not blind to the errors committed in his equipment, or to their probable consequences; but that his powerful sentiment of Veneration, combined with Cautiousness and Love of Approbation (misdirected in this instance), deprived him of courage to complain to the Admiralty, through fear of giving offence; or that, if he did complain, they prevented him from stating the fact in his narrative. To the tempestuous north he sailed; and his greatest dangers were clearly referrible to the very infringements of the physical laws which he describes. When the tide ebbed, his ship reached to within six feet of the bottom, and, in the hollow of every wave, struck with great violence: but she was loaded at least four feet too deeply, by his own account; so that, if he had done his duty, she would have had four feet of additional water, or ten feet in all, between her and the bottom, even in the hollow of the wave — a matter of the very last importance in such a critical situation. Indeed, with four feet more water, she would not have struck; besides, if less loaded, she would have struck less violently. Again, when pressed upon a lea shore, her incapability of sailing was a most obvious cause of danger. In short, if Providence is to be regarded as the cause of these calamities, there is no impropriety which it is possible for man to commit, that may not, on the same principles, be charged against the Creator.

But the moral law again shines forth in delightful splendor in the conduct of Captain Lyon and his crew, when in the most forlorn condition. Piety, resignation, and manly resolution, then animated them to the noblest efforts. On the principle, that the power of accommodating our conduct to the natural laws depends on the activity of the moral sentiments and intellect, and that the more numerous the faculties that are excited the greater is the energy communicated to the whole system, I would say, that while Captain Lyon's sufferings were, in a great degree, brought on by his infringements of the physical laws, his escape was greatly promoted by his obedience to the moral law;

and that Providence, in the whole occurrences, proceeded on the broad and general principle, which sends advantage uniformly as the reward of obedience, and evil as the punishment of infringement, of every particular law of creation.

That storms and tempests have been instituted for some benevolent end, may, perhaps, be acknowledged when their causes and effects are fully known, which at present is not the case. But even amidst all our ignorance of these, it is surprising how small a portion of evil they would occasion if men obeyed the laws which are actually ascertained. How many ships perish from being sent to sea in an old worn-out condition, and ill-equipped, through mere Acquisitiveness; and how many more, from captains and crews being chosen, who are greatly deficient in knowledge, intelligence, and morality, in consequence of which they infringe the physical laws! The London Courier, of 29th April 1834, contains a list of ten British brigs of war, mostly employed as packet ships, which had foundered at sea within the preceding twelve years, owing to bad construction and bad condition; while, it is remarked, not one American private packet ship, out of the vast number constantly sailing between Liverpool and New York, is recollected to have perished in that manner. Such facts show how little Nature is to blame for the calamities of shipwreck, and to how great an extent they arise from human negligence and folly. We ought to look to all these matters, before we complain of storms as natural institutions.

The last example of the mixed operation of the natural laws which I shall notice, is the result of the mercantile distress in 1825-6. I have traced the origin of that visitation to excessive activity of Acquisitiveness, and a general ascendency of the animal and selfish faculties over the moral and intellectual powers. The punishments of these offences were manifold. The excesses infringed the moral law, and the chastisement for this, was deprivation of the tranquil steady enjoyment that flows only from the moral sentiments, with severe suffering in the ruin of fortune and

blasting of hope. These disappointments produced mental anguish and depression, which occasioned an unhealthy state of the brain. The action of the brain being disturbed, a morbid nervous influence was transmitted to the whole corporeal system; bodily disease was superadded to mental sorrow; and, in some instances, the unhappy sufferers committed suicide to escape from these aggravated evils. Under the organic law, the children produced in this period of mental depression, bodily distress, and organic derangement, would inherit weak bodies, with feeble and irritable minds → a hereditary chastisement for their fathers' transgressions.

