21 ON THE STUDY OP NATURE. 



prudence or foresight coukl possibly have averted 

 my present sufferings. I was indeed a stranger in a 

 strange land, yet I was still under the protecting eye 

 of that Providence, who has condescended to call 

 himself the Stranger's Friend. At this moment, 

 painful as my reilections were^ the extraordinary 

 beauty of a small MosS;, in fructification, irresistibly 

 caught my eye. I mention this to shew from what 

 trifling circumstances the mind will sometimes de- 

 rive consolation ; for though the whole plant was 

 not la'ger than the top of one of my fingers, I could 

 not conter.iplate the delicate conformation of its 

 roots, leaves, and capsula, without admiration. Can 

 that Being (thought I) who planted, watered, and 

 brought to perfection, in this obscure part of the 

 world, a thing which appears of so small importance, 

 look with unconcern upon the situation and suffer- 

 ings of creatures formed after his own image ? — Sure- 

 ly not ! Reflections like these would not allow me 

 to despair. I started up, and, disregarding both 

 hunger and fatigue, travelled forwards, assured that 

 relief was at hand ; and I was not disappointed *." 



It is impossible to consider properly all these im- 

 portant objects, and then unconcernedly to ask, '^ of 

 %Z)Iiat use is I his Science .?" 



Natural History is a study that seems well calcu-! 

 lated to employ \h.t female mind : and it has this ad- 

 vantage over most other pursuits, that the more 

 earnestly it is attended to, the more interesting it 

 becomes. It is a study also that meliorates the hearty 



Purk's Travels, 2i3. 



