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accustoming his eye to behold in every object a particular 
manifestation of infinite intelligence, he sees in each law the 
operating hand of the Almighty; in each being the life of 
the Eternal; in each climate His unity ; in every distant planet 
His ubiquity; in every provision the fulness of His mercy ; 
and in the constancy of their action His truth: while in the 
struggle to grasp the whole in his own finite comprehension, 
the naturalist possibly forgets or loses sight of self. 
The Island of Lismore, in the county of Argyle, and one 
of the Hebrides, was the birth-place of Dugald Carmichael, 
.in 1772. Born of parents who were in easy circumstances, 
he was early designed for a learned profession; and though 
the opportunities which the parochial school afforded might 
not perhaps be very great, nor calculated to enlarge the 
youthful mind, the eye of genius is ever open, and ready to 
avail itself of every advantage. While his schoolfellows were 
scattered over the play-ground, pursuing their own wild 
gambols, young Carmichael might be seen in some neigh- 
bouring field, gathering and examining the flowers which 
grew there, or searching in some fosse for the organic 
remains that were then plentifully scattered throughout the 
mosslands of Lismore. Thus do the amusements of the boy 
.* cast their shadows before," and often exhibit an outline of 
the pursuits ofthe future man. He was regarded by other boys, 
generally, with contempt or astonishment; and had not his 
habits of silence and retirement been occasionally broken by 
indications of spirit, which checked the insolent and awed the 
‘timid, while he was characterised by uniform gentleness and 
a more than ordinary capacity for learning the prescribed 
lessons, his schoolfellows would not have failed to consider : 
him a fool. 
Nor was he satisfied with the mere observation of nature. 
He took peculiar pleasure in sketching, and with a love for 
colouring worthy of a Titian, he sought in nature for the 
means of imitating her own hues, and blended these in the 
best manner that he could. The inkstand afforded black, or 
when he wanted a different shade, he had recourse to the es 
bark of the Alder; and the tops of the Heath yielded yellow. 
