CANADIAN FALCONID^. 449 



their prey, are nicely adapted in eaeli case to the habits of their intended 

 victims. It is observable that from the small nnm|3er of their eggs 

 and their slow growth and peculiarly helpless infancy, tbey increase 

 much less rapidly than the animals on which they feed, and where 

 the dominion of man renders their functions less necessary, their 

 numbers soon diminish. Thus the balance among dijBTering forms of 

 life and the harmony of nature are preserved, and all beings, in seek- 

 ing the supply of their own wants and the enjoyments which awaken 

 their desires, fulfil the purpose of the great author of being, act under 

 his control, and show themselves his servants. Inferior creatures, 

 guided only by instinct and by the common wants of the animal 

 natui'e, perform their part, kept within bounds by the natural ene- 

 mies raised up for them. Man, the chief of the creation, is permitted 

 to rule over others, and called upon to rule himself ; he alone has the 

 privilege of a moral nature. He is capable of distinguishing good 

 and evil, submitting himself to restraint under the influence of mo- 

 tives, knowing the existence and learning the will of the Great Invi- 

 sible, and by faith anticipating his gracious promises. He uses reason 

 in avoiding the injuries with which the operation of natural laws 

 threatens him, and in deriving the highest advantages from powers 

 which seem most formidable and destructive. To the thoughtful 

 mind every object in nature speaks of beauty, order, and wise design 

 for the production of good. The fiercest creatures have a needful 

 and beneficent mission ; apparent evil has its limits and its good 

 results. As we rise through nature to the Grod of nature, we should 

 learn from what we see humility, resignation and trust, and should 

 most gratefully accept the spiritual privileges which are our highest 

 distinction, constituting our true elevation above the beasts of the 

 field and the fowls of the air, whose structure and instincts most 

 interest us as expressions of that supreme wisdom and benevolence 

 in which all our hopes are placed. 



