32 LESSON VI. 



the consequences of their being situated amidst 

 such perils. 



Child. Yes. The shells must frequently be 

 broken, and the poor animals perish. 



Teacher. Your first conclusion is true. The 

 shells are often broken or injured; but God 

 always makes a suitable provision for the cir- 

 cumstances under which he places his creatures. 

 Recollect that the same Almighty Being who 

 rules the tempests, directs also the movements 

 of the minutest animals, he knows every effect 

 of the former upon the latter, for he sees all the 

 workings of his mighty plan. I am sure that 

 you must know from scripture that such is 

 the case. 



Child. Yes ; without Him not a sparrow 

 falleth to the ground. 



Teacher. This providential care is very 

 evident in the history of mollusks. We find 

 that the construction of the shell varies accor- 

 ding to the situation in which it is placed. 

 Some shells found in the rapid rivers of 

 America,* are fitted by their great hardness and 

 thickness to contend with the most boisterous 

 elements;! others on the contrary, by their very 

 lightness, seem constructed to float on the sur- 

 face of the sea, and offering no resistance, are 

 carried along gently by its waves. Some of 

 the mollusks,t by adding to the weight of their 

 little bark, are enabled to descend and seek a 



* The Unio. t Helix lanthina. % Nautilus. 



