird seems never tired of singing to his mate as she sits on hereggs. By and by, when they are busy with family cares, feeding the littleones, and teaching them to fly, there is not much time for singing. It issaid that every bird has a different note or call. I wonder how many youknow? I fancy I can guess: the cock, the rook, the swallow, the thrush, theblackbird, the lark; if you do not know the notes or calls of all these, try to learn them. 

Then, with regard to the nests; have you not seen rooks and cranes carryingin their mouths the twigs with which they build theirs in the top of veryhigh trees? And have you not watched these nests swinging about in thewind, and wondered that they did not fall? Some of our birds build in holesof trees, some line their nests beautifully with any soft thing they canfind; blackbirds and thrushes make theirs of mud. But instead of describinghow the nests of our English birds are made, I will copy for you, out ofLeslie's poetry-book, a little poem, which will help you to know where tosearch for the nests of different birds:--

 "The skylark's nest among the grass And waving corn is found; The robin's in a shady bank, With oak-leaves strewed around. 

 "The wren builds in an ivied thorn Or old and ruined wall, The mossy nest so covered in You scarce can see at all. 

 "The martins build their nests of clay In rows beneath the eaves; The silvery lichens, moss, and hair The chaffinch interweaves. 

 "The cuckoo makes no nest at all, But through the wood she strays. Until she finds one snug and warm, And there her eggs she lays. 

 "The sparrow has a nest of hay, With feathers warmly lined; The ringdove's careless nest of sticks On lofty trees we find. 

 "Rooks build together in a wood, And often disagree; The owl will build beside a barn, Or in a hollow tree. 

 "The blackbird's nest of grass and mud On bush and bank is found; The lapwing's darkly-spotted eggs Are laid upon the ground. 

 "The magpie's nest is made with thorns, In leafless tree or hedge; The wild duck and the water hen Build by the water's edge. 

 "Birds build their nests from year to year, According to their kind; Some very neat and beautiful, Some simpler ones we find. 

 "The habits of each little bird, And all its patient skill, Are surely taught by God Himself, And ordered by His will. "

The other day I saw a lark's nest. It was made upon the ground; for it istrue that

 "The bird which soars on highest wing, Builds on the ground her lowly nest. "

and I had to move aside the grass before I could see it. The parent-birds, I daresay, were somewhere near, but I found only the little ones, lookingas if they were almost all mouth, so widely did they open their yellowbeaks. If you find such a treasure, and are very careful not to touch, oreven to peer and peep too much, you may have the great interest of watchingover the rearing of the little family; seeing the parents bring them food, and teach them to fly; and then, when the brood has flown, the desertednest will belong to you, if you choose to keep it; but I am afraid youwould not care for a lark's nest, for it is not beautifully finished, assome birds' nests are, but really only the dry-grass lining of a hole inthe ground. The eggs are brown, like the bird itself, which is so beautifulin its song--that lovely song which you can hear even when you can hardlysee the tiny singer. 

 "Far in the downy cloud, "

or but a speck in the deep blue; for the lark will

 "Soar up and up, quivering for very joy, "

singing all the time, till he is out of sight--yet never forget that lowspot, hidden with grass, where his nest is. 

You know why it is said that "the cuckoo builds no nest at all, " don't you?May has a verse which calls him "a most conceited bird, " because from thetime when he comes back from Africa we hear him constantly calling his ownname, 'coo-coo, coo-coo!' Still, I don't think the cuckoo should be called"conceited" when it is we who have given it its name from the call whichis natural to it; but it is a most unfaithful bird, and leaves its littleones to be brought up by others, not taking the trouble to build a cradlefor them, nor will the mother sit upon her eggs. I used to think thereason why we saw so few cuckoos was because this bird laid only one egg;but I have read that she lays eight, each one in the nest of some birdmuch smaller than herself. The cuckoo is grey, and about the size of ablackbird; but her eggs are small, not bigger than a hedge-sparrow's or alark's. She lays her egg on the ground, and then lifts it with her billinto the nest which she has chosen. The stranger bird is hatched first, andalways behaves as if the whole nest belonged to him. He grows bigger andbigger, until at last he throws the little sparrows over the side of thenest to make room for himself. When the "woolly bears "--the caterpillarson which they feed--are all gone the cuckoos fly off to find them in SouthAfrica. 

How different from this bird is the faithful dove, who would not desert herlittle one, even to save her own life! I must tell you the story of theparticular dove of which I am thinking. 

When the famous city of Pompeii--which had lain for eighteen hundred yearsburied beneath the ashes and mud which fell upon it during a terribleeruption of Mount Vesuvius--was brought to light again, as the workmen weredigging among the ruins of what had been a beautiful house, in a nicheoverlooking the garden they found the skeleton of a dove. They were notsurprised that, as the sky grew darker and darker upon that dreadful day, and the soft, choking shower of ashes fell more thickly, many of those whoran for their lives should have lost their way in the darkness, and fallento rise no mare. The skeletons of men and women had been found, just asthey had fallen while trying to escape; but this dove, with her swiftwings, why did she not flee away? Ah, as they lifted her from her nestthe secret was revealed: beneath her lay the egg which the timid, gentlecreature, so brave in her love and faithfulness, would not leave. 

If you ask me about fossil-birds, I must tell you that very few have beenfound. However, if you go to the British Museum, look out for a large stoneslab covered with footprints of birds. It was taken from a quarry in anAmerican valley, and is a piece of sandstone, which was once soft enoughto receive the impress of the feet of the giant wading-bird, probably muchlarger than an ostrich, which once walked across it with long strides. Youwill also trace upon it the tracks of smaller birds. In New Zealand verylarge bones of an extinct bird have been found, but the most remarkableremains have been discovered in Germany of a bird which has been given thename of "Lizard-tailed, " because it has a tail with vertebrę, from eachjoint of which feathers spring. Three claws are attached to the ends of thewing-bones, like the single claw of the bat. What is left of this specimen, which is thought to have been about the size of a rook, is to be seen inthe Natural History branch of the South Kensington Museum. I mention thisin case you should have a chance of visiting it there. 

And now, to speak of those birds which we know best, I think there arenone which seem to belong to us so much as these three--the thrush, theblackbird, and the robin; for they are with us all the year. The thrushbegins to sing very early, before there are any leaves for him to hidehimself among, while the robin's song is heard not only in autumn, but inwinter when all others are silent. All these birds feed upon worms andinsects, not on grain and fruit like the larks and finches and starlings;but they are very glad of berries in winter when they can get them. 

The other day I met a little boy about seven years old carrying a basketwith some dozen snails in the bottom of it, and looking as if he had founda wonderful prize. 

"What are you going to do with them?" I said. 

"Give them to our thrush. He cracks the shells and eats them, he does. "

"Does your thrush sing?" I asked. 

"Oh, yes!" he replied. "You can hear him all over the house. "

The song of even a captive thrush is sweet indeed; but I would rather hearits voice in a choir of birds singing in the woods. 

The blackbird's clear note, like the thrush's, may be heard very early inthe morning, and on still evenings, as it "sings darkling" in some leafybower. Its eggs are bluish green, with dark spots, while the thrush's fiveeggs are light blue. There are white blackbirds--if such a thing can be--inthe Alps, and occasionally in this country; with us you may know the cockby its being very black, while the hen is brownish-black, and I think bothbirds are best known by the "orange tawny" bill. But neither the blackbirdnor the thrush is so pretty as the "little bird with bosom red" of which weare all so fond. 

 "Our thrushes now are silent, Our swallows flown away; But robin's here in coat of brown, And scarlet breast-knot gay. "

Some time ago I was reading the account which a boy, who had always livedin town, gave of his first sight of a robin-redbreast. His master told himto write for his composition all about a holiday which the boys had hadgiven them, so he gave an account of how he had gone for a long day inthe country with his father and his little sister. Of all the sights hesaw that day, none delighted him so much as to see a robin perched upon aclothes'-prop in a garden--for this bird always likes a high perch--singingwith all his might and "showing all his red. " This boy had read aboutrobins at school, and learnt verses about them; but when he actuallysaw one, and heard it sing, he says it made him "tremble all over withpleasure. "

A lady, who has told many interesting stories about what she has herselfobserved, says that one day her gardener was struck by the strange conductof a robin, which the man had often fed. "The bird fluttered about him inso strange a manner, now coming close, then hurrying away, always in thesame direction, that the gardener followed, its retreating movements. Therobin stopped near a flowerpot and fluttered over it in great agitation. It was soon found that a nest had been formed in the pot, and containedseveral young. Close by was a snake, intent, doubtless, upon making a mealof the brood. "

This little story seems to show that the redbreast understood that the manwho had been so kind was not only good enough but also strong enough tosave his little ones from the danger which threatened them. Can you learnany lesson from it?

I have not time to tell you of all the feathered creatures mentioned inthe Bible, which were found and written down for me in those nice littlethree-cornered notes, some of which I still have. You will not be surprisedto hear that each contained one reference, and some many more; but the textabout which we had most talk was found by Chris--those words spoken by theLord to His disciples to show how precious they were to their Father: "Fearnot therefore: ye are of more value than many sparrows"

The boys wanted to know whether these birds were the same as our sparrows, which are so common everywhere, even in the busy streets London, and somischievous in the country, eating the grain, and stealing the peas, andnipping off the young buds of the gooseberry-bushes. 

[Illustration: Our little English Robin; The bird that comes about our doors When winter's winds are sobbing. ]

I could not answer this question; so we got the Bible Dictionary and readthere that a great many of our smaller birds, such as the starling, linnet, goldfinch, blackbird, lark, wagtail, and thrush, are found in Palestine, and that the Tree-sparrow has been seen in great numbers on Mount Olivet;while another kind, the Rock-sparrow, is often found perched upon a largestone, all alone, like the solitary bird mentioned in the hundred andsecond Psalm. 

One, of whose work among the poor of Lancashire you may some day hear, tells us that when he was on a visit to America in 1873, he strolled onemorning round a miniature park in New York, glad to find shelter from thehot beams of the sun. Looking up, he saw a great many boxes fastened, some to the stems, some to the branches of the trees. Surprised at this, he asked a gentleman on one of the seats, "What is the meaning of thoseboxes suspended up there?" and he was told that twelve years before, nota single leaf was to be found upon any of those trees, now so full ofbeautiful foliage. At that time, a small grub called the inch-worm had thedisagreeable habit of breeding in the bark, climbing up the boughs andstripping them of every leaf. Thus it was in the orchards, gardens, andparks in many States of the Union. 

At length a thinking man who kept his eyes open, suggested a remedy--toimport several thousands of English sparrows, providing them with littlewooden houses, and feeding them daily until they were settled in, andcontented with their new home. Thousands of beautiful little boxes werevolunteered and fixed in the trees, and thousands of young sparrowswere brought over. A State law was passed inflicting a penalty of onedollar--nearly five shillings--or a week's imprisonment, on any person whokilled one; and most happy was the result. The inch-worm was destroyed, thetrees became healthy and green, and now the spirited little English birdshop and chirp in every garden and park in the Union!

[Illustration: "ONLY A LITTLE SPARROW. "]

A restless little House-sparrow would seem an unlikely bird to become tame, but I have heard of one which was rescued, having fallen from his nest, andlived for two years on the happiest terms with his master, who says of hispet bird; "He was only confined to his cage during the morning: from middayuntil the next morning he was free to go about the house, but was of coursemostly kept to one room. He always slept at the foot of my bed, and as soonas it was daylight he would come up and creep into my arms, and nestlethere till I rose. .. . I fed him on seed and sand, but he had food with mebesides, such as a little potato at dinner-time, and bread and butter attea-time. "

Does this account of a tame sparrow encourage you to try to attach oneof these little birds to yourself? I am afraid it would not be possibleunless, as in the case of this birdie, it was one taken from the nest. 

The poem about birds' nests tells only of those made by our home-birds, butwe can read of wonderful nests made by those in foreign countries. Perhapsthe most clever nest-builder is a tiny Indian bird, called the "Tailor, "because it actually sews leaves together, using both its bill and itsfeet, to make a safe hiding-place for its eggs, no bigger than peas, whereneither snake nor monkey shall find them. It first chooses a plant withlarge leaves, then sews a dead leaf to the side of the green and livingone, and in the space between the two, it lays its tiny eggs. It gatherscotton from a shrub, and with its long bill and slender little feet worksaway until it has spun a thread; then, using its bill for a needle, itpierces holes through the leaves, and sews them securely together. Shouldyou not like to see such a wonderful nest, and still more to watch thelittle tailor--more like a bee than a bird in size--at his work?

[Illustration: TAILOR-BIRD'S NEST]

I will tell you of one more nest; it is of a very different kind, and ismade by a swallow which lives in the islands east of Asia, and is generallycalled the Java swallow. The other day I was reading how one of our princeswas entertained in China, and among the dishes on the table "birds'-nestsoup" was mentioned. It made me think of how, long ago (when, as I toldyou, I was so foolish as not to like to ask questions, for fear thegrown-up people should think I knew nothing at all), I heard of this kindof soup, and thought how disagreeable it must be to meet with bits of hayand moss in one's soup, and what queer people the Chinese must be not tomind it. Now I know that these nests, which are sold in China for theirweight in silver, are made of a clear jelly which comes from the swallow'smouth. The nests are built against the sides of rocky cliffs, so that itis very dangerous work to procure them. I do not know whether the Duke andDuchess of Connaught liked the soup, but it was offered them as a verygreat delicacy. 

Chrissie and his brothers have a canary, and a very loud singer he is. Nodoubt he was born in England. But his family are foreigners, as you know, and come from Madeira and the Cape Verde and Canary Islands. But if, as Ihave heard, they were brought to this country so long ago as the time ofQueen Elizabeth, we cannot be surprised that they are so much at home withus now, and will lay their pale blue eggs, and hatch their yellow broods, and live even thirty years in their pretty cages, in which they certainlyseem to be as happy as the days are long. I hope if you have a canaryof your own, you are very careful to give it its seed and water quiteregularly, and to keep its little house as clean as a new pin; for how sadit would be to neglect the happy little creature who is entirely dependentupon you for everything!

I once knew a little girl who had a present of a canary when she was sevenyears old. I think she was realty too young to have the care of a bird, butshe was very, very fond of her Dick, and used to bring him home groundseland chickweed when she went out for a walk, and often had the pleasure ofstanding upon a high chair and putting a lump of sugar between the bars ofthe cage as a special treat for her pet. 

All went well until one morning, when she opened the cage door and saw, instead of the pretty, pecking, chirping birdie hopping from his perch togreet her, just a soft yellow ball of feathers lying at the bottom of thecage. Ah, the sad story was soon told--her pet had been starved to death, and she had been the cause! This was what nurse told her, when she ransobbing to her with the poor dead bird in her little hand. "It is verycruel of you, " she said; "you just went to your play, and forgot all aboutyour poor little Dick, and now he is dead; you will never hear him sing hissweet song again. "

The poor child was too sorry and too frightened to say anything, and yetin her heart she knew she had not forgotten her birdie; she was quite surethat she had filled his glass with seed and given him fresh water, only theday before. This was quite true; but I will tell you what she had done, andthen you will see why I said I thought she was too young to have the entirecharge of any living creature. After filling the glass with seed, she hadput it back again, as she thought, into its place, where there was a roundopening for the bird to come and peck at the seeds. But she had turned theglass round, so that the back of it was towards this hole, and the openpart right away from her poor Dick, who might peck and peck against thehard glass, but could not get one seed. I think if nurse had known justhow it all happened, she would not have said this little girl was cruelfor neglecting her bird; but she was a very careless child, and thisthoughtless act cost her pet his life, and his mistress many a bitter tear. 

