THE 



THREE KINGDOMS OF NATURE. 



PART THE FIRST. 

 LESSON I. 



NATURAL OBJECTS IN GENERAL. 



THE earth, the air, and the waters, are filled 

 with living and inanimate objects. The more 

 we examine these, and the wider our knowledge 

 of them extends, the more do we learn of the 

 wisdom, the power, and the providential care of 

 our Maker and Preserver. 



Nothing has been created in vain, for every 

 thing we can see is filled with beauty and de- 

 sign. The same care has been bestowed on the 

 structure of the most minute beings, as on that 

 of the largest animal, and every step in the study 

 of nature is full of interest and instruction. We 

 cannot look any where without finding something 

 to admire, something to astonish and delight us, 

 and something to make us sensible of the good- 

 ness and bounty of God. 



Some of these objects, such as man, beasts, 

 birds, fishes, and insects, live and move, and are 

 said to have animal life r others, as trees, plants, 

 grain, flowers, and moss, have also life, but it is 

 life of a different kind, and called vegetable life ; 

 whilst others, as stones, chalk, coal, and earth, 



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