Original. BY PROFESSOR MERRICK. ORDER II.-QUADRUMANA. ZOOLOGY. THE animals of this order have their four extremities terminated by hands. They are peculiarly fitted by their structure for a residence "among the branches." Here is their appropriate home. Here they engage in their sports-leaping from limb to limb, and swinging by their extremities in the air. From this elevated position they attack their enemies, pelting them with dry limbs broken from the trees, and even with stones which have been taken up from the ground for that purpose. From the trees they also chiefly obtain their food, which consists mostly of fruits, buds and insects. Upon the ground their movements are somewhat awkward, as their natural position is neither erect like that of man, nor horizontal like that of quadrupeds, but intermediate or semi-erect. Several species belonging to this order, in their form, bear a striking resemblance to man. The one which makes the nearest approach to the human form is THE CHIMPANSE. 169 Buffon describes one which he saw as "mild, affectionate, and good natured. His air was melancholy, his gait grave, his movements measured, his disposition gentle, and very different from other apes. He had neither the impatience of the Barbary ape, the maliciousness of the baboon, nor the extravagances of the monkeys. It may be alledged," he says, "that he had the benefit of instruction; but the other apes which I shall compare with him, were educated in the same manner. Signs and words alone were sufficient to make our ourang outang act, but the baboon required a cudgel, and the other apes a whip; for none of them would obey without blows. I have seen this animal present his hand to conduct the people who came to see him, and walk as gravely along with them as if he had been one of the company. I have seen him sit down at table, unfold his towel, wipe his lips, use a spoon or fork to convey his food to his mouth, pour his liquor into a glass, and make it touch that of the person who drank with him. When invited to drink tea he brought a cup and saucer, placed them on the table, put in sugar, poured out the tea, and allowed it to cool before he drank it. All these actions he performed without any other instigations than the signs or verbal orders of his master, and often of his own accord. He did no injury to any person-he even approached company with circumspection, and presented himself as if he wanted to be caressed." The remaining species of the ape race, which are exceedingly numerous, present a great variety in size, form, habits, and dispositions. They are generally active, imitative, and mischievous. It is said that some species live in communities, have their laws, and public officers, and conduct their affairs much "after the manner of men." The quariba is celebrated for his pow Of this animal, however, less perhaps is known than of almost any other species belonging to the race. No perfect specimen has ever reached Europe or this country. The following description of one that was kept some months at Sierra Leone is given by Mr. Wadstrom. "He was nearly two feet high, but the full stature is about five feet. He was covered with black hair, long and thick on the back, but short and thin upon the other parts of the body, except the face, which was bare. His hands and head resembled an old black man, only that the hair upon his head was straight. He ate, drank, slept, and sat at table like a human being. At first heers of oratory. Marcgrave, who is said to be a writer crept on all fours, on the outside of his hands, but when of the first authority, and a great naturalist, says that grown larger, he endeavored to go erect, supporting "sometimes one mounts on a higher branch, the rest himself by a stick. He was melancholy, but always seat themselves beneath: the first begins as if it was to good natured." harangue, and sets up so loud and sharp a howl, that a person at a distance would think that a hundred joined in the cry. After a certain space, he gives a signal with his hand, when the whole assembly joins in chorus; but on another signal is silent, and the orator finishes his address." THE OURANG OUTANG This is is next in order in his resemblance to man. Vol. I.-22 Others are often very troublesome on account of their depredations upon cultivated fields and gardens, and the ingenuity manifested in their modus operandi is sometimes quite remarkable. When a melon patch is to be plundered, a line is formed between it and the forest. The melons are then passed along the line until all are safely deposited at the farther end. Bosman, speaking of the thefts of the monkeys of Guinea, says that "they will take in each paw one or two stalks of millet, as many under their arms, and two or three in their mouth, and thus laden hop away upon their hind legs; but if pursued they fling all away except what they have in their mouths, that it may not impede their flight. They are very nice in the choice of their millet-examine every stalk, and if they do not like it fling it away; so that this delicacy does more || structure, the ape must move like man; but the same harm to the fields than their thievery." motions imply not that he acts from imitation." I shall reserve some farther remarks upon this subject for an article on instinct. Original. ""Tis evening hour, the sun's last ray WHAT emotions are sometimes awakened by the Hope, like the twilight of the dawn, crimsons the cheek of expectation. The heart