Abbeville press. [volume] (Abbeville, S.C.) 1860-1869, 1868-05-15
AIR, LIGHT, WATER.

SURROUNDS lis 1T Is strange that Oul
life should dcpend on our being con-
stantly immersed in q vast ocean OF
gaseous fluid! How wonderful that
this should 1T once supply the Gle.
ments by which tho vital current is
sustained within us, and carry Of tho
poisonous rapars that aro constantly
'cHhaicd from lis, and which, if not
carried OIL, would very soon destroy
us! How strange that a mass which
presses upon US with q weight of fif
teen pounds to the square inch ssculd,
through tho operation of simple
law, instead Of crushing US, keep us
ina state Of elasticity, and give ua
tho power OF moving! How wonder.
ful that an agent capable of waiting
! the largest ilccts across the deep, or OF
'cvo!lin;; the strongest buildings with
the dust, should Iic around us soft cr
than Gowny cushion, and bo capable
OF being pushed aside by an infants
! hand! And what Il multitude Of uscs
this atmosphere serves! Ey it VIC
breathe; by it VIC sec; ~ it we hear ;
by it tic earth is at once warmed and
cooled; by it tho vapors ascend ard
form clouds; by it the rain dcsccnds
to moistcn and tcrtiIlzo tho earth; by
ii tho life of plants and animals is
preserved by it tho heat Of one zone
is tempered Ly tho: cold of anclbcr,
and an equilibrium of temperature
aHproximatcl over tho globe. To Sc
cure these results, at least three dis
.inct kinds of motion arc constantly
so;n!s on in the Atmosphere; and yet
these hotions never materially inter
ic"o with each other, and each is SO
easily and perfectly performed that it
might seem as if tho sole end of tho
atmosphere was to perform il alone.
If: in tho arrangements by which such
results arc secured from generation to
generation, wo arc struck with owl
dcnccs OF tho Creators wisdom aud
power, do not the manifold advantages
which accrue from these to sentiment
being proclaim to US also tho goodne ess
of the Lord?
The atmosphere naturally suggests
TO us tho subject of light. What q
boon is light! "Truly tho light is
sweet, and u pleasant thipg,it is for
tho Dyes to behold tho sun" But it
might have been otherwise. Tho
most painful thing to US might have
been to sec the light, and TO behold
the sun. If light co;no to us, US some
teach, in straight lines from the sun,
and is transmitted with velocity Il
million and half tiu.cs greater than
that Of Il cannon bail, why docs it not
strike US with iorce sufficient 10
cause US exquisite pain, if Lot utterly
TO destroy us?i Or if it is produc
as others teach, by tho undulations OF
y subtle and highly elastic cthor, how
comes it that it salutcs the eye 50 plea
sanity, so that VIC arc unconscious Of
anything but generally diffuscd and
unbrokcn radiance? Why : should
waves Of Hight powerfully affect the
eye, willie wavos of heat, proceeding
from the same cause, only slightly
affect that dolicate organ, which 9th.
crwfsc they might seriously injare !?
Why should light come to US in the
pleasant form Of daylight, and not iiu
great masses of fiery red, or g!arin;
yellow, or dazzling white? What an.
swer can We give to these questions
except this, that uo who created the
light and formed the eye has &c ad-
juslcd the ono TO the other that tho
action Of tho forD:er upon tho latter
becomes to man q source Of enjoyment
and not Of distress Or pain? And what
is this but another evidence how full
is the earth Of tho goodness of the
Lo1d2
How is the goodness of Gcd eeen in
the plentiful supply to rnpn Of aOaler
What Q boon, TO sentient crention ia
tho occan-tho source of rain, and
rivers, and lalkcs-the great highway
Of nations--thog grand eeofer, rsftesls-
cr, and purifier of the dry and dusty
esrthI Bat what q friyhtful sourcc
Of mischief and misery IT might be-;
comol "The riyors,", says the ,preas
cher, "run into the sea, and yet # fs
not fuIl." =. That is q fact yorth, thing
ing about. It is not remarkable that
ths average magnitude of The OCEAN
should remain permanently fixed ?
that from year to year, from century
to century, from millennium, RIO mih-
lcnnium, that mighty mass of wat6rs,
necessarily in motion, inccssanIIy uo-
dergoing changes, SHOULD yet in guam
t;ty remain on tho Whole the kamo .?
And what o benefit this is to man
Suppose the sea were To- become fuller
day by day, what would be the cob
sequence? Ere long universal dc,
luge'would ensue. Scientific men toll
us that the addition to the sea of one