58 STUDIES OF NATURE. 



perfonal fecurity, the fentiment of which was 

 heightened by that of danger remote. 



Madame de la Tour, from time to time, read 

 aloud to the company fome interefting portion of 

 the Hiftory of the Old or New Teftament. They 

 reafoned fparingly on the fubjedt of thofe Sacred 

 Books ; for their Theology confifted wholly in fen- 

 timent, like that of Nature; and their morality, 

 wholly in adive benevolence, like that of the Gof- 

 pel. They had no days deftined, fome to mirth, 

 others to melancholy. Every day was, to them, 

 a feafon of feftivity, and every thing that furrounded 

 • them a divine Temple, in which they inceflantly 

 admired an Intelligence infinite, omnipotent, and 

 gracioufly difpofed toward Man. This fentiment 

 of confidence in the Power Supreme, filled them 

 with confolation refpefting the paft, with fortitude 

 for the prefent, and with hope for the time to 

 come. Thus it was that thefe females, conftrained 

 by calamity to fall back into Nature, had unfolded 

 in themfelves, and in their children, thofe feelings 

 which are the gift of Nature, to prevent our fink- 

 ing under the preffure of calamity. 



But as there fometimes arife, in the beft: regu- 

 lated fpirit, clouds to difturb it's ferenity, when 

 any member of this fociety had the appearance of 



penfivenefs. 



