CONCLUSION. 301 



effect its object, and a goodness which makes life 

 in all its forms a blessing, are the characters which 

 in this, as well as in every other department of na- 

 ture, are conspicuous and undeniable. It is not ab- 

 solute perfection indeed which in this search we 

 discover. We are ourselves imperfect, and the 

 world around us is imperfect ; but it is a relative 

 perfection which suits everything to its present 

 condition, and which leaves nothing for a man to 

 feel in contemplating it but a mingled sentiment 

 of mysterious awe, profound admiration, and over- 

 flowing gratitude. 



In bringing this volume to a close, let us collect 

 the proofs which belong to this division of nature 

 into one point of view, by a rapid glance over the 

 road that has been travelled. 



In considering the external form of a bird, the 

 first thing that strikes the philosophical inquirer is 

 the wisdom with which Providence has adapted it 

 to the element in which it is destined to move. In 

 its smooth pointed bill, and gradually enlarging head 

 and neck, he perceives an instrument admirably cal- 

 culated to penetrate the yielding air. The rounded, 

 prowlike shape of its breast, too, is adapted with 

 mathematical exactness to the same useful purpose ; 

 while its flexible tail is made with surprising skill to 

 perform the part of a rudder ; and its wings equally 

 poised, and furnished with quills and feathers mod- 

 elled by numerous wonderful contrivances, at once 

 for lightness, for strength, and for tenacity, and al- 

 together exhibiting a machine . of the most per- 

 fect kind for aerial navigation. The very varieties 

 in the nature of this machinery, adapted as they 

 are to the faculties and instincts of each species, 

 impress the mind with a deep sense of the minute 

 and skilful care of a beneficent Creator, and give a 

 peculiar interest to the investigation. 



When we proceed from the external form to the 

 consideration of the internal structure of birds, as 

 Cc 



