to be a stream of innumerable bodies, comparatively small, but of various dimensions, moving constantly round the sun, whose orbit cuts that of our earth, at the point which it occupies on the 12th or 13th of November, every year. .* For any thing that we can tell, indeed,there may be vast numbers of bodies circling round the sun, and even round the earth itself, which, on account of their minuteness and opacity, escape human observation. Such a supposition serves to explain the meteoric appearances which are constantly occurring in the clear nights of winter, and which might, perhaps, be not less common in summer, were the operations in the upper regions. equally visible at that season.

Falling stars would seem to be nothing else than bodies of this description, rendered visible from being ignited by the rapidity of their passage through our atmosphere, or by some chemical cause; and meteoric stones, the fall of which is much more frequent than is commonly supposed, may be accounted for in the same way. Some

of the latter are of great magnitude, exceeding, in certain instances, seventy miles in diameter. Mrs. Somerville mentions one which passed within twenty-five miles of

us,

and was estimated to weigh about 600,000 tons, and to move with a velocity of about twenty miles in a second. This huge mass was providentially prevented from striking the earth, a detached fragment of it alone having yielded to the force of our planet's gravitation. It is remarkable, that the chemical composition of these meteoric stones, while it materially differs from that of the

*[ This conclusion must be regarded as much too hasty, considering the great deficiency of successive accurate observations, and our yet imperfect knowledge of meteoric phenomena. It seems to be now conceded, that since the famous meteoric shower of November 13, 1833, there has been no larger number of meteors noted at that season, than on many other nights of the year. But the whole subject is an exceedingly interesting one, and we may hope will receive farther elucidation. It is proper to add, that the best account of the great "shower" of November, 1833, was given by Professor Olmsted of New Haven, and published in Silliman's American Journal of Science and the Arts ;' in which work there have since appeared several other papers on the same subject. AM. ED.]

ordinary strata of our globe, is uniform and almost identical as regards themselves.

What part these mysterious bodies act in the system of the universe, we cannot tell,-perhaps we may never be able even to conjecture; but we may well learn from the analogy of objects with which we are acquainted, that even they are not useless appendages of our solar system; and, at all events, we are bound confidently to believe that such bodies are as much under the control of the Creator, as every other part of the creation, and can never, independent of the Divine fiat, disturb the equilibrium of our planet, or interfere with the happiness of its inhabitants. It is the delightful result of religious belief to be assured, that, however threatening may be the aspect assumed by scientific discoveries, there is not an object in nature left to the reckless sway of chance ;— that all things are adjusted with unerring wisdom, managed by infinite power, and overruled for good with paternal care.

SECOND WEEK-THURSDAY.

VARIETY OF CLIMATES.

THE difference of climates arises, as I have already observed, from the spherical figure and inclined position of the earth, which turns a single ring on its surface to the direct rays of the sun, oscillating between two defined limits, and subjects all the rest, more or less, to his oblique, and therefore less powerful, influence. The effect of this is, the production of all the varieties of heat and cold, from the fervid glow of the tropics, to the perpetual ice and snow in the regions of the poles. The adaptation of plants and animals to these diversities, forms a most curious subject of consideration, which will be afterwards examined with reference to the respective

seasons; but as allusion has, in a preceding paper, been made to the advantages derived from a variety of climates, it may be useful here to pursue this subject a little further.

It has been with truth observed, that the developement of the human powers depends mainly upon our wants, either natural or artificial, and these again are increased or restrained in proportion to the means of indulgence, so that the influence is reciprocal. We are naturally indolent, but stand in need of activity, for giving vigor both to our mental and physical powers. We, therefore, require a strong stimulus to exertion; and that stimulus is to be found in our wants, a circumstance which has given rise to the wellknown proverb,-Necessity is the mother of invention.

