MARCH.] JOURNEY TO BETHELSDORP. 
83 
At eleven, A.M. Cupido preached. He spoke of 
every thing coming from God : he asked, " Who 
made the trees? You will say, They came from other 
trees. Well then, (said he,) who made the first 
tree? It could not be man, or he would be able to 
make them still ; but it is beyond the power of man to 
make a tree : it must be God." At eight, A.M. 
thermometer 70 : at noon, 78. 
At five, P.M. we proceeded on our way : there was 
much thunder on our left, but it did not come near us, 
and we had only a small portion of the rain that fell. 
At seven we passed a boor's who had nothing to spare. 
At ten we crossed Deep River, which at that time 
did not answer to its name, being very shallow ; but 
in the rainy season it may be deep enough. The 
ground sparkled with glow-worms, like the starry 
heavens. Naturalists suppose the females are furnished 
with this luminous appearance to discover to their mates 
where they may be found. I cannot refute this suppo- 
sition ; yet I imagine it may answer another purpose, 
viz. that of defence. Providence has kindly furnished 
every living creature with some means for defending its 
own life : to some he has given stings ; to others horns, 
or sharp claws, or coats of mail, or wings, or swiftness, 
or tusks, or power to make a terrifying noise, or mus- 
cular strength, or a strong castle to retreat into like 
the tortoise and other shell animals; and perhaps God 
has given this little star to the glow-worm to frighten 
away some particular foe. It is certain that the light 
of fire in the night frightens away the most ferocious 
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