28. And the spirit of Jacob was revived when he heard these tidings; and he said, My son is yet alive; I will go and see him before I die. And he took his journey, with all that he had. And Joseph made ready his chariot, and went up to meet Israel, his father, to Goshen; and, presenting himself before him, he fell on his neck, and wept for some time.

29. And Joseph placed his father, and his brethren, and gave them possessions in the land of Egypt, in the best of the land, as Pharaoh had commanded.

30. This interesting story contains a variety of affecting incidents, is related with the most beautiful simplicity, and furnishes many important lessons for instruction.

31. It displays the mischiefs of parental partiality; the fatal effects of envy, jealousy and discord amongst brethren; the blessings and honours with which virtue is rewarded; the amiableness of forgetting injuries; and the tender joys which flow from fraternal love and filial piety.

ON THE INSTINCT OF ANIMALS.

THE arguments for Providence, drawn from the natural

history of animals, are, in my opinion, demon'strative. The make of every kind of animal is different from that of every other kind, and yet there is not the least turn in the muscles, or twist in the fibres of any one, which does not render them more proper for that particular animal's way of life than any other texture would have been.

2. It is astonishing to consider the different degrees of care that are shown by parents to their young, only so far as is necessary for leaving a posterity. Some creatures cast their eggs as chance directs them, and think of them no further; as insects and several kinds of fish.

3. Others, of a nicer frame, find out proper beds to deposite them in, and there leave them; as the, serpent, the crocodile, and ostrich others hatch their eggs, and tend the birth, until the little one is able to shift for itself. What can we call the principle, which directs each different kind of bird to observe a particular plan in the structure of its

nest, and directs all of the same species to work after the same model?

4. It cannot be imitation; for though you hatch a crow under a hen, and never let it see any of the works of its own kind, the nest it makes will be the same, to the laying of a stick, with all the nests of the same species. It cannot be reason; for were* animals endued with it to as great a degree as man, their buildings would be as different as ours, as their conveniences might require.

5. It is not remarkable that the same temperature of weather, which raises this general warmth in animals, should cover the trees with leaves and the fields with grass for their security and concealment, and produce such infinite swarms of such creatures as aret the support and sustenance of others.

6. But, notwithstanding that natural love in brutes is much more violent than in rational creatures, providence has taken care that it should be no longer troublesome to the parents, than it is useful to the young; for, so soon as the wants of the latter cease, the mother withdraws her fondness, and leaves them to provide for themselves.

7. And, what is a very remarkable circumstance, we find that the love of the parent may be lengthened out beyond its usual time, if the preservation of the species requires it; as we may see in birds, who drive away their young as soon as they are able to get their livelihood, but continue to feed them if they are tied to the nest, or confined within a cage.

8. This natural love is not observed in animals to ascend from the young to the parent, which is not at all necessary for the continuance of the species. Take a brute out of his instinct, and you find him wholly deprived of understanding. We will give an instance which comes under the observation of every one, and will show the distinction between reason and instinct.

9. With what caution does the hen provide herself a nest in places free from noise and disturbance! When she has laid her eggs in such a manner that she can cover them, what care does she take in turning them frequently, that all parts may partake of the vital warmth!

*Pronounced wěr. tar.

10. When she leaves them, to provide for her necessary sustenance, how punctually does she return before they have time to cool, and become incapable of producing an animal! In the summer, you see her giving herself greater freedoms, and quitting her care for above two hours together; but in winter, when the cold would chill the principle of life, she is more constant in her attendance, and stays away but half the time.

11. When the birth approaches, with how much nicety and attention does she help the chick to break its prison! How does she cover it from the weather, provide it proper nourishment, and teach it to help itself, not to mention her forsaking the nest, if, after the usual time of sitting, the young one does not make its appearance!

12. But, at the same time, the hen, with all this seeming ingenuity, is, considered in other respects, without the least glimmerings of thought or common sense. She mistakes a piece of chalk for an egg, and sits upon it in the same manner; and she is insensible of any increase or diminution in the number of those she lays.

