climate probably not inferior in warmth, and in the power of nourishing vegetation, to the most favoured of our tropical regions?* When, and under what circumstances, did that profusion of gigantic trees and plants cover the face of the earth, and luxuriate in the sunshine and the shower of a blessed climate, which, under the name of Surturbrand, has erected the platform on which northern Iceland rears its burning mountain, and spreads its rugged hills and plains; and in Britain, the land of manufactures, and America, that new country, buoyant with youthful enterprise, has laid up those amazing stores of fuel, which many centuries of human toil and industry, can scarcely be said to diminish? A mystery hangs over the subject, which the geologist, with all his zeal and acuteness, shall probably in vain attempt to penetrate; but it is enough for our present purpose to know the fact. By whatever natural catastrophe these ancient woods and forests were submerged, there they are, collected in the most convenient localities, at once for furnishing the means of comfort during the rigours of an ungenial winter, and for affording facilities to the increase of human power, in the cultivation and improvement of the arts of life. Is it too much to say, that here is the hand of a Paternal Providence?

* The high temperature of the localities in which the vegetation was produced that has given rise to our coal fields, is inferred from the gigantic size of the ferns, mosses, and other plants, still discovered in the formation.

+ Dr Buckland, after stating that iron is frequently associated with coal in the subordinate beds of the transition series, concludes a chapter on this subject, with the following interesting observations :-"The important uses of coal and iron in administering to the supply of our daily wants, give to every individual amongst us, in almost every moment of our lives, a personal concern, of which but few are conscious, in the geological events of these very distant eras. We are all brought into immediate connexion with the vegetation which clothed the ancient earth, before one-half of its actual surface had yet been formed. The trees of the primeval forests have not, like modern trees, undergone decay, yielding back their elements to the soil and atmosphere, by which they have been nourished, but, treasured up in subterranean storehouses, have been transformed into enduring beds of coal, which, in these later ages, have become to man the sources of heat, and light, and wealth. My fire now burns with fuel, and my lamp is shining with the light of gas, derived from coal that has been buried for countless

Fuel implies the use of fire, and this leads us to look at some of the properties of that wonderful element, which, on the hearth and in the lamp, contributes so materially to the comforts of winter. This is the very same element, which, by its subtle and all-pervading powers, gives light and warmth to the world, and the effects of which, the poet of the Seasons so beautifully describes, in speaking of the adorable power and goodness of the Creator, when he says, that His mighty hand "Works in the secret deep; shoots, steaming, thence The fair profusion that o'erspreads the spring, Flings from the sun direct the flaming day; Feeds every creature; hurls the tempest forth ; And, as on earth the grateful change revolves, With transport touches all the springs of life."

In the treatise on Heat, published in the "Library of Useful Knowledge," there are the following introductory observations, which describe, in a popular manner, some of the most obvious effects of this remarkable agent :"In all our excursions over the surface of the globe, innumerable objects excite our admiration, and contribute to our delight. But whether our gratitude is awakened by the verdure of the earth, the lustre of the waters, or the freshness of the air, it is to the beneficial agency of heat (under Providence) that we are indebted for them all. Without the presence and effects of heat, the earth

ages in the deep and dark recesses of the earth. We prepare our food, and maintain our forges and furnaces and the power of our steam-engines with the remains of plants of ancient forms and extinct species, which were swept from the earth ere the formation of the transition strata was completed. Our instruments of cutlery, the tools of our mechanics, and the countless machines which we construct, by the infinitely varied applications of iron, are derived from ore, for the most part coeval with, or more ancient than the fuel, by the aid of which we reduce it to its metallic state, and apply it to innumerable uses in the economy of human life. Thus from the wreck of forests which waved upon the surface of the primeval lands, and from ferruginous mud that was lodged at the bottom of the primeval waters, we derive our chief supplies of coal and iron, those two fundamental elements of art and industry which contribute, more than any other mineral production of the earth, to increase the riches, and multiply the comforts, and ameliorate the condition of mankind."- Buckland's B. T. vol. i. pp. 66, 67.

would be an impenetrable rock, incapable of supporting animal or vegetable life; the waters would be for ever deprived of their fluidity and motion, and the air of its elasticity and its utility together.

