As Ready had predicted, the weather set in fine after the violent storm
of which we have made mention. For a fortnight, with little
intermission, it continued fine, and during that time, Ready, Mr
Seagrave, and William worked from daylight till dusk at the storehouse,
which they were so anxious to complete, and were so tired when their
work was over, that even William did not ask Ready to go on with his
history. At last the storehouse was complete, thatched and wattled in
on three sides, leaving one open for ventilation; the lower part, which
had been arranged for the folding of the stock at night and during the
rainy season, was also wattled in with cocoa-nut boughs on three sides,
and made a very comfortable retreat for the animals. The winding path
to the storehouse was also cut through the cocoa-nut grove, but the
stumps were not removed, as they could not spare the time. All the
stores that they had brought round were put into the storehouse, and
they were now ready to take up some other job. It was, however, agreed
that, on the day after the building was finished, they should all have a
day's holiday, which they certainly did require. William caught some
fish, a turtle was speared and wheeled up to the house; and they not
only had a holiday, but a feast. Mr Seagrave and William had been
walking on the beach with Mrs Seagrave and the children, while Ready
was assisting Juno in cutting up the turtle; they had shown Mrs
Seagrave the storehouse, and the goats with the four kids had been led
there, as there was no longer any occasion for them to remain in the
house. The weather was beautiful, and they agreed to go and examine the
garden. They found that the seeds had not yet commenced sprouting,
notwithstanding the heavy rains.
"I should have thought that so much rain would have made them come up,"
said Mrs Seagrave.
"No, my dear," replied Mr Seagrave; "they require more of the sun than
they will have till the rainy season is nearly over; a few days like
this, and they will soon be above-ground."
"Let us sit down on this knoll, it is quite dry," said Mrs Seagrave.
"I little thought," continued she, "that I could have been so happy in a
desert island. I thought I should feel the loss of books very severely,
but I really do not think that I could have found time to read."
"Employment is a source of happiness, especially when you are usefully
employed. An industrious person is always a happy person, provided he
is not obliged to work too hard; and even where you have cause for
unhappiness, nothing makes you forget it so soon as occupation."
"But, mamma, we shall not always have so much to do as we have now,"
said William.
"Of course not," replied Mr Seagrave; "and then we shall find our books
a great source of enjoyment. I am anxious to go to the other side of
the island, and see what have been spared to us, and whether they have
been much damaged; but that cannot be until after the rains are over,
and we can use the boat again.
"Look at this minute insect which is crawling on my finger," said Mr
Seagrave, turning to William: "what a number of legs it has!"
"Yes, I have seen something like it in old books. How fast it runs with
its little legs; thinner than hairs--how wonderful!"
"Yes, William," replied Mr Seagrave, "we have only to examine into any
portion, however small, of creation, and we are immediately filled with
wonder. There is nothing which points out to us the immensity and the
omniscience of the Almighty more than the careful provision which has
been made by Him for the smallest and most insignificant of created
beings. This little animal is perhaps one of many millions, who have
their term of existence, and their enjoyment, as well as we have. What
is it?--an insect of the minutest kind, a nothing in creation; yet has
the same care been bestowed upon its formation: these little legs,
hardly visible, have their muscles and their sinews; and every other
portion of its body is as complete, as fearfully and wonderfully
fashioned, as our own. Such is his will; and what insects we ought to
feel ourselves, when compared to the God of power and of love!"
"Let me also point out to you, William," continued Mr Seagrave, "the
infinity of his creative power, displayed in endless variety. Amongst
the millions of men that have been born, and died, if ever yet were
there seen two faces or two bodies exactly alike; nay, if you could
examine the leaves upon the trees, although there may be millions upon
millions in a forest, you could not discover two leaves of precisely the
same form and make."
"I have often tried in vain," replied William; "yet some animals are so
much alike, that I cannot perceive any difference between them--sheep,
for instance."
"Very true; you cannot tell the difference, because you have not
examined them; but a shepherd, if he has seven hundred sheep under his
care, will know every one of them from the others; which proves that
there must be a great difference between them, although not perceptible
to the casual observer; and the same, no doubt, is the case with all
other classes of animals."
"Yes, William," observed Ready; "I have often wondered over the things
that I have seen, and I have even in my ignorance felt what your papa
has now told you; and it has brought into my mind the words of Job:
`When I consider, I am afraid of him.'"
"Papa," said William, after a pause in the conversation, "you have
referred to the variety--the wonderful variety--shown in the works of
the Deity. Tell me some other prominent feature in creation."
"One of the most remarkable, William, is order."
"Point out to me, papa, where and in what that quality is most
observable."
"Everywhere and in everything, my dear boy; whether we cast our eyes up
to the heavens above us, or penetrate into the bowels of the earth, the
principle of order is everywhere--everything is governed by fixed laws,
which cannot be disobeyed: we have order in the seasons, in the tides,
in the movement of the heavenly bodies, in the instinct of animals, in
the duration of life assigned to each; from the elephant who lives more
than a century, to the ephemeral fly, whose whole existence is limited
to an hour.
"Inanimate nature is subject to the same unvarying laws. Metals, and
rocks, and earths, and all the mineral kingdom follow one law in their
crystallisation, never varying from the form assigned to them; each atom
depositing itself in the allotted place, until that form is complete: we
have order in production, order in decay; but all is simple to him by
whom the planets were thrown out into space, and were commanded to roll
in their eternal orbits."
"Yes; the stars in the heavens are beautiful," said William, "but they
are not placed there in order."
"The fixed stars do not appear to us to be in order--that is, they do
not stud the heavens at equal distances from each other as we view them;
but you must recollect that they are at very different distances from
this earth, spreading over all infinity of space; and we have reason to
suppose that this our earth is but a mere unit in the multitude of
created worlds, only one single portion of an infinite whole. As the
stars now appear to us, they are useful to the mariner, enabling him to
cross the trackless seas; and to the astronomer, who calculates the
times and seasons."
"What do you mean, papa, by saying that this world of ours is supposed
to be but one of a multitude of created worlds?"
"Our little knowledge is bounded to this our own earth, which we have
ascertained very satisfactorily to be but one of several planets
revolving round our own sun. I say our own sun, because we have every
reason to suppose that each of those fixed stars, and myriads now not
visible to the naked eye, are all suns, bright and glorious as our own,
and of course throwing light and heat upon unseen planets revolving
round them. Does not this give you some idea of the vastness, the
power, and the immensity of God?"
"One almost loses one's self in the imagination," said Mrs Seagrave.
"Yes," replied Mr Seagrave; "and it has been surmised by some, who have
felt in their hearts the magnificence of the Great Architect, that there
must be some point of view in space where all those glorious suns, which
seem to us confused in the heavens above us, will appear all
symmetrically arranged, will there be viewed in regular order, whirling
round in one stupendous and perfect system of beauty and design; and
where can that be, if it is not in that heaven which we hope to gain?"
There was a silence for a few moments, when William said, "They say that
there are people who are atheists, papa. How can they be so if they
only look around them? I am sure a mere examination of the works of God
ought to make them good Christians."
"No, my child," replied Mr Seagrave; "there you are in error. Few deny
the existence of a Deity, and an examination of his works may make them
good and devout men, but not Christians. There are good men to be found
under every denomination, whether they be Jews, Mahomedans, or Pagans;
but they are not Christians."
"Very true, papa."
"Faith in things seen, if I may use the term, my dear child, may induce
men to acknowledge the power and goodness of the Almighty, but it will
not make them wise to salvation; for that end, it is necessary, as the
Apostle saith, to have faith in things not seen."