we shall find multitudes of men, women, and children assiduously employed in cultivating the mulberry plant, in hatching and rearing silkworms, in winding and twisting the delicate threads which proceed from these insects, and preparing them for the loom, in order that our ladies may be adorned with this finest production of nature and art. Let us pass in imagination to the frozen regions of Siberia and Kamtschatka, to the inhospitable shores of Onalaska and the Aleutian isles, and we shall behold numbers of weather-beaten wretches exposed to innumerable dangers by sea and land, traversing snowy mountains, forests, marches, and deserts, suffering frequent shipwrecks on the coasts of unknown islands inhabited by savage tribes, and exposed, night and day, to the chilling frosts of the polar region, and the attacks of ravenous wolves, in order to collect the skins of otters, and furs of various descriptions, to adorn the dress of our fe male friends, and to shelter them from the winter's cold. Let us pass to the forests of Norway, Sweden, Canada, and Jamaica, and hundreds of hardy, weather-beaten peasants, exposed to many accidents and privations, will be seen cutting down the tall firs, larches, and mahogany, sawing them into planks and logs, and conveying them in floats along rapid rivers towards the sea, to be shipped for our country, for the purpose of being formed into floors and roofs for our buildings, and into elegant furniture to decorate our apartments.

Not only in distant islands and continents, but even in the midst of the vast ocean, multitudes of our brethren are toiling for our pleasure, convenience, and comfort. See yonder vessel in the Southern Atlantic ocean, which has just weathered the storms on the southern cape of Africa, and narrowly escaped the dangers of shipwreck on a rocky shore. For several weeks the hardy mariners have been beating against the wind in the midst of thunders, lightnings, and tempests, with mountainous waves continually breaking over them, darkness surrounding them for many sleepless nights, and the dread of impending destruction filling them with trembling and horror. And why have they been exposed to danger so dreadful and appalling? That they might convey to our shores, from China and Hindostan, stores of tea, coffee, sugar, porcelain, silks, carpets, and precious stones, to supply luxuries to our tables, and ornaments to our dress. See yonder vessel, too, which is tossing in the midst of the Northern ocean, passing between shoals and icebergs, and liable every moment to be crushed to pieces between mountains of ice. Her mariners have long been

steep places are generally frequented by great numbers of monkeys, which, being irritated and provok ed, to avenge themselves, tear off the branches, and shower them down upon those who have insulted them. The Chinese immediately collect these branches and strip off their leaves.-Ency. Brit. Art. Tea.

exposed to the rigours of an arctic sky, and have narrowly escaped being plunged into the deep by the stroke of an enormous whale, in order that we might be supplied with seal-skins, whalebone, and oil for our lamps.

Even in the bowels of the ocean thousands of poor wretches, on the coasts of Califonia, Ceylon, Persia, and China, are diving amidst its waves, remaining whole half hours, at sixty feet below the surface of its waters, exposed to the danger of being devoured by sharks and other monsters of the deep, in order to collect pearls for ornaments to the ladies of Europe, Asia, Africa, and America.-In short, wherever we turn our eyes on the surface of the mighty deep, we contemplate a busy scene of human beings ploughing the ocean in every direction, and toiling, in the midst of dangers, storms, and tempests, in order to promote the accommodation of their fellowmortals, who dwell on opposite regions of the globe. On the one hand, we behold thousands of hardy Russians, Swedes, and Norwegians, steering their vessels along the Baltic and the German sea, to convey to our shores copper, timber, pitch, skins, hemp, and tallow; on the other, we behold the Americans ploughing the waves of the Atlantic, with stores of mahogany, sugar, rice, flour, tobacco, rum, and brandy. Along the vast Pacific ocean, the Spanish gal leons are conveying to Europe, gold, silver, pearls, precious stones, and all the other riches of Peru. Even from the southern icy ocean, where nature appears bound in the fetters of eternal ice, the adventurous mariner is conveying to our shores furs of various kinds, with the products of seals and whales. And, in return for the supply we receive from foreign regions, our British sailors are traversing every sea and ocean, and distributing to the inhabitants of every clime the productions of our arts, sciences, and manufactures.

