A 



POPULAR GUIDE 



TO THE 



OBSERVATION OF NATURE. 



SECTION I. 



The Necessity and Use of Observing. 



So natural is observation to us, that we in com- 

 mon language allude to it in cases where there is 

 really nothing to observe. When we are perplexed 

 and in difficulty about the absent or the future, 

 and take counsel together in order that, by our 

 union, we may overcome the difficulty, our words 

 of mutual encouragement are, " Let us see ;" and 

 when we have exercised our thoughts rightly, and 

 the difficulty is overcome to our mind, our expres- 

 sion of triumph is, " Now we see our way." Also, 

 whenever we fail in that which we attempt, or err 

 in the performance of it, the cause of the failure or 

 the error is, that " We do not see our way." To 

 see our way, and to see it clearly, ought there- 

 fore, in all matters, to be our very first object. In- 

 deed the only difference between the ignorant and 

 the intelligent is, that the former grope, as it were 

 in the dark, and the latter see the end of matters, 

 as if the road were open and straight, and the 

 noon-day sun shining upon it. 



