INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 



directions, and tracing over its whole surface an exquisite net-work of glittering 

 crystals ; for every line and vein consist of rows of crystalline particles, and 

 within the compartments formed by these intersections other vegetable gems 

 sparkle in the light. 



The prospect may be again changed, and the minute parts of insects brought 

 within the range of t\Q instrument, when new manifestations of the riches of 

 creation are at once beheld. It is then seen that these living atoms display in 

 their structure the skill, wisdom, and benevolence of their Creator, equally with 

 those which exceed them in bulk, millions of times. In the construction and 

 adaptation of their members, there is the same evidence of useful design ; and 

 beauty, with all its manifold adornments, has been showered upon them with a 

 lavish hand. The radiant bird of the tropics, in the pride of its plumage, is 

 surpassed, both in the exuberance of its splendor, and the perfection of its struc- 

 ture, by insects that are thoughtlessly crushed beneath our feet ; or by those 

 which, sporting in the sunbeams for a few short days, pass through the whole 

 course of their existence. The microscope is also a powerful auxiliary to the 

 skilful physiologist in his researches into the hidden mysteries of the vital sys- 

 tem. And by this means, within a few years, much valuable information has 

 been gained in regard to the curious processes of life, and of the organization 

 and wondrous mechanism of the human body. 



Another scene may be yet unfolded, and one which gives the microscope a 

 superior importance when compared with the telescope. The wonders revealed 

 by the latter are indeed so sublime, that they can hardly be grasped by the hu- 

 man intellect, and mysteriously do they shadow forth the majesty and power of 

 God. Yet throughout the whole field of magnificent display, nothing is seen 

 but inanimate matter, obeying the laws impressed upon it by Him who called all 

 things into being. Not so when the student of nature ranges with the micro- 

 scope amid minute material forms, and sweeps over a drop of water with his 

 powerful glasses, as the astronomer on a cloudless night sweeps with his telescope 

 across the starry heavens. The drop at once becomes a sea, teeming with 

 life, and curious forms are seen, stranger " than fables e'er have feigned or fear 

 conceived," sporting at will through its spacious waters. 



The world just revealed, is indeed a world of wonders, for the singular beings 

 before us bear no resemblance to those which are visible to the unaided eye, and 

 their modes of progression, existence, and increase, are in most respects entirely 

 dissimilar. But life with its rich endowments is theirs, and though millions can 

 be contained within the bulk of a mustard-seed, yet each individual of this vast 

 assemblage is as perfect in its organization as an elephant, which in its relative 

 size to this sentient atom, resembles a universe compared with ourselves. The 

 living beings, within the limits of the microscopic world, are probably far more 

 numerous than those which are perceptible to the naked eye. And from the 

 splendid discoveries that have been made, it is no stretch of fancy to imagine, 

 but the sober dictate of reason to infer, that if our vision could be rendered more 

 and more piercing, and progressively advance from the minutely visible, through 



