THE MICROSCOPE AND ITS LESSONS, 



CHAPTEK I. 



INTRODUCTION. 



" I have seen 



A curious child, who dwelt upon a tract 

 Of inland ground, applying to his ear 

 The convolutions of a smooth-lipped shell ; 

 To which, in silence hushed, his very soul 

 Listened intently ; and his countenance soon 

 Brightened with joy ; for murmurings from within 

 Were heard, sonorous cadences ! whereby, 

 To his belief, the monitor expressed 

 Mysterious union with its native sea. 



Even such a shell the universe itself 

 Is to the ear of Faith." 



WOBDSWOBTH. 



HEN David wrote the nineteenth psalm he 

 directed the reader to the stars as a revela- 

 tion of God's handiwork ; and, after point- 

 ing to their silent eloquence, he led the 

 reader to the other revelation, in which 

 similar perfection would be discovered. This 

 inspired poem is divided into two nearly equal 

 parts, and is suggestive of the twofold revelation that God 



