THE ARRANGEMENTS OF PROVIDENCE. 161 



But let me pursue the subject. You are no 

 doubt aware that the shark has its mouth in the 

 under part of its head, so that it can only catch 

 its prey by turning its body upwards. Were 

 it not for this, no fish could escape or avoid it, 

 for it swims with great rapidity, and is very 

 ravenous. This is another benevolent contriv- 

 ance of the great Creator. 



Fish are formed very differently from land 

 animals. They have generally a slender, thin 

 body, flattened at the sides, and always a little 

 pointed at the head, which enables them to 

 swim and cut their way better through the 

 water. They are covered with scales of a 

 horny substance, which preserve their bodies 

 from hurt. Their fins may be called their 

 limbs. By means of the tail-fins they move 

 forward ; the back-fin directs the motion of the 

 body, and they raise themselves up by the 

 pectoral or breast-fin; that of the stomach 

 balances them. The gills are their organs of 

 breathing. They are continually drawing water 

 into their mouths, which is their mode of breath- 

 ing, and they cast it out through their gills, 

 which is their way of breathing it out again. 



M* 