Now for one more true story, and then we must finish our chapter about"feathered fowl. " You remember the little girl who was so nearly carriedoff by a great eagle; this story is about a man whose life was saved by anenormous sea-bird, whose wings when spread out measure about twelve feetacross. It is called the "Wandering Albatross, " and often follow ships inthe southern seas a long way, looking very beautiful and majestic as itseems to float in the air. One of these huge birds had been following aship on board of which was a regiment of soldiers, on their way home toEngland. Among them was one man, who, though he seemed to care for nobody, and always laughed at those who read the Bible, was very, very unhappy. God's word says that there is no peace to the wicked, and this poor mannever had any rest or comfort, and was constantly disobeying the officersand getting into disgrace. He had no fear of God, and so one morning, whenno one was near him, he suddenly jumped over the ship's side into the sea, thinking that he would put an end to his life and his misery. 

But just as he sank beneath the waters, God put it into the heart of thispoor sinner against his own soul, to cry to Him for mercy; and then in amoment, in His great kindness, He sent the answer to that despairing cry. The great albatross, always ready to pick up anything which was thrownoverboard by the sailors came sweeping by. The drowning man put up his handand caught it by the leg, and such was the strength of the bird that it wasable to bear his weight until a boat from the ship came and rescued him. Ido not think I should like to tell you this story, which has such a darkand sad beginning, but for its bright ending. It was a long time beforethis poor soldier recovered; but when he was able to walk about the deckagain, all was changed for him. He knew that God had not only, in thisremarkable way, saved him from drowning, but there was great peace in thatheart which had been so full of trouble; for he had learned to know theLord Jesus Christ as the blessed Saviour who had loved him and givenHimself for him--so I think this is really a very beautiful story. 

You will find many of the Flying Fowl of which we have been speakingmentioned in this poem, which reminds us of how God cares for the wildestas well as the weakest of them all. 

"WHO PROVIDED FOR THE RAVEN HIS FOOD?

 "All the world lay still and silent in the morning grey, And at once a thousand voices hail the glorious day; For the great Sun, glowing crimson, rises o'er the sea-- 'Welcome Day!' they sing together, 'Day that is to be!' Oh, how glad and sweet and joyous is that morning hymn! Whilst the golden day is stealing through the valleys dim-- Thrush and blackbird, lark and linnet, doves that coo and hum Wild delight and soft rejoicing, for the day is come. Not a thought, of care or wonder what the day will bring, For the Father careth for them in the smallest thing. There upon the pathless mountains is their table spread, All by God are known and numbered, by His hands are fed. Some in deep and tangled forests where the berries glow, Some, where children's crumbs are scattered on the garden snow, Some where, through the river sedges, Mayflies glance and play, Some where mountain tarns lie gleaming in the hollows grey. For the wild and hungry eagle, for the wren so small, All is ready--food and gladness, free to each and all. "

FRANCES BEVAN. 

Taken by permission, from _Hymns by Ter Steegen and others_. Second Series. 

THE FIFTH DAY. 

CREEPING THINGS. 

"_His hand hath formed the crooked serpent. _"--JOB xxvi. 13. 

"_The Lord thy God . .. Who led thee through that great and terriblewilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions. _"--DEUTERONOMYviii. 15. 

"_The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat strawlike the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurtnor destroy in all My holy mountain, saith the Lord. _"--ISAIAH lxv. 25. 

The "_creeping things_" which God caused the earth to bring forth on theFifth Day are so unlike each other in many respects that we might at firstsight wonder that they should have been grouped together; but the more westudy Reptiles--so called from the Latin word _reptilis_, creeping--themore we see that there are many things which this great family ofvertebrate animals have in common. 

There are four chief divisions of the Reptile family--Tortoises andTurtles, Crocodiles, Lizards, and Snakes. 

Most reptiles have a tail and two pairs of limbs, but, as you know, Snakesare destitute of limbs, and seem to move along by a motion from inside, sothat they have been said to walk on their ribs. Serpents are covered withhorny scales; Crocodiles and Tortoises have a bony covering. 

The Tortoise--so called from its twisted feet, or its crooked way ofwalking--has, as you know, an upper and an under shell which covers itsbody like a coat of mail, protecting it from every enemy except man. Thisstrong shell is, like that of the snail, a house for the tortoise to livein; but this house is formed by arched bones, and is part of the creatureitself. The four feet of the tortoise or turtle, and a curious mouth ratherlike the beak of a bird--without teeth, but with jaws hard enough to makea bite from it very painful--and a little scaly tail; these are the onlyparts of the animal not covered by the shields of its bony shells. 

The Lizard has both limbs and teeth, but no shell. Lizards are wonderfullyactive, darting away at the least alarm, so that it is not easy to catchthem. 

We may think of the Crocodile of the African, and the Alligator of theNorth American rivers, as enormous lizards; though they are now placed in aclass by themselves, on account of their horny covering, which is so strongthat it is almost impossible to pierce through it, and so smooth that abullet will glance off from it. Serpents have neither shell nor limbs. Their vertebrę, as you will see, if you look at any skeleton of a snake inthe Museum, fit very beautifully one into the other; and owing to this theyare able to glide swiftly along the ground, to coil their shining lengthround trees, and to dart their heads in every direction. 

In one respect Tortoises, Lizards, and Serpents are alike--they all layeggs, only the shell is not made of lime and earth, but is soft likeleather. They are also cold-blooded animals, like fish. Of tortoises, somelive on land, some in marshy places, some in rivers; turtles live in thesea, their lungs being so made as to enable them to remain under waterwithout breathing. 

The common tortoise, often kept in gardens, is found in the south ofEurope, and is generally not more than nine inches long. Its upper shieldis exceedingly strong. My brothers and sisters and I used often to standupon the back of a pet tortoise which lived in our garden; it did not seemto feel our weight, but I remember finding it no easy matter to keep myfeet together upon its smooth back, and none of us could perform this featunless the tortoise was pleased to stand still while we balanced ourselvesupon him. I can, in imagination, see this little tortoise of ours now, notlarger than a crab such as you see at the fishmonger's, with its shortlegs and feet, and its little tail, all covered with scales, sticking outbetween its upper and under shells. How we used to laugh, when we saw himdraw in his head and feet under the shelter of the shell: the only sign hegave of being annoyed at all our pranks! We were told that our tortoisemight not die for a hundred years, and I have heard that some have beenknown to live twice that time; it is a slow sort of life, but we must notforget that, in the poem about the Hare and the Tortoise, it was "slow andsteady" that won the race. 

I cannot remember that we ever gave our tortoise anything to eat; it musthave catered for itself in the garden where it was so fond of burrowingand hiding away, that we had many a hunt for it when it was supposed to belost. Mr. Wood speaks of a small one which he used to feed with bread andmilk. He kept it, not in a garden, but in his own room, where its favouriteplace was the rug: for it enjoyed the heat so much, that it made manyattempts, with its short legs and heavy shell, to climb over the fender inorder to get nearer to the fire. I don't remember that our tortoise evermade any noise; but this one, shortly before it died, went about mewinglike a young kitten. Far from living to be a hundred, Mr. Wood's pet diedso soon that he had no opportunity of seeing whether it would in time getto know him; but a story is told of a tortoise who did take a fancy to oneperson, and, though he would attend to no one else, would come creepingalong at her call, and tap the boot of his favourite with his beak, intoken, we may suppose, of his regard. One lady, who had a long-standingacquaintance with a tortoise, having fed him for thirty years, said hewould come to her, and to no one else; which looked rather like "cupboardlove, " you will say. 

You may have often admired the tortoise-shell of which combs are made, withits beautiful wavy lines and markings; it is taken from the outside of theshell of the turtle or sea-tortoise, which is caught not only for the sakeof its shell, but because its flesh is so good to eat. You may perhaps haveseen, as I have, a small turtle at the door of a shop, and wondered whereit came from, and what brought it there. You may be quite sure that it hascome a long way, and that the poor creature is soon to be made into soup. Very awkward it looks, poor thing; for its proper home is in the water, andnot on the hard pavement; its feet are rather like fins, so that it may beable to make its way rapidly through the water, and it only comes ashoreto make its nest in the sand, where it scoops out a great hole with itspaddle-like feet, and then covering its eggs over safely, leaves them forthe sun to hatch. 

I have heard that as many as two hundred eggs have been found in one ofthese sand-nests; but not all laid by one turtle; for those who hunt forthe eggs have watched a crowd of animals come ashore, and have seen oneof them dig a deep pit with its broad paws, lay its eggs, and cover themover; then another has done the same, until there have been several layersof eggs: such a nest is a lucky _find_; for turtle eggs are said to bedelicious food, though some I tasted were very "strong" and nasty. 

[Illustration: TURTLE. ]

The turtles common in Jamaica, and other islands of the West and EastIndies, are great creatures five or six feet long, but they are notdifficult to capture, for when once they have been turned over on theirbacks, the shell is so heavy that they cannot, owing to the shortness oftheir legs, turn themselves back again, but lie helpless on the sand. 

Of Lizards, the second division of the Reptile group, I doubt if you haveseen any, except in the Reptile-house at the "Zoo"; for although there aretwo kinds of these active little creatures in our country, they do notoften court our society. The common lizard, about six inches long, withvery bright eyes, has a tail which is so brittle, that if you were to catchhold of it, it would break right off, and its late owner would dart away toits hiding-place, leaving the old tail in your hand; itself growing a newone. 

The Sand-lizard, also found in England, is about twice the length of thecommon lizard: it lives on sandy heaths, and like the turtle, lays its eggsin the sand, to be hatched by the sun. But neither of our lizards is sopretty as the little green one so common in the warmer countries of Europe. It may be seen on walls, or by the wayside, basking in the sunshine, andnow and then darting at a fly. The whole species are, like the butterflies, summer creatures, and hide themselves safely underground before wintercomes. 

In the Reptile-house of the Zoological Gardens, I have often stood to lookat the largest kind of lizard; for the Crocodile, that huge animal with itsgreen glaring eyes, and its armour made of bony plates with sharp ridges, is but an overgrown lizard. If you wish to form some idea of what it ismost like, you can look at one of the beautiful little newts which live insome pond or ditch near you, and fancy it magnified many, many times, andthen you will not have a bad notion of the crocodile, the lizard of Africa, or of the Cayman or Alligator, the great lizard of the New World. 

[Illustration: CROCODILE. ]

The word crocodile means a creature which dislikes saffron; so it would beof no use, I suppose, for us to offer that lazy-looking animal floatingin his tank, looking as lifeless as the trunk of a tree, with his noseand a little ridge of his mail-clad back alone appearing above the water, a saffron bun--to say nothing of his being a creature whose appearancedoes not seem to invite us to come to close quarters, or to hold anycommunication with him. But we have little idea of what these enormousreptiles are really like, when we see them so far away from their nativehaunts. It is thought by some that the "_leviathan_, " spoken of in thebook of Job, whose "teeth are terrible round about, " is the crocodile; forits mouth is larger than that of any other animal, and is armed with verysharp teeth. Dr. Smith tells [Footnote: "Nile, " _Dictionary of the Bible_, p. 621. ] us that crocodiles were once so plentiful in the East, that thegreat river of Egypt swarmed with them, and the Egyptians, who made almosteverything into a god, worshipped them and made mummies of them, as theydid of birds, cats, and snakes. 

I have often thought that when the mother of Moses long ago laid that childwho was "fair to God" in his bulrush cradle among the reeds by the river'sbank, her heart must almost have failed her as she remembered the terriblecrocodiles; but she had faith in God, and He suffered no wild beast tomolest that little ark. The crocodile feeds upon fish, and any animalswhich he can catch, when they come to the banks of the Nile and otherAfrican rivers to drink. Though it is clumsy in its movements on land, itmakes its way swiftly through the water by means of its tail; sometimes itopens its terrible jaws, gives a great yawn, and then shuts them again witha sound which is heard far away. Mr. Arnot, a missionary in the heart ofAfrica, tells us that the crocodiles in the great river Zambesi drag thegame which they catch under water, and so drown them, and then hide themunder the river's banks. He says, "I used to watch these animals come upwith perhaps a quarter of an antelope, and by firing at their heads Icompelled them to drop their supper, Which my men picked up from theirboats. " The crocodiles' eggs are about the size of goose-eggs, and are saidto be good to eat. 

Herodotus, the "Father of History, " tells a curious story about thecrocodile and the Nile bird. He says, "When the crocodile takes his food inthe Nile, the interior of its mouth is always covered with flies. All birdswith one exception flee from the crocodile: but this one bird, the Nilebird, far from avoiding it, flies towards the reptile with the greatesteagerness, and renders it a very essential service. Every time thecrocodile goes on shore to sleep, and at the moment when it lies extended, with open jaws, the Nile bird enters the mouth of the terrible animal anddelivers it from the flies that it finds there. The crocodile shows itsrecognition of the service by never harming the bird. "

I have heard that the flies which molest the crocodile are gnats, and theirdevourer a kind of plover. 

Near Karachi, in India, there is a swamp caused by hot springs, which isinhabited by crocodiles. There are over two hundred in the tank, which hasbeen walled in, as they are considered sacred creatures. Buffaloes standin the water unharmed, but any other animal which came within reach wouldbe instantly devoured. A rash young Englishman once made the tour of thistank, alive with crocodiles, by walking on their horny backs!

Alligator is only the Spanish name for all lizards, so called in allusionto their having legs like arms. The great American lizard, known by thisname, is not so large as the crocodile; it loves heat, and will bury itselfin the mud in cold weather. It feeds mostly upon fish, and will drive thembefore it in a shoal, until they have got into some creek or narrow bendof the river, and then stun them by blows of its great tail. Mr. Waterton, who knew the South American rivers so well, tells us that he once cameupon what he thought a pretty sight--a number of young alligators, about afoot long, playing about on the sand like so many rabbits. He also tellsa story, which might have had a sad ending, saying [Footnote: _Life ofCharles Waterton_, p. 56] that when he was anxious to secure an alligator, which he much wished to stuff, with its tough skin uninjured, he would notallow his men to shoot at him, but actually jumped upon his horny back androde him along the sandy river-bank until the poor creature was tired out, and the daring rider secured his prize. I daresay yon would like to see thepicture which one of his friends made of him, riding upon his dangeroussteed. 

We may form some idea of this naturalist's feat from what he tells us inanother part of his book about his "wanderings. " "One Sunday afternoon, "he says, "when a good many people were standing about on the banks of theOrinoco, never dreaming of danger, a great Cayman came suddenly out of theriver, seized a man, and carried him off beneath the water, so that he wasseen no more. "

How sad it would have been had Waterton shared a similar fate, in hiseffort to get the alligator's skin! Life is a precious gift from God, andno one has a right to risk his life in a rash foolhardiness, which is verydifferent from the true courage which does not shrink from facing danger ifthe life of one more helpless than himself is in peril. 

But while we know that no one has a right to give up his life unless atGod's desire, and that it is wicked in His sight for anyone to risk losinghis life unless at God's command, we must not forget that there is no riskfor those who count not their lives dear to them for Christ's sake. Hespoke some solemn words about "loving" and "hating" life, which Hisservants should ever remember. 

You will be interested to know that the alligators' eggs are laid in anest made of grass on the banks of a stream, and that they often travelfor miles across forest or prairie from one stream to another. The nestis raised higher and higher by a fresh layer of grass, cut with the greatwater-lizard's sharp teeth, every time more eggs are laid, until it is ashigh as a cock of hay. The eggs take a month to hatch; but as soon as theyoung alligators are out of the shell, they are quite able to run about andget their own living. 

