Now the space between the conclusion of one series and the beginning of the next must be unemployed; if not, they were one series, not two. Consequently, the mental principle is not necessarily active; and if it be inactive at one time, it may be at another; and if in a short period, it may be in a long one.

In order, however, to obtain a deep repose, and no remembrance of dreaming, or a lighter slumber and pleasant dreams, it will be necessary to bear in mind the regulations, in the preceding chapter, for promoting tranquil and healthful sleep. It will be necessary to control the mental faculties and the passions. And as the period of rest comprehends a great part of our time, for we only wake to sleep, and sleep to wake, so the comfort of our sleeping hours is a matter of great importance.

PART III.

CHAP. I.

THE NATURE OF WEALTH.

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A GREAT variety is apparent in the works of the Almighty, and in the dispensations of Providence ; in the mineral and vegetable worlds; in the brute creation; among the persons and the mental faculties of men; but in no case is it seen more than in the distribution of property. Among minerals we may discover an almost unbounded variety. In vegetation we may behold the tall and blooming tree, or the bare and weather-beaten trunk. may observe the delicate shrub, exposed to the storm and the scorching sun; or plants and flowers, watered with gentle rains, invigorated by cheering sunbeams, and sheltered from blighting winds. Among irrational animals, we may observe the wellfed beast, gamboling in flowery meads; or the half-starved horse, laboriously worked and cruelly beaten. There is little agreement among the features of human beings, or the strength and inclination of their mental powers. If we examine the character and advantages of nations, we shall find that some are wealthy: their fleets bring them the riches of the East, and the luxuries of the West;

but others are impoverished; they have only huts as a shelter; and their maintenance is dependent on a scanty and precarious supply of roots and fish. Some are exposed to a scorching heat, and others to a petrifying cold; some to a clear, and others to a dark and humid atmosphere. "Some nations," observes Jeremy Taylor, "have only a dark day and a long night; snows and white cattle; a miserable life, and a perpetual harvest of catarrhs and consumptions, apoplexies and dead palsies. But some have splendid fires and aromatic spices, rich wines and well digested fruits; great wit and great courage, because they dwell in the eye of the sun, and look in his face, and are the courtiers of that luminary, and wait upon him in his chambers of the East."

Some nations become rich and eminent, and then sink into poverty and oblivion. The wealthy cities of Babylon, Carthage, and Corinth, are swept away, and nothing is seen but sandy deserts, or a few miserable huts.

“Oh, slippery state of things! What sudden turns!
What strange vicissitudes in the first leaf

Of man's sad history! To-day, most happy ;
And ere to-morrow's sun has set most abject."

BLAIR.

Some men are raised from the lowest condition; and they exhibit their learning at the bar, or dazzle with the brightness of their intellectual powers in the pulpit, or mount the steps of regal grandeur, and wield the sceptre over powerful nations. And then, again, the rich man becomes poor: he that fared sumptuously every day, that was clothed in

purple and fine linen, perishes on a dunghill. The monarch is hurled from his throne, and wanders forsaken and forlorn, having no man to bless or help him; and then, like Croesus, he may be subject to an ignominious death. This system of variation is universal;

"For, from the imperial dome, to where the swain
Rears the lone cottage in the silent dale,

All feel the assault of Fortune's fickle gale." BEATTIE.

In what way this luxury and penury would agree with the dispensations of a wise and beneficent Governor has been deemed by many a mysterious question. How he, whose tender mercies are over all his works, would view with apparent indifference the destitute condition of many a famishing and houseless wanderer. How he would suffer the rich to become richer; the poor to become poorer; the obscure to be more unknown; and the eminent to be more exalted. All this would appear, at first sight, to be inconsistent with the dignity and justice of the Almighty. But it must be remembered that this world is a state of trial; that an equality of condition is impossible; for we might as well expect the surface of the ocean to be even, while it is agitated by storms, as look for equality of possessions while there are conflicting interests among

And, as the rolling waves elevate one ship, and give it a more commanding prospect of the surrounding scenery, but hide another in a valley of waters, so there are, and must be, variations and changes among human possessions and human enjoyments. Some good, however, arises with the

evil. There would be less inducement for the exercise of mental ability, industry, economy, integrity, and virtue, if these qualities did not affect the prosperity and welfare of mankind. There would be fewer opportunities, also, for the exercise of benevolence, commiseration, and gratitude. "Whatever is," in this respect, "is right." We must remember, that this life is only the pathway to a better state, where pain and poverty will never

enter.

A little property is very useful. Those who are favoured with it should be thankful; and those who have it not should endeavour to obtain it.

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Money," observes Dr. Paley, "is the sweetener of human toil; the substitute for coercion; the reconciler of labour with slavery." It enables a man to supply himself with food; with a sufficient quantity of raiment; with a house, in which he may shelter himself from the burning sun, the rain, the storms of autumn, and the inclemencies of winter. It will provide him with books; with medicine when he is sick. It will enable him to travel; to hold a pleasant and profitable intercourse with his fellow-men. It will allow him to practise benevolence; to open his hand for the advantage of the destitute; to support institutions, which are an honour to their patrons, and a benefit to society. "No one," observes Dr. Taylor, "should deny money to be valuable; for every one will part with what he has for money; and with money he may frequently procure what he has not." But a large quantity is not essential to happiness. Epicurus said, that to be very rich was not a relief