STEAM NAVIGATION. 



119 



tnguished. Tn a word, by this admirable instru 

 ment we behjld the same Almighty Hand which 

 /ounded the soacious globe on which we live, 

 and the huge masses of the planetary orbs, and 

 directs them in their rapid motions through the 

 sky, employed, at the same moment, in round 

 ing and polishing ten thousand minute transpa 

 rent globes in the eye of a fly ; and boring and 

 arranging veins and arteries, and forming and 

 clasping joints and claws, for the movements of a 

 mite ! We thus learn the admirable and asto 

 nishing effects of the wisdom of God, and that 

 the divine care and benevolence are as much 

 displayed in the construction of the smallest 

 insect, as in the elephant or the whale, or in 

 those ponderous globes which roll around us in 

 the sky. These, and thousands of other views 

 which the microscope exhibits, would never have 

 been displayed to the human mind, had they not 

 been opened up by this admirable invention. 



In fine, by means of the two instruments to 

 which I have now adverted, we behold Jeho 

 vah s empire extending to infinity on either 

 hand. By the telescope we are presented with 

 the most astonishing displays of his omnipotence, 

 in the immense number, the rapid motions, and 

 the inconceivable magnitudes of the celestiai 

 globes 5 and, by the microscope, we behold, 

 what is still more inconceivable, a display of his 

 unsearchable wisdom in the divine mechanism 

 by which a drop of water is peopled with myriads 

 of inhabitants a fact which, were it not sub 

 ject to ocular demonstration, would far exceed 

 the limits of human conception or belief. We 

 have thus the most striking and sensible evi 

 dence, that, from the immeasurable luminaries 

 ?f heaven, and from the loftiest seraph that 

 stands before the throne of God, down to this 

 ower world, and to the smallest microscopic 

 animalcula that eludes the finest glass, He is 

 every where present, and, by his power, intel 

 ligence, and agency, animates, supports, and 

 directs the whole. Such views and contempla 

 tions naturally lead us to advert to the charac 

 ter of God as delineated by the sacred writers, 

 that &quot; He is of great power, and mighty in 

 strength ;&quot; that &amp;lt; His understanding is infinite ; 

 that &quot; His works are wonderful ;&quot; that &quot; His 

 operations are unsearchable and past finding 

 out ;&quot; and they must excite the devout mind to 

 join with fervour in the language of adoration 



and praise. 



When thy amazing works, O God ! 



My mental eye surveys, 

 &quot;Transported with the view, I m lost 

 In wonder, love, and praise.&quot; 



Steam Navigation. We might have been 

 apt to suppose that the chymical experiments 

 that were first made to demonstrate the force of 

 steam as a mechanical agent, could have little 

 relation to the objects of religion, or even to the 

 comfort of human life and society. Yet it has 



now been applied to the impelling of ships and 

 large boats along rivers and seas, in opposition 

 to both wind and tide, and with a velocity 

 which, at an average, exceeds that of any other 

 conveyance. We have no reason to believe 

 that this invention has hitherto approximated to 

 a state of perfection ; it is yet in its infancy, 

 and may be susceptible of such improvements, 

 both in point of expedition and of safety, as may 

 render it the most comfortable and speedy con 

 veyance between distant lands, for transporting 

 the volume of inspiration and the heralds of the 

 gospel of peace to &quot; the ends of the earth.&quot; By 

 the help of his compass the mariner is enabled 

 to steer his course in the midst of the ocean, 

 in the most cloudy days, and in the darkest 

 nights, and to transport his vessel from one end 

 of the world to another. It now only remains, 

 that navigation be rendered safe, uniform, and 

 expeditious, and not dependent on adverse 

 winds, or the currents of the ocean ; and, per 

 haps the art of propelling vessels by the force of 

 steam, when arrived at perfection, may effectu 

 ate those desirable purposes. Even at present, 

 as the invention now stands, were a vessel to be 

 fitted to encounter the waves of the Atlantic, 

 constructed of a proper figure and curvature, 

 having a proper disposition of her wheels, and 

 having such a description of fuel, as could be 

 easily stowed, and in sufficient quantity for the 

 voyage at the rate of ten miles an hour, she 

 could pass from the shores of Britain to the 

 coast of America, in less than thirteen days ; 

 and, even at eight miles an hour, the voyage 

 could be completed in little more than fifteen 

 days ; so that intelligence might pass and re- 

 pass between the eastern and western conti 

 nents within the space of a single month a 

 space of time very little more than was requi 

 site, sixty years ago, for conveying intelligence 

 between Glasgow and London. The greatest 

 distance at which any two places on the globe 

 lie from each other, is about 12,500 miles ; and, 

 therefore, if a direct portion of water intervene 

 between them, this space could be traversed in 

 fifty-four or sixty days. And, if the isthmus of 

 Panama, which connects North and South 

 America, and the isthmus of Suez, which sepa 

 rates the Mediterranean from the Red sea, 

 were cut into wide and deep canals, (which we 

 have no doubt will be accomplished as soon as 

 civilized nations have access to perform opera 

 tions in those territories,) every country in the 

 world could then be reached from Europe, in 

 nearly a direct line, or at most by a gentle 

 curve, instead of the long, and dangerous, and 

 circuitous route which must now be taken, in sail 

 ing for the eastern parts of Asia, and tho north 

 western shores of America. By this means, 

 eight or nine thousand miles of sailing would be 

 saved in a voyage from England to Nootka 

 sound, or the peninsula of California; and 