A gentleman who was looking after some building in a lonely part of SouthAmerica, "Where on the mighty river banks, La Platte and Amazon, The Cayman, like an old tree trunk, Lies basking in the sun. "

caught a baby-alligator, and made it so tame that it would follow him aboutthe house like a dog. 

It must have been a strange sight to see this little creature, born in arushy swamp, scrambling upstairs after his master; but stranger still tosee him lying on the rug before the fire, with his head resting upon thecat, of whom he had become so fond that he was restless and uncomfortablewhen she was not near him. 

He was fed on raw meat and milk, and was shut up in cold weather, like thetame swallow, in a box lined with wool; but, alas! one frosty night thepoor little pet was forgotten, and next morning found him dead, killed bythe cold. How often we find that the stories of pet animals, especiallywild ones which have been made unnaturally tame, have had a sad ending!

The Blind-worm, so called from its small eyes--and yet these tiny eyes arebrighter than some larger ones--is a kind of lizard without legs, and is, on that account, sometimes included in the Snake-family. We may come uponit in hot weather, among the furze bushes upon the common, or the stonesof some old ruin. It feeds upon a little grey slug, and is like the commonlizard in being so brittle that you can hardly take hold of it withoutbreaking it. 

There is one more lizard which I have seen next door to the crocodile tankat the Zoo: a very curious little animal, almost of the same colour as thestick along which it walks, so slowly and silently that you may stand andwatch it for some time without being sure that it is moving at all; thoughits eyes, which can move in different directions at the same moment, andits long thin tongue, so clever at catching the insects on which it feeds, are constantly in motion; but for its eyes and tongue, the Chameleon looksas if it were as dead as the withered branch to which it clings. 

The name of this lizard means "Ground-lion, " but it is very unlike the kingof beasts both in appearance and disposition. The chameleon is found inSpain, in Sicily, and in Syria; its home is in the branches of trees. Manystories used to be told of the way in which it would change colour, notexactly by blushing like a human creature, but by becoming green, yellow, and even black when angry or calm, or when in sunshine or shade; butnaturalists who have kept a careful watch upon it do not believe that allthat has been said about this is true. There seems to be no doubt, however, that it changes its colour according to its surroundings--a means ofprotection given to a creature otherwise very defenceless. 

[Illustration: "A lizard's body, lean and long, A fish's head, a serpent's tongue. "]

Serpents--so called from a word which means that which _creeps_--areconstantly used in the Bible as emblems of deceit and treachery. The words, "More subtle than any beast of the field, " may well come to our minds aswe watch a serpent, with its limbless body, winding along with that soft, gliding motion to which we have given the name "snake-like. "

In the serpent's eyes, too, though they are often so beautiful that wecannot but admire them, there is some of this same dangerous subtlety--anuntrust--worthiness which makes us shrink from looking at them. 

There are many varieties of this large family; some, like the rattlesnake, cannot climb or swim, but crawl along the ground, the terror of unwarytravellers who may tread upon them in the dim forest-paths; others areWater-snakes; some, like the Boa and Python, are dreaded, although notvenomous, because, of their enormous strength, and power of crushing theirvictims in their close embrace; others, like the Cobra, for their deadlybite; while many--we might almost say most--snakes are quite harmless, forit has been reckoned that not more than one in ten is venomous; and nonebut the giants of this family are dangerous, except for their poisonedbite. The skin of serpents is covered with what are called false scales, which do not overlap each other like those of the fishes, but only seem todo so; and these scales are said to help them to move along rapidly. Mostof them are beautifully marked and spotted, and some shine like gold inthe sun, while others have pale, soft tints; but these lovely colours fadein death, just as those of fish do; so that a snake in all its glitteringbeauty can only be seen when alive. They often change their skins, creepingout of the old and appearing ready-dressed in the new. A traveller alongthe banks of the Nile has often found these cast-off skins in the fields;they are always turned inside out, for the old skin, which is very soft, folds back as the snake slips out of it. 

[Illustration: SPOTTED SNAKES]

I suppose the first thought of all of us, on finding a snake in the grass, would be, Is it a venomous one? So I think you will like to know thatpoisonous snakes are rare in Europe; and Mr. Wood [Footnote: _NaturalHistory_ p. 521. ] tells us that the Viper, which is our only venomousserpent, is one of those least dangerous to life, although far from afriend to those who shrink from pain. It may be known by dark spots downthe back. When we speak of venomous serpents, we mean those whose bite isto be dreaded, because it conveys a tiny drop of poison, which mingles withthe blood, and often causes intense anguish, ending in death. In poisonousserpents, the venom lies in a little bag at the root of a long sharp tooth, pierced by a narrow tunnel, through which, at the moment when the biteis given, the poison flows into the wound. If these poison-fangs--one oneach side--are taken out, the bite of the most dangerous serpents becomesharmless. 

The Indian serpent-charmers of whom you have heard know this, and beforethey allow themselves to be bitten by the deadly cobras, with whichthey are so fond of playing their feats of jugglery, are careful toextract their sharp poison-fangs. Snakes seem to have a higher degreeof intelligence than is possessed by reptiles generally, and they canbe trained to be as playful and friendly as kittens; as you will allowwhen you have heard a story which I have read, about some tame serpentswhich lived in a cupboard, and were allowed to crawl about a gentleman'sdrawing-room and lie coiled up on the tables and in the arm-chairs--besidesbeing on the most familiar terms with his children. 

But we were speaking just now of the Viper, and you remember in the accountof the Apostle Paul's stay at Malta how the people who had been so kindto the shipwrecked company looked at him when the viper crept out of thebundle of sticks which he had gathered and laid on the fire, and fastenedon his hand? They expected that he would have swollen--for that is oneof the effects of the poison--or fallen down dead suddenly; but the LordJesus, when He was on earth, said to His disciples, "Behold, I give untoyou power to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of theenemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you. " And when He was going backto His Father, He said to those who believed on Him, "In My name . .. Theyshall take up serpents"; so we are not surprised that His servant "shookoff the beast into the fire, and felt no harm. "

We must not forget, that although God may now allow what we call a violentdeath to come to one of His children, whether by the bite of a serpentor by some accident, nothing can possibly happen to them by chance; andwhatever dangers He allows them to fall into or saves them from--all thatcomes is the very best for them that could happen: because "we know thatall things work together for good to them that love God. "

Though you may admire the "spotted snakes" at a safe distance, in theircages, I know you will not be sorry to hear that in England we have buttwo kinds--the Ringed or Grass snake, which has no poison-fangs, and isperfectly harmless, feeding upon the frogs which it finds in the marshyplaces which are its home, and upon mice and young birds; and the commonViper or Adder, which has two poison-fangs, but is not ready to use them, unless it is trodden on, or otherwise provoked. This snake is found inwoods, and is fond of basking in the sun. It hatches its young before theirbirth; so that the viper's brood have not to make their way out of theshell before they can run about. 

It is sad that dogs, and sometimes children, have been killed by its bite;but it has not generally been fatal to men. These snakes are fond ofcream, and will wind their way into the dairy, and skim the milk-pans, andsometimes visit hen-roosts, and suck the eggs. 

The most terrible of the venomous snakes are the Cobra of India--calledby a Portuguese name, which means "hooded"; a very grand-looking serpent, which holds its head high, and gives a loud hiss as it rises to strike itsprey; and the Rattlesnake of South America. 

The Cobra de Capello is a land-serpent, but can swim, and climb trees. Itis treated with great respect in Egypt and India; and the people of Ceylonsay that it belongs to another world, but has come to pay them a visit. They worship it in their temples, and their priests feed it with sugarand milk, and never allow it to be killed. I believe serpents are not nowworshipped in Egypt; but they once were. They are constantly representedupon Egyptian monuments, which are as old as the time when the children ofIsrael were in Egypt; and on one of them may be seen three men, who arebeing offered as sacrifices to a serpent which is represented coiled aroundthe seat of the sceptred king, as if protecting him. 

The cobra loves music; and it is upon these serpents especially that thesnake-charmers like to show their skill. They take them about, coiled up inbaskets. When the performance is to begin, the lid of the basket is opened, and the charmer, seated on the ground, begins to play upon his pipe. Instantly the beautiful snake lifts its head, expands its hood--a looseskin about the neck which it makes large or small at pleasure--and creepsout, waving its body gracefully while the music lasts, and when it ceases, dropping down again into the basket. 

Some people have power to charm serpents; I have read a story of a man who, by his music cleared a house of the snakes which infested it; having gotinto the empty rooms, and hidden themselves in the crevices in the walls. It was a strange sight to see them creep from their hiding-places at thesound of the pipe; but sometimes serpents are deaf both to the voice andmusic of the charmer--"like the deaf adder that stoppeth her ear; whichwill not hearken to the voice of charmers, charming never so wisely" towhich David compares the wicked. 

Since the bite of the cobra is so deadly, it is well that travellers arenot likely to meet it; for in the day-time it sleeps in the depths ofthe forest, gliding silently out at night in search of food. The boldnaturalist, of whose alligator-ride you have heard, says that he never sawany snake pursue a retreating prey; so that when a man, threading the mazesof a forest, sees a serpent gliding towards him, he has but to turn into aside path, and be safe. But if a snake is trodden upon, or otherwise rousedto anger, it will dart forward upon its enemy, in self-defence; also, ifone of the enormous snakes comes upon a man, it may seize him before hehas time to run away. Waterton, however, did not know what fear was; andinstead of being paralysed with terror at the sight of serpents, once[Footnote: _Life of Charles Waterton_, p. 55. ] caught a large one, the"Bush master, " and holding it by the throat so as to make it impossiblefor it to bite, walked home with its folds coiled round him. He showed hiscourage at another time quite as much by rescuing a little bird out of thevery mouth of a snake in a tree, as by the famous alligator exploit. 

[Illustration: RATTLESNAKE. ]

The Rattlesnake of South America takes its name from its warning rattle, asound made by some loose bones at the end of its tail, which knock togetherwhen it moves, and so give fair warning of such a dangerous foe being inthe neighbourhood. Its bite has been known to cause death in two minutes, and when it does not kill immediately, it produces a dreadful burningfeeling all over the body. Horses and dogs show very great terror if theysee these snakes; but the country folk are not so much afraid of them asyou would expect, for they know that it is the habit of the Rattlesnake toglide away at the sound of footsteps, and as long as the warning sound isheard, they feel safe. If the rattle is silent, it means danger, for thesnake is about to spring. 

A Frenchman tells us that he once disturbed a mother rattlesnake, and sawit coil itself up, open its mouth wide, and allow the five little oneswhich were lying beside it to glide in, and hide themselves there. He wasvery much interested, and waited behind a tree to see what would happennext. In about a quarter of an hour he saw the little snakes come outagain; but when he once more showed himself, they hid as before, and themother quickly glided out of sight. 

The Puff-adder of Africa, when roused, will breathe in air and puffitself out to an extraordinary extent. Being, like all these cold-bloodedcreatures, very fond of warmth, it often comes at night to fires madeby herdsmen or travellers; and so it happened that a traveller in SouthAfrica, sleeping soundly one night beside the fire, wrapped in his cloak, was awakened by a weight on his chest, and found to his horror that apuff-adder had coiled itself up inside his shirt. His first thought was toseize the unwelcome visitor and throw it from him, but remembering that itprobably would only injure him if disturbed, he had the presence of mind tolet it remain in the warm nest it had found for itself, until, roused by alight, it slowly uncoiled itself and crept away. 

Of the serpents which are dreaded--not for their bite, for they have nopoison-fangs--but for their great strength and daring, and for the wayin which they coil round their victims, crushing them to death in theirterrible embrace--the most dangerous are the Python of the Old World, andthe Boa-constrictor of the New. 

In one respect all serpents are boa-constrictors, for a very small onehas been seen in the act of thus crushing a bird; but the great boa whichinhabits tropical America is a giant, which has been known to swallow evena buffalo whole, after it has crushed it to mummy, and broken all itsbones. Boas can swim and climb; they will catch fish as they come near thesurface of the water, and drag them ashore; or hang by their tails fromsome forest tree, and thus lie in wait to seize any animal which may bepassing. They are now very shy of men, and not much feared by them; butthese great snakes used to be worshipped as gods by the people of Mexico, and some of their serpent-idols have been found in ancient temples--showinghow much they were once dreaded; for it is the habit of men to worship whatthey greatly fear. 

The Python, a snake very like the boa, is an object of horror to the peopleof South Africa; yet they are unwilling to destroy it, because they believeit has an awful power, and say that no one has ever been known to injure apython, without being severely punished in some mysterious way. I have readan account of an adventure which a Dutchman had with one of these serpents, which I must tell you, because of the part played in it by his little dog. You shall have the story in his own words:--"I had in my cabin a large andstrong cage, enclosing a python of considerable size, but which appeared tobe dull and inanimate. We were lying off the coast of Borneo, where I wasdetained for some days. When I came again on board, I had not taken manysteps before my little dog seized me by the trousers and endeavoured tohold me fast. I shook him off and proceeded, when the dog seized me again, and I again roughly forced him from me. At this juncture my attention wasdirected to several hatchet-marks on the deck, and I instantly inquired themeaning. The answer was, 'The snake, sir! the snake is loose!' And so itproved. The reptile had cast his slough, and assumed with renewed beautyall its natural energy. It had forced itself out of the cage, and afterdoing some damage below, found its way to the deck, spreading consternationamong the men; by whom, as it appeared, it had been slightly wounded, hatchets having been used for its destruction. Hence the marks on the deck, and hence the fear of the dog, and its anxiety to detain me from advancinginto danger. 

"With some precaution I proceeded to the spot where the snake was said tohave ensconsed himself, and soon observed him lying in coils. The instanthe saw me, he raised up full half of his length, and glancing around asif uncertain whether to attack or fly, commenced a succession of violentundulatory movements, the head alternately towering aloft and touching thedeck. At last, spying an opportunity, he dashed along with inconceivablerapidity to the other end of the vessel, whither he was pursued; again hedisplayed the undulations as described, and again darted to another partof the deck. All felt excited, not without a misgiving that some accidentmight take place. In this manner the chase was continued, " the story goeson to say, until the snake received its death-blow from a cutlass. Hemeasured seventeen feet. "I repented of my roughness to the dog, " thus hismaster concludes, "and he was henceforward a great favourite with the men, who appreciated his fidelity and intelligence. "

We read in the Epistle of James that "every kind of beasts, and of birds, and of serpents, and of things in the sea, is tamed, and hath been tamed ofmankind"; and I have read of some snakes kept as pets by an English family, which were not only perfectly tame, but seemed to be exceedingly fond ofthose to whom they belonged. 

An artist named Severn who visited this family says he found himself incompany with a large boa-constrictor, a python, and several smaller snakes. He felt a good deal alarmed when the master of the house was called out ofthe room, and he was left with the boa--a great serpent as large round as asmall tree--coiled on an arm-chair beside him. Presently two little girlscame in with their mother; they at once went to the boa, calling the hugesnake pet names, and allowing it to twine itself around them. He says, "Thechildren over and over again took its head in their hands and kissed itsmouth, pushing aside its forked tongue in doing so. The animal seemed muchpleased, but kept turning its head continually towards me with a curiousgaze, until I allowed it to nestle its head for a moment up my sleeve. Nothing could be prettier than to see this splendid serpent coiled allround Mrs. Mann while she moved about the room, and when she stood topour out our coffee. It was long before I could make up my mind to endthe visit, and I returned soon after with a friend to see my snake-tamingacquaintance again. The snakes seemed very obedient, and remained in theircupboard when told to do so. " [Footnote: Romanes' _Animal Intelligence_, pp. 260, 261. ]

Although I tell you this strange story, I do not think I should like tomake a pet of any serpent, however tame it might be; because it was thiscreature, "more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God hadmade"--which that enemy of God and of the souls of men, who is spoken ofin the last book of the Bible as "that old serpent, called the Devil, andSatan, which deceiveth the whole world, " used as an instrument, when hecame to tempt Eve in the garden of Eden. 

