THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
85 
has left his witnesses in all places of his domin¬ 
ion, and so endowed with authority and truth¬ 
fulness that they bear no uncertain testimony. 
We cannot dig so deep into the bowels of the 
earth, descend so low into the depths of the sea, 
nor find nook or corner so hidden from common 
observation, but will be found full of gems of 
divine workmanship. 
“ Look now and wonder at these tiny objects. 
They are the scrapings from an unsightly ditch, 
or have their dwellings among the slimy fronds 
of pond-weeds and submerged vegetation. Mi¬ 
nute as they are, and repulsive as may be. their 
visible surroundings, where shall we find a fit¬ 
ting comparison to their beauty and a com¬ 
petitor to match the skill of their fashioning? 
At the great Centennial Exhibition crowds lin¬ 
gered in wondering admiration among the glit¬ 
ter of Tiffany’s collections of gems, or before the 
rich exhibits of crystals and Bohemian glass¬ 
ware ; but in all their splendors they reached 
not the exquisite perfection of this living jew¬ 
elry with which God has made refulgent a drop 
of ditch-water! Oh, how unwearied the hand 
and how unbaffled the mind that can so deli¬ 
cately fashion and store away in every atom of 
8 