beating high with anticipation hails the morn, and the note of joy invokes us to the sunny bower. Invigorated by the cool breeze and the fresh dews of morning, we gaze on the fair sky, or mark the clouds that vail its glory, which, like our own brief sorrows, seem few and transitory. The evening star points us to our destined home, and one could gaze, It is generally supposed that the animals of this order are more inclined to imitate the actions of man than any other. Among the numerous anecdotes which are related illustrating this propensity, the following may be given. A clergyman had a favorite ape, which on one occasion, unobserved, followed him to the church, and during the prayer secured a place upon the canopy directly above the head of the speaker. Here he carefully observed and as closely imitated the movements of the latter. Not a nod of the head or motion of the arm escaped him. During the discourse the clergyman noticed an undue levity manifesting itself among his hearers. He did not fail to adminis-evening twilight! As the fading beams of day disapter an appropriate reproof, still to his grief and aston- pear, the clouds mingle slowly, as if reluctant to obishment the risibility of his congregation became evi-scure the cheerful aspect of nature, while animate exdently more and more excited. Again with earnest-istence appears silently sinking to rest. Nature seems ness and a degree of violence in his manner, he urged to harmonize with the deep feelings of the heart. The the impropriety of such deportment in such a place. ||wild waves of passion are hushed, and life's stirring With equal energy this was seconded by the mimic scenes become quiet. With nameless feelings we gaze preacher over his head. The most serious could re- upon these quiet scenes as they fade from sight. Fain frain no longer; and order only was restored by direct- would we bid them linger; but resistless time bears ing the attenion of the astounded clergyman to the them away on its sweeping tide, and we reluctantly cause of what to him appeared as unaccountable. behold them sink beneath its billows. Then hope The intelligence of the ape race has, unquestiona-springs up in the heart, and bids us look forward to the bly, been for the most part over-rated. Upon this sub-morning, and hail the approach of other happy hours. ject Buffon discourseth in the following manner: "In fine, if there were a scale by which we could descend from human nature to that of the brutes, and if the essence of this nature consisted entirely in the form of the body, and depended on its organization, the ourang outang would approach nearer to man than any other animal. Placed in the second rank of beings, he would make the other animals feel his superiority, and oblige them to obey him. If the principle of imitation, by which he seems to mimic human actions, were the result of thought, this ape would be still farther removed from the brutes, and have a greater affinity to man. But the interval which separates them is immense. Mind, reflection, and language depend not on figure or the organization of the body. These are endowments peculiar to man. Though he counterfeits every human movement, he performs no action which is characteristic of man, no action that has the same principle or design. With regard to imitation, which appears to be the most striking characteristic of the ape kind, and which the vulgar have attributed to him as a peculiar talent, before we decide, it is necessary to inquire whether this imitation be spontaneous or forced. Does the ape imitate us from inclination, or because, without any exertion of the will, he feels the capacity of doing it? I appeal to all those who have examined this animal without prejudice; and I am convinced that they will agree with me that there is nothing voluntary in this imitation. The ape, having arms and hands, uses them as we do, without thinking of us. The similarity of his members and organs necessarily produces movements, and sometimes succession of movements, which resemble ours. Being endowed with the human ""Till life's last glimmering ray of light is fled, Worthington, Ohio. POWER OF MUSIC. BY REV. J. PIERPONT. O'ER the cleft sea, the storm in fury rides: Is rent, and scattered, by the burst of praise, THE EMPLOYMENT OF ANGELS. Original.. 171 Jews who were thrown into the fiery furnace by the THE EMPLOYMENT OF ANGELS. King of Babylon, and to protect Daniel when he was BY E. H. HATCHER. "Which things the angels desire to look into," I Peter i, 12. Ir is an interesting truth that while the plans of God in relation to man's salvation are going on in this world, angels themselves are no unconcerned spectators of their development. That such is the fact is plainly taught in the Holy Scriptures. "There is," says our Savior, "joy in the presence of God over one sinner that repenteth;" and the apostle represents them as "desiring to look" into the mysteries of the incarnation. The apostle, it is supposed, had allusion to the posture of the cherubim, which overshadowed the mercy-seat with their faces toward it, as if deeply interested in the dispensation of mercy to the guilty. While the patriarchs and prophets looked with an eye of faith to the coming of the Messiah, and made the vales and mountains of Judea echo with the predictions of his advent; and while the types and shadows under the Jewish dispensation engaged the devout attention of men, angels were not unmindful of the