A DAY SCENE.

THE FIGURE among the rocks, may be supposed to be placed in a situation-in which, any person similarly situated, upon the sea-shore, may suppose himself to be placed-IN THE CENTRE OF CREATION: having the wide expanse of Water, immediately under his eye;-the element of Fire, manifesting itself at a distance, by means of the craters of some of the numerous volcanoes, which are now known to be in active operation in different quarters of the globe;-the Earth, or more properly, what is called the dry-land, under his feet;-and, the Air, stretched out as a spacious canopy over his head.

To give the precise time, or era, in the progress of improvement, when such a scene as is here displayed, may be conceived to unfold itselfsome modern discoveries have been introduced. A new mode of land communication is delineated, in the form of a Chain Bridge, thrown across the mouth of the river, near its influx into the sea,-a modern conveyance by water is pointed out in the Steam Boat,-and an Aerial Vehicle, not yet brought to the requisite degree of perfection, is seen, rising majestically into the regions of the atmosphere, but without any visible apparatus to give it that horizontal impulse, which is so essentially necessary to make the invention extensively useful ;-while other fiery mountains, than those so long known to our countrymen, by the names of Stromboli and Etna-Vesuvius and Hecla-are seen blazing in the distant prospect.

In regard to the other parts, or imagery of the plate: the strata of the earth laid bare, are finely represented in the order in which many of them appear in nature, on the naked front of the precipitous mountain below the Eagle-another description of rocky formation, shoots up in the perpendicular cliff, on the top of which stands the Goat,while, on the face of a third, we have a faint or miniature representation, of those convolutions, or wavings of the strata, that are so powerfully displayed, as noticed p. 87, on the coast of Berwickshire.

Upon the face of the cliff first mentioned, we have also a representation of the manner, in which the various strata of the earth are intersected by dykes and veins; in which the black line, that divides near the top, may be considered in the light of a metallic vein, and those trunk-like, or branching out formations, that shoot up from below, may be viewed, as no bad representations of granitic or basaltic dykes.

Primary tracts, such as are described, p. 122, are well defined, in the range of lofty peaked and sharp pointed mountains, which stretch along the most distant part of the back ground of the picture, and from which, the transition and secondary formations, that lie between them and the sea, are easily distinguishable-the former, by their broken and less elevated tops, and the latter, (among which are also seen the dwellings of men,) agreeably to what is said p. 137. by their more gently rounded surfaces.

The rocks upon which the figure sits and appears to recline, are meant to represent some huge blocks of granite-the high towering peaks that shoot up behind him, of that variety called Syenite,—and the waved kind below, serpentine, mica slate, or such other description of rocks, as imagination may conceive. Basaltic columns are seen to project into the sea, at the point on the other side of the water, and the dotted aggregation in their neighbourhood, may be considered as a mass of conglomerate or puddingstone rock; while on this side of the river, on the low rocky ledges near its mouth, lies one of those extraneous boulders, in a situation, somewhat similar to that described at p. 130.

The vegetable appendages of the Dryland, are fully represented in the three great divisions of Trees, and Shrubs, and Grasses which may be supposed to cover many of the arable spots-while there is ample room assigned for the lichens and the mosses, on the more naked fronts and clefts of the rocks.

Of the more useful kinds of animals in this part of the world, we have two specimens in very peaceable attitudes on the grass near the beach. The Goat, is meant to represent the order of climbers-the Rabbits, of burrowers-the Adder, of reptiles-and the Butterfly, of insects. Amphibious animals, have their representatives in the Seals, which are seen sporting about the rock near the shore.-There is at least one description of Waterfowl, standing at the foot of the rock, upon which the figure is reclining; and the Whale, as if to represent the finny tribes, has very opportunely, come up to the surface of the water for the purpose of blowing.

The waters of the ocean, are well represented, by the beautiful sheet of water, or arm of the sea, that forms so prominent a part of the plate; and its uses, or the manner in which it administers its services to manby the various objects which are made to float on its surface. The phenomena of the Atmosphere, are finely displayed, in the power of the wind on the sails of the ship, the formation of clouds and of rain, and the beautiful appearance of the rainbow in the heavens ;-while, the traversers of the aerial regions may be at once seen, and their instincts discerned, in the majestic and fearless soaring of the solitary Eagle,and wedge-like flight of those more timorous volatiles, the flock of wild geese.

