88 
THE BEAUTIFUL LADDER. 
precious gems. In these conditions it would 
be useless to vegetation, and even when disin¬ 
tegrated by the wash and wear of the elements, 
it would be in a form so gross that it could not 
be assimilated by the plants, hungry for its 
nourishment. The tiny diatom, the largest of 
which does not exceed the fifty-thousandth part 
of an inch, takes the intractable element and 
manipulates it into such infinitesimal atoms that 
the hungry mouths of the woody pores can 
devour it with avidity, and from the abundant 
supply weave the glassy robes which Nature 
demands for their adorning. In this light we 
can trace the wisdom and goodness manifested 
in the formation and wide diffusion of the dia¬ 
toms. The little jelly-like atom inhabiting one 
of these silicious frustules is but one of Jeho¬ 
vah’s benevolent workers employed in filling 
up the grand storehouses of eternal goodness. 
Working obscurely beneath the surface of pond 
and brook, quite 6ut of sight of those most 
largely benefited by their service, yet they are 
as much under divine guidance, and subserve as 
clearly the plans of Heaven’s benevolence, as do 
the greater forces and activities which come 
constantly and impressively under notice. 