Were all the productions of the earth to be spontaneous and abundant, it may well be questioned if man would ever rise above the level of the most degraded savage. This observation is strikingly sustained and illustrated by history, which informs us, that a prostration of all the energies of body and mind has been uniformly found among the native inhabitants of tropical regions, where nature is lavish of her stores, and that it is to the dwellers in countries where the necessaries of life are more scantily produced, that we are to look for a race, hardy, vigorous, and intelligent. To what extent the direct influence of an intense heat cooperates with the more indirect cause we are now considering, in producing this enervated state, it may be difficult to determine; but that it is not the only, or indeed the chief agent, cannot be doubted. While the natives of regions where plenty reigns, indulging their natural appetites without exertion and without restraint, sink deeper and deeper in indolence and effeminacy, those of less bountiful countries, finding an increased population pressing hard on the means of subsistence, are stimulated by their wants to vigorous exertion, and from sheer necessity are rendered active, ingenious, and enterprising. Among the first effects, which history describes as produced by this difference in character and circumstances, are the warlike irruptions

of the hardy tribes of the north on the luxuriant inhabitants of the south, accompanied by extensive conquests, and ending in the permanent settlement of these nations in the fertile regions, of which they took forcible possession. The stimulus which was thus given to the human faculties, has frequently been permanent, and has produced extensive, and eventually important, consequences on the improvement of the species.

This, however, is mentioned only incidentally; my object, at present, being merely to show the salutary effect of a limited and comparatively scanty supply of the necessaries of life, arising from what may, as regards production, be considered an unfavorable climate. But this remark has its limitations; and I must not neglect to state, that cold and consequent privation, when carried to an extreme, have a depressing effect of a different kind. The natives of Greenland, and the other countries bordering on the Arctic circle, are not less degraded in the scale of intellect than the Negro race in the torrid wilds of Africa. It is in the regions within the Temperate zones, that the mind of man, along with his bodily powers, seems most freely and vigorously to expand. He is here situated in regions not only peculiarly suited to his bodily constitution, but to the developement of his moral and intellectual faculties. The variety of climate, alternating between moderate heat and mitigated cold, while it requires attention to the comforts of clothing and habitation in their adaption to the changes of the seasons, and thus exercises his ingenuity, presses still more powerfully on the resources of his mind, by the cessation, during a considerable part of the year, of that supply of the necessaries of existence, which, at another season, is afforded in comparative abundance. Under the influence of these circumstances, man becomes, by a kind of moral and physical, necessity, a storing animal, and habits of forethought, thus engendered, are strengthened and increased by exercise, till the mercantile spirit is produced.

The same tendency is encouraged by the diversified productions of different soils, of changing seasons, of various elevations from the mountain to the valley, of

adjoining islands and continents, and even of more distant regions. Placed in the middle, between the two extremes of climate, the productions of the north and of the south are equally within reach of the inhabitant of the temperate zones; and experience soon teaches him the enjoyment and comfort of accumulating from both quarters. The neighborhood of seas, lakes, and rivers, contributes much to the fostering of this spirit, by affording facilities of intercourse which could not otherwise be obtained; and, accordingly, we find that the early efforts of commercial enterprise have been chiefly confined to such localities, or at least, have derived their origin or their stimulus from them. It is true, that the first traders of whom we read, were among the descendants of Ishmael, a wandering and active inland tribe; but it was to the maritime land of Egypt that they were directing their course for conducting their petty traffic. The rise of the mercantile spirit in Egypt is easily accounted for, on the principles to which we have adverted. Situated on the banks of the Nile, a navigable river, with the Red Sea towards the south, and the broad Mediterranean towards the north, it is no wonder that the Egyptians should have been among the earliest and most successful merchants of ancient times. A similar remark may apply to Tyre, Sidon, and Carthage, where the mercantile spirit also prevailed. And, indeed, it is impossible not to regard the subsequent civilization of European nations, surrounded as they are by facilities for navigation, and situated in a climate possessing all the properties we have described, as the natural, or rather providential, result of the same principles.