though received in outward affliction, is accompanied with inward joy of the Holy Ghost.

The people of God ought indeed to rejoice with joy unfeigned. A repining disposition dishonours and grieves his Holy Spirit. The repeated murmurings of the Israelites drew down heavy judgments upon them.

"Because thou servest not the Lord thy God with joyfulness, and with gladness of heart, for the abundance of all; therefore shalt thou serve thine enemies which the Lord shall send against thee, in hunger, and in thirst, and in nakedness, and in want of all; and he shall put a yoke of iron upon thy neck, until he have destroyed thee.”

These are awful denunciations. May the Lord avert such from our nation in general, and from ourselves individually. May he make us willing in the day of his power, to do whatsoever we do to his glory still looking to, and trusting in him who giveth us all things richly to enjoy.

CONVERSATION V.

"He telleth the number of the stars: he calleth them all by their names." Psalm cxlvii. 4.

WHAT is to be the subject of our conversation this morning? said the fond father, as he felt the gentle pressure of his daughter's arm, which he drew within his own at the commencement of their walk.

I ought to ask you that question, dearest papa; there are so many subjects which are deeply interesting, and concerning which my stock of information is still very limited. The science of astronomy, I know, as a female, I can but slightly scan; yet I cannot look upwards and behold the sun, and the moon walking in her brightness, and the shining orbs which stud the

clear canopy of heaven, without exclaiming with David, "When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the stars, which thou hast ordained; what is man that thou art mindful of him! and the son of man that thou visitest him!”

It is, and ever must be a subject of admiration and praise, as indeed, every Christian experiences, although none can comprehend its vastness.

Has it ever been ascertained, papa, of what materials the great body of the sun is composed?

That is a discovery, Georgiana, which I should think must for ever baffle the powers of the telescope, and every other device which the genius of man can invent. The opinion once received of its being a globe of fire, is discarded, and it is now supposed to be an opaque substance involved in a luminous atmosphere extending far and wide through the surrounding space.

Within which atmosphere, papa, the

eleven planets with their eighteen satellites revolve round him. I am not surprised at the idolatrous heathen having chosen so glorious an object as the sun for their deity; especially while they experienced the incalculable benefits which are derived from his influence.

If the sun be not a great fire, as was supposed, from whence proceeds the intense heat of his rays?

What covers the tops of the highest mountains, Georgiana?

Snow, papa. It is not so long since I crossed Mount Cenis, but that I can well remember its inaccessible snow-capped heights, dazzling, yet never dissolving by the sun-beams; neither can I forget the intense heat we experienced at the foot of that alpine mountain, nor the striking contrast between the eternal winter which reigned above and the rich valley below, clothed in waving fields of ripened corn and vines bent down with their loaded branches. As well as I can recollect,

papa, the height of that mountain is computed at 9000 feet. Some say it is more than 11,000.

But 6000 of which are accessible: and even at that height we were surrounded by fields of snow. If the sun were a great body of fire, would not its influence be stronger on the heights than in the valleys?

That I should think, papa, is incontrovertible; yet how is the heat of the sun accounted for?

You must study chemistry, Georgiana; you will then comprehend how heat can be produced by the mixture of fluids not in themselves hot.

Though I know very little yet of that science, I have seen such mixtures produce such effects. I have often amused myself with little experiments, such as striking flint and steel together to watch the sparks of fire they emitted, and making cold water hot by throwing into it some quick-lime.

Yet there was no fire or heat in any