ANIMAL MECHANISM. 335 



hares, &c. have the hair closer set on the back than 

 the belly, an arrangement admirably well adapted to 

 fortify them against the rains and storms from above; 

 while the fur of the beaver, and the feathers of water 

 fowl are thicker and warmer on the belly, and pecu- 

 liarly contrived for resisting the attrition and pene- 

 tration of the cold ancj watery fluid to which they are 

 so much exposed ; and yu will soon have an oppor- 

 tunity of perceiving that the covering of fishes is 

 equally well calculated for their situation. The most 

 unequivocal marks of an all-wise and benevolent 

 design are obvious through, the whole of this arrange- 

 ment. 



If, my dear Sir, you have ever been in a butcher's 

 shop, and seen the heart of a dead animal, you will 

 acknowledge that the wisdom of the Creator is there 

 displayed beyond all the powers of human compre- 

 hension. From the softness and extreme delicacy of 

 the heart, and the complexity of its mechanism, you 

 would suppose it liable to frequent derangements, 

 and to be injured by the slightest causes; and, in fine, 

 you would from its texture conclude, that its regular 

 and uniform motion could not long continue. This 

 wonderful machine, however, goes with greater regu- 

 larity than any watch, at the rate of about four thou- 

 sand one hundred and fifty strokes every hour, night 

 and day, for eighty or ninety years' together in man, 

 and much longer in some animals, and continues for 

 this length of time its action without disorder or in- 

 terruption. 



The examination of the eye might alone convince 

 the infidel and the sceptic of the existence of a Su- 

 preme Intelligencer, and of his indubitable agency 

 in the system of nature. This is evident, from the 

 exquisite mechanism of its structure, the existence of 

 its powers, its commanding situation, so suited to its 

 exercise, and the manner in which it is placed in a 

 deep bony socket for its preservation. The contem- 

 plative mind must be struck with astonishment in re- 

 flecting on the correctness of the picture formed at 

 the bottom of the retina. In viewing a distant 



