sdom and contrivance which were
displayed in all the productions of nature, and the perfection of all
her works. I used to walk amid the coolness and stillness of the
evening, feeding my mind with pleasing meditations upon the power and
wisdom which have originally produced and still support this frame of
things. I turned my eyes upon the earth, and saw it covered with
innumerable animals, that sported upon its surface, and found, each
according to his nature, subsistence adapted to his wants. I saw the air
and water themselves teeming with life and peopled with innumerable
swarms of insects. I saw that, throughout the whole extent of creation,
as far as I was capable of observing it, nothing was waste or
desolate--everything was replete with life and adapted to support it.
These reflections continually excited in my mind new gratitude and
veneration for that mysterious Being, whose goodness presides over such
an infinite variety of beings. I endeavoured to elevate my thoughts to
contemplate His nature and qualities; I however found my faculties too
bounded to comprehend the infinite perfections of His nature; I
therefore contented myself with imperfectly tracing Him in His works,
and adoring Him as the common friend and parent of all His creatures.

"'Nor did I confine myself to these speculations, however sublime and
consolatory to the human heart. Destined as we are to inhabit this globe
of earth, it is our interest to be acquainted with its nature, and the
properties of its productions. For this reason, I particularly examined
all the vegetables which are capable of becoming the food of man, or of
the various animals which contribute to his support. I studied their
qualities, the soil in which they delighted, and the improvements which
might be made in every species. I sometimes wandered among the
neighbouring mountains, and wherever the fall of rocks, or the repeated
violence of torrents had borne away the soil, I considered with silent
admiration the various substances which we call by the common name of
_earth_. These I used to collect and mingle with the mould of my own
garden, by which means I frequently made useful discoveries in
fertilising the soil and increasing the quantity of food.

"'I also considered the qualities of the air, which surrounds and
sustains all living animals; I particularly remarked the noxious or
salutary effects it is able to produce upon their constitutions; and, by
these means, was f