The word Eden means "pleasure"; and when we were talking of that delightfulplace--that garden which God planted, and where He put the man whom He hadformed--the little ones were asked to tell all they knew about it. 

Leslie's answer was, "It was God's garden"; and Eustace and Dick told ofthe two trees which were there, "the tree of life also, in the midst of thegarden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. "

It was of this tree that Sharley and Chris spoke, when they answered thequestion--

"There was something in the Garden of Eden to remind Adam and Eve that theywere God's creatures, subject to Him. What was it?"

"It was the tree of knowledge of good and evil, " they said; for "the LordGod commanded the man, saying. Of every tree of the garden thou mayestfreely eat: but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shaltnot eat of it: for in the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surelydie. "

Another question which the little boys had to answer was this--

"What was the first sin?"

"When Eve and Adam plucked the fruit. " This was the answer given by all. 

I want you to think about it. Adam and Eve owed everything to God, for Hehad created them in His own image; and had blessed them, and given them"dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, andover every living thing that moveth upon the earth, " and had put them inthe beautiful garden which He had planted. How dreadful that they shoulddisobey the only command God gave them, and thus sin against Him! But hadnot Eve sinned against God, even before she put out her hand and "took ofthe fruit thereof, and did eat; and gave also unto her husband with her, and he did eat?"

Chrissie said that when the serpent asked Eve that question about what Godhad said, she ought not to have taken any notice; and Sharley thought thatthe first beginning of the sin was listening to the serpent at all, andthat the devil now puts it into our hearts to ask, "Is there any harm indoing it?" when he wants to make us listen to him, and forget what God hassaid. And then we all agreed that the way to answer Satan is in Scripturewords. 

I think Sharley was right in saying that the first beginning of the sin inthe Garden of Eden was when Eve _listened_ to the serpent--lent her ear toone who dared to ask such a question as "Hath God said?" The next step inthe road which led away from God, Eve took when she _answered_ that daringquestion; the next, when she _believed_ the lie of the serpent, instead ofthe word of God. 

The devil is a liar, and when he spoke to Eve he tried to make her thinkthat God was not so good to His creatures as He might be, for He would notallow them to have the very best thing in the garden--that forbidden fruit. The great enemy of God envied His creatures their happy place where theyreceived everything from Him, and were dependent upon Him for everything;and God allowed the man and woman whom He had made, to be proved; and, whenweighed in the balance, they were found WANTING. And so we read in God'sbook how "by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and sodeath passed upon all men, for that all have sinned. "

As Eve gave her confidence to the serpent, she lost confidence in God, andwent on to believe that when _God_ had said, "In the day that thou eatestthereof thou shalt surely die, " and the _serpent_ said, "Ye shall notsurely die, " it was the serpent that spoke the truth. How dreadful it wasfor God's creatures to look to the devil for happiness, to give up God whocreated them, and take Satan for their master!

Instead of happiness they found only shame and misery. The serpent had saidthat their eyes should be opened, and they should be as gods, knowing goodand evil. We read, "And the eyes of them both were opened;" but God in Hisword tells us of those whose eyes "the God of this world hath blinded. "They had no power to choose what was good; and tried to hide away from God. 

And so the first man was driven out of God's garden, and there has neverbeen any way back to it at all! No way back to God either, for Adam orfor his children, except through Christ, "the Second Man, the Lord fromHeaven. "

It was of this wonderful way, of Him who is "the Way, " that God spoke whenHe told the serpent that the Seed of the woman should bruise his head. 

The Lord Jesus Christ was "the Seed, " the One who loved us and gave Himselffor us: the One whom "God so loved the world" as to give, "that whosoeverbelieves in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life;" the One who"once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us toGod. "

We have been learning something of how dreadful the bites of serpents are, how full of deadly poison: and we have been reading how, by listening tothe old serpent, the poison of sin--having our own will, and thinking hardthoughts of God--came into the hearts of God's creatures, bringing sorrow, and shame, and death with it. How beautiful that the righteous One in whomwas no sin, and who come to take away our sins, should tell us that "AsMoses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Manbe lifted up. " The serpent of brass was not kept in Moses's tent; it waslifted high, for all to see it. God, who knew His people's sin, and hadsent those fiery serpents to bite them, had Himself told Moses to make thatserpent of brass, and those who were bitten had only to look at it andlive. If they looked at their own hurt, or at each other, or at Moses--allwas of no avail; but "it came to pass that if a serpent had bitten any man, when he beheld the serpent of brass, he lived. "

God--who knew that every one of us born into this world is born away fromHim, and with the dreadful poison of sin, like the serpent's bite, inus--gave His only begotten Son to be lifted up, that "whosoever believethin Him should not perish, but have everlasting life. " And He tells usto look at Him and live, just as the poor sinful people, dying of theserpent's bite, looked at the serpent of brass, and their deadly wound washealed. God has told us to look straight to His Son, dying for sin, dyingin our stead; but it is not our looking that saves us, it is the blessedSaviour whose name is called Jesus, "for He shall save His people fromtheir sins. "

I must not forget to tell you that many of the extinct animals whoseskeletons are to be seen in museums belonged to the class of Reptiles. 

We read that "God created great whales"--or sea monsters--and remains havebeen found of enormous lizard-like creatures. One has been called theFish-lizard; it seems to have had a crocodile's head, with a body like thatof a small whale. 

Another had a long swan-like neck, the body and tail of a quadruped, andpaddles like a turtle. 

Another, called the Winged-lizard, had bat-like wings and dreadful jawsarmed with numerous teeth. All these "Saurians" are believed to havefrequented the sea or rivers; but another called the Great-lizard, was aland-animal, as was the Forest-lizard, and a monster kind of Toad with verycuriously formed teeth. But no description will give you an idea of thesize of these creatures, though I may tell you that a party of gentlemendined inside the body of one great extinct lizard at the Crystal Palace, where models, not very accurately made, of the most remarkable ancientanimals are to be seen. I think my first thought when I see the actualremains of these old-world monsters, with their terrible jaws, is that ofthankfulness that they have passed away from sea and land. But we know thatGod who created them "saw that it was good, " and in the Book of Job we mayread His description of mighty and terrible creatures which show forth Hispower. 

We were speaking of a monster toad whose fossil remains have been found;and I must tell you that before we had done with the "Creeping Things, " Iwas asked a difficult question. "To what class do the frogs and toads andnewts belong? Are they Vertebrate animals? Do they belong to the land orthe water?"

I said they certainly do belong to the great Backboned family, and areplaced in a class by themselves, as they are neither Mammalia, Birds, Fishes, nor Reptiles, properly speaking, and are called Amphibia, becausethey live, as it were, a double life. 

[Illustration: BROWN FROGS. ]

They have gills, which enable them to breathe in water, to begin with, and lungs which enable them to breathe in air, later on. They are mostlywithout scales, and do not need to drink, because they imbibe moisture fromthe air through their soft damp skin. When you see a frog hopping acrossyour path, you see a creature which has known many a change in its life, for frogs are among those very interesting animals which undergo what arecalled _metamorphoses_. We have met with this word before, and may rememberthat it is used to express the change from one form to another which iswrought in some living creatures in the course of their growth. I daresayyou imagine as I once did, that all young animals are like their parents, only on a smaller scale; for you see that a young horse, or elephant, orwhale, a pup or a kitten, is at its birth in all respects just what itwill be when full-grown, only smaller. So it is with the reptiles and thebirds--the young ones, when hatched, are like the parents. But in the caseof frogs and newts, and also most insects, the young ones do not merelyincrease in size as they grow, but pass from one stage of growth toanother, each different from the former, until like the butterfly whenit emerges from the chrysalis, they reach what is called their perfectstate--and these metamorphoses or changes are very curious and interestingindeed. 

When Master Froggie was a young tadpole, some pond or ditch was his home, for he was an aquatic animal; but now that he is full-grown he has passedinto another way of living: he breathes, or rather swallows _air_, andmust, as he swims about with his beautifully webbed feet, come to thesurface of the water now and then, or he would die. I am sure you know thefrog well enough, and you may even have heard the harsh croak from whichit has its name, as you have passed some damp meadow or weedy pond, on asummer evening. But I wonder whether you know frogs' eggs when you seethem?

My brothers and I did not, long ago, when we used to fish with sticks in apond by the cross-roads for what we called "bunches of grapes!" The grapeswere little balls of jelly with a tiny black spot in each, and we neverguessed that they were really eggs, and that the little black spot in theslimy covering would one day actually turn into a live, leaping, croakingfrog. If we had had the patience to watch, we should have seen that littleblack dot grow and grow, until it seemed to have become a creature almostall tail, with the head and body still only a tiny ball. By-and-by weshould have seen legs and feet begin to appear, and as the legs grewlonger, the tail become shorter, until it quite disappeared. Meanwhile, other changes which we could not see would have taken place; instead of thegills, which made the tadpole a water-breather, Master Froggie would haveacquired lungs, like any land animal; the aquatic would have changed intoan aėrial, the herbivorous into a carnivorous creature, so that we may wellsay it has lived two lives. 

The beautiful little newts' life-history is much the same, only thattheir transformation is not quite so complete, for they never lose theirlizard-like tails, but remain little crocodiles to the end of the chapter. 

 "_Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father who is in heaven is merciful. _"

 "Turn, turn thy hasty foot aside, Nor crush that helpless worm; The frame thy wayward looks deride None but our God could form. 

 "The common Lord of all that move, From whom thy being flow'd, A portion of His boundless love On that poor worm bestow'd. 

 "The light, the air, the dew He made To all His creatures free, And spreads o'er earth the grassy blade For them as well as thee. 

 "Let them enjoy their little day, Their lowly bliss receive; Oh! do not lightly take away The life thou can'st not give. "

GISBORNE. 

THE SIXTH DAY. 

THE ANIMAL WORLD. 

"_Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousandhills. _"--PSALM l. 10. 

"_. .. God . .. Who teacheth us more than the beasts of the earth, and makethus wiser than the fowls of heaven. _"--JOB xxxv. 11. 

"_Who knoweth the spirit of man that goeth upward, and the spirit of thebeast that goeth downward to the earth?_"--ECCLESIASTES iii. 21. 

Now that we have come to the last of those wonderful working-days of whichGod has told us, I want you--just as we all did when we had reached theSIXTH DAY in our readings--to read over again all the verses in the firstchapter of Genesis down to verse 26, and to notice carefully the _words_which God has used in speaking to us about what He created and made. And Iwant you especially to think of those two words of which we were speaking alittle while ago--God _created_, and God _made_. 

Before God speaks to us of the FIRST DAY, with its evening and its morning, He tells us that "in the beginning" He "created the heaven and the earth. "

(_Day I_. ) Then--we do not know how long after--God spoke, and commandedthe light to shine out of the darkness; so that where the dark had beenthe light now was. "And God saw the light, that it was good, " and dividedit from the darkness. The light God called Day. Then after the night hadpassed, the light returned, and there was morning. "And the evening and themorning were the First Day. "

(_Day II_. ) Again God spoke, and that great globe of air which surroundsthe earth was formed--the blue sky above us, and the clouds, thetreasure-house for the rain. "And God called the firmament, " or expansion, "Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the Second Day. " Upon thisday we do not read of anything new being made; and it is not said, "And Godsaw that it was good, " as after the work of the other days. 

[Illustration: "THE JOY OF HARVEST. "]

(_Day III_. ) Again God spoke, and the dry land appeared'; so that upon thisDay there were already in existence earth and sea, air and water, day andnight. And God Himself saw that all was good in the world which He hadmade. Then He adorned the earth with verdure and beauty, and brought out ofit grass, corn, fruit-trees; each "after its kind, " "And God saw that itwas good. And the evening and the morning were the Third Day. "

(_Day IV_. ) Again God spoke, and the two great lights, sun and moon, wereset to give light--day and night--upon the earth, and to order the seasons. "And God saw that it was good. And the evening and the morning were theFourth Day. "

(_Day V_. ) Again God spoke; living creatures swarmed in the waters, and"winged fowl" flew "in the open firmament of heaven. " It is now, inconnection with air and sea being filled with living beings, to which Godgave not only the same power to grow and multiply with which He had endowedthe trees and the herbage, but in addition to it, power to move from oneplace to another at will, power to enjoy, and to go in quest of that whichseems to them desirable, that we have again the word, "God created, " andalso a new word, never before used about day or night, earth or sea, sun ormoon, tree or flower--"God blessed. "

You remember how we noticed, when we were reading about the work of Godon the Fifth Day, that as soon as He had made, not stones or plants, butfishes and birds, He blessed them. God made these living creatures happy, each in the place suited to the kind of life He had given it. And again ofthis Day's work we read, "And God saw that it was good. .. . And the eveningand the morning were the Fifth Day. "

Now let us read verses 24 and 25 very carefully. These verses tell us ofpart of God's work on the Sixth Day; and we notice that this Day begins, like the former ones, with those three words which we have read so manytimes in this chapter--"And God said. "

(_Day VI_. ) I wish you to stop at the end of verse 25 because there theaccount which God has given us of His creation of the world ends. All wasnow complete; and all was very good in the eyes of Him who had made andfashioned it. The rest of the chapter speaks of a distinct part of God'sCreation, when man, who was to be over it all, was made; a part of theCreation, but head and Crown of all; a being distinct from any otherinhabitant of earth, air, or sea, because created _in the image of God_. 

The old writer who speaks so quaintly about the "great pond of the world, "and the "guests" which it contains, exclaims with wonder when he thinks ofthe "tenant" which God, when He had made the great house of the world andfurnished it, brought in to possess it. He says:--

"But, oh God, what a little lord hast Thou made over this great world!. .. Yet none but he can see what Thou hast done; none but he can admire andadore Thee in what he seeth. .. . Other creatures Thou madest by a simplecommand, man not without a divine consultation; others at once, man Thoudidst first form, then inspire; others in several shapes, like to none butthemselves, man after Thine own image . .. Others with qualities fit forservice; man for dominion; other creatures grovel to their earth, and haveall their senses upon it, this is reared up towards heaven. "

We talked a good deal about this; for I wished that Eustace and Leslie, andeven little Dick, should understand something of the great difference whichGod has put between those creatures--the cleverest and best of them--wholive their little life in the sea or on the earth, and then pass awayaltogether, and even a little child who does not know its right hand fromits left, and cannot take care of itself perhaps nearly so well as a birdor a beast, but who has within it what God has given to no bird or beast, aspirit which can never die, a spirit which must some time "return unto Godwho gave it, " because it belongs to Him. 

No beast will have to give an account of itself to God; for to thesecreatures of a day, He has given their bodies, so wonderful and beautiful, and the breath by which they live; but not that deathless part, the spirit, because of which every man is responsible to God, and knows that he is, even though he may never have read in God's Word that "every one of usshall give account of himself to God. "

Let me tell you how a missionary explained this, not long ago, to a kingfar away in the heart of Africa. 

He had been talking to him about the stars and the sun; and the kingpresently asked where God, who had made the sun, dwelt, and what He didwith people after they were dead. 

