. The Nightingale. 345 simplest notes to the wildest carols, from the lightest turns and quavers to slow melting strains that languish upon the breeze, then softly die away, and leave the night-wanderer silently to r trace his homeward steps. This bird may give rise to many useful reflections; from it we may learn a very wholesome truth, that plainness of person does not exclude beauty of soul, but may be allied to the most estimable qualities. How absurdly and erroneously do those people judge, who, fascinated by a regular contour of face, beautiful countenance, and elegant proportion of limb, only bestow their approbation upon what pleases their senses, and despise or disregard such as labour under bodily infirmities, or are not gifted by nature with the graces of person. Let us learn to judge with more equity, and to discriminate with more attention; for is is not alone symmetry of limb, elegance of form, or advantages of fortune and rank, that ennoble a mai, and render him worthy of esteem; it is the superior perfection of his soul, and the tiner feelings of his heart, which can alone exalt his nature, and place one man higher than another in the great chain of beings. Those who are incapable of virtue, and destitute of reason, will necessarily be deluded by the false colouring of external appearance, and, unable to penetrate beneath the surface, will be dazzled by the empty parade of riches, and misled by the ostentatious display of splendid insignificance. But have we not seen men on whose humble birth fortune never smiled, nor honours distinguished, raise unto them. selves eternal monuments of fame and glory? And have we not known men whose bodies were formed in nature's coarsest mould shew a magnanimity of soul and a greatness of mind that will endear them to our bosoms and entwine them round our hearts? Let us then not easily trust in opinion hastily formed, and founded only upon external appearance; for often those whom we have presumed to despise, are superior to ourselves, and deserving of our warmest admiration and regard. When we listen to the sound of the nightingale, let us remember who gave it such pleasing powers; and let us consider the wisdom of a structure which enables it to produce such sweet sounds. A viscus so delicate as the lungs of this little bird, whose exertions are so violent, would be very liable to receive injuries, if it did not possess the singular advantage of being attached to the vertebræ of the back by a num. ber of little fibres. The opening of the windpipe is very wide, and this very probably contributes to its great diversity of notes. Sweet songster! I will not leave thee till I have learned of thee to celebrate our mutual Creator: and mayst thou pour, with thy wild warbling strains, joy and gratitude into the hearts of all who in these lovely evenings are revelling in the sweets of summer unconscious of their Maker! JUNE XXIII. The Pleasures which Summer offers to our Senses. It is SUMMER has inexpressible charms, and daily gives us proofs of the infinite beneficence of God. the happy season in which he most abundantly pours forth his blessings upon every living creature. Nature, after having refreshed us with the pleasures of spring, is continually at work during the summer to procure us every thing that can gratify the senses, make our subsistence comfortable, relieve our necessities, and awake in our hearts sentiments of gratitude. We see all round us, in the fields and in the gardens, fruits, which, after having delighted us with Pleasures Summer offers to our Senses. 347 their beauty and gratified our taste with their sweets, may be collected and preserved for our future convenience. The flowers present us with the most agreeable variety: we admire their rich colours, and rejoice at the inexhaustible fecundity of nature, in their multiplied species. What a beautiful variety is displayed in plants, from the lowly sprig of moss to the majestic oak! Our eye glances from flower to flower; and whether we climb the steep mountain, descend into the valley, or seek the friendly shade of the woods, we every-where find new beauties, all differing from one another, but each possessing charms sufficient to engage our attention. There we see innu. merable flowers diffusing their sweetness to the air, that softly kisses their blushing leaves; and here va rious creatures sporting wild, free from care. We look up, and a clear blue sky presents itself; beneath, the fresh verdure smiles: our ear is ravished with the tuneful notes of the winged songsters; their various and simple melody wraps our soul in joy, and sweet sensations fill our bosoms. The soft murmuring of the distant brook, and the silver waves of a clear smooth stream gently gliding beneath the over-hanging willows, lull our souls to ease, and nought but love and pleasure dwell in our unruffled breast. Thirsty and fatigued, the modest strawberry offers us sweet refreshment; the gardens and fields fill our granaries with their fruits, and supply us with the most agreeable sustenance. The smell is gratified with the fragrance that every-where perfumes the air; and thousands of charming objects delight our senses, aud call forth our sensibility. Numerous flocks and herds feed upon the bountiful profusion of nature, and furnish us with milk and nourishing aliment. Abundant showers fall to refresh the earth, and open to us new sources of blessings; smiling groves and tufted trees kindly shelter us from the sun's fervid beams; and every thing around us increases our pleasures and adds to our felicity. If the senses derive gratification from these luxuriant scenes, the mind is not less delight d. It discovers beauty, harmony, variety; and in every object trac s the all-crea'ing hand, the spring of life, and source of all good. Yes, admirable Being! we see thee in every creature: if we contemplate the Ileavens, the Sun, the Moon, and each Star inform us that thou hast made them; all that we perceive through the medium of our senses leads us to thee, and thus our sensations become dignified and exalted, whilst our thoughts soar upward, and are lost in thy infinitude. JUNE XXIV. Sketch of the internal Parts of the Human Body. THE more difficult it is to acquire a proper know. ledge of the internal parts of the human body, the more nécessary it is to profit by the labours of skilful anatomists. With the view of facilitating the know. ledge of those parts, I shall here present the reader with a short description of them. The structure of the heart, the great spring of life and motion, first merits our attention. This viscus, situated in the chest, is composed of muscular fibres, curiously interwoven; two cavities, called ventricles, separated from each other by a partition, form the interior of this organ. Contiguous to the heart, within the chest, are the lungs, which alternately open and shut, when they receive or expel the air, something after the manner of a pair of bellows; they nearly fill the whole cavity of the chest, which is lined with a very fine membrane called the pleura. The abdomen is separated from the chest by a muscle called diaphragm, and contains several viscera, Parts of the Human Body. 349 the most important of which is the stomach, a mem branous bag, which receives and digests the food. To the right of the stomach is the liver, which secretes bile from the blood, a part of which is received into a little bag attached to the liver, and called the gall. bladder; it is conveyed from thence into the intestines, and stimulates them to action. On the opposite side, and near the stomach, is situated the spleen, a spongy viscus of an oval figure, the use of which is not rightly understood. Beneath the liver on one side and the spleen on the other are the kidneys, which secrete from the blood an aqueous fluid, afterwards conveyed to the bladder by two excretory ducts called ureters. In the lower parts of the abdomen are situ. ated the intestines, a long membranous tube divided into small and large. In the small part, the alimentary matter which has passed through the stomach is converted into chyle, and the portion that remains unfit for nourishment is expelled by the lower and larger division of the tube. The intestines are connected with the mesentery, a membranous duplicature, which contains numerous fine vessels, called the lacteals, as they contain the chyle or milky fluid separated from the food. There are also numerous glands in this or gan, called mesenteric glands; the lacteals enter these, and proceed to the thoracic duct, or the tube which conveys the chyle into the blood. The whole internal surface of the abdomen is lined with a membrane called peritoneum, which covers all the viscera; and a fatty production of which, called omentum, lies on the superior surface of the intestines. These are the principal viscera in the abdomen and chest; but there are several others connected with them. At the beginning of the neck is the œsopha gus and the trachea. The esophagus is the tube through which the food passes from the mouth into the |