MEMOIR OF THOMAS BEWICK. 293 



great mass of mankind had bestowed a thought 

 upon the astonishing miracles of creation by which 

 they were surrounded, and which were presented 

 to their understanding and sight in so visible and 

 tangible a shape that it required no faith to believe 

 in them, nor any thing to raise doubts in their 

 minds as to their reality. The brilliantly studded 

 canopy of suns and worlds above their heads, and, 

 as a part of these, the equally wonderful globe of 

 this earth and sea, which is allotted to them, they 

 could not, with their clouded intellects and want of 

 science see nor appreciate, till the mind by research 

 became illumined by degrees, in the varied blaze of 

 light spread abroad which will in some degree 

 enable men to see the perfection of the Omnipotent 

 Author of the whole. Viewing the Bible as to its 

 moral and religious contents, in this way, the good 

 old Book ought to be held in veneration and esteem, 

 as containing the most unequivocal marks of the 

 most exalted piety and the purest benevolence. 

 Give it therefore, my dear children, a place in your 

 regards, to which it is entitled ; and, amidst the 

 necessary cares of life, never lose sight of your 

 destination for another. An infinitely more im- 

 portant state awaits us beyond the grave. It may 

 be presumed that this original and sacred document 

 will continue to arrest the attention of reasoning 

 beings as long as men continue to reason, and be 

 an eternal stimulant together with other stimu- 

 lants so abundantly presented by the wonders of 

 the universe to lead the soul to rest its hopes on 

 the source from whence it derived its existence. 



