184 BOOK OF NATURE LAID OPEtf. 



" Of all the effects resulting from this admirable 

 scene of things," says Bonycastle, " nothing can be 

 more pleasing and agreeable to a philosophic mind, 

 than the alternate succession of day and night, and 

 the regular return of the seasons. When the sun first 

 appears in the horizon, all nature is animated by his 

 presence; the magnificent theatre of the universe 

 opens gradually to our view, and every object around 

 us excites ideas of pleasure, admiration, and won- 

 der. After riding in all his brightness through the 

 vault of heaven, he is again hidden from our sight ; 

 and we are now presented with a new spectacle of 

 equal grandeur and sublimity. The heavens are on 

 a sudden covered with innumerable stars ; the moon, 

 rising in a clouded majesty, unveils her peerless 

 light; whilst the silent solemnity of the scene, fills 

 the mind with sentiments and ideas beyond the 

 power of language to express. 



" Variety is the source of every pleasure ; and the 

 bountiful Author of Nature, in the magnificent dis- 

 play of wisdom and power, has afforded us every 

 possible means of entertainment and instruction. 

 What a pleasing succession of scenes results from 

 the gradual vicissitudes of the seasons ! Summer, 

 Winter, Spring, and Autumn, lead us insensibly 

 through the varied circle of the year; and are no 

 less pleasing to the mind, than necessary towards 

 bringing to maturity the various productions of the 

 earth. Whether the sun flames on the tropic, or pows 

 his mild effulgence from the equator, we equally re- 

 joice in his presence, and adore that Omniscient 



