NATURAL HISTORY. 61 



" Why, my dear boys, there are, as I told 

 you once before, a great many things which I 

 do not know ; and what I do know I am very 

 willing to tell you. But you may learn just 

 as I did, by reading, by taking notice of 

 things around you, and by thinking for your- 

 selves. And I do not know any thing more 

 pleasant to notice than the works of God. I 

 see his wisdom and his goodness in every 

 thing which he has made. I see them in the 

 insects, and the birds, and the larger animals ; 

 I see them in the grass, and the flowers, and 

 the trees ; and I see them in the rocks and 

 the stones upon the ground. All these things 

 are well worth our attention, boys ; the study of 

 all these things around us is called the study 

 of < Natural History ;' and I think it is apt to 

 make him who loves it a better man ; at any 

 rate, I believe that there have been very few 

 who have been fond of it, who have not been 

 amiable and benevolent men. But, hark ! Do 

 you hear that noise ?" 



" Yes, Uncle Philip ; it is the sound of men 

 chopping wood in that clump of trees." 



" No, boys ; it is like the sound of a wood- 

 cutter ; and it is a wood-cutter, but he does 

 not use one of our hatchets." 



F 



