BOOK OP NATURE LAID OPEN. 79 



Serpent may die in their sequestered retreats, innu- 

 merable vermin, attracted by the scent, will soon 

 find them out, and leave not a vestige of putrifaction 

 behind. 



Before we conclude with the tribe of volatiles, we 

 will just remark, that these are not the only uses for 

 which this order of beings seem to have been created. 

 From the feathery creai'on we may also learn les- 

 sons of wisdom on the most interesting and impor- 

 tant subjects. What an example of conjugal con- 

 stancy and fidelity do we discover in the turtledove! 

 What a pattern of filial affection in the young stork! 

 What a lesson for presumptuous pride have we in 

 the answer of Solon to the monarch of Lydia ! 

 When seated on his magnificent throne, and sur- 

 rounded by all the appendages of external pomp 

 and pageantry, Croesus asked the Greek philoso- 

 pher, if he had ever seen so magnificent a specta- 

 cle : " After having seen the plumage of the Phea- 

 sant, he could not be astonished at the sight of any 

 other finery," was the cool reply ! And what com- 

 fort may we derive, under the vexatious losses and 

 crosses of life, from the argument drawn by our 

 Divine Teacher against sinking under despondency 

 or anxiety : u Behold the fowls of the air ; for they 

 sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns: 

 yet our heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not 

 better than they ?> 



" Behold, and look away your low despair; 

 See the light tenants of the barren air ; 



