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Chap. ii, v. 19, so as to agree with the explanation, then the reason why they were taken from the water, probably was, that as they were intended to be lighter and swifter in their motions, they were taken from a lighter and more fluid element than the earth.

"In relation to the inhabitants of the deep, God has displayed his power, as we may see in the whale-his liberality, in their countless multitudes-his regard to beauty, in adorning many of them with the gayest colors; and his skill, in adapting their powers to answer peculiar ends.

"I will tell you of a single shell fish, which will show you much of the Divine skill. The fish to which I allude, is called the nautilus, a Latin word, which means a little sailor. When he wishes to sail, he discharges a quantity of water from his shell. This renders him so light, that he rises to the surface of the water and turns upon his back. His shell is his boat. He has eight arms. Two of these have at their ends a kind of web, like the foot of a duck. These he places erect, and they serve for sails. The other six arms hang over the sides of the shell, and with these he rows. Thus prepared, he begins his voyage of

pleasure. When fatigued, or in danger, he gathers up his arms, opens his shell, takes in a little water, and sinks to the bottom. A poet has described these fish in the following pleasing lines:

Two feet they upward raise, and steady keep;
These are the masts and rigging of the ship.
A membrane stretched between supplies the sail,
Bends from the masts, and swells before the gale.
The other feet hang paddling on each side,
And serve for oars to row, and helm to guide.
'Tis thus they sail, pleased with the wanton game,
The fish, the sailor, and the ship the same.
But, when the swimmers dread some danger near,
The sportive pleasure yields to stronger fear;
No more they wanton drive before the blasts,
But strike the sails, and bring down all the masts.
The rolling waves their sinking shells o'erflow,
And dash them down again to sands below.

"I have told you of the wonderful skill, which God has exhibited in relation to the inhabitants of the deep; and by way of illustrating this, have told you of the nautilus. I will now tell you of a single kind of bird, which will show you that he has not been less mindful of the feathered tribes.

"The kind of bird, to which I allude, is called the tailor bird. This bird in forming its nest, first selects

a plant with large leaves; and then gathers cotton from the shrub, spins it into a thread by means of its long bill and slender feet, and, then, as with a needle, sews the leaves neatly together to conceal its nest. A poet thus describes the manner in which this bird makes its nest:

Behold a bird's nest!

Mark it well, within, without!

No tool had he that wrought; no knife to cut,

No nail to fix, no bodkin to insert,

No glue to join: his little beak was all,

And yet how neatly finish'd! What nice hand,
With every implement and means of art
Could compass such another?

"It is said by some, that this bird picks up a dead or dried leaf, and sews it to the side of a living one, and lines the space within with feathers and down. On the next page is a picture of a tailor bird's nest, according to the above representation."

"I should think," said Harriet, "that a leaf would not be able to support the weight of a bird and its nest."

"The bird," said Mr. M., " is very small, being only three inches in length-and quite light, weighing but three sixteenths of an ounce.

"Others, however, have doubted whether this bird does sew a dried leaf to a living leaf. They think,

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that it selects several large leaves on a plant, as I have told you, and sews them together for its nest, as is represented in the cut on the next page.

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