LETTER XXXVII.
WILLIAM to his MOTHER.
Yesterday, after we had finished our exercises, Charles asked me to take a walk in the garden, and, seeing Dr. Bartlett, we hastened to join him; for indeed we both like to hear him talk, and try to profit by his instructions, which are delivered in such a familiar manner, I forget that I am but a boy when he calls me his friend. We found him with a book in his hand.
CHARLES.
You are reading, Sir, we will not disturb you.
DR. BARTLETT.
When I have finished the passage I am reading, I shall be glad of your company.
We waited silent a few moments, and then Dr. Bartlett put his book into his pocket, and we entered into conversation.
CHARLES.
Look, Sir, what insects are those which fly in such multitudes about the fish-pond?
DR. BARTLETT.
They are ants.
WILLIAM.
Have ants wings?
DR. BARTLETT.
Yes, they obtain wings for some time during this season of the year. And what appears the most wonderful, is, that they are thus winged in a very few moments.
CHARLES.
It is a pity that these insects are so destructive to the productions of the earth, I like them so well for their diligence.
When they are together, they are as one family. They build themselves a city, which is divided into several streets. They have each of them separate employments; one digs a hole in the earth, another sweeps the earth away, and a third brings grass or stubble to make the hole warm and dry, that they may preserve their eggs and their young from the cold and damp. Their labour to provide themselves food is wonderful: they are so industrious they will go to a great distance for it, and returning, always keep in a direct road, seldom mistaking it, though far from their own habitation. They take great care not to run in each others way; and are so very sagacious, that when they are obliged to carry any thing very heavy, from an eminence, they let it fall with deliberation, and take it up again when they arrive at the bottom.
But, Sir, I have often seen that they are continually moving their young and their eggs.—Why do they disturb them so frequently?
DR. BARTLETT.
They do this, when they find it either damp or cold; for they take uncommon care of their little ones. After rain they bring their eggs into the open air to let them dry, lest the young, which are in them, should perish; and if the rain is very heavy they remove the earth with their feet, and cover them.
WILLIAM.
Poor creatures!—We give them, thoughtlessly, much unnecessary trouble.
CHARLES.
They are very injurious, and their use is not apparent;—why then did God create them? I should think there must be some hidden reason, which we cannot dive into, or even get a glance to direct our search.
DR. BARTLETT.
You do well to reason in this manner. Who can pretend to fathom the secrets of the Most High, or circumscribe his ways? All that is necessary to direct our search after virtue, is found by those, who seek for it, as for hid treasure: questions, that mere wanton curiosity dictates, are left doubtful, or discovered by chance. The knowledge of them is not essential to our earthly comfort; though modest enquiries into the operations of nature, will ennoble our minds, and raise us above grovelling pursuits. We must first labour for the one thing needful:—if we are good here, we shall be wiser hereafter.
I will try to remember what you have said, Sir.
DR. BARTLETT.
But speaking of the ants brings to my remembrance some other creatures, that are still more skilful, I mean the beavers. How would you both be astonished, could I show you the habitations these wonderful creatures make! No experienced builder could form them better. They first choose a very healthful situation, and where there is plenty of provision, near a fresh stream of water; and then raise an eminence with great labour and dispatch. For this purpose they dig out the earth and clay with their fore feet, and carry their burdens on their tails (which nature has made a little hollow like a shovel) to the place they have chosen for their abode. With their teeth they cut with great expedition through trees as thick as my arm; and these piles they work into the ground to form a firm foundation. Then they begin to build a house, which consists of three stories, one above another; the walls are perpendicular, and more than a foot thick. It is within very neat, of a round form, and has an arched roof. The size in proportion to the number of the family that is to reside in it: for example, they allow fourteen or fifteen feet for twelve beavers. What think you of such creatures?
CHARLES.
I am astonished, Sir; I wish I could once see these architects. In what country are they to be found?
DR. BARTLETT.
They are to be found in Germany, and in Poland, along the rivers; but chiefly in Canada.
May I ask what sort of creatures these are?
DR. BARTLETT.
They are amphibious; so we name those creatures which can live either on land or in the water. The head is larger than a rat’s; their fore feet are short, and with these they hold fast their food; their hind feet are long, and with a web betwixt the claws, like the ducks; and their tails are flat and finny, and assist them to swim with more ease than they could do, if they only used their feet for that purpose.
CHARLES.
But of what materials do they build the thick walls of their houses?
DR. BARTLETT.
They mix and knead together, with their fore feet, clay, earth and water; and their tails serve first as a mortar-tray to carry it, and then as a trowel to plaister it on in a proper manner.
CHARLES.
It is wonderful! But can these skilful creatures work without the least reflection?
DR. BARTLETT.
They have not thinking powers, of course they cannot deliberate about it. God has created them with a certain ability or instinct to direct them infallibly. Man is a superior animal, he only in this world is endued with the noble power of reflection.
CHARLES.
This preference demands our gratitude.
DR. BARTLETT.
Certainly, my dear, demands our utmost diligence to cultivate the precious gift. We ought never to speak or act without reflection, and our whole conduct should be conformable to the wise designs of the Creator:—this is the only way to make ourselves worthy of our dignity. The Doctor then left us.
I preserve in my mind all these good instructions, dear mother; never, no never, shall I forget them. And as God has made us capable of reasoning, if we abuse this goodness, and act without understanding, we are not above the senseless brutes.
WILLIAM.