res, `Consider the lilies of the field,
how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: And yet I say unto
you, That even Solomon, in all his glory, was not arrayed like one of
these.' Never debate in your mind, Willy, of what use are these things
which God has made--for of what _use_, then, is man, the most endowed
and the most perverse of all creation, except to show the goodness and
the forbearance of the Almighty! You may, hereafter, be inclined to
debate why noxious reptiles and ferocious beasts, that not only are
useless to man, but a source of dread and of danger, have been created.
They have their inheritance upon earth, as well as man, and combine with
the rest of animated nature to show the power, and the wisdom, and the
endless variety of the Creator. It is true that all animals were made
for our use; but recollect, that when man fell from his perfect state,
it was declared, `In the sweat of thy brow thou shalt eat bread.' Are
trackless forests and yet unexplored regions to remain without living
creatures to enjoy them, until they shall be required by man? And is
man, in his fallen state, to possess all the earth and its advantages,
without labour,--without fulfilling his destiny? No. Ferocious and
noxious animals disappear only before cultivation. It is part of the
labour to which he has been sentenced, that he should rend them out as
the `thistle and the thorn;' or drive them to those regions, which are
not yet required by him, and of which they may continue to have
possession undisturbed."

Such was the language of Macallan to our hero, whose thirst for
knowledge constantly made fresh demands upon the surgeon's fund of
information; and, pedantic as his language may appear, it contained
important truths, which were treasured up by the retentive memory of his
pupil.

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Note 1. I am aware that there are two or three other pelagic shells,
but at the time of this narrative they were not known.

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE.

How frail, how cowardly is woman's mind!
Yet when strong jealousy inflames the soul,
The weak will roar, and calms to tempests roll.
LEE'S RIVAL QUEENS.

But we must now follow up the motions of Mr Rainscourt, who quitted the
castle, and travelling with great diligence, once more trod the pavement
of the metropolis, which he had quitted in equal haste, but under very
different circumstances. The