Even in the subterraneous apartments of the globe, as well as upon its surface, many thousands of human beings are labouring, in confined and gloomy regions, to promote our comforts and enjoyments. The copper mines in Sweden are situated at more than a thousand feet below the

surface of the ground, and contain a vast number of subterraneous apartments, branching in all directions. In these dreary abodes, twelve hundred wretched beings are doomed to pass their existence, deprived of the cheerful light of day-toiling, almost naked, in the midst of hot and sulphureous vapours, and under severe taskmasters, in order that we may be supplied with the best species of copper, for forming our kettles, cauldrons, and copper-plate engravings. The salt mines of Hungary and Poland, the gold and silver mines of Potosi and Peru, and hundreds of similar subterraneous mansions, in various parts of the earth, present to our view numerous groups of our fellow-men, all engaged

in similar toils and labours, in order that we may enjoy the riches, the elegancies, and the conveniences of life. In our own country, how many thousands of our brethren are labouring in the dark recesses of the earth, far beneath its surface, exposed to the suffocation of the chokedamp and the explosions of the fire-damp, in procuring for us that invaluable fossil, which warms and cheers our winter apartments, which cooks our victuals, and enables us to carry on the various processes of our arts and manufactories!

Thus it appears, that we are connected with our fellow-men, in every quarter of the world, by thousands of ties;-that millions of human beings, whom we have never seen, nor never will see on this side the grave, are labouring to promote our interests, without whose exertions we should be deprived of the greatest proportion of our accomodations and enjoyments. While we are sitting in our comfortable apartments, feasting on the bounties of Providence, thousands, and ten thousands of our brethren of mankind, in different regions of the globe, are assiduously labouring to procure for us supplies for some future entertainment. One is sowing the seed, another gathering in the fruits of harvest; one is providing fuel, and another furs and flannel, to guard us from the winter's cold; one is conveying home the luxuries and necessaries of life, another is bringing intelligence from our friends in distant lands; one is carrying grain to the mill, another is grinding it, and another is conveying it along the road to our habitations; one is in search of medicines to assuage our pains, and another is in search of consolation to sooth our wounded spirits. In the midst of these never-ceasing exertions, some are crossing deep and dangerous rivers, some are traversing a vast howling wilderness; some are wandering amidst swampy moors, and trackless heaths; some are parched with thirst in sandy deserts; some are shivering and benumbed amidst the blasts of winter; some are toiling along steep and dangerous roads, and others are tossing in the midst of the ocean, buffeted by the winds and raging billows.

And, since we are connected with our fellow creatures by so many links, is it not reasonable, is it not congenial to the nature of man, that we should be connected with them by the ties of sympathy and benevolent affections? It is true, indeed, that the various classes of mankind in every country, who are toiling for our ease and gratification, seldom or never think of us in the midst of their difficulties and labours. Perhaps they have no other end in view than to earn their daily subsistence, and provide food and clothing for their families; perhaps they are actuated by the most selfish motives, and by principles of vanity and avarice; and some of them, perhaps, under the influence of that depravity which is

common to the species, may be secretly cursing and reproaching us as individuals, or as a nation. But, from whatever motives their labours and exertions proceed, it is a fact which cannot be denied, and which they cannot prevent, that we actually enjoy the benefit of them; and, that, without them, we should be deprived of the greater part of those comforts and enjoyments which render existence desirable, and which cheer us in our pilgrimage to the grave.

We have, therefore, in almost every artificial object that surrounds us, and in every enjoyment we possess from day to day, so many sensible emblems of our connexion with every branch of the great family of mankind. When we sit down to a dish of tea, we are reminded of the crowded and busy population of China, where this plant is produced, and of the poor African slave, through whose sorrows and toils the sugar we mix with it is prepared. And shall we not feel a kindly affection for those whose labours procure us such a refreshing beverage? And should not our love prompt us to every active exertion by which their miseries may be alleviated, and their intellectual and religious improvement promoted? When we look at the pearls which adorn us, we are reminded of the poor wretch who has plunged to the bottom of the deep, and scrambled among projecting rocks, to the danger of his life, in order to procure them. When we look at a copper-plate engraving, we are reminded of the dark and cheerless recesses of the copper mines, where hundreds are employed in digging for this useful metal. When we enjoy the comfort of a cheerful fire, we are reminded of the gloomy subterraneous regions to which so many of our countrymen are confined, and the toils and dangers to which they are exposed, before our coals can be dragged from the bowels of the earth. And while we feel delighted with the diversified enjoyment which flows from the labour and industry of every class of mankind, is it reasonable that we should look with indifference on any one of them? Is it not accordant with the dictates of enlightened reason, and with every thing that we consider as amiable in the nature of man, that we should embrace them all in the arms of kindness and brotherly affection, and that our active powers, so far as our influence extends, should be employed in endeavouring to promote their present and everlasting happiness? At present, they seldom think about the benefits they are procur ing for us and others by their useful labours; but were their circumstances meliorated, were their miseries relieved, were their minds expanded by instruction, were their moral powers cultivated and improved, were they to behold the various branches of the human family for whom they are labouring, exerting every nerve to promote their moral improvement and domestic enjoyment, it would produce many pleasing emotions in their breasts, in the midst of all their toilsome la