The missionary says, "I answered that God was not confined to one place aswe are; that when man's body died, the spirit of him who was a child ofGod went above, and dwelt for ever in the presence of God, and those whomGod knew not here in this life were cast out into a place of sorrow andburning. "

"But why does God do so?" the king asked. "What reason has He for puttingman from Him?"

The missionary explained that God is righteous, and must punish those whoare guilty in His sight. 

"But, " said the king, "_we_ did not know the laws of God _here_. How can Hepunish _us_ for not keeping them?"

[Illustration: KAFFIRS OF VARIOUS TRIBES. ]

The missionary answered that God had put His law in their hearts, so thatthey all knew what was right and what was wrong. 

"You know, " he said, "when a man lies to your face and steals from you, that he injures you; and call him bad and wicked. So when you tomorrowdo the same thing, God judges you with the same judgement with which youjudged your fellow-creature yesterday. "

"Yes, " replied the king, "that is true; that I understand. "

We shall think more by-and-by about the great difference which God has putbetween man, whom He created in His own image, and every other creature, but I want you never to forget it. 

In reading of the beautiful life which God gave to the fishes and thebirds, and to those beasts that He commanded the earth to bring forth, about which we are going to speak a little today, we must always remember, while we admire the wonderful gifts and powers which they have from God, that He has put the widest possible distance between us and them. 

We shall see that many of these animals are much stronger than thestrongest man; that to some of them God has given senses keener than ours;and to others, in an especial degree, that great gift called instinct, bywhich the little swallow finds its way over sea and land, the ants "preparetheir meat in the summer, " the beaver makes dams across the stream, and thelittle prairie dogs build pleasant towns, where they can all live together, one of them always keeping watch lest any enemy should surprise theworkers. 

All these are beautiful proofs of the kindness and faithfulness of Godtowards the creatures He has made; and we may admire them, and learn all wecan from them; but never imagine for one moment, that man is only a granderand more wonderfully made sort of animal, as a lion is superior to a mole, and a mole to a worm. 

Just as God has told us there would be, there are now some people who thinkthey know better than to believe what His Word says about this, and who tryto think that there never was such a "wonderful animal" as man has grown tobe, and are not ashamed to talk of his "ape-like ancestors. " But among allthe fossil-animals which the earth has kept so safely, I need hardly tellyou that not one specimen of an animal between a monkey and a man hasever been found. As has been well said, those who speak in this way "haveto convert a four-handed ape into an erect man, a screaming baboon intoan articulating, speaking being; brutal instinct into reason, will, conscience; a thing that perishes into that which believes in God, andwhose soul is immortal. "

Mr. Frank Buckland, whose interesting books I hope you may one day read, had a great many strange pets; among them a remarkably clever monkey. Hestudied the habits of this monkey very carefully and describes some ofthe things which it did by instinct--a sense which no one can understand, given by God to guide those living creatures upon whom He has not bestowedreason--and he also tells most amusing stories of the way in which itimitated what it saw him do; but he found that this monkey never reasonedabout things, as even a very young child will. 

It could use its own powerful head and hands to defend itself, if attacked;but he never saw it make a weapon to use against its enemies. It was veryglad to get near the good fire which its master had made, and would spreadout its hands and warm them in the blaze; but it never made a fire foritself. And though Mr. Buckland laid plenty of wood close to the fire, andwatched to see what a creature so fond of heat would do, he found that themonkey sat by the fire and allowed it to go out; for although he shiveredwith cold, he did not understand that by putting fresh wood on, the heatwhich he had so enjoyed would be kept up. 

So it is with animals generally; they do things by instinct or by imitationrather than through reason; though we often see them look as if "puttingthis and that together. " And we know no animal able to tell its thoughts byspeaking, though some birds have been trained to repeat words. 

In that charming book, written for French children "The First Year ofScientific Knowledge, " _man_ is placed first among animals, as the mostwonderful of them all, but the author is careful to explain that he isthere treating only of man's body; as, were it otherwise, it would beneedful to allow him a particular division all for himself. We see thatin God's Book man is put last, and that he is not counted with the otherliving creatures at all. 

You may say that men are born, and eat, and sleep, and breathe, and growold, and have bones, and a heart, and blood running through their veins;and so it is with beasts, and birds, and fishes. But God speaks to us ofthe spirit of a beast--its natural life--which goes downward, in contrastwith the spirit of man, which goes upward, and returns "unto God who gaveit. " It is because of this immortal part, that the life of a man is not tobe compared with, or put beside, that of a beast that perishes. 

Put your hand upon your heart for a moment. You can feel something there, going "beat, beat, " and you know that as long as that "beat, beat" goes onyou are alive. If it were to stop you would die, for no man has power toset it going again. Now, you can also feel the beating of the heart of adog, or of a little frightened bird as you hold it in your hand; and youknow that when its heart ceases to move, its little hour of pleasure orpain is over, for there is nothing in the dead body of a bird, as there iseven in a dry seed, that will make it spring up and grow again--_all_ itslife has gone. 

Even as I am writing this for you, a sparrow, picking up crumbs of bread, comes hopping close to my feet. The crumbs feed his little life, and youknow that he would soon die, starved to death like many a poor birdie inits cage, if he could get no food. You, too, would die if you had nothingto eat; that is, your body would, but not what has most right to becalled _you_; that never-dying spirit which has lived in your body as itshouse--_it_ would still be alive--alive to God: "for all live unto Him. " Sodifferent are you from the beasts that perish that we will turn to the Bookfrom which alone we can know the truth, and there let us notice, first, that when man was to be made, it is no longer, "And God said, Let there be:and there was;" but instead, the wondrous words are written, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. .. . So God created man inHis own image"; and again we read, "The Lord God formed man of the dustof the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and manbecame a living soul. "

We are now going to study some of the wonderful works of God in theanimal-world, and I hope to be able to tell you some interesting stories ofwhat creatures who have not language, and cannot reason in the way in whichwe can, have been able to do by instinct and intelligence. 

It is very pleasant to read the accounts given by other people of what theyhave observed, but even better still to learn to use our own eyes. Try thisplan, and you will be surprised at the many curious and beautiful thingsabout the ways of animals which you can find out for yourself. 

You remember, when we were talking about fishes and birds, we found thatthey both belong to the great group of animals called Vertebrate, fromhaving a backbone made of many pieces beautifully fitted together. 

We are now going to speak of the last class in that great group--theMammalia, so called because they feed their young, not as birds do, withinsects or grain, but with milk. They are chiefly "four-footed beasts ofthe earth, " and are covered with hair or fur. In this class extremes meet;we find the great elephant and the playful little squirrel, the kingly lionand the timid mouse which is said to have set him free when snared in thehunter's net. 

To this class also belong the land-monsters of bygone days, whose skeletonsyou may see in museums: such as the Mammoth, or hairy elephant, found inthe British Isles, and also over half the globe; the Mastodon, anotherelephantine extinct monster, whose remains are found in America; the WoollyRhinoceros, with two large horns on his face, dug out of the frozen soil ofSiberia; the Great Irish Deer, whose antlers measured 9 feet from tip totip; and Giant Sloths of South America, inhabitating the same region as theSloths of to-day. 

But we must leave the "unnumbered, unremembered tribes" of buried creatureswhich once trod this earth; and speaking only of those now alive, Imust tell you that in the first Division of the great class, Mammalia, naturalists place the Quadrumana, or four-handed creatures. This name isgiven to all monkeys; because their great-toes are like thumbs, so thatthey can take hold of the branches in the forests where they spend theirlives, quite as well with their feet as with their hands. 

I need not tell you what they are like, for you know something of thenoisy, chattering, mischievous creatures, from watching them at the "Zoo. "But you have never seen the enormous apes which live in Africa and theforests of Borneo. Of these the Orang-outang--its name means "man of thewoods"--is the largest. He is as tall as a man, and very strong, with longarms, which almost reach the ground as he stands. From the pictures I haveseen, I certainly should not like to meet this "man of the woods" at home, seated in the sort of nest which he makes for himself in the trees. Butthese great, fierce-looking creatures can be tamed; and I have read of onewho might be seen walking in the garden, arm-in-arm with his keeper; and ofanother who would sit at table and imitate everything which he saw peopledo. He would pour out his tea, put sugar and milk in it, and then hold hiscup and saucer, and drink the tea, all very cleverly; for no animals are sogood at imitating others as monkeys are. Remember this, if you are fond ofcopying what other people do and say, be sure that you copy only what isworthy of imitation. 

[Illustration: TOO CLEVER. ]

Here is an amusing traveller's tale about some monkeys which carried theirlove of imitating very far; as you will say when you have read

"THE SAILOR AND THE MONKEYS. 

 "Once, in the hope of honest gain From Afric's golden store, A smart young sailor crossed the main, And landed on the shore. 

 "And leaving soon the sultry strand Where his fair vessel lay, He travelled o'er the neighbouring land To trade in peaceful way. 

 "Full many a toy had he to sell, And caps of scarlet dye; And such things as he knew full well Would please the native's eye. 

 "But as he travelled through the woods He longed to have a nap, And opening there his pack of goods, Took out a scarlet cap, "And drew it on his head, thereby To shield him from the sun; Then soundly slept, nor thought an eye Had seen what he had done. 

 "But many a monkey dwelling there, Though hidden from his eyes, Having well watched the whole affair, Now longed to win a prize. 

 "And while he slept each one did seize A cap to deck his brows; Then climbing up the highest trees, Sat chattering on the boughs. 

 "The sailor waked, his caps were gone, And loud and long he grieves, Till, looking up with heart forlorn, He spied at once the thieves. 

 "With cap of red upon each head Full fifty faces grim, The sailor sees amid the trees, With all eyes fixed on him. 

 "He brandished quick a mighty stick, But could not reach their bower, Nor could he stone, for every one Was far beyond his power. 

 "'Alas!' he thought, 'I've safely brought My caps far o'er the seas; But could not guess it was to dress Such little rogues as these. '

 "Then quickly down he threw his own, And loud in anger cried, 'Take this one too, you thievish crew, Since you have all beside. '

 "But quick as thought the caps were thrown From every monkey's crown, For, like himself, each little elf Threw his directly down. 

 "He then with ease did gather these, And in his pack did bind; Then through the woods conveyed his goods, And sold them to his mind. "

I daresay you could tell me the story of the monkeys who washed their handsand faces in pitch, and so were caught. But from all the stories which aretold about monkeys, I fancy that we think of them too much as clever, andnoisy, and mischievous, and sometimes very ill-tempered and revengeful; soI want to tell you something of their good and gentle ways, and especiallyof their love for their little ones. 

I used to watch a mother, in the monkey-house at the Gardens, nursingher baby--a tiny grey thing, with its hair parted down the middle, andthe funniest, most knowing little face of its own. She nursed it in thetenderest way, with such a loving expression on her face the while. 

Then I have read of an American monkey driving away the flies which teasedher little one; and of another good mother who was seen washing the facesof her family in a stream. And they are kind not only to their own; for ifa poor little monkey is left an orphan, it is sure to be taken care of bysome other monkey's father or mother. 

A gentleman who was coming home from India tells this story: There were onboard two monkeys, one older than the other, but not its mother. One daythe little one fell overboard. The other at once jumped over the side ofthe vessel to a part of the ship where she could stand, and holding on byone hand, with the other she held out to the poor little drowning monkeythe end of the cord by which she was tied up, but which was then danglingfrom her waist. It was a wonderful plan for her to think of, was it not?But the cord was too short, and the little monkey was saved by a sailor whothrew it a rope, which came near enough for it to catch at and cling to. 

I remember being told by a brother of mine who had once shot a youngmonkey, that he could not forget the reproachful look which the poor mothergave him, and he never again would shoot one. He said the little woundedmonkey cried like a child. 

If you have ever seen a bat, you will think it strange to class thesewinged creatures with monkeys, and it does at first sight seem a mistakethat they should be among the Mammalia at all; one would expect to seeall winged things in the Bird family. But the bat is rightly placed inthis division, and you will understand why it has been classed with theQuadrumana, when you have carefully examined those soft, fan-like wingswhich you can spread out with your fingers. If you could take a bat in yourhand, and look at it from head to foot, you would notice three things veryunlike a bird about it. In the first place, it has no feathers, but iscovered with very soft grey fur; it has no beak, but sharp teeth--so sharpthat I advise you to keep your fingers out of their way; then, look at itslong ears! It certainly cannot be a bird. 

Besides being reckoned among the four-handed creatures, a Greek name hasbeen given to bats, from the curious way in which their fore paws, orhands, have been lengthened out into wings; it means "hand-winged. "

Now, keeping this name in mind, gently unfold the wing: the small boneswhich you feel, over which the soft grey web is stretched, are really thefingers of the animal, very long fingers they are, and the web is the skinof the back and breast which has been drawn over them, so as to make thisstrange hand-wing. If you cannot examine a live bat, perhaps by studyingthis picture of one, you may understand better how this soft, dusky wing ismade. 

[Illustration: "FLITTER-MOUSE" ON THE WING. ]

The bat is what is called a nocturnal animal, because it cannot bear thestrong light of day, and flies about at night in search of its food. Wesometimes hear it said that a person is "as blind as a bat, " but that isbecause when bats are taken, contrary to their nature, into the sunlight, they are so dazzled by it, that they fly blunderingly hither and thither, in their efforts to get away from it. They have very sharp eyes, but theydo not use them by day, but sleep all day long, hitched to a stone in awall, or to a branch in the woods by their hind legs--always choosing adark place, and folding their wings around them like a curtain. 

I remember being very much afraid of bats when I was a child. An old castleby the sea swarmed with them, and when my brothers took lighted pieces ofwood and went into the dark, deserted ruin to rouse the sleeping bats andsee whether they could not catch one, the way in which the poor dazedcreatures flew at our faces in their blind efforts to escape frightenedme very much, and when one was caught and put into my hand I disliked the"creepy" feel of the soft wings too much to keep it long. I knew nothingabout bats then, and was silly enough to think that they were "horrid"and "frightful" creatures--words which we should not use in speaking ofanything that God has made. Now that I have learnt a little about them, Ifancy I should not mind going into that old castle, and having another lookat them; but still I do not think I should care to have one for a pet. 

Perhaps you think no one would; but I have read of a tame bat which knewits master, and loved to be stroked and petted as much as a dog would. Indeed it behaved very much like a dog, for it would climb up its master'scoat and rub its head against him--more like a cat, you will say, inthis--and lick his hands. When its master sat down, the bat used to hitchitself up to the back of his chair, and it would take flies and insectsfrom his hand. But I have no doubt he was always a dull pet in the daytime;for it really is his time for sleep, and we cannot change the nature ofanimals, and ought not to try to do so. 

Talking about sleeping, I must not forget to tell you that a bat is like adormouse in one respect: it does not fly away to a warm, country when thecold is coming, and the insects are getting scarce, but goes off to sleepin a barn, or belfry, or cave, and sleeps on all through the winter, needing neither food nor drink. There are many different kinds of batsabout which you can read in Natural History books; one kind eats fruit, notinsects. The bat is about the size of a mouse, and feeds its young, as themouse does, with milk. When we were speaking of the animals mentioned inthe Bible no one thought of the bat; but it is referred to among the birdsor winged things, which might not be eaten by the Israelites; also inIsaiah ii. We read that in that day when the Lord alone shall be exalted, "a man shall cast his idols of silver and his idols of gold . .. To themoles and to the bats"--for they especially haunt waste and desolateplaces. 

