I remember about a year ago, when you first showed me the effects of your solar microscope, I argued just in an opposite direction: for, when I saw the astonishing assemblage of beauties in some insects, as in the diamond beetle, the peach fly, the dragon fly, and the wasp; when I beheld the quills, and painted plumage, on the wings of the butterfly tribe; when I observed the feet, the general organization, but, above all, the eyes of the drone fly, I was overcome: yes, that its eyes, consisting of fourteen thousand hemispheres, and each of these forming a perfect eye, furnished with a cornea, a transparent humour, and a retina, was almost incredible, though I saw it. When you pointed out the telescopic eyes of the snail, and the admirably situated eyes of the spider; when you talked of the animalcules in Auids, especially of the wheel insect; when you showed me that grains of sand are not perfectly globular, but some square, others conical, and most of them irregular; that in each grain there is a cavity, and in each cavity insects of various kinds; and that these little ones are furnished with eyes, mouths, feet—I said, there cannot be many globes like our earth, which are thus the seats of beauty, of elegance, and of conscious existence. But you have proved to me this day, that there are innumerable worlds, and not only innumerable worlds, but systems innumerable.

Yes, my dear child; and seeing that He, who

replenished infinite space with myriads of worlds, has also clothed the flowers of the field with a richness, which Solomon could not rival; will you not gather the assured conviction, that he not only regards you, but if you are found humbly serving him, that he also loves you? If you can believe this, then with a devotion you never before felt, you will this evening enter into the holy presence, and worship at the footstool of the self-existent, the independent, the eternal, the unchangeable Jehovah, remembering that it is He, who measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, and who meted out heaven with a span, who comprehended the dust of the earth in a measure, who weighed the mountains in scales, and the hills in a balance→→→ that it is he who did all this, that feeds his flock like a shepherd, who gathers the lambs with his arms, and carries them in his bosom.

CHAPTER XIII.

THE METHOD OF FINDING THE STARS..

The information which you gave me during our last conversation, has greatly increased my anxiety to apply the names, which I find on this globe, to the stars in the heavens.

But did not that information lead you to suppose, that it is a hopeless task?

The facts you communicated did not lessen my conviction of the difficulty, but augmented my determination to overcome all obstacles. I am, I hope, in some measure prepared. The heavens are, I am aware, divided by astronomers into three regions, called the northern hemisphere, the southern hemisphere, and the zodiac.

You know also, that the fixed stars are classed under the outlines of certain imaginary figures, called constellations, and that those, which do not fall within these limits, are called unformed stars.

And I am sure, mamma, you would not have me forget that there are others, which on account of their cloudy appearance are called nebula.

Well then, a few evenings, well improved, will enable you to distinguish all the stars of the