subject. And we have good reasons to believe that while the missionary of the present day is preaching to the heathen this salvation, they are not uninterested beholders. Doubtless they would deem it an honor to leave their stations around the throne, and fly through the world as the heralds of salvation, proclaiming mercy to its guilty tribes. Several considerations induce us to believe that the angels are employed in looking into the mysteries of redemption. cast into the den of lions. It was an angel that directed Peter to Cornelius, and Paul to preach at Macedonia. Indeed, there scarcely occurs any thing more frequently in Bible narrative than accounts of the ministry of angels. They came to guide and defend the servants of God as well as to inflict punishments upon his enemies. They used to converse with the patri archs at noontide, and in the hush of evening, under their vines and oaks. They flew from place to place to fulfill the commands of Heaven. One came to the juniper-tree in the wilderness under which slept the prophet of the Lord, and waked him from his slumbers, and gave him food for his sustenance. In the visions of the prophets the angels acted very conspicuous parts. Isaiah saw "the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple. About it stood the seraphims: each had six wings: with twain he covered his face, with twain he covered his feet, and with twain he did fly. And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts; the whole earth is full of his glory." The visions of Ezekiel were equally sublime. He saw angelic beings with feet that sparkled like the color of burnished brass, whose appearance was like burning coals of fire, and the sound of whose wings was like the voice of the Almighty. Daniel received his celebrated prediction of the Messiah, contained in the ninth chapter of his prophecies, from the angel Gabriel; and when that Messiah made his advent into the world, the song, "peace on earth and good will to men," ascended from ten thousand angel tongues up to the eternal throne, while the re 1. Because they are instrumental, to some extent, injoicing shepherds of Judea received from them the accomplishing God's designs with regard to the human race. When our first parents were driven from paradise, angelic beings, denominated cherubim, were placed at the east of the garden, with flaming swords, to guard the tree of life. Angels, too, were instrumental in the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah, and in inflicting various other punishments upon the enemies of God. When David, in the pride of his heart, was tempted to number Israel and Judah, meditating, perhaps, an extension of his dominions, without the Divine command, God was displeased, and determined that the props of his vain ambition should be taken away, either by famine, war, or pestilence. He sent a prophet to David, offering him the choice of these three judgments. He chose the latter. The Almighty then commissioned an angel to inflict the pestilence, and seventy thousand were destroyed. "And when the angel stretched out his hand upon Jerusalem to destroy it, the Lord repented him of the evil, and said to the angel that destroyed the people, It is enough, stay now thy hand!" "The angel of God" was commissioned to go before the children of Israel to keep them in the way, and bring them into the promised land, and to drive out the heathen before them, and to defend the three noble tidings of a Savior. They ministered unto Jesus when he had foiled the devil; they strengthened him when he drank the bitter cup of his sufferings; at his resurrection they rolled away the stone from the door of his sepulchre, and when he was taken up into heaven, they appeared in human shape, arrayed in white apparel, to the men who witnessed his departure, and declared unto them that he should come again in like manner as they had seen him go up into heaven. In the Revelation trumpets were sounded and vials poured out by the angels. And our Savior declares that in the end of the world the Son of man shall come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory; and that he will send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from the one end of heaven to the other. "The Lord Jesus," saith the apostle Paul, "shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel." Another fact of interest is, "the angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." The apostle asks, "Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation?" That the affirmative is 172 THE EMPLOYMET OF ANGELS. the truth we have no doubt. They linger about our pathway on viewless wings to shield and defend us. They hover over the pillow of the dying Christian, and when his spirit is freed from its prison, waft it on radiant pinions to paradise. thousands of years, and when they were called forth to vindicate the honor of the Divine government, they fell not upon the head of the guilty; but were inflicted upon the Son of God, who offered himself a willing victim to appease the wrath of his Father, and restore From these considerations it is natural to conclude man to the forfeited favor of heaven. Was not this that the angels are employed in looking into the mys-sufficient to create astonishment among the millions teries of man's redemption. May we not suppose that people the celestial world? How must the angels that they feel a great anxiety to become acquainted have been lost in wonder when they beheld