ATTRIBUTES OF INANIMATE MATTER. 187 



the finny tribes are in imminent danger of being 

 swallowed alive. Small fry are devoured by the 

 thousand when a big fish comes along that needs a 

 meal. How much of life is daily lost in this way ! 

 And what substantial happiness can there be among 

 those in mortal terror of being swallowed? 



On land the same state of things prevails ; the fox 

 lies in wait for the timid hare, the cat crouches in 

 ambush for prey, and the high-soaring hawk stoops 

 and bears away the screaming small bird. Even our 

 own carnivorous appetites lead us to forget how many 

 lives are sacrificed for the alimentation of our bodies. 

 Life is undoubtedly sweet when its conditions are 

 favorable ; yet the well-grounded fear of being eaten 

 is horrible. The pitiful toad that, while still alive, is 

 being swallowed by a snake, has little to be thankful 

 for, unless it be that its misery will soon end. A man 

 justifies his carnivorous career by Scriptural authority. 

 He was given u dominion over the fish of the sea, and 

 over the fowls of the air, and over every living thing 

 that raoveth on the earth." Possibly dominion did not 

 mean the right to slay and eat every creature that 

 might please the palate. 



The Mosaic account of how life found a way to 

 earth is graphic and plainly expressed. The appear- 

 ing of " dry land " as a preparatory step to the intro- 

 duction of " grass, the herb yielding seed," is some- 

 what in accordance with the geological record. After- 

 *ward the earth brought forth animals which might 

 feed upon the grass; and lastly, man put in an appear- 

 ance, just as geology affirms. This method of peopling 

 the earth is by a direct fiat of the Almighty, and is 

 called miraculous, because a pair of a kind is made at 

 once and with adult capacities, and never grew or 



