the crust of ice forms itself at the top of the water, the ice is still entirely transparent, but when it thickens, it becomes opaque. This darkness proceeds from the bubbles of air, more or less, which meet in the ice, and occasion a more frequent refraction of rays. Ice continually exhales many vapours, even in the severest cold. It has been found, by repeated experiments, that, in the sharpest cold, four pounds of ice lose by evaporation a whole pound of their weight in eighteen days; and that a piece of ice, weighing four ounces, becomes four grains lighter in the space of 24 hours. Ice generally begins at the top of the wa

ter.

It is an error to imagine that it forms first at the bottom, and afterwards rises to the top: For the cold, which forms the ice, proceeding from the atmosphere, cannot take effect at the bottom of the water, without having first frozen all the upper part of it. The manner in which ice is formed is equally remarkable. It is in this way: When it freezes slowly, one sees a multitude of little strings come from the sides, within the glass, and take different directions, making all sorts of angles, and uniting again, they form at the top of the water a coat of very thin ice. To these first threads others succeed, which multiply and enlarge into the form of flakes; which, still increasing in size and number, unite with the first coat. By degrees, as the ice thickens, a multitude of bubbles appear, and the colder it grows, the larger the bubbles become from whence it happens, that the transparency of the ice diminishes, particularly towards the middle; and then it begins to dilate with violence, and swell into a greater size. When the cold is very sharp, and it freezes hard, there forms on the surface of the water a thin membrane, which, quitting the sides of the glass, extends

E. 5

extends towards the middle. Under this membrane there come others, which appear in triangular shapes, the basis of which is at the sides of the glass, while the sharpest angles go towards the middle. It is thus that the crust of ice thickens, becomes opaque by the bubbles of -ais it contains, and, by dilating, becomes more and more light..

But after having reflected on these phenomena, is it not natural to say to one's self, What order, what harmony reigns even in the least works of nature! With what weight and measure is all regulated according to the times and seasons! How does every thing in nature concur to fulfil the designs of God! How great will our admiration be, when we have a more perfect and distinct knowledge of all his wise purposes..

PEOPLE generally fancy the earth an even plain, a round flat surface: But, if that was the case, the exterior limits of this furface would be found out; and, in approaching any place, it would be impossible to see the tops of towers and mountains before the lower parts of them. The earth then must be a globe; but it is not exactly and strictly spherical, for it is a little more raised under the line, and flatter towards the poles, nearly resembling an orange. But that deviation from a circular form is very inconsiderable, at the most only ten German miles, which is scarce perceptible in a globe, whose cir

cumference

cumference is 5400 German miles, and the diameter 1720. There will be no doubt of the form of the earth being nearly spherical, if we consider, that, in the eclipses of the moon, the shadow which the earth casts on that planet is always round. Besides, if the earth was not round, how could they have sailed round it, or how should the stars rise and set sooner in the eastern than in the western countries. Here, again, is the wisdom of the Creator manifest. The form he has given to the earth is the most proper and convenient for a world like ours, and for its inhabitants. Light and heat, so necessary for the preservation of creatures, are, by this means, equally and uniformly distributed over the whole earth. From thence also proceed the daily and annual returns of night and day, heat and cold, wet and dry, so constant and regular. The water, in the first place, is equally distributed over the globe, and the salutary use of the winds is felt over every part of the earth. We should be deprived of all those advantages, if our earth had any other form. In some countries, it would be a paradise, in others a chaos; one part of it would be swallowed up in water, the other burnt up with the heat of the sun. In certain countries they would be exposed to furious tempests, which would destroy every thing, while they would be stifled in other places by the want of air, the current of which would be nearly stopped. One part of the earth would enjoy the benign influence of the sun, while the other would be frozen with cold. What pride and ignorance should we not betray, if we did not acknowledge in this, the hand of an almighty and benevolent Creator? Should we deserve to inhabit a world, where all is so wisely ordained, if, like the brutes, we are insen

sible to this admirable plan, and to the numberless blessings which accrue from it? No, my God, and my Creator! let us never be guilty of such monstrous ingratitude. Let us adore thy wisdom: Our weakness permits no more. He will vouchsafe to accept with goodness our humble attempts to glorify him, our knowledge, however limited, our thanksgiving imperfect indeed, yet sincere.

**་ར2b"ཡ

FEBRUARY XIII.

ON THE SHORT DURATION OF SNOW.

WE see the instability of snow, and how suddenly the heat of the sun, mild and damp air, or heavy rains, make it disappear. Every thing around us changes its appearance in a few hours ; and there scarce remains the least trace of that snow, which had covered the streets, villages, and fields.

Is not this sudden revolution calculated to make us reflect on the uncertainty and vanity of all earthly goods? Undoubtedly, it is not without design, that nature presents us with such images of the frailty of worldly things. In every season,. in every variation that their return occasions, nature tells us, with a strong and persuasive voice, this great truth, All is vanity. Let us look around us; do we see any thing that is not frail and perishable? How soon are we deprived of the pleasures of the senses! They disappear when we have scarce begun to enjoy them. We are often at sun-rise cheerful and content; and before it sets, we are plunged into sorrow and distress.

Has not every body, experienced, in the course

of

of their life, how uncertain and transient the enjoyments here are? The riches of which we are so proud, make themselves wings and fly away, like an eagle, from the possessor, when he flattered himself most with a peaceable and uninterrupted enjoyment of them. The step from the greatest opulence to want and misery is often as sudden as the coming of a thaw after the severest cold. We might be contented with this, if our life and health even were not as transitory as all other sublunary things..

It is too true, however, that these sorts of reflections seldom occur to us, while we are in possession of earthly enjoyments. We are like those who, in a fine winter's morn, venture to go abroad, and set out without thinking of the sudden changes of weather, so frequent at that season. When fortune smiles upon us, and we are in the midst of joy and pleasure, we think we have nothing to fear; and we do not consider how suddenly the happiest situation may be changed into misery. And, supposing we have not hitherto had an opportunity of making this sad experiment, it is certain, at least, that a time will come, when we shall be convinced by ourselves of the nothingness and frailty of every thing here. To those who are at present in the spring or summer of life, winter will soon come; and they will then experience how transient those enjoyments are, on which they have depended with so much confidence. They will learn, that all earthly pleasures are like snow, which dazzles the eye indeed, but soon melts, and is no more.

Snow affords us another very important reflection. It reminds us of our weakness and want of. power: What could all the industry, and all the force of man do, were they to undertake to remove

the