the Lord's with the nature of the business upon which the Al- anointed lay aside his glory, and fly to our world on mighty employs them; and that while they execute the wings of mercy to endure the wrath of insulted his commands, finding in the plan of salvation range justice, and pluck the rebel, man, from hell! And how enough for wing and eye, they are continually explor-inflexible must be the requirements of the Divine gov ing the deep things of God as they unfold themselves ernment when nothing short of the utter ruin of the in the scheme which he has devised for the redemption transgressor, or the sacrifice of the only begotten of of the world? But other arguments are not wanting the Father is sufficient to atone for the violation of its upon which to found such a belief. laws! 2. They here obtain the most satisfactory view of the glory of God. It is reasonable to suppose that the angels, as the messengers of God, do not confine their operations to this world. They may be commissioned from world to world, and throughout the vast range of Jehovah's empire they may discover immortal glories, and listen to immortal harmonies. From the throne of God to the utmost bounds of the universe there may be no isle of light, no bright unfallen world that does not come within the range of their excursions. But it may not be presumptuous in us to suppose that from every other display of the glory of God, they turn their eager gaze toward the plan of redemption to discover the most brilliant exhibitions of the Divine glory. Here they behold the glory of his mercy. With what interest must they contemplate the depths of God's redeeming love his saving grace to sinners! They see fallen angels passed by, but man restored to the favor of his Maker. The death of the Son of God doubtless forms the most striking display of mercy that can be conceived even by angelic minds. We can wing our thoughts to "Worlds untraveled by the sun, Where Time's far wandering tide has never run "— can conceive of none so benevolent. we can fly through eternity until the space that meas ures the duration of our world shall dwindle to a point, and behold in our imagination other systems circling other suns; but in vain may we endeavor to imagine an ocean of mercy so broad, or so glorious a display of Here they behold the glory of his power. It is true love as is exhibited in the atonement of Christ. Of they witnessed the creation of the universe, and shout-all the events within the range of God's dominion, we ed for joy when it was rolled into existence. But this world of ours became a prodigal in the family of God. Like the lost pleiads it wandered from the group that clustered around his throne; and then was the mind of Jehovah bent upon the extermination of the enemy that had seduced our world from its loyalty. And, O, what a source of wonder was it to the angels to see the arm of Omnipotence grapple with the powers of hell, demolish its kingdom, dethrone its destroy-powers, and are as capable of making glorious discov er, and reinstate man in the bright abode from which he was exiled! "'Twas great to speak the world from naught, 'Twas greater to redeem." The power that conquered death and hell, which in their might had broken into the fold of God, and despoiled a portion of his fair dominions, was, perhaps, a greater cause of admiration to angels than the power that rolled the earth upon the empty space and spread over it a canopy of worlds! Here they behold the glory of his justice. Man became a rebel against the government of God, and justice demanded a satisfaction. But did the Almighty answer this demand by at once visiting his rebellious creatures "with thunder, and earthquake, and great noise, and storm, and tempest, and the flame of devouring fire?" O, no! His thunders were stayed for Each attribute of the Deity, as manifested in the redemption of the world, presents a wider range for the wing and eye of an angel than all the systems ever scanned by an intelligent being. It may be that dis embodied souls, regenerated by grace and received up into heaven, are the companions of the ministers of God's throne, and possess as strong and expansive ever. eries in the economy of grace as the angels themselves. If so, it will perhaps be the united work of saints and angels to expatiate amid the wonders of redemption for The Scriptures, as if this world were a space too small for the residence of man, and too mean for his contemplation, announces its dissolution, and promises "new heavens and a new earth." When these things shall come to pass, then shall commence the work of taking a more perfect survey of the glories of God as exhibited in the restoration of a fallen world. Saints shall expatiate amidst the mysteries of redemption; and as the wonders of God's love expand before them, revealing new and undiscovered glories, they shall ever cast their crowns before the Lamb saying, "Thou wast slain!" And angels may ever cry, in holy awe and joyful admiration, "Lord, we beseech thee show us thy glory!" Original. ON LIGHT. BY REV. JOHN MILEY. "And God said, let there be light; and there was light." • I WOULD haste to my theme, but linger at my motto. Its style is as pleasing to taste as light is to the eye. Its inimitable beauty has been noticed by many. And no marvel; for how could it be, by any, unnoticed? If there be emotions, excited by the beautiful and the sublime under the form of composition, here they would be awake and