50 



THE PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION. 



we *na!l find multitudes of men, women, and 

 children assiduously employed in cultivating the 

 mulberry plant, in hatching and rearing silk 

 worms, in winding and twisting the delicate 

 threads which proceed from these insects, and 

 preparing them for the loom, in order that our 

 ladies may be adorned with this finest production 

 of nature and art. Let us pass in imagination 

 to the frozen regions of Siberia and Kamtschatka, 

 to the inhospitable shores of Onalaska and the 

 Aleutian isles, and we shall behold numbers of 

 weather-beaten wretches exposed to innumerable 

 dangers by sea arid land, traversing snowy moun 

 tains, forests, inarches, and deserts, suffering 

 frequent shipwrecks on the coasts of unknown 

 islands inhabited by savage tribes, and exposed, 

 night and day, to the chilling frosts of the polar 

 region, and the attacks of ravenous wolves, in 

 order to collect the skins of otters, and furs of va 

 rious descriptions, to adorn the dress of our fe 

 male friends, and to shelter them from the 

 winter s cold. Let us pass to the forests ofNor- 

 way, Sweden, Canada, and Jamaica, and hun 

 dreds of hardv, weather-beaten peasants, exposed 

 to many accidents and privations, will be seen 

 cuttingdown the tall firs, larches, and mahogany, 

 sawing them into planks and logs, and conveying 

 them in floats along rapid rivers towards the sea, 

 to be shipped for our country, for the purposo of 

 being formed into floors and roofs for our build- 

 in&amp;lt;*s, and into elegant furniture to decorate our 



b o 



apartments. 



Not only in distant islands and continents, 

 but even in the midst of the vast ocean, multi 

 tudes of our brethren are toiling for our pleasure, 

 convenience, and comfort. See yonder vessel 

 in the Southern Atlantic ocean, which has just 

 weathered the storms on the southern capo of 

 Africa, and narrowly escaped the dangers of 

 shipwreck on a rocky shore. For several weeks 

 the hardy mariners have been beating against 

 the wind in the midst of thunders, lightnings, 

 and tempests, with mountainous waves con 

 tinually breaking over them, darkness surround 

 ing them for many sleepless nights, and the dread 

 of impending destruction filling them with trem 

 bling and horror. And why have they been ex 

 posed to danger so dreadful and appalling ? That 

 they might convey to our shores, from China 

 arid Hindostan, scores of tea, coffee, sugar, por 

 celain, silks, carpets, and precious stones, to 

 supply luxuries to our tables, and ornaments to 

 our dress. See yonder vessel, too, which is 

 tossing in the midst of the Northern ocean, 

 passing between shoals and icebergs, and liable 

 every moment to be crushed to pieces between 

 mountains of ice. Her mariners have long been 



steep places are generally frequented by great num 

 bers of monkeys, which, being irritated and provok 

 ed, to avenge themselves, tear off the branches, and 

 shower them down upon those who have insulted 

 them The Chinese immediately collect these bra nch- 

 MUd strip off their leaves.-Ewci/. Brit. Art. Tea. 



exposed to the rigours of an arctic sky, and nave 

 narrowly escaped being plunged into the deep 

 by the stroke of an enormous whale, in order 

 that we might be supplied with seal-skins, whale 

 bone, and oil for our lamps. 



Even in the bowels of the ocean thousands of 

 poor wretches, on the coasts of Califonia, Ceylon, 

 Persia, and China, are diving amidst its waves, 

 remaining whole half hours, at sixty feet below 

 the surface of its waters, exposed to the danger 

 of being devoured by sharks and other monsters 

 of the deep, in order to collect pearls for orna 

 ments to the ladies of Europe, Asia, Africa, and 

 America. In short, wherever we turn our eyes 

 on the surface of the mighty deep, we contem 

 plate a busy scene of human beings ploughing 

 the ocean in every direction, snd toiling, in the 

 midst of dangers, storms, and tempests, in order 

 to promote the accommodation of their fellow- 

 mortals, who dwell on opposite regions of the 

 globe. On the one hand, we behold thousands 

 of hardy Russians, Swedes, and Norwegians, 

 steering their vessels along the Baltic and the 

 German sea, to convey to our shores copper, 

 timber, pitch, skins, hemp, and tallow ; on the 

 other, we behold the Americans ploughing the 

 waves of the Atlantic, with stores of mahogany, 

 sugar, rice, flour, tobacco, rum, and brandy. 

 Along the vast Pacific ocean, the Spanish gal 

 leons are conveying to Europe, gold, silver, 

 pearls, precious stones, and all the other riches 

 of Peru. Even from the southern icy ocean, 

 where nature appears bound in the fetters of 

 eternal ice, the adventurous mariner is convey 

 ing to our shores furs of various kinds, with the 

 products of seals and whales. And, in return 

 for the supply we receive from foreign regions, 

 our British sailors are traversing every sea and 

 ocean, and distributing to the inhabitants of 

 every clime the productions of our arts, sciences, 

 and manufactures. 



Even in the subterraneous apartments of the 

 globe, as well as upon its surface, many thou 

 sands of human beings are labouring, in confined 

 and gloomy regions, to promote our comforts and 

 enjoyments. The copper mines in Sweden are 

 situated at more than a thousand feet below the 

 surface of the ground, and contain a vast num 

 ber of subterraneous apartments, branching in 

 all directions. In these dreary abodes, twelve 

 hundred wretched beings are doomed to pass 

 their existence, deprived of the cheerful light of 

 day toiling, almost naked, in the midst of hot. 

 and sulphureous vapours, and under severe task 

 masters, in order that we may be supplied with 

 the best species of copper, for forming our ket 

 tles, cauldrons, and copper-plate engravings. 

 The salt mines of Hungary and Poland, the gold 

 and silver mines of Potosi and Peru, and hun 

 dreds of similar subterraneous mansions, in 

 various parts of the earth, present to our view 

 numerous groups of our fellow-men, all engaged 



