159 THE OCEAN. 
of seas where the cold is most intense, yet warm- 
blooded, and dependent for existence on keeping up 
the animal heat, the Whale is furnished in this thick 
wrapper with a substance which resists the abstrac. 
tion of heat from the body as fast as it is generated, 
and thus is kept comfortably warm in the fiercest 
polar winters. Again, the oil contained in the cells 
_ of the skin being specifically lighter than water, adds 
to the buoyancy of the animal, and thus saves much 
muscular exertion in swimming horizontally and in 
rising to the surface; the bones, being of a porous or 
spongy texture, have a similar influence. 
These few particulars in the physiology of these 
vast creatures may serve to carry our minds up in 
adoring wonder to the mercy as well as wisdom of 
the Lord God Almighty, and may give us a glimpse 
of the meaning of that glorious truth, ‘And God 
saw everything that He had made, and behold it 
was VERY GooD.” Many, other instances of beau- 
tiful contrivance and design might easily be added, 
in the construction of the mouth, the eyes, the fins, 
the tail; but all would lead us to the same result: 
and these which I have adduced may be taken as 
a sample of the rich feast which the study of nature 
affords to the Christian student. 
The capture of these immense animals, from their 
vast strength, the fickle element on which it is pur- 
sued, and. the horrors peculiar to the Arctic regions, 
is an adventure of extraordinary hazard. The ships, 
built for the purpose, and strengthened with much 
oak and iron, leave the northern parts of this country 
early in April, and by the end of the month 