alive. And the passage certainly has all the perfection in style, for which it has received such high eulogiums, even from Longinus, the celebrated Grecian writer on the sublime, until now. But to my theme. Light affords a most elegant and interesting branch of natural philosophy. Upon its laws and properties is based the science of optics. Philosophers are not fully agreed as to the nature of light. The most common and approved theory is, that it is properly material, and composed of exceedingly fine particles. Its laws and properties may be ascertained with more certainty. They may be subject to experiment, and thus be made matter of demonstration. The velocity of light is astonishing, being at the rate of about two hundred thousand miles a second. It comes from the sun to the earth in about eight minutes. This is ascertained by observations upon the eclipses of Jupiter's moons. Light is reflective and refractive. These are its most important properties. We see objects through the lines of light that come from them to the eye. And very few of the objects of vision are luminous. Most of them reflect the light; and therefore could not be seen, if it were not reflective. But vision would still be imperfect, if not impossible, without the refraction of light, unless the structure of the eye were entirely changed. Nor would optical instruments be of any use whatever. But God, who created the light, also formed the eye; and he has shown infinite skill in the structure and adaptation of the eye to the nature of the light. "O the depth ** of the wisdom and knowledge of God!" Light is the great agent of life and beauty. Without it, vegetable and animal life would become extinct. The light is their life. Without its controlling and vivifying agency, the world would be "Seasonless, herbless, treeless, manless, lifeless A lump of death-a chaos." Light is also the great colorific principle. Objects have not inherent color, but are colored according to the kind of light which they reflect. Light consists of seven primary colors. This is demonstrated by analysis. And these seven colors, either separately or in va "And God said, let there be light." This was on the first day of the creation. And yet the sun, the great source of light, was not made until the fourth day. And this has been the ground of much criticism-of many theories and opinions. But these we would avoid; for critics and theorists, by endeavoring to explain how God created light on the first day and the|| sun on the fourth day, have but too often created darkness. The facts, however, are certain. And they are not to be harmonized by a denial of the one or the other. Light was created on the first day. And it could not have been latent, as has been supposed; or if it was, it did not remain so until the fourth day. The Scripture account certainly indicates an immediate separation of the light from the darkness. And if the separation was not until the fourth day, then there were three full days without visible light; and yet it is the light, separated from the darkness, (and therefore visible,) that is called day. If the light remained latent, then darkness must have been upon all the face of the earth; and there could have been no natural distinction between day and night. But this is contrary to fact,rious combination, give nature her diversity of tinge, or there was no day until the fourth day. Whether all the light within the solar system was created on the first day, and the sun formed out of this light on the fourth day; or whether only a portion-perhaps as much as we usually have within our atmosphere--was created on the first day, is not determined. But I would be of the latter opinion. If this quantity was then created, and so diffused as to circumvest the whole earth, it would form a kind of twilight-a commingling of light and darkness. And this light, collected within a hemisphere, would constitute the day, and the other hemisphere would be night. All this would be beautifully expressed by the sacred text: "And God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night." And this would not have superseded the necessity for the sun as a light to the world; for the earth absorbs the light, and darkness would again have overspread it, if the sun had not been made to give it light. And so in due time it was created as the source of continuous illumimation to the world. and shade, and hue. And there is an endless variety of color-of the light and the deep, the gay and the gloomy, the bright and the dull, the soft and the glaring. And this is a rich and extended field of pleasure. The eye is delighted while it beholds objects, great, and novel, and beautiful; and the vision diffuses a pleasure through all the mind. But-to change one word in the poet's line ""Tis color lends enchantment to the scene." A colorless landscape would be a dreary scene; but mantled in the rich drapery and many-colored dress of the light, it becomes enchanting. And the fair reader will remember, as she lingers in the flower-garden, attracted by the beauty and delicacy of the violet, the lily, and the rose, that light is the wardrobe from which Flora has brought their dress. And you have often wandered in the flowery mead at dewy morn, when first the sun pours his pure light upon the world-when the dew-drops sparkle with the diamond lustre and the rainbow hue, and the flowers revive, all blushing and gay. You have gazed, enchanted, upon the far off hill |