294 CONCLUSIONARY REFLECTIONS. 



only conclusion ; first, that they all equally proclaim the 



existence of a God, for 



" Each shell, each crawling insect, holds a rank 

 Important in the plan of Him who form'd 

 This scale of beings, holds a rank which lost, 

 Would break the chain, and leave a gap 

 Which nature's self would rue." 



And, secondly, that every branch of Natural History is 

 fully capable of yielding us innumerable objects for the 

 formation of a pleasing, scientific, and even religious study. 

 Its chief tendency ought to lead us from the admiration of 

 the works, to the serious contemplation of their author. In 

 fact, to teach us to look through nature up to nature's 

 God. It is a study terminating in the conviction, the know- 

 ledge, and adoration of that all-gracious and merciful 

 Being, to whose bounteous beneficence alone we are all 

 indebted for every blessing we enjoy.* 



* To such of my readers as are interested in the study of the works of 

 of the Creator, I may recommend to their attentive perusal, the volume I 

 have already mentioned by my kind and learned friend Mr. Sharon Turner, 

 and likewise " The Christian Philosopher," and other works, by my 

 talented friend the Rev. Dr. Dick of Dundee. These valuable product- 

 ions prove their authors to be not only profound philosophers, but also 

 Christians, in the most extended meaning of the word. 



THE END. 



