o the end of the earth, and peace to be established
in its borders.

In the meantime, let us be thankful for those vessels and instruments of
defence, which, in the hands of God, preserve our country from the hand
of the enemy and the fury of the destroyer. What, thought I, do we not
owe to the exertions of the numerous crews on board those ships, who
leave their homes to fight their country's battles and maintain its
cause, whilst we sit every man under his vine and fig-tree, tasting the
sweets of a tranquillity unknown to most other nations in these days of
conflict and bloodshed!

On my right hand, to the south and south-east, the unbounded ocean
displayed its mighty waves. It was covered with vessels of every size,
sailing in all directions: some outward-bound to the most distant parts
of the world; others, after a long voyage, returning home, laden with the
produce of remote climes: some going forth in search of the enemy; others
sailing back to port after the hard-fought engagement, and bearing the
trophies of victory in the prizes which accompanied them home.

At the south-west of the spot on which I was riding extended a beautiful
semicircular bay, of about nine or ten miles in circumference, bounded by
high cliffs of white, red, and brown-coloured earths. Beyond this lay a
range of hills, whose tops are often buried in cloudy mists, but which
then appeared clear and distinct. This chain of hills, meeting with
another from the north, bounds a large fruitful vale, whose fields, now
ripe for harvest, proclaimed the goodness of God in the rich provision
which he makes for the sons of men. It is he who prepares the corn: he
crowns the year with his goodness, and his paths drop fatness. "They
drop upon the pastures of the wilderness; and the little hills rejoice on
every side. The pastures are clothed with flocks; the valleys also are
covered over with corn; they shout for joy, they also sing."

"The roving sight
Pursues its pleasing course o'er neighbouring hills,
Of many a different form and different hue:
Bright with the rip'ning corn, or green with grass,
Or dark with clovers purple bloom."

As I looked upon the numerous ships moving before me, I remembered the
words of the psalmist: "They that go down to the sea in ships, that do
business in great waters; these see the works of the Lord, and his
wonders in the deep. For he commandeth, and raiseth the stormy wind,
which lifteth