renders our country one of the most healthy in the world. In exceedingly hot countries epidemic disorders are more frequent than in those where the sun is less ardent; and long life is there rarely enjoyed: besides which, mankind are less robust, and less numerous in those burning climes than in ours.

And even when our winters are the most piercing, they may be considered as autumns, if compared with those in the more northern parts of the world. Place your lot in opposition to that of the inhabitants of those inhospitable climes. With us, our darkest days are sometimes relieved by the cheering rays of the Sun: there the day, unenlightened by that glorious orb, resembles the night. We can, by various means, obtain a grateful warmth, either by fire or in our beds: there, on the contrary, the poor inhabitants are assailed by intense cold and the attacks of wild beasts, from which their miserable hovels afford them but little protection. We can enjoy the pleasures of society amidst the inclemencies of the winter season; but the unfortunate tenants of the northern pole are almost separated from their fellow creatures, or live dispersed in hordes. We enjoy the succession of day and night: but they pass half their time in darkness. After four or five months of inclement weather, we look forward to that season which, by its charms, obliterates the remembrance of the past: the inhabitants of the north have no such pleasure, but are always surrounded by the emblems of winter.

Let us, then, praise the benevolent hand

which has assigned to us so happy a lot. Far from murmuring at our condition, let us glorify the Lord, who has so wisely ordained it; and, if during the days of winter we enjoy the comforts of home and the society of our friends, let us think sometimes upon our unfortunate brethren, who are totally deprived of those pleasures -pleasures which are, from their variety and abundance, scarcely noticed by us. In contemplating nature as she appears to us, under our temperate clime, let us, overwhelmed by joy and gratitude, pour forth our souls in praise, saying

"I return thee thanks, O Lord! that thou hast fixed my dwelling-place in a climate so tempered that I alternately enjoy the pleasures of the different seasons, and in which thou hast displayed thy wisdom and power with so much magnificence. O! may my joy, my gratitude, and my efforts to please thee be proportioned to the good I have received from thee; and may the fertility and beauty of the country in which thou hast placed me daily excite my wonder and admiration of thy works. A day will come, O my Creator! my Father!-(and how does my heart bound with delight at the thought!) -A day will come, when I shall take up my everlasting abode in those regions of bliss and perfection prepared for fallen man by Jesus Christ; where I shall, with countless multitudes, unceasingly adore thy majesty and glory.

JANUARY 11.

OF THE FERTILITY WHICH THE SNOW
IMPARTS TO THE EARTH.

A SUPERFICIAL observer might question the utility of snow, and might suppose that the cold moisture it imparts to the earth would be prejudicial to trees and plants. But the experience of ages proves the effect to be contrary; it teaches us that nature could not provide a more effectual covering than snow to protect the vegetable world from the icy blasts of winter; for, although it is in itself cold, yet it is less so than the external air. Thus does the Almighty render every thing subservient to the beings he has created thus does he secretly provide for them the future means of subsistence. Nature is always active, even when she seems to repose from her labours; and confers upon us her most essential benefits when she seems totally to withdraw herself from our observation: and we can cease to admire the goodness of a divine Providence! Behold how, in the most inclement season, He provides for our good; and how, without our efforts, the treasures of nature are silently preparing for our use. With such proofs of our Creator's benevolent care, who is there that can yield himself a prey to anxiety? The same God, who displays so much benevolence in his operations during the winter months, exercises it daily for the preservation of the human species. Those circumstances which we often deem useless or hurtful contribute, in the

end, to our felicity; and when we think that God hides his face from us, we then unexpectedly meet with deliverance from ills that were unforeseen by us, and experience advantages which bestow upon us a happiness beyond our hopes.

Thus we see the Almighty wisdom of God in the benefits which snow confers upon the earth. With how much labour does man cultivate the fields! Ploughing, manuring, harrowing, sowing, and reaping succeed each other by turns ; yet, in cold countries, were it not for snow, the seeds which are committed with so much care to the maternal bosom of the earth would perish, and man's labour would be in vain. Who does not remember the emblem under which God represents the salutary effects of his word?

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'For, as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth and maketh it bring forth and · bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: so shall my word be, that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and prosper in the thing whereto I sent it.-ISAIAH, iv. 10, 11.

We live at a time when this prediction is fulfilling more and more every day. Whole provinces, kingdoms, and countries, which were sunk in the depths of ignorance, superstition, and incredulity, are now enlightened by the Gospel. And what powerful effects has not this word of God diffused! How many obdurate hearts has it not softened! How many good

works-how many pious persons has it not produced! Oh! may our hearts be ever prepared to receive and to be benefited by its salutary influence.

JANUARY 12.

CONTEMPLATION OF THE STARRY HEAVENS.

THE heavens at night present a scene of wonIders which should excite the astonishment of every attentive observer of nature. But how is

it that we find so few persons who contemplate its beauty without reflection? Surely it must arise from ignorance alone; for it is impossible to be convinced of the sublimity and grandeur of the Almighty's works without experiencing a boundless admiration -a sensation of delight amounting to transport at the majesty of the Most High. Oh! that I could impart this divine pleasure to all mankind. Lift up your thoughts to heaven, O man! and it will be sufficient to name to you the immense bodies which are there displayed to convince you of the power of its great Creator.

It is in the centre of our universe that the Sun has established his throne: this immense globe is a million times larger than our Earth, and its distance from it is nineteen millions of miles! Though so far from us, its effects upon our terrestrial world are nevertheless sensible to every person. Around the Sun move several globes called planets: these are opaque bodies, that receive from the Sun light and heat, and perhaps motion.