"Probably many were-perhaps all." "How does this appear probable?"

"From the fact, that soon after God produced, as we shall see, brute animals, and birds, which must have immediately required food. And, besides, we know that fruit abounded in the garden of Paradise, where Adam and Eve were placed after their formation.

"It would be pleasant, my children," said Mr. M., "to dwell upon the wisdom and goodness, which God has shown in the vegetable world. But we shall not have time this evening. I will only observe, then, that in few things is the Divine skill more apparent, than in the structure of trees, plants and flowers. The roots, the stem, the woody fibres, the bark, the rind, the air vessels, the sap vessels, the leaves, the flowers, are all so many mysteries. All the skill, wisdom, and power of men and of angels could not produce a single tree-nor a single blade of grass; much less could they impart the rich and varied beauties, which adorn the endless flowers, which, as the poet. says,

Are born to blush unseen,

And waste their sweetness on the desert air.

"Our Savior beautifully alludes to the care which God exercises over the vegetable creation. They toil not, said he, neither do they spin, yet they grow, and appear in a glory superior to that in which Solomon himself was arrayed. Now, said the Savior, if God bestow so much care upon the grass, and the flowers of the field, will he neglect his children for whom all other things were created?

"I have spoken to you of the formation of the ocean. It is the great fountain of life to the vegetable world, as it is the source of the streams, of the rain, of the dews, by which they are watered. In like manner, my children, God is a fountain-the great fountain which sends forth streams of blessings to every part of the universe. Like the ocean, He never fails.

"Considered as a fountain, the ocean may remind us of a better fountain, in which sin can be washed away. This fountain is the blood of Jesus. Washed in that, we shall be whiter than snow, and be prepared for a residence in that world, into which nothing that defileth can ever enter.

There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Emmanuel's veins:
And sinners plunged beneath that flood,
Lose all their guilty stains.

Dear dying Lamb, thy precious blood,
Shall never lose its power,

Till all the ransom'd church of God.

Be sav'd, to sin no more.

"The ocean is a fit emblem of the mind of man. The former is sometimes tranquil, so is the latter. But, how much oftener is the ocean filled with noise and commotion! And how restless and agitated is the human mind! How apt to be disturbed by angry passions, and to be hurried by them into folly and sin, as a ship is hurried, by the billows of the deep, upon rocks which prove her ruin.

"Amid the storms and temptations of life, we are apt to forget the Great Pilot, who alone can guide us safely through.

"The disciples of our Lord were once in great peril; and, yet, they seem to have forgotten their only source of help.

A

"They were crossing the sea of Tiberias. mighty storm arose, and they were in danger of being

engulfed in the noisy waters. board. But they forgot this.

Jesus himself was on

They forgot that he

was there, Lord of winds and waves; and by their own skill they attempted to direct the vessel through the surges of the deep. But they found themselves unequal to the task.

"At length they bethought themselves. They hurried to Christ-they awoke him, for he was asleep, asleep bodily-they informed him of the storm-of the peril they were in; and asked him whether he would suffer them to perish: 'Master, master,' said they, 'carest thou not that we perish?'

"Let us not, my children, forget the God of the ocean-the God of power, in seasons of danger and trial. If he sees best, that we should meet with these, he can sustain us, while they last; and can finish them at his pleasure. The same power that can awaken the billows of the deep, can say to those billows, 'Peace, be still.'

Thy words the raging winds control,

And rule the boisterous deep;

Thou mak'st the sleeping billows roll,
The rolling billows sleep.

FOURTH DAY.

The following evening Mr. M. continued his conversation with his children.

"Our next subject," said he, "is what was done on the fourth day. Here is a picture of the fourth day's work.

"Master James, we will hear you read the account of this day's work."

James. And God said, (Gen. i, 14-19.) Let there be lights in the firmament of the heaven, to di