350 FRAGMENTS OF SCIENCE. 



belief, even were his assertions regarding his divine mis- 

 sion backed by a holy life. Nor is it by miracles alone 

 that the order of nature is, or may be, disturbed. The 

 material universe is also the arena of " special providences." 

 Under these two heads Mr. Mozley distributes the total 

 preternatural. One form of the preternatural may shade 

 into the other, as one color passes into another in the rain- 

 bow; but, while the line which divides the specially provi- 

 dential from the miraculous cannot .be sharply drawn, 

 their distinction broadly expressed is this: that while a 

 special providence can only excite surmise more or less 



Srobable, it is " the nature of a miracle to give proof, as 

 istinguished from mere surmise, of Divine design." 

 Mr. Mozley adduces various illustrations of what he re- 

 gards to be special providences, as distinguished from mir- 

 acles. " The death of Arius," he says, "was not miraculous, 

 because the coincidence of the death of a heresiarch taking 

 place when it was peculiarly advantageous to the orthodox 

 faith .... was not such as to compel the inference of ex- 

 traordinary Divine agency; but it was a special providence, 

 because it carried a reasonable appearance of it. The 

 miracle of the Thundering Legion was a special providence, 

 but not a miracle, for the same reason, because the coin- 

 cidence of an instantaneous fall of rain, in answer to 

 prayer, carried some appearance, but not proof, of preter- 

 natural agency." The eminent lecturer's remarks on this 

 head brought to my recollection certain narratives pub- 

 lished iu Methodist magazines, which I used to read with 

 avidity when a boy. The general title of these exciting 

 stories, if I remember right, was " The Providence of God 

 asserted, "and in them the most extraordinary escapes from 

 peril were recounted and ascribed to prayer, while equally 

 wonderful instances of calamity were adduced as illus- 

 trations of Divine retribution. In such magazines, or 

 elsewhere, I found recorded the case of the celebrated 

 Samuel Hick, which, as it illustrates a whole class of spe- 

 cial providences approaching in conclusiveness to miracles, 

 is worthy of mention here. It is related of this holy man 

 that, on one occasion, flour was lacking to make the sacra- 

 mental bread. Grain was present, and a windmill was 

 present, but there was no wind to grind the corn. With 

 faith undoubting, Samuel Hick prayed to the Lord of the 

 winds; the sails turned, the corn was ground, after which 