bours, to reflect that their exertions are the means of distributing numerous comforts and conveniences among men of different nations, ranks, kindreds, and languages. Their minds would take a more extensive range among the various tribes of mankind with which they are connected, as intelligences of the same species; they would learn to trace the remotest consequences of every branch of labour, and of every mechanical operation in which they are engaged, and they would thus feel themselves more intimately related to every individual of the great family to which they belong.

That it is the intention of the Creator that an extensive and affectionate intercourse should be carried on between the remotest tribes of mankind, appears even from the physical constitution and arrangement of our globe. The surface of the earth is every where indented with rivers of various dimensions, winding in every direction through the continents and the larger islands, and some of them running a course of several thousands of miles. In the eastern continent, above four hundred rivers of large dimensions are rolling from the mountains towards the sea; and in the western continent, more than one hundred and forty majestic streams are to be found, connecting the highest and the remotest parts of the land with the ocean, besides thousands of streams of smaller dimensions. The water of the sea is formed of such a consistency, or specific gravity, that it is capable of supporting large floating edifices; while, at the same time, its parts are so yielding as to permit such vehicles to move with rapidity along its surface, through its waves and billows. In virtue of this arrangement, the ocean, instead of standing as an everlasting barrier between the nations, has become a medium for the most speedy intercourse between distant lands. The atmosphere which surrounds the globe, contributes likewise by its agency to promote the same important end. By the impulsion of its different masses in various directions, our ships are wafted with considerable velocity along the surface of rivers, seas, and oceans, to the remotest extremities of the globe. By means of these arrangements which the Creator has established, the treasures of the mountains, and of the inland parts of the continents and islands, are conveyed towards the sea, and transported from one island and continent to another; and thus the various tribes of mankind have an opportunity of visiting each other, of cultivating an affectionate intercourse, and of contributing to their mutual enjoyment. And as it is probable that there exist in nature certain powers or principles not yet discovered, the agency of which may be applied to the propelling of machines and vehicles over land and water, and through the regions of the atmosphere, with a velocity much superior to what has hitherto been effected;-it appears

evident, that the Creator, in forming such principles, and in permitting man to discover their nature and energies, intended that they should be applied for promoting a rapid and endearing intercourse among all the branches of that large family which he has placed upon the globe. And I have no doubt, that in the future ages of the world, by means of improvements in art and science, such intercourse will be carried on in the spirit of benevolence, to an extent and with a rapidity of which we cannot at present form any adequate conception.

It appears, then to be one great design of the Creator, in connecting mankind by so many links, and in rendering them dependent upon each other, though placed in opposite regions of the globe, to lay a broad foundation for the exer cise of the benevolent affections between men of all nations, and ultimately to unite the whole human race in one harmonious and affectionate society. And it is obviously the duty of every human being to cultivate those dispositions, and to prosecute that train of action which have a tendency to accomplish the plans of the Univer sal Parent, and to promote the happiness of his intelligent offspring. In so doing, he contributes to his own individual happiness, and at the same time to that of all the moral intelligences in heaven and earth with which he is connected.

SECTION III.

THE ULTIMATE DESTINATION OF MANKIND CONSIDERED AS A BASIS FOR LOVE TO OUR NEIGHBOUR, AND AS A MOTIVE TO ITS EXERCISE.

THE present world is not the ultimate destination of mankind. It is only a passing scene through which they are now travelling to that immortal existence which will have no termination. Man is at present in the infancy of his being; his faculties are only beginning to expand, his moral powers are feeble and depraved, his intellectual views are circumscribed within a narrow range, and all the relations in which he stands demonstrate that the present scene is connected with the future, and is introductory to a higher sphere of action and enjoyment. "We know," says the Apostle Paul," that if this earthly house of our tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens." And our Saviour declares, that "the hour is coming, in which all that are in their graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth," and that "our vile bodies shall be changed, and fashioned like unto his glorious body," and shall enter into the enjoyment of a new world," which is incorruptible, undefiled, and which fadeth not away.”

