350 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE 



belief, even were his assertions regarding his divine mis- 

 sion backed by a holy life. Nor is it by miracles alone 

 that the order of nature is, or may : be, disturbed. The 

 material universe is also the arena of " special providences/' 

 Under these two heads Mr. Mozley distributes the total 

 preternatural. One form of the preternatural may shade 

 into the other, as one color passes into another in the rain- 

 bow; but, while the line which divides the specially provi- 

 dential from the miraculous cannot be sharply drawn, 

 their distinction broadly expressed is this: that while a 

 special providence can only excite surmise more or less 

 probable, it is " the nature of a miracle to give proof, as 

 distinguished from mere surmise, of Divine design." 



Mr. Mozley adduces various illustrations of what he re- 

 gards to be special providences, as -distinguished from mir- 

 acles. " The death of Arius," he says, "was not miraculous, 

 because the coincidence of the death of a heresiarch taking 



Elace when it was peculiarly advantageous to the orthodox 

 iith .... was not such as to compel the inference of ex- 

 traordinary Divine agency; but it was a special providence, 

 because it carried a reasonable appearance of it. The 

 miracle of the Thundering Legion was a special providence, 

 but not a miracle, for the same reason, because the coin- 

 cidence of an instantaneous fall of rain, in answer to 

 prayer, carried some appearance, but not proof, of preter- 

 natural agency." The eminent lecturer's remarks on this 

 head brought to my recollection certain narratives pub- 

 lished in Methodist magazines, which I used to read with 

 avidity when a boy. The general title of these exciting 

 stories, if I remember right, was " The Providence of God 

 asserted, "and in them the most extraordinary escapes from 

 peril were recounted and ascribed to prayer, while equally 

 wonderful instances of calamity were adduced as illus- 

 trations of Divine retribution. In such magazines, or 

 elsewhere, I found recorded the case of the celebrated 

 Samuel Hick, which, as it illustrates a whole class of spe- 

 cial providences approaching in conclnsiveness to miracles, 

 is worthy of mention here. It is related of this holy man 

 that, on one occasion, flour was lacking to make the sacra- 

 mental bread. Grain was present, and a windmill was 

 present, but there was no wind to grind the corn. With 

 faith undo ttb ting, Samuel Hick prayed to the Lord of the 

 winds; the sails turned, the corn was ground, after which 