Now we must leave the Four-handed family, and come to the largest classamong the Mammalia--the Quadrupeds. As all four-footed animals, no matterhow unlike each other they may be in other respects, belong to this family, you may imagine what a very large one it must be. Naturalists have dividedthe Quadrupeds into different classes, and at the head of them they placethe Carnivora, or flesh-eaters, so called because they are beasts of prey, catching birds and smaller animals alive, and eating them. 

The animals of the Cat kind--lions, tigers, panthers, jaguars--are the mostbeautiful as well as the most dangerous of this class. They have long andsharp teeth, and very long claws--five on the forefeet and four on thehinder-feet--and these claws are kept sharp by being guarded within a softsheath when not wanted; so that all these cat-like creatures tread verysoftly. 

You have often noticed how pussy can stretch out her claws when she wishesto climb or to scratch, but you know they are most often hidden within thisvelvet sheath. If you have ever watched your cat creeping cautiously nearerand nearer to her prey, and then suddenly springing upon the poor littlemouse or bird, you will know exactly how such great and terrible cats aslions and tigers spring upon their prey, whether it be a cow or a sheep, aman or a child. 

Of all of them, none is so fierce as the

 "Tiger, tiger, burning bright In the forests of the night, "

which is found now in only one quarter of the world--in Asia, especiallyIndia--and is so bold that he will fight with a lion. 

[Illustration: TIGER AND CROCODILE--"THE TUG-OF-WAR. "]

No beast has such a beautiful skin; but you may not know that thiswonderful coat is made for use as well as for beauty. A writer who hasobserved very carefully says, "However lovely nature frames or fashions aplant or a bird or an animal, it is never for ornament, but for some actualpurpose or use. " It is a good thing to bear this in mind, and to try tofind out the uses of the beautiful things which you see. The stripes ofthe tiger are so very like the long grass--taller than a tall man--of thejungle, is its home, that the hunters, mounted on their trained elephants, cannot see him, unless he betrays his hiding-place by some movement. Tiger-hunting is a very dangerous sport, and many tigers are killed, not inthe chase, but by being taken in pitfalls by the natives. 

I am sure you know a great deal about the king of beasts, and I neednot describe him, since you have probably both seen him and heard histerrible voice. Still, we can have little idea, from seeing lions in thiscountry--very likely born in captivity--how majestic the king is in hisforest home in Africa. Those who have heard his roar echoing through theforest, say that it rolls along like distant thunder, and that when he isangry his eyes flash with a gleam almost like lightning. His strength isso enormous that one blow of that soft paw, which looks so harmless, willbreak the back of a horse, or knock down the strongest man; and he willcarry off a young cow as a cat carries off a mouse. Young lions are verypretty, and as playful as kittens. I have seen a happy family all in onecage--a great African lion called Hannibal, with a very royal look; alioness and her four cubs, playing with a retriever pup! The cribs lookedvery much like big puppies, and had such innocent, gentle little faces, that you would have liked to pat and pet them. 

You will not be surprised to hear that the lion was the one chosen by allthe little boys, when they answered their question about animals mentionedin the Bible. They all found the story telling how David, when he was ashepherd boy, killed both a lion and a bear, when they had taken a lambfrom the flock, and rescued the helpless little creature out of the verymouth of the lion--and how he said to King Saul, "The Lord hath deliveredme out of the paw of the lion" [that strong paw which can knock a mandown], "and out of the paw of the bear, He will deliver me out of the handof this Philistine;" and, strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, he went to meet the boastful giant of whom everyone was afraid. 

[Illustration: "THE LONELY LION LEAVES HIS LONELY LAIR. "]

I also had references given me to Daniel in the den of lions and to the sadstory of the prophet who disobeyed the word of the Lord, and was slain bya lion. Will you see whether you can find the name of one against whom ayoung lion roared? "And the Spirit of the Lord came mightily upon him, andhe rent him as he would have rent a kid, and he had nothing in his hand. "And also the name of one of King David's mighty men, who "went down . .. Andslew a lion in the midst of a pit, in time of snow?" There are no lions nowin Palestine, but they were at one time often seen there; they made theirlair in caves among the mountains, and on the reedy banks of the Jordan. 

[Illustration: THE LEOPARD. ]

Other wild beasts--which are really great cats--are the beautifully spottedPanthers or Leopards of Africa and Asia, the fierce and cunning Jaguar ofSouth America, and the Puma, sometimes called, without much reason for thename, the American lion. 

Wild cats were once common in England, and it has been thought that ourhome-cats are their descendants, only tamed; but I believe this is nottrue, and that our cats came from the East. It is generally thought thatthey are not very affectionate animals, or rather that their affections areset upon places more than upon people; but they are certainly very fond oftheir own kittens, and very proud of them when they first begin to "walkhigh, " which I suppose answers to a baby's beginning to "run away. "

Mr. Wood, in _The Boy's Own Book of Natural History_, tells a pretty storyabout a baker's cat, which was so fond of him, when he was a young man atcollege, that she used to come regularly morning and evening to have herbreakfast and tea with him. He says, "She continued her attentions for sometime, but one morning she was absent from her accustomed corner, nor didshe return till nearly a week had passed, when she came again, but alwaysseemed uneasy unless the door were open. A few days afterwards, she cameup as usual, and jumped on to my knee, at the same time putting a littlekitten into my hand. She refused to take it back again, so I restored it toits brothers and sisters myself. A few hours afterwards, on going into mybedroom, I found another black kitten fast asleep on the bed. " Fancy thismother being so anxious to show her kittens, and so sure that her friendwould be pleased to find one in his bed!

Next to the Cat family comes that of the Dog, and in this family Wolves, Jackals, and Foxes are placed, as well as Dogs. I had some texts aboutwolves given me by the boys, but I do not think we shall have time to speakof them now. Wolves and jackals and foxes are very much like dogs run wild, while dogs in many respects are like these wild animals become tame; somuch so, that it is believed that the "friend of man" has altered a gooddeal in the thousands of years during which he has been his constantcompanion; he has become less fierce, but has also lost some of theindependence which once belonged to him, and is very much behind foxes andjackals in knowing how to take care of himself and get his own living. 

We ought to treat with great respect and kindness a creature which we havein this way made dependent upon us, and one which gives us its affectionso freely, and is so glad even of a kind word or look from its master ormistress. 

Dogs have a good deal of dignity, and their feelings are very easily hurt. Perhaps you think it is saying too much for a doggie to talk of its havingfeelings that can be hurt, but I assure you dogs _have_ feelings, and verykeen ones too. 

The master of a little Skye terrier found that a reproachful word, or alook of displeasure, would make him miserable for a whole day; he neverthought of such a thing as beating him; but once, when he was away fromhome, his brother, who did not know the dog, kindly took him out every dayfor a walk in the park. One day, when he wanted him to come on, he gave hima blow with his glove. The dog, who had been playing about with a friendhe had met, stopped and looked up at him in surprise, as if he would havesaid, "If you knew whose dog I am you would never treat me so, "--thenturned and ran away home. Next day he was again taken out by his master'sbrother, but when they had gone a little way he stopped, looked in his faceas much as to say, "You remember what you did?" and then trotted home; hecould never again be induced to go out with the person who had so offendedhis dignity. This sensitive little Skye could not bear to see anyone hurt, and when driving with his master would pull his sleeve, and try to checkhim every time he touched the horse with his whip. 

A little white, curly dog, whom the children knew well, had a greatobjection to his Saturday bath, and would get out of the way when he sawit was coming. Tippoo submitted to be washed when he found there was noescape; but a little dog belonging to a lady used to make such a fuss overhis weekly bath that at last none of the servants would run the risk ofbeing bitten and snapped at by him. His mistress tried threatening him, then beating, then keeping him without his dinner; but all was of no useuntil she made up her mind to see what taking no notice of him would do. The doggie found it very hard when his dear mistress came home, and he ranout with his joyful bark to welcome her, to see her turn her head away fromhim just when he was longing for a pat or a kind word; and I fancy thelady found it hard too, constantly to disappoint all his little efforts toattract her attention; but she went on for more than a week, showing herpet in this way that something was wrong, and there is no doubt at all thatthe wise little creature knew what it was. He looked very miserable all thetime, and at last crept quietly to her side, and, as she says in tellingthe story, "gave a look which said as plainly as any spoken words couldhave done, 'I can stand it no longer; I submit. ' Then, after patientlybearing the washing, without snapping or fighting, he came in wagging histail with a joyful bark, as much as to say, 'It's all right now'!"

I am sure you have read or heard accounts of the large Newfoundland dogs;of whose courage in saving children who fall into the water, many beautifulstories are told; and also of the dear, faithful Collies with their pointednoses, who know all their master's sheep, and will drive them wherever theyare told to go; and even, when two flocks have got mixed, will separatethem with the most wonderful patience and cleverness. A Scotch shepherd, who loved poetry, and made some verses about the skylark, which Sharley andMay repeat, tells a story of one of these dogs which I am sure you willthink worth remembering. 

The collie's name was Sirrah, and his master prized him greatly. When theshepherd first bought him he was scarcely a year old, "and, " he says, "knewso little of herding that he had never turned a sheep in his life; but assoon as he discovered that it was his duty to do so, and that it obligedme, I can never forget with what anxiety and eagerness he learned hisdifferent evolutions. He would try every way deliberately, till he foundout what I wanted him to do, and when I once made him understand adirection he never forgot or mistook it again. "

Sirrah's master once had charge of a flock of seven hundred lambs, and onenight the whole flock broke up into three divisions, and ran away in thedark, so that the shepherd could not tell where they had gone. The nightwas so dark that he could not even see Sirrah, much less tell him how tofind the lost lambs; but the dog knew exactly what had happened, and had nodoubt at all about whose duty it was to get the flock together again. Allnight long the shepherd sought in vain, not being able even to discoverwhat direction either of the three flocks of truant lambs had taken; but inthe morning he suddenly came upon his dog, guarding the whole flock--allthe seven hundred brought back, and not one of them lost. 

I have been told that while a trained sheep-dog is so valuable to hismaster, and can be so trusted by him, one that has been allowed to growup without any teaching or training is of little worth. The training mustbegin while the collie is young, and an old hand at it says, "The firstthing to learn your pup is to mind at the word. " From this beginning thedog goes on until he seems almost to read his master's thoughts in hisface, and to watch each movement of his hand and each glance of his eye. Ofone of these dogs his master says:

"I have known him lie night and day among from ten to twenty pails full ofmilk, and never once break the cream of one of them with the tip of histongue; nor would he suffer cat, rat, nor any other creature to touch it. "

Sheep-dogs become very much attached to each other, as this story shows. Two Scotch collies were fast friends, going everywhere together until oneof them died, and was buried on the top of a hill. The other watched thespot, and when no one was by, actually scratched at the new-made grave, anddug up the body of his comrade. Afterwards, when it had been buried again, and heavy stones laid round the place, he still kept watch there, howlingpiteously and eating nothing, until he died upon the grave of the friend hehad loved so well. 

But while there are so many beautiful stories of the loving and faithfuland tender and true ways of dogs, we must not forget that they sometimesshow cruel and revengeful tempers, as well as something of that low kind ofcleverness which tries to deceive, and on account of which the fox has sucha bad name. 

Only the other day I was told about a dog who actually killed a prettylittle kitten from pure jealousy, because he could not bear to see hismistress pet and fondle it. _He_ had been the pet for a long time, andwhen this new favourite came, he showed his dislike in many ways. One dayFlossie--the little kitten--was missing, and could nowhere be found. Atlast, something about the dog's guilty look made his mistress sure that heknew better than anyone else what had become of her. So she looked at himvery severely, and said, "Turk, _you_ know where little Flossie is. Show medirectly. "

Turk walked straight to the waste-paper basket, which was under the table, and began to take the paper out, bit by bit. At the bottom of the basketlay the poor little furry pet, killed by the dog in a fit of jealousy! Howsad it is to think what sin has done, how even in the animals it may beseen that they belong to a world where the man, whom God made head overthem, turned away from Him, and distrusted and disobeyed Him. 

But since I have told you of Turk's cruel jealousy, I must not forget avery pretty story of a dog who saved the life of a kitten which was to havebeen drowned. When he saw the poor little thing thrown into the pond, heswam after it and brought it back, laying it at the feet of the groom whohad thrown it into the water. The man took the helpless creature up andthrew it back again, and again the dog rescued it. A third time it wasthrown into the water, and a third time saved from drowning; but now thedog brought it to the opposite side of the pool, carried it home in hismouth, and laid it beside the fire to dry. In this case which would yourather be like--the man or the dog?

The children often say that our Tippoo, the little white dog of which Itold you, does things "just like a person"; he will contentedly eat whathe does not care for, because he expects to get something he likes, as areward. If he has been naughty, you can generally know it by his face, andhe will hide away under the sofa, until brought out from his refuge, andmade to show what he has been doing. He cannot bear to be laughed at;nothing hurts his feelings so sorely, unless indeed it be seeing a littlechild petted: this is almost more than he can bear. But he behaves betterthan Psyche, another little Maltese terrier of my acquaintance, who used tofly at anyone who dared to kiss her mistress. Poor little Psyche's was asad end, for she was killed by a carriage while crossing the street to getto her mistress. 

Dogs have all sorts of ways of making their wants known, but I think youwill admit that a little dog called Button was particularly clever in hisway of doing it, when you hear how he managed. He used to have goat's milkfor breakfast, and one morning, when he thought breakfast-time had passedwithout any being brought to him, he made up his mind that he had beenforgotten; so he went to the closet where the china was kept, fetched thecup in which his milk was always given him, carried it in his teeth, andlaid it down at the feet of the maid who used to milk the goat for him. Ithink he had earned his breakfast, don't you?

[Illustration: OUR GOAT--"NAN. "]

Another dog, who has a drinking-trough of his own, draws attention to it, if it is allowed to go dry by scratching at it, till someone fills it withfresh water. 

May knows a very pretty story in verse about a little dog called Music, whodid all she could to save a greyhound, Dart, from drowning, when he hadgone down beneath the ice while trying to cross a frozen river. It musthave been a touching thing to see her standing on the broken edge, andstretching out her paw, like a hand, to save him, while she as the poemsays, ". .. Makes efforts and complainings, nor gives o'er Until her fellow sank, and reappeared no more. "

Faithful, loving little Music failed to save her friend; but a Scotch dogwas the means of saving the life of his master, as he was crossing a riveron the ice. When the crash came, and he sank, he had the presence of mindto support himself by means of his gun, which lay across the broken ice. The dog, after making attempts to save his master, seemed to understandthat the only thing he could do for him was to leave him, and go in searchof help. So off he ran to the next village, and pulled at the coat of thefirst man he saw, so earnestly, that he got the man to follow him, and wasin time to save the life of the drowning man. 

But more remarkable still is the story of a strange dog who seems to havebeen sent by God to protect a poor miner's house in his absence. 

In a very lonely place in Cornwall, the house of a miner is situated amongthe rocks. Only he and his wife lived there, and the poor woman was oftenleft alone far into the night, as her husband's work kept him very late. 

One evening a large dog came up the hill to this cottage, and began to makehimself at home there, and to make friends with the miner's wife. At firstshe petted him, but when it began to grow dark, she thought he ought to begoing to his own home, and used every effort to send him away. But the dogwould not be turned out, and at last the lonely woman allowed him to staywith her. Late at night, a noise of footsteps was heard, and she ran toopen the door, as she thought, to her husband. But the dog sprang past herinto the darkness, and she heard the sound of a great struggle, and thenthe footsteps again passing down the path. The dog presently came back toher, but after a time she began to be alarmed lest he should have attackedand frightened--perhaps injured--her husband, as he was returning home. Lighting a lantern, she unbarred the door, and went out into the darknight, still attended by the strange dog, who seemed resolved not toleave her. They soon met the miner on his way home, and the dog, far fromspringing upon him, went up to him, and then--without a word, I was goingto say--disappeared into the darkness. The miner's wife could never findout anything about him, but she felt quite sure that it was God who hadsent this strange protector to take care of her in her loneliness. 

