258 THE GOODNESS OF THE DEITV. 



or, rather very thick mist, hanging over the edge of tijt? 

 water, to the height, perhaps, of half a yard, and of the 

 breadth of two or three yards, stretching along the coast as 

 far as the eye could reach, and always retiring with the wa- 

 ter. When this cloud came to be examined, it proved to 

 be nothing else than so much space, filled with young 

 shrimps, in the act of bounding into the air from the shal- 

 low margin of the water, or from the wet sand. If any mo- 

 tion of a mute animal could express delight, it was this ; if 

 the} had meant to make signs of their happiness, they could 

 not have done it more intelligibly. Suppose then, what I 

 have no doubt of, each individual of this number to be in 

 a state of positive enjoyment, what a sum, collectively, of 

 gratification and pleasuie have we here before our view ! 



The yoimg of all animals appear to me to receive pleas- 

 ure simply from the exercise of their limbs and bodily fac- 

 ulties, without reference to any end to be attained, or any 

 use to be answered by the exertion. A child, without 

 knowing any thing of the use of language, is in a high de- 

 gree delighted with being able to speak. Its incessant rep- 

 etition of the few articulate sounds, or perhaps, of the sin- 

 gle word, which it has learned to pronounce, proves ihis 

 point clearly. Nor is it less pleased with its first success- 

 ful endeavours to walk, or rather to run, (which precedes 

 walking,) although entirely ignorant of the importance of 

 the attainment to its future life, and even without apply- 

 ing it to any present purpose. A child is delighted with 

 speaking without having any thing to say ; and with walk- 

 ing, without knowing where to go. And, prior to both 

 these, 1 am disposed to believe, that the waking hours of 

 infancy are agreeably taken up with the exercise of vision, 

 or perhaps more properly speaking, with learning to see. 



But it is not for youth alone, that the great Parent of 

 creation hath provided. Happiness is found with the 

 purring cat, no less than with the playful kitten : in the arm 

 chair of dozing age, as well as in either the sprightliness of 

 the dance, or the animation of the chace. To novelty, to 

 acuteness of sensation, to hope, to ardour of pursuit, suc- 

 ceeds, what is, in no inconsiderable degree, an equivalent 

 for them all, " perception of ease." Herein is the exact 

 difference between the young and the old. The young are 

 not happy, but when enjoying pleasure ; the old are happy 

 when free from pain. And this constitution suits with the 

 degrees of anim.ai power which they respectively possess. 

 The vigour of youth was to be stimulated to action by the 