In the instances now given, we discover the various laws acting in perfect harmony, and in subordination to the moral and intellectual laws. If our ancestors had not forsaken the supremacy of the moral sentiments, such fabrics as the houses in the old town of Edinburgh never would have been built; and if the modern proprietors had returned to that law, and kept profligate and drunken inhabitants out of them, the conflagration might still have been avoided. In the case of the ships, we see that wherever intellect and morality had been relaxed, and animal motives permitted to assume the supremacy, evil had speedily followed; and that where the higher powers were called forth, safety had been obtained. And, finally, in the case of the merchants and manufacturers, we trace their calamities directly to placing Acquisitiveness and Self-Esteem above intellect and moral sentiment.

Formidable and appalling, then, as these punishments are, yet, when we attend to the laws under which they occur, and perceive that the object and legitimate operation of every one of those laws, when observed, is to produce happiness to man, and that the punishments have in view the sole object of forcing him back to this happiness,—we cannot, under the supremacy of the moral sentiments and intellect, fail to bow in humility before them, as at once wise, benevolent, and just.

CHAPTER VIII.

INFLUENCE OF THE NATURAL LAWS ON THE HAPPINESS

OF INDIVIDUALS.

A FORMIDABLE objection has often been stated against my views of the Natural Laws- namely, that although, when considered abstractly, they appear beneficent and just, yet, when applied to individuals, they are undeniably the causes of extensive, severe, and unavoidable suffering; so that while, theoretically, the moral horizon appears to be cleared up, nevertheless, practically and substantially, the obscurity and intricacy remain undiminished. In answer, have to observe, that, as the whole is but an aggregate of all the parts, if any natural institution, when viewed in its operation in regard to the race, is found to be just and beneficent, it cannot well be cruel and unjust to individuals, who are the component parts of that whole; and this, accordingly, I humbly conceive to admit of something approaching to demonstration. The form of a dialogue is perhaps the best adapted for illustrating the subject; and if, in imitation of some of the classic fabulists, we suppose the suffering individuals to make an appeal to Jupiter, the law of gravitation may be exemplified as follows.

It happened in a remote period, that a slater slipped from the roof of a high building, in consequence of a stone of the ridge having given way as he walked upright along it; he fell to the ground, had a leg broken, and was otherwise severely bruised. As he lay in bed suffering severe pain from his misfortune, he addressed Jupiter in these words: O Jupiter, thou art a cruel god; for thou hast made me so frail and imperfect a being, that I had not faculties to perceive my danger, nor power to arrest my fall when its occurrence showed how horrible an evil awaited

me.

It were better for me that I had never been.' Jupiter, graciously bending his ear, heard the address, and answered: Of what law of mine dost thou complain?' 'Of the law of gravitation,' replied the slater; 'by its operation, the slip which my foot made upon the stone, which, unknown to me, was loose, precipitated me to the earth, and crushed my body, never calculated to resist such violence.' 'I restore thee to thy station on the roof,' said Jupiter; I heal all thy bruises; and, to convince thee of my benevolence, I suspend the law of gravitation as to thy body and all that is related to it: art thou now content?

The slater, in deep emotion, offered up gratitude and thanks, and expressed the profoundest reverence for so just and beneficent a deity. In the very act of doing so, he found himself in perfect health, erect upon the ridge of the roof; and, rejoicing, gazed around. His wonder at so strange an event having at last abated, he endeavored to walk along the ridge to arrive at the spot which he intended to repair. But the law of gravitation was suspended, and his body did not press upon the roof. There being no pressure, there was no resistance, and his legs moved backwards and forwards in the air without any progress being made by his body. Alarmed at this occurrence, he stooped, seized his trowel, lifted it full of mortar, and made the motion of throwing it on the slates; but the mortar, freed from the trowel, hung in mid air-the law of gravitation was suspended as to it also. Nearly frantic with terror at such unexpected novelties, he endeavored to descend in order to seek relief; but the law of gravitation was suspended as to his body, and it hung poised at the level of the ridge, like a balloon in the air. He tried to fling himself down, to get rid of the uneasy sensation, but his body floated erect, and would not move downwards.

In an agony of consternation, he called once more upon Jupiter. The god, ever kind and compassionate, heard his cry and pitied his distress; and asked, 'What evil hath befallen thee now, that thou art not yet content? have I