Now this must be nearly our last Dog-story, or we shall never have done, for there is no end to the wonderful tales which are told of the senseand kindliness and courage and faithfulness of these creatures who are sorightly called the friends of man. 

You remember that wolves, foxes, and jackals are placed in the Dog-family;and if you notice the wolves at the Zoological Gardens, you will see inhow many respects they resemble dogs. It is when they go about in greatnumbers, as they do in the east of Europe and Asia, that these animals aresuch dreaded foes, and devour so many defenceless sheep and cattle. 

Do you not think this a wonderful account of a traveller and a wolf takingshelter together in a storm and lying down side by side? It is called

 "FATHER'S STORY. 

 "'Little one, come to my knee! Hark! how the rain is pouring Over the roof, in the pitch-black night And the wind in the woods is roaring. 

 "'Hush, my darling, and listen; Then pay for the story with kisses; Father was lost in a pitch-black night, In just such a storm as this is!

 "'High up on the lonely mountains, Where the wild men watched and waited; Wolves in the forest and bears in the bush, And I on my path belated. 

 "'The rain and the night came together Came down, and the wind came after, Bending the props of the pine-tree roof, And snapping many a rafter. 

 "'I crept along in the darkness, Stunned and bruised and blinded, Crept to a fir with thick set boughs, And a sheltering rock behind it. 

 "'There, from the blowing and raining, Crouching, I sought to hide me; Something rustled, two green eyes shone, And a wolf lay down beside me. 

 "'Little one, be not frightened; I and the wolf together, Side by side, through the long, long night, Hid from the awful weather. 

 "'His wet fur pressed against me; Each of us warmed the other; Each of us felt in the stormy dark, That man and beast was brother. 

 "'And when the falling forest No longer crashed in warning, Each of us went from our hiding place Forth in the wild, wet morning. 

 "'Now, darling, kiss me in payment, And hark! how the wind is roaring; Surely home is a better place, When the stormy rain is pouring!'"

The Fox, as you know, is found in most parts of England, and in many othercountries. He is a sly, clever hunter, living by day in the hole whichhe hollows out for himself, and prowling about at night, stealing fromhen-roosts, or pouncing upon some unwary hare or rabbit. The Jackal, whichis perhaps more like a wolf than a fox, and lives in Africa and parts ofAsia, is also a great devourer of game and poultry. 

[Illustration: A FOX TAKING TO THE WATER. ]

The Arctic-fox, which is found in the far north, is grey during the summer, but turns white as snow in winter, and its coat then becomes so thick as tocover even the soles of its feet. It is interesting to notice that thosecreatures whose home is in the far north are clad in grey or white, foranimals which are hunted either as prey or for the sake of their fur, oftentake the colour of the ground, whether it be covered with snow, as in theArctic regions, or brake and heather, as upon the moors and furzy covertswhere our own hares and foxes hide. 

Now we come to the bears, which are found all the world over except inAfrica. The Brown bear, which is a peaceable creature, feeding on honey orfruits, is still met with in the Alps and Pyrenees, as well as in the northof Europe, but it has not lived in England since before the Conquest, at atime when wolves were quite common with us; especially in Wales. 

The Grizzly bear is a very different animal; its home is in North America, and it will hunt down a man with such determination that it is very muchdreaded by the fur-hunters. The white or Polar bear belongs entirely tothe Arctic regions, so that I have often wondered that the great creaturewhich looks so innocent as it dives for the bread which is thrown to it byvisitors at the Gardens, or plays with its ball in the water, does not dieduring our hot summer months. I have heard that the reason why the solesof its feet are so hairy is because in its northern home it is constantlytravelling over icefields, sometimes climbing the lofty bergs--and thelong hair prevents it from slipping. If so, this is but one more instanceshowing how perfectly the animals are fitted for the life which they livein their natural state. 

And now we must pass from this group to another great Division of theMammalia--the Herbivorous animals, which live, not on the flesh of birds orbeasts, which they hunt for themselves, but upon grass and green things. 

In the first class the Gnawing creatures are placed; you can always knowthem by their teeth. Perhaps you remember how different the front teeth ofa rabbit are from those long, sharp ones which pussy shows now and thenwhen she yawns. By constantly gnawing their food, the teeth of squirrels, hares, rats, mice, dormice, and all animals called Rodents, or Gnawers, would soon be worn away, but that, unlike our teeth, they never ceasegrowing while the creature lives. The most interesting of these creaturesis the Beaver, with its webbed hind feet and broad tail. I hope you willsome day read about the mud-built houses, and the clever dams which beaversmake across the rivers. Mr. Wood says that when they have been tamed theywill still go on building dams across one corner of the room in which theyare, and collecting boots, brushes, books, all sorts of things, and puttingthem together industriously; for they still have in captivity the sameinstinct which teaches them to dam the stream where they build, so thatthe entrance to their houses may always be below the surface, and never bebarred by the ice, during frost. 

The teeth of horses are differently formed from those of the gnawinganimals: at the back they are massive, and act like grindstones, crushingthe grain which they eat. The Horse-family includes the patient Ass, andthe beautifully marked Zebra of South Africa. I need not tell you that allthese animals have only one toe, with that hard and strong toe-nail whichis called the hoof. 

The Ruminants, or animals that chew the cud, are cows, sheep, and goats, deer, giraffes, and camels. 

You have often noticed a Cow when lying down in the field, going on eating, although she seems to have no food before her. This is because she hasalready eaten plenty of grass, very fast, and now that she is resting, shebrings what she has, as it were, laid up in store, back into her mouth, andchews it over again. 

I think there are no animals so often mentioned in the Bible as oxen, sheep, and lambs, goats and kids; and they are the only creatures, exceptthe turtle dove and the pigeon, which were offered as sacrifices, from thetime when Eve's second son brought of the firstlings of his flock, and ofthe fat thereof, "and the Lord had respect unto Abel and to his offering. "

All creatures that chew the cud have two toes, or are what is calledcloven-footed. The Camel, whose home is in the dry and thirsty desert, hasthe power of storing up water, and bringing it back into its mouth forseveral days after it has drunk it. This enables it to make long journeys, without needing a brook by the way. Its feet, too, are just fitted forthe sandy wastes which it has to tread. The one-humped camel is found inAfrica, and the two-humped, or Bactrian camel, in Asia. The Llama of SouthAmerica is like the camel in some respects, but, as you know, is very muchsmaller; I knew one which had a disagreeable habit of spitting at those whocame to call upon him, and I have read or others doing the same. We readof Abraham having camels, and of John the Baptist wearing clothes made ofcamel's hair, and that King Solomon had deer. 

The beautiful Giraffe, found only in South Africa, is like the camel insome respects, and the deer in others. That long neck which it arches sogracefully when you offer it a bun, enables it in its forest-home to feedupon the leaves of trees; so you see it is for use, not only for beauty. 

There could hardly be a greater contrast to the giraffe than the Elephant, with its short neck and large body; but what the giraffe can do with itslong neck, that, and a great deal more, the elephant can do with thewonderful trunk which is his nose, his hand, his trumpet, and we mightalmost say his mouth, as he could neither reach his food nor drink exceptby its help, his neck being so short. 

There are only two kinds of elephants, the Asiatic and the African, thelatter having very large ears, and the former only being tamed; the Africanelephant is hunted merely for the sake of its ivory tusks. 

In a delightful story book, called _Friends in Fur and Feathers_, we hadall read a very interesting account of a young elephant called KornegalleJack, which became exceedingly attached to his master. I wonder whetheryou know it? If you do not, perhaps you might have the book for your nextbirthday present, and read a great deal about elephants, as well as otheranimals, whose names only we have time, to mention now. 

But you will say, perhaps, that we have forgotten one kind of animal, forwe have not said a word about Pigs. Well, Piggie has not been forgotten;but it seems difficult for him to find just his own place among the classesof Mammalia, for he is like several of the quadrupeds in some particular, but unlike any one of them altogether. You cannot put him with theRuminants, and yet he has cloven feet; he has the same number of teeth asthe horse, and his snout is rather like, in a small way, the trunk of theelephant; then, in his wild state, he might almost be reckoned among thebeasts of prey, for the wild Boar, with its terrible tusks, is a mostformidable creature to encounter. 

Of all the families of the Mammalia, that of Rats and Mice is the mostnumerous. There are two kinds of rats, the black and the brown. I do notknow to which kind Willie's "Ratto" belongs, but I have heard many storiesof his clever tricksy ways, and of how well he knew his name, and obeyedhis master. 

A rat, however clever, is not an animal which I should care to pet andtame; but I know a very interesting story of one which seemed to be themeans of taming a poor man who was so wild and miserable that he cared fornobody. This man had been transported for life, for some of his wickeddeeds, and he was so savage that even the companions who worked with himwere afraid of him, and hardly dared speak to him. 

Once, as he was at work in the woods near Port Philip, felling trees, witha heavy chain around him lest he should escape, a rat, chased by someboys, ran towards him, and nestled inside his shirt. There the frightenedcreature lay, in its place of refuge, close to that hard heart which caredfor no fellow-man; and as the poor lonely convict felt its fluttering, astrange feeling came over him towards the trembling thing which had thustrusted him. He asked leave to keep it as a pet, and from that time the ratfollowed its protector everywhere, faithful and loving as a dog; and fromcaring for his little rescued friend, the man who had been so savage andhard, became more gentle, and no longer needed to be chained, and keptalmost as if he had been a wild beast. There is a sad ending to this story, for at last the rat was killed by a bough falling upon it, and its deathcaused such grief to its master that he never spoke again; but I do notknow his history to the very end, and I hope that even through seeing thegratitude and faithfulness of one of the creatures whom God had made, hemay have learnt that the God against whom he had so hardened himself wasready to forgive and to receive him, for the sake of the Lord Jesus Christ, who came "to seek and to save that which was lost. "

We must not forget the Toothless animals, of which the Ant-eater is thebest known. They live upon insects, chiefly white ants, which they catch bytearing open their houses with their strong claws, and then rolling theirlong tongues among them. The tongue of the ant-eater is covered with a kindof gum, to which the ants stick, and when there is room for not one more, the living mouthful is swallowed. 

Perhaps your cousins in Australia sometimes tell you about the greatKangaroo, or "Old man, " as they call him in that part of the world. Bymeans of his very long and powerful hind legs, and strong tail, he can leapgreat distances, so rapidly as to outstrip a greyhound. There are manyspecies of kangaroos, but they are all much alike, and belong to the orderof Pouched animals; so called because instead of rearing her young in anest which she has made for them, the mother carries them in a bag. Thelittle creatures at their birth are more helpless than most young animals, and this pouch is their home for some time, and their refuge in danger, even after they have grown beyond the need of her constant care. 

Australia has no animals like those of other parts of the world, exceptthe dog and the bat; but only one of these pouched animals--the Opossum ofAmerica--is not found there. This creature is very like a monkey, and theone best known in the southern states of America is about the size of acat, and very mischievous--as it sleeps during the day and prowls about atnight, in search of birds, eggs, and fruit. It has the power, which someanimals possess, of pretending to be dead, when in danger of being caught;and thus it often escapes. 

Seals and Whales must also be classed among the Mammalia, although they areespecially formed to live in the water. 

Whales, though so much like fishes that they used to be classed with them, have warm blood and do not breathe through gills; so they have to cometo the surface of the water every now and then, in order to get air. By-and-by, when you read more, you will understand how it is that thewhale, though it breathes as you do, is able to stay under water as long ashalf an hour at a time. 

Now, at the end of this long chapter about the Mammalia, let us see what wehave been noticing about them. 

They are put first in the Vertebrate Group, though we have spoken of thebirds and fishes before them, because they were made on the Fifth Day. 

They are generally--for we must not forget the whale--covered with hair orfur, and they feed their young with milk. First of the classes into whichthe Mammalia are divided, we place the Four-handed creatures--apes andmonkeys. 

Second, the Hand-winged; the bats. 

Third, the Flesh-eaters; many of them beasts of prey of the Cat-kind and ofthe Dog-kind. 

Fourth, the Herbivora; animals which feed upon grasses. 

Fifth, the Horse-tribe. 

Sixth, the Ruminants; animals which chew the cud. 

Seventh, Elephants. 

Eighth, the Pig-kind, including the Hippopotamus which is believed to bethe creature called Behemoth. 

Ninth, the Pouched animals. 

Tenth, Seals, including the Walrus. 

Eleventh, the Whale-tribe. 

In saying "good-bye for the present" to this wide field of interest, shallwe make up our minds to observe for our own selves the animals which we seeevery day, and to notice particularly how beautifully they are formed so asto live in the way which is, as we say, suited to their nature; and also toread some of the many interesting books on Natural History, where we shallfind pictures of the different "orders" of animals, and learn all sorts ofcurious things about their habits?

God does not tell us what we do not need to know, just how he fed thebeasts of prey, and all the flesh-eating creatures which, in their presentstate, live upon birds or animals which they catch alive; but God does notsay either that there was any death in the Garden of Eden, or that thecreatures which He had just made, each "after its kind, " and all "verygood, " preyed upon those weaker and smaller than themselves. It has beenfound that it is possible _now_ for those beasts whose claws are fitted forcatching their prey--and their long sharp teeth for tearing to pieces whatthey have caught--to live upon green things; and we know from the chapterwe have been reading together that God at the first gave them "every greenherb for meat. "

Perhaps some of us have already read this beautiful poem in _ScatteredSeed_, but I will copy it for others who may not know it. 

 "GOD IS LOVE. 

 "All the earth, about us, All the world above, Tell the old sweet story, Whisper, 'God is Love. ' Every wayside blossom Lifts its little voice, Every bright-eyed daisy Bids our heart rejoice. 

 "Surging, seething torrent, Bubbling, sparkling spring, Hum of insect nature, Birds upon the wing, Evening's flush of beauty, Morning's streaks of light, Noonday's radiant glory, All in praise unite. 

 "See His kind provision Waving in the grain, Shining in the sunbeams, Falling in the rain; Parching days of summer, Cool the dewy fall, Hoary frost of winter, Sheltering snow o'er all. 

 "Swift o'er trackless region Runs the lurid flash, Sounds from hill to moorland, Deep resounding crash, Towering peak and cranny, Eagles' dizzy height, Dignity and splendour, All reveal His might. 

 "Nature's varied voices Chant the sweet refrain, Echo o'er the mountain, Linger on the plain, Thunder in the ocean, Whisper in the shell, Murmur in the breezes, Sighing in the dell. 

 "Shall our lips be silent? Shall our lives be still? Tune our hearts, O Father, To perform Thy will; Fill our souls with rapture, Fill our hearts with praise, Give us grace to follow Gladly all our days. "

M. A. E. 

THE SIXTH DAY

THE CROWN OF GOD'S CREATION. 

"_The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath givenme life. _"--JOB xxxiii. 4. 

"_In Him we live, and move, and have our being . .. For we are also Hisoffspring. _"--ACTS xvii. 28. 

"_I will praise Thee: for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. _"--PSALMcxxxix. 14. 

"_Ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body. _"--1 COR. Vi. 20. 

Before we speak of the last work of God upon the last of those wonderfuldays of which we are told in the first chapter of the Bible, let us readthe verses about it, from the twenty-sixth to the end of that chapter, andto the tenth verse of the next. And then let us read the eighth Psalm, unless indeed you can repeat it, as my little scholars once could--and Ihope they have not forgotten it now. 