13. She even does not distinguish between her own and those of another species; and, when the birth of ever so different a bird appears, she will cherish it as her own. In all these circumstances, which do not carry an immediate regard to the subsistence of herself or her species, she is a very idiot.

14. There is not, in my opinion, any thing more mysterious in nature than this instinct in animals, which thus rises above reason, and falls very far short of it. It cannot be accounted for by any properties in matter, and, at the same time, works after so odd a manner, that one cannot think it the faculty of an intellectual being.

15. For my own part, I look upon it as upon the principle of gravitation in bodies, which is not to be explained by any known qualities inherent in the bodies themselves, nor by any laws of mechanism, but, according to the best notions of the greatest philosophers, is an immediate impression from the first Mover, and the divine energy acting in the creatures.

INGENIOUS VILLANY FINALLY PUNISHED.

A STRANGER, well mounted, and attended by a ser

vant in rich livery, entered a market town in Somersetshire, where the court was then sitting, and, having put up at one of the principal inns, inquired of the landlord as to the curiosities and amusements of the place.

2. The landlord, who was extremely well qualified to answer these inquiries, answered, with a low bow, that there was no want of entertainment, as the players were in town, and the court sitting, accompanying his remarks with a recommendation that the gentleman should by all means go to hear the trial that morning, as a highwayman was to be brought up.

3. The stranger made some objection to this invitation, upon the ground of his being unknown, and the little chance he stood of being properly accommodated. This difficulty was, however, removed by the landlord's assuring him that a gentleman of his appearance would be readily admitted.

4. Indeed, to make it more certain, he attended him to the court-house, and represented him in such a way to his friends, the constables, that he obtained a seat at a little distance from the judge. The appearance of the stranger, who was of elegant person and polished manners, arrested for a moment the attention of the court.

5. The witnesses were not numerous, and the evidence was only circumstantial; but, although no person saw the atrocious murder and robbery committed, yet the circumstances which fixed the guilt upon the prisoner were very numerous, and his being unable to give any satisfactory account of himself increased the suspicion. The judge, then, for the last time, asked the prisoner if he had any thing to say in his defence.

6. The poor culprit assured the judge that he was not guilty of the robbery, and there were people, if he had time to find them, who could prove that, at the time it was committed, he was in another part of the country

10. When she leaves them, to provide for her necessary sustenance, how punctually does she return before they have time to cool, and become incapable of producing an animal! In the summer, you see her giving herself greater freedoms, and quitting her care for above two hours together; but in winter, when the cold would chill the principle of life, she is more constant in her attendance, and stays away but half the time.

11. When the birth approaches, with how much nicety and attention does she help the chick to break its prison! How does she cover it from the weather, provide it proper nourishment, and teach it to help itself, not to mention her forsaking the nest, if, after the usual time of sitting, the young one does not make its appearance!

12. But, at the same time, the hen, with all this seeming ingenuity, is, considered in other respects, without the least glimmerings of thought or common sense. She mistakes a

piece of chalk for an egg, and sits upon it in the same manner; and she is insensible of any increase or diminution in the number of those she lays.

13. She even does not distinguish between her own and those of another species; and, when the birth of ever so different a bird appears, she will cherish it as her own. In all these circumstances, which do not carry an immediate regard to the subsistence of herself or her species, she is a very idiot.

14. There is not, in my opinion, any thing more mysterious in nature than this instinct in animals, which thus rises above reason, and falls very far short of it. It cannot be accounted for by any properties in matter, and, at the same time, works after so odd a manner, that one cannot think it the faculty of an intellectual being.

15. For my own part, I look upon it as upon the principle of gravitation in bodies, which is not to be explained by any known qualities inherent in the bodies themselves, nor by any laws of mechanism, but, according to the best notions of the greatest philosophers, is an immediate impression from the first Mover, and the divine energy acting in the

creatures,