"May not the eagerness of infantine curiosity be directed to a First Cause, powerful, wise, and good, and, through the works of Nature, be made to lead to Nature's God? As the understanding opens to moral truth, the moral attributes of the Deity will occasionally be suggested, and will be the more readily admitted, and the more deeply reverenced, from the previous agreeable associations of goodness and power. The truths of natural religion will then pave the way for the truths of revelation."

Mrs. Hamilton's Letters on Education, vol. i. p. 140.

PREFACE.

THOUGH I have purposely avoided placing the formidable words, "Natural Theology," in the title-page, yet parents will perceive, at a glance, that the admirable work of Dr. Paley has been used as the basis of this little volume. In some places the language of that work is too technical; and in others, the reasoning is either above the comprehension of children, or illustrated by examples unsuitable for them: yet it abounds in passages peculiarly adapted for young people, as soon as their minds become susceptible of religious knowledge. The delighted attention with which I have seen children, from seven to ten

years old, listen to such passages, first induced me to bestow some time in selecting a few of the most striking, and arranging them so as to form a chain of argument adapted to the powers of reasoning at that age. In doing this, it has sometimes been necessary to illustrate the arguments of Paley, by examples more familiar to the minds of children than those which he has chosen. This was an undertaking of some difficulty, and one on which I could scarcely have ventured, but for the kind encouragement of a highly-valued friend, to whom I had the privilege of applying in cases of doubt or difficulty.

When other works of established authority suited my purpose better, I have not confined myself to Paley; neither are the moral and religious lessons which have been deduced from the various natural phenomena referred to, uniformly taken from him. Sometimes they

arose spontaneously from the subject, and sometimes I availed myself of such passages in the writings of Dr. Hartley and Bishop Law, as seemed to suit my purpose. Particular references to these works would be useless to children, and parents will probably think this general acknowledgment sufficient.

Chichester, 1821.