MICEOSCOPIC ANIMALCULES. 53 



6. If the contemplation of one animalcule pre- 

 sents so marvellous a spectacle, what shall we 

 say when we behold them in multitudes which 

 no man can number ? Well has it been ob- 

 served : " To see a shoal of these lively crea- 

 tures in a drop of water, avoiding each other in 

 their many courses, and performing a thousand 

 mingled evolutions, is, perhaps, one of the most 

 interesting spectacles which the reflective can 

 contemplate ! But this delight gives way to 

 astonishment when we perceive that these crea- 

 tures are elaborately constructed ; that they 

 are organized with an express relationship to 

 their destined mode of life ; and that they 

 enjoy their existence like the fishes of the sea, 

 the birds of the air, or the wild beasts of the 

 desert." 



Contemplating such a scene, we may well 

 adopt the words of the poet : 



" Sec thro' this air, this ocean, and this earth, 

 All matter quick, and bursting into birth. 

 Above, how high progressive life may go ! 

 Around, how wide ! How deep extend below ! 

 Vast chain of being ! which from God began ; 

 Nature ethereal, human, angel, man ; 

 Beast, bird, fish, insect, what no eye can see, 