The capacity of making perpetual advances in knowledge and moral improvement in a future state of existence, is that in which the true dignity of man consists; and in this capacity, and the high destination with which it is connected, there is no difference between the high and the low, the slave who is chained to a galley, and the sovereign at whose nod the nations tremble. They are equally destined to immortality, and will exist in a future world, when time and all the arrangements of the present state shall come to a close. If man were only the creature of a day, whose prospects are bounded by this terrestrial scene, and whose hopes terminate in the tomb, it might appear a matter of comparatively little importance whether or not our benevolent regards were extended to our fellow-men, except in so far as our self-interest and avarice were concerned. The happiness of a fellow-creature might then be consider ed as a matter of indifference, and his dissolution, at death, a circumstance as trivial as the falling of a leaf in autumn, or the sinking of a stone to the bottom of the ocean. Even in this case, however, it would still be conducive to human happiness during the short and uncertain span of our existence, that all the branches of the human family were cemented together in union and affection. But when we reflect that all the intelligent beings around us, with whom we more immediately associate, and all those in distant lands with whom we are connected by the ties of one common nature, and on whom we depend for many of our comforts, are destined along with ourselves to an eternal world, in another region of the Creator's empire; and that the affections we now cultivate, and the conduct we pursue in reference to our brethren, have an intimate relation to that immortal existence; this consideration stamps an importance on the exercise of brotherly affection which is beyond the power of human language to express. It shows us, that the dispositions which we now indulge, and the manner in which we treat the meanest of our fellow-creatures, may be recognised and attended with the most important effects a thousand millions of years hence, and may run parallel in their consequences even with eternity itself.

We may, perhaps, view it as a matter of tririal moment in what manner we now conduct ourselves towards a servant or a slave; whether we render his life miserable by hard labour, cruel insults, and contemptuous treatment, or study to promote his comfort and domestic enjoy ment; whether we neglect to instruct him in the knowledge of his duty to his God and to his fellow men, or labour to promote his moral and religious improvement. We may view with indifference or contempt the person and the family of a poor pious neighbour, who has earned a scanty subsistence by the sweat of his brow, and

may

behold his body laid in the grave with as much apathy as we behold the carcass of a dog thrown into a pond. But could we follow the pious man beyond the precincts of the tomb, into that immortal scene which has burst upon his disencumbered spirit ; could we trace the gradual expansion of his faculties towards objects which lie beyond the grasp of mortals, and the perfection of his moral powers; could we behold his mouldered frame starting up to new life at "the resurrection of the just," and arrayed in new splendour and beauty; could we contemplate him placed in a station of dignity and honour among the sons of God," in that glorious residence to which he is destined; his intellectual powers expanding, grasping the most sublime objects, and pushing forward in the career of perpetual improvement, without the least stain of moral imperfection;-would we now treat such a one with malevolence, or even with indifference or neglect? And were we placed by his side in such a dignified station, what would our feelings be when we recollected the apathy, the indifference, and even the contempt with which he was treated in this sublunary scene? On the other hand, could we follow the poor wretched slave to the future world, and contemplate the degradation and misery to which he is there reduced in consequence of our malevolence and neglect, what emotions of horror and indignation should we not feel at the recollection of that pride and disaffection which led us to act so basely towards a fellow-immortal, whom it was in our power to have trained to wisdom, to excellence, and to a happy immortality? When, therefore, we behold individuals withholding their benevolent regard from their brethren of mankind, and treating them with haughtiness and contempt, we must conclude that such persons overlook the true dignity of man, and secretly disbelieve the reality of an immortal state of existence, whatever professions they may make to the contrary. For the consideration of the eternal destiny of mankind reflects a dignity on the meanest human being, and attaches an importance to all our affections and actions in relation to him, unspeakably greater than if his existence were circumscribed within the narrow limits of time, and throws completely into the shade all the degrading circumstances with which he is now surrounded.

When we consider our brethren of the human family in the light of immortal intelligences, and look forward to the scenes of the eternal world, a crowd of interesting reflections naturally arises in the mind. A wide and unbounded prospect opens before us. Amidst new creations and the revolutions of systems and worlds, new displays of the Creator's power and providence burst upon the view. We behold ourselves placed on a theatre of action and enjoyment, and passing through "scenes and changes" which bear no resemblance to the transactions and events of