150 BERTHA'S VISIT TO HER 



the other in a succession of rings, and the earth 

 so pressed on them as to prevent their move- 

 ments from injuring the egg. The remainder of 

 the hole was fijled up with some of the pellets 

 that I have already mentioned. 



28th, Sunday. This morning my uncle pro- 

 ceeded to explain the Levitical dispensation. He 

 began by reminding us of the gross corruptions, 

 which had again crept into the Patriarchal dis- 

 pensation, notwithstanding the awful warning 

 of the flood. 



" But," said he, " even in those corruptions 

 the main principle of that dispensation was pre- 

 served ; that principle which marked the fallen 

 state of man, and to which every hope of future 

 pardon was necessarily attached. Instead of 

 rejecting that doctrine of the atonement and 

 the hope of the promised Deliverer, the apos- 

 tates of that age made those points the very basis 

 of their heresy. Their creed was built upon the 

 necessity of expiatory sacrifices ; and, though 

 they impiously divided and multiplied their hero- 

 gods at pleasure, still each remotely signified the 

 predicted seed of the woman supposed to be cor- 

 poreally manifested in this, or in that illustrious 

 human character. The Almighty, however, had 

 declared that there should not * any more be a 

 flood to destroy the earth.' In his merciful 

 councils other means were adopted for counter- 