I think the first thing we noticed as we read was, that after the verseswhich speak of the beasts and creeping things which God made on the SIXTHDAY, there is, as it were, a close to the history, and then a freshbeginning. 

We read, "And God saw that it was good. " There is a full stop there; andagain we read--now for the eighth time--the three words, "And God said. "

But this is not all; a very wonderful expression, which had not been usedin connection with any part of the work of God, is employed to tell us ofthe creation of the man who was placed by God as the head of all that Hehad made, the one to whom He gave dominion, after He had made the earth, and brought it all into order. 

God had said, "Let the waters bring forth. .. . Let the earth bring forth"living creatures. "And God made the beast of the earth"; but before man wascreated He said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. "

Of no other creature could it be said that he was made in the likeness ofGod, and of no other do we read that he was "formed" by God "of the dust ofthe ground, " and that the Lord God "breathed into his nostrils the breathof life"; then, and not till then, did man become a "living soul. " The bodywas made of earth, but the soul came immediately from God. 

The more we learn about our own body, that wonderful and beautiful house inwhich we live, the more we shall see, in what God thus formed from the dustof the ground, to call forth our admiration; but the body of the first man, although fashioned with such perfection in all its parts, did not _live_until God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. 

Let us never forget how great a difference God has put between man, aboutwhose creation He took thought, and who was made in His image, to whomHe has given speech, reason, and a deathless soul, and all the creaturesconcerning which we read none of these things. 

And now let us learn just a very little about the way in which God hasformed what His word speaks of as our "house" or "tent"--the dwelling-placeof the soul and spirit. 

It would be strange indeed if we did not care to know something about ourown home; but our body is not only the house in which we live, it is alsothe means, through those five senses--the eye, the ear, and the organs oftouch, taste, and smell--which have been so well called "the five gatewaysof knowledge, " by which we learn all that can be known by us of the worldoutside us. 

More than this, it is the wonderfully perfect instrument, and implicitlyobedient servant, by which all that we do is performed. 

But the science that teaches us all that is known about our bodies is avery difficult study, and there are many hard names to master, even atthe very outset. For instance, when we speak of the bony framework--thatskeleton which, as you know, belongs to us in common with the vertebrateanimals--there is a great deal which you would find very difficult toremember. 

Still, as I daresay you have found out, the more we learn, even ofdifficult sciences, the more we _can_ learn, and little May (though, tobe sure, she is now four years older than she was when you first made heracquaintance) _has_ learnt a good many of the hard words. She could showyou upon her own round arm, just where the bone which reaches from theshoulder to the elbow begins and ends, and tell you its name, and thenames of the two bones which reach from the elbow to the wrist, and of thewrist-bones, and of those which you can feel in the palm of your hand, andthe finger-bones. 

But when you hear that you have more than two hundred bones in your body, you will be inclined to agree with me that it would take both of us sometime to learn even their names, much more to know all about them. 

The spine consists of twenty-four short bones, each with a little ring. These vertebras are piled up one upon the other; for God has made ourbodies upright; our faces, are lifted upwards, and our eyes look straightbefore us. These twenty-four little bones are closely and strongly boundtogether, and between each one and its neighbour there is something so softand elastic that we can bend our heads, or move in any direction, withoutthe slightest strain or jar. 

The head is most wonderfully built up, like an arch, of several bonesbeautifully joined in a very strong and perfect way which carpenters call"dove-tailing. " We can understand why the head, which is so much exposed, and is almost entirely occupied by the brain, should be so carefullyprotected; for thought, memory, will, and what we can best express as"consciousness of our being, " all depend upon it. 

Passing from head to foot, we find that our feet, which are not large, yetmust bear the weight of the body, are also made upon the arch-principle, which has been found, like the hollow bones of the bird's wing, to combinelightness and strength. The twenty-six bones are so fitted together thatthis wonderful arch is quite elastic, as you can prove by moving your ownfoot up and down. 

The joints, where two bones which are to play upon each other come incontact, as they do at the elbow or shoulder, are made in different ways. The elbow only moves to and fro like a hinge; the hip and shoulder, likea "ball and socket, " move every way. You do not need to be told that eachkind of joint is found just where it is needed for the work it has to do;for there is no mistaking or misplacing in God's workmanship, as there sooften is in the very best of _ours_. 

I cannot at present tell you anything about the muscles, except that it isby their means that we move arms, legs, head, eyes--every part of the body, for bones cannot move of themselves, but are acted on by the muscles. 

Nor can we learn much about the nerves, because the subject is verydifficult to understand. They come from the brain in the head, and fromthat part of it which runs all down the backbone, through the little bonyrings of the vertebrę; and they are protected, because they are so verydelicate, and so precious to us, by a strong bony sheath. At first thesenerves are like coarse twine, but they divide and divide until they becomeas fine as threads of white silk--almost as fine as the stronger part of aspider's web--and they go all over the body, reaching to the very tips ofthe fingers. 

The first pair of nerves goes to the nose, for smell; the second to theeye, for sight; and so on for hearing and taste. These are the nervescalled "sensory, " which carry to the brain sensations from outside thebody. The "motor" nerves are those which take orders from the brain, to beinstantly obeyed by the muscles. 

In the hand, which has twenty-seven bones--one more than the foot--and isa more wonderful "tool" than any which God has given to the lower animals, wonderful as _their_ tools are, the sense of touch is stronger than in anyother part of the body. 

Suppose you put your fingers upon something very hot or very cold. "Quickas thought, " as we say, you draw them away again. But before you did so, what had happened?

The nerves at the tip of your finger had sent a telegram straight home tothe brain, "Too hot!" or "Too cold!" and the brain had telegraphed back tothe fingers, "Keep out of the way of it!" whatever the hot or cold thingmay have been. 

To think, even for a moment, of these lightning messages running backwardsand forwards, to and from the brain, gives us some little idea how verywonderful the brain itself must be, and also how God has made one part ofthe body to depend upon another. 

Apart from the brain, the ear would be conscious of no sound, whether thesoft wash of the waves along the shore, or the mighty roll of the thunderthrough the sky. On the other hand, none of these voices could reach thebrain if God had not "planted the ear, " and formed it so perfectly toreceive the waves of sound which, striking upon its delicate little "drum, "cause it to vibrate, and so are passed on by the nerve which takes messagesto the brain. For it is the brain which takes charge of every "impression"conveyed to it by eye, ear, hand, nose, or palate; but _how_ theseimpressions conveyed to the brain give rise to what we call "thoughts" and"ideas"--this is one of the secret things which belong to God, and of whichHe has not allowed the wisest man to say, "Oh yes, I understand all aboutit!"

And there is another secret thing which cannot be explained. The heart hasbeen called "the fountain of life, " because by it the blood, which is thelife of the body, is kept in continual motion, and sent to every part. Howlittle we think of it! But whether we are waking or sleeping, at work or atrest, this busy fountain still goes on playing. We may hear the throb ofit, as it strikes against the chest, in its ceaseless working; and we maycount these regular "beats, " and find that there are about seventy-fiveof them every minute. It has been calculated that during an ordinarilylong life there are three thousand millions of beats without a break. Butwhat has set this fountain at work? and what keeps it going night and daywithout any thought or care of ours, all our life long? Of all this it canonly be said, "We do not know; we cannot find out. God in His wisdom has soordered it. "

Many years ago a doctor, who had observed very carefully, and thought muchabout what he observed, found out that every time the heart beats, theblood rushes from it into a great curved tube called an artery, and sopasses through tubes which, like the nerves, are constantly becoming finerand finer, to every part of the body. 

He also discovered that the blood takes its journey back again to the heartby a different road: it does not return through these tubes, but throughsofter ones, called veins. Thus far he could go, and the story of the"circulation" of the blood is very interesting; but the _cause_ of theheart's perpetual motion, and the blood's continuous flow, this he couldnot discover. 

Is it not wonderful to think that this rapid motion of the fountain withinus goes on so noiselessly that even a baby whose little heart has only justbegun to beat, is not disturbed by it, as he sleeps in his cradle?

To all the "higher animals" God has given both heart and brain. He hasalso given them, in more or less degree, that mysterious sense of which wehave spoken before, and of which we have had so many proofs; a sense whichis not at all dependent upon reason or intellect, but is found in a lessdegree in men than in animals to which reason has not been given. 

We have before noticed that by instinct and memory all the wants of thebrute creation are met; God has given them all that they need to teach themto live, each in its own life, after its kind, and to provide for theiryoung ones; but He has not given to the "beasts that perish" the power of, as we sometimes say, "putting this and that together, " nor, as far as weknow, of learning by experience; although it does seem as if the spiders, in making their webs, improve by practice. 

Instinct teaches every living thing to get its own food, choosing thatwhich is suited to itself, and rejecting that which is not. It teaches thebird or the insect to seek out a fit place in which to deposit its eggs, orto make a nest or "homie" for them, even before they are laid; and it canteach even such a free creature as a bird to leave for a time its airylife, and to sit patiently upon its eggs, even carefully turning them, asif it knew that the life of the unfledged nursling within the shell-walldepended upon its being kept warm. 

Instinct leads the butterfly, as we have seen, to lay its eggs upon theleaf of the very tree upon which the caterpillar, when hatched, willfeed--though its own food has been taken from flowers. 

Instinct guides the swallow in its flight, as it leaves us in the autumnfor the shores of Africa; and the redwing on its way from its summer homein the far North to winter in our warmer country--each arriving in itsappointed season. 

[Illustration: THE SWALLOW. ]

And so, as we study the habits of birds and beasts, we see how instincteverywhere guides and directs them; but what this sense _is_ we cannottell. It has been well remarked, that all that can rightly be said of itis, that it is "a guide which God, in His care for His creatures, has giventhem, and caused them to obey. "

We also noticed in reading these verses that until man was formed, therewas no lord over the Creation, but that to Adam God gave dominion over all;nothing was expected, and he was owned as head, God Himself bringing thecreatures to him that they might receive their names from him, though Adamhimself was still under God, and every benefit with which the Creatorloaded him, only left him so much more bound to own His right over him. 

As God has made us for Himself, He has given to every man, even the rudestsavage, something within him which reminds him of One to whom he of rightbelongs; however far he may have got away from Him, or may have tried tosatisfy his conscience--that "eye of the soul"--by seeking to please someidol-god which he has made for himself. 

God has also given proof of His "eternal power and Godhead" by "the thingsthat are made"--His glorious works in Creation. 

Listen to what a Red chief, far away in North America, said to a missionarythe other day:--

"I have long lost faith"--this was his confession--"in the old paganism. They know I have not cared for the old religion. I have neglected it. And Iwill tell you, missionary, why I have not believed in our old paganism fora long time. 

[Illustration: NORTH-AMERICAN INDIANS. ]

"I hear God in the thunder, in the tempest, and in the storm; I see Hispower in the lightning that shivers the trees into kindling-wood; I see Hisgoodness in giving us the moose, the reindeer, the beaver, and the bear;I see His loving-kindness in giving us, when the south winds blow, theducks and geese; and when the snow and ice melt away, and our lakes andrivers are open again, I see how He fills them with fish. I have watchedthese things for years, and I see how every moon of the year He gives ussomething; and He has so arranged it that, if we are only industrious andcareful, we can always have something to eat. 

"So, thinking about these things which I had observed, I made up mymind years ago that this Great Spirit--so kind and so watchful and soloving--did not care for the beating of the conqueror's drum, or theshaking of the rattle of the medicine man. So for years I have had noreligion. 

"Missionary, what you have said to-day fills my heart, and satisfies mylongings. It is just what I have been expecting to hear about the GreatSpirit. I am glad you have come with this wonderful story; stay as long asyou can. " [Footnote: From _By Canoe and Dog-Train_, p. 119. ]

Nothing more than the fact that man was made, not like even an angel oran archangel, but in the image of God, is needed to show how far beyondand above every creature he was; and, as no creature owed so much to theCreator, none was responsible to Him in the same way. No one had any rightover him except the One who had made him for Himself, his Creator, withoutwhom he would not have been. 

"The ox knoweth its owner, and the ass his master's crib. " (Isa. I. 3. )

God has made the animals faithful and affectionate, and there are many trueand touching stories of the way in which they have attached themselves tothose who have cared for them. A dog will devote itself to its own master, and even give its life for him; but no mere animal has that within himwhich can have to say to God and be in relationship with Him. And how sadit is to think that the only creature of God who could know Him is the onewho has turned away from Him and listened to the spoiler!

At the beginning God could say of all Creation "_very good_"; thoughthere is a wonderful beauty still--beauty everywhere if we have eyes tosee it--He cannot say "_very good_" where decay, pain, sorrow, death areall around; where we grow weak and old, and even while we are young andstrong, the most pleasant things tire us; where hatred and envy, shame andfear--all the sad feelings brought by sin--exist in the heart of the lastand best of His creatures, to whom His voice and His presence once broughtonly joy. "By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin. " Andwho can say how terrible has been the change thus wrought?

Sad indeed is the wreck which Satan has made of God's fair Creation, buta sadder wreck still is the man whom He made upright; and yet the day issurely coming when round and round the throne of "Him that liveth for everand ever" shall echo and re-echo the words, "Thou art worthy, O Lord, toreceive glory and honour and power; for Thou hast created all things, andfor Thy pleasure they are and were created. "

God does not mend things, but replaces what has been spoilt or marredby something far better. Even the poor earth, so ruined by sin and itsconsequences, He will not mend; but He will make "new heavens and a newearth" (never more to bear the marks of the spoiler's hand) "whereindwelleth righteousness. "

But before the new heavens and new earth are created, a great deal willtake place upon this earth of which we have been speaking. The Jews, nowscattered in every land, will pass through much trouble, the lost tribeswill be found and restored, and the Lord will put down all His enemies, and"reign in righteousness" as King over His once again united people Israel. There will be a thousand years of wonderful peace, and Jerusalem will bethe centre of earthly blessing; for He says of it, "The name of the cityfrom that day shall be 'Jehovah Shammah' (the Lord is there)" (Ezek. Xlviii. 35); and again, "They shall call thee 'the city of the Lord'"; and"Thou shalt call thy walls 'Salvation, ' and thy gates 'Praise'" (Isa. Lx. 14-18). 

Those who know the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour now, will be with Himwhen He thus reigns over the earth, for they will be caught up to be withHim for ever, before the time of trouble (followed by earthly blessing)begins. In those thousand years of peace even the animals which have solong suffered through man's sin and oppression will share in the rest ofthat happy time, and God's ancient people Israel, once more dwelling safelyin their own land, will sing many of the Psalms in His Word for joy andhappiness. 

The following hymn speaks of that good time which is surely coming:--

 "Hail to the Lord's Anointed, Great David's greater Son! Hail, in the time appointed, His reign on earth begun! He comes to break oppression, To set the captive free, To take away transgression, And rule in equity. 

 "He shall come down like showers Upon the fruitful earth, And love, joy, hope, like flowers, Spring in His path to birth; Before Him on the mountains, Shall peace the herald, go, And righteousness in fountains From hill to valley flow. 

 "Kings shall fall down before Him, And gold and incense bring; All nations shall adore Him, His praise all people sing; For He shall have dominion O'er river, sea, and shore, Far as the eagle's pinion Or dove's light wing can soar. 

 "O'er every foe victorious. He on His throne shall rest; From age to age more glorious, All blessing and all-blest; The tide of time shall never His covenant remove; His name shall stand for ever, That name to us is Love. "