THE MINERAL KINGDOM. 



183 



LESSON XLL 



THE MINERAL KINGDOM. 



THE natural objects which have hitherto been 

 brought under our readers' notice, have life. They 

 are found in the early stages of their existence 

 small in size, then growing larger, living a certain 

 period, and in the end dying. Minerals differ 

 from these in having no life. They are found in 

 large masses, and undergo scarcely any change in 

 the course of ages. 



We have also seen, that an all-wise Creator has 

 placed both animals and vegetables in peculiar 

 situations, and that they are found differing in form 

 and habits, according to climate. This is not the 

 case with mineral bodies. As far as the nature of 

 stone and metals is concerned, they are nearly the 

 same in all countries.. Volcanoes, which are mi- 

 nerals in a state of combustion, burn in the same 

 manner, and with the same results, in the very 

 hottest and the very coldest countries. 