Even those newly discovered, but potent agents, Steam and Gas, are not without their representatives here:-the former, in the operations of the boiler on the watery element; the latter, in the ascent of the balloon into the air :—and, perhaps, the one, or the other, or both, in those volcanic eruptions which are seen so distinctly to shoot up into the sky, from the tops of two of the mountains in the most distant range.

Containing testimonies and recommendations in favour of and the Study of Nature.

motives to

"Ask now the BEASTS and they shall teach thee; and the rowLs of the air, and they shall tell thee; or speak to the EARTH, and it shall teach thee; and the FISHES of the sea shall declare unto thee.-Who knoweth not in all these that the hand of the Lord hath wrought this ?"—JOB. "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."-MATTHEW vi. 28.

SUCH treatises," says GALEN, " as display the excellencies of the GREAT CREATOR, compose one of the noblest and most acceptable hymns. To acquaint ourselves with HIS sublime perfections, and point out to others His infinite power, HIS unerring wisdom, and HIS boundless benignity-this is a more substantial act of devotion, than to slay hecatombs of victims at his altar, or to kindle mountains of spices into incense.”

B

And SOLOMON, whose wisdom is still proverbial among us, and who was reputed, as we learn in the sacred writings, as the wisest of all the men in the east, seems fully to have appreciated the value of the study of natural history; for, it is recorded of him, that "he spake of TREES, from the cedar tree that is in Lebanon, even unto the hyssop that springeth out of the wall:" and that "he spake also of BEASTS, and of FowL, and of CREEPING THINGS, and of FISHES."* But what should have infinitely more weight with those who call themselves Christians, than either the opinion of this enlightened heathen, or the sentiments of the far famed Jewish king, is the consideration, that the great author of our holy religion, instead of discouraging in any manner the study of nature, gives it all the authority of his precept and example, by referring his disciples to the consideration of natural objects, for a lesson of the utmost import, towards the establishment of their faith in the providence of God, and their consequent comfort amidst the cares, the anxieties, and vicissitudes of life; thus illustrating the truth of the remark of a celebrated modern divine,† that "it is truly a most Christian exercise to extract a sentiment of piety from the works and appearances of nature. It has the authority of the sacred writers upon its side, and even our Saviour himself, gives it the weight and solemnity of his example. He expatiates on the beauties of a single flower, and draws from it the delightful argument of confidence in God.-He gives us to see that taste may be combined with piety, and that the same

* 1 Kings, iv. 33. + Dr Chalmers.

heart may be occupied with all that is serious in the contemplations of religion, and be, at the same time, alive to the charms and the loveliness of nature.”*

And where could the illustrious Galen find a treatise, in which the excellencies of the GREAT CREATOR were more copiously and luminously displayed-where he could acquaint himself more fully with His sublime perfections, and point out to others with more pleasure and profit to himself as he went along, HIS infinite powerHIS unerring wisdom-and HIS boundless benignity, than in that sacred volume-that "Nature's system of Divinity"—that "elder Scripture writ by God's own hand," by the perusal of a single page of which, in the

Dr Timothy Dwight, (late president of Yale college in North America,) in his excellent System of Theology, is pleased to express himself on this subject, in the following strong and energetic language: "I am apprehensive, that even good men are prone to pay less attention to the works of creation and providence than piety demands, and the Scriptures require. We say and hear so much concerning the insufficiency of these works to unfold the character of God, and the nature of genuine religion, that we are prone to consider them as almost uninstructive in moral things, and in a great measure useless to the promotion of piety. This, however, is a palpable and dangerous error. He who does not find in the various beautiful, sublime, awful and astonishing objects, presented to us in creation and providence, irresistible and glorious reasons for admiring, adoring, loving, and praising his Creator, has not a claim to evangelical piety.— David did not act in this manner. All who, like David, feel the spirit of the gospel, will like him also rejoice in those works in which God rejoices-will delight to contemplate them with wonder, reverence and gratitude; will find God every where in the works of his hands; and passing beyond those second causes, which are merely instruments of his agency, will see everywhere displayed the finger and character of the Divine workman.”