"Heat animates, invigorates, and beautifies all Nature. Its influence is absolutely necessary, to enable plants to grow, put forth their flowers, and perfect their fruits. It is closely connected with the powers of life, since animated beings lose their vitality when heat is withdrawn. Such is the universal influence of this powerful agent in the kingdoms of Nature; nor is this influence diminished in the provinces of art. It is with the aid of heat that rocks are rent, and the hidden treasures of the earth obtained. Matter is modified ten thousand ways by its agency, and rendered subservient to the uses of man, furnishing him with useful and appropriate instruments, warm and ornamental clothing, wholesome and delicious food, needful and effectual shelter."

Heat is the principle of fire, under whatever modification it may appear; and nothing can be more worthy of admiration, than the fact, that an element of such tremendous power, whose operations are on so vast a scale, and whose mastery is so fearful, should yet be capable of being subjected to the service of man, in the most menial offices, and, in that capacity, should become so mild and tractable. What human mind, in the wildest flights of its fancy, could, previous to experience, have conceived the existence of an agent, which appals nature with its angry roar, and, rending the clouds, darts in livid bolts from heaven to earth, or uprears mountains in its throes, and, opening the solid crust of the globe, overwhelms whole regions with torrents of melted rock, poured forth like water; or, more amazing still, which displays its might and glory, in shedding the effulgence of day over the smiling earth, and regulating the changes of the seasons, and calling the wonders of vegetation from the solid land, while it causes the liquid seas to flow,-which performs all these wonders, and a thousand

more, and yet is so entirely under the control of man, and so subservient to his use, that it remains meekly glimmering amidst smouldering ashes in the grate, ready at his command, to cheer and enlighten his winter evenings, by blazing from a taper, or to employ its obsequious powers, for whatever purpose of culinary preparation, or of genial warmth, his necessities or enjoyments may require. What amazing power and wisdom is here, tempered, not less wonderfully, with all the tender condescension of Paternal kindness!

TENTH WEEK-SATURDAY,

III. MAN IN WINTER.-ADAPTATION OF HIS CONSTITUTION TO

THE SEASON.

BESIDES the adaptation of external nature to the protection of man from the severities of winter, we have another proof of beneficent intention in the adaptation of the human constitution itself to the endurance of these severities. All animals are more or less endowed with this power of accommodation, yet none so much as those which are destined to be the companions and the aids of man; and man himself, assisted by the contrivances which his intellectual powers suggest, stands in this respect pre-eminent above them all. It was consistent with the beneficent intentions of the Creator, that the only rational race of beings on our globe, should be dispersed over every climate, and should carry intelligence and mental enjoyment, and a heart capable of feeling and acknowledging the Almighty Benefactor into every corner of the earth. We accordingly find, that the human frame can exist, not only under the vertical sun of the tropics, but under the chilling blasts and wide-spread snows of the polar regions.

It may be difficult for the physiologist to discover in

what this power of accommodation lies; but, that it does actually exist in a remarkable degree, the slighest acquaintance with the history and condition of the human race demonstrates. Every climate, indeed, and almost every country, exhibits some peculiarity in the constitution, and even in the external appearance, of the inhabitants, which indicates this power. The well known varieties in the colour of the skin, with its different shhades of white, yellow, red, brown, and black, is an example of this. The colour of the eyes, and of the hair, and the shape of the nose, the cheek-bones, and the lips, are other familiar instances of a distinction of races in connexion with food and climate, as well as other local circumstances. I mention these as mere indications, for I do not know how far, or in what respects, any of them contribute to the accommodation in question. But the profuse perspiration of the Negro, under the heat of the tropics, and the stunted growth, and "thiek-set form of the Laplander, and native of Greenland, where food is scanty, and the cold intense, are less equivocal marks of wise and benevolent design. The perspiration diminishes the heat of the one, while the concentrated frame of the other preserves the animal warmth; and, while it probably increases the bodily strength, and thus gives additional power both of exertion and endurance, affords the faculty of existence on a diminished quantity of food. The state of the Negro is well known, and therefore need not be dwelt on; but, as the condition of the inhabitants of the polar regions is less familiar to the public, and comes more immediately under our present subject, it may be proper to show how far the view we have taken of their bodily constitution corresponds with their known habits and powers. Goldsmith, following Buffon, gives a most unamiable account of the personal appearance of the inhabitants of these inhospitable countries, including, under one description, the Laplanders, the Esquimaux Indians, the Samaoid Tartars, the natives of Nova Zembla, the Borandians,