90 BRAMBLES AND BAY LEAVES. 



mutations of the atoms had built up the whole into one gorgeous scefie 

 of luxuriousness ; and man was awakened into being to render the 

 whole subservient to his wishes, and by tracing out the harmonies of 

 the natural world, to arrive at a more exalted knowledge of his maker. 



The atom of charcoal which floated in the corrupt atmosphere of 

 the old volcanic ages, was absorbed into the leaf of a fern when the 

 valleys became green and luxuriant ; and there, in its proper place, it 

 received the simlight and the dew, aiding to fling back to heaven a 

 reflection of heaven's gold ; and at the same time to build the tough 

 fibre of the plant. That same atom was consigned to the tomb when 

 the waters submerged the jungled valleys. It had lain there thou- 

 sands of years, and a month since was brought into the light again, 

 imbedded in a block of coal. It shall be consumed to warm our 

 dwelling, cook our food, and make more ruddy and cheerful the hearth 

 whereon our children play : it shall combine with a portion of the 

 invisible atmosphere, ascend upward as a curling wreath to revel in a 

 mazy dance high up in the blue ether ; shall reach earth again, and be 

 entrapped in the embrace of a flower : shall live in velvet beauty on 

 the cheek of the apricot ; shall pass into the human body, giving 

 enjoyment to the palate, and health to the blood ; shall circulate in 

 the delicate tissues of the brain ; and aid, by entering into some new 

 combination, in educing the thoughts which are now being uttered by 

 the pen. It is but an atom of charcoal, it may dwell one moment in 

 a stagnant ditch, and the next be flushing on the lip of beauty; it may 

 now be a component of a limestone rock, and the next an ingredient 

 in a field of potatoes ; it may slumber for a thousand years without 

 undergoing a single change, and the next hour pass through a thou- 

 sand ; and after all, it is only an atom of charcoal, and occupies only 

 its own place wherever it may be. 



It is from the unceasing interchange of the particles of matter that 

 the living lustre of the world is born ; it is the separation of one atom 

 of water from one atom of starch which gives rise to the formation of 

 sugar ; and to this change, produced by the mutual influences of 

 warmth and moisture, the germination of all seeds is due, and hence 

 the continuance of vegetation. Neither the oaks of the forest, nor 

 the grasses of the field, could ever have burst into their green beauty 

 but for this simple change in the elements of their seeds.* The 



* Seeds contain a large quantity of starch, a material best of all suited to 



