Tenth, Seals, including the Walrus.
Eleventh, the Whale-tribe.
In saying "good-bye for the present" to this wide field of interest, shall we make up our minds to observe for our own selves the animals which we see every day, and to notice particularly how beautifully they are formed so as to live in the way which is, as we say, suited to their nature; and also to read some of the many interesting books on Natural History, where we shall find pictures of the different "orders" of animals, and learn all sorts of curious things about their habits?
God does not tell us what we do not need to know, just how he fed the beasts of prey, and all the flesh-eating creatures which, in their present state, live upon birds or animals which they catch alive; but God does not say either that there was any death in the Garden of Eden, or that the creatures which He had just made, each "after its kind," and all "very good," preyed upon those weaker and smaller than themselves. It has been found that it is possible now for those beasts whose claws are fitted for catching their prey—and their long sharp teeth for tearing to pieces what they have caught—to live upon green things; and we know from the chapter we have been reading together that God at the first gave them "every green herb for meat."
Perhaps some of us have already read this beautiful poem in Scattered
Seed, but I will copy it for others who may not know it.
"GOD IS LOVE.
"All the earth, about us,
All the world above,
Tell the old sweet story,
Whisper, 'God is Love.'
Every wayside blossom
Lifts its little voice,
Every bright-eyed daisy
Bids our heart rejoice.
"Surging, seething torrent,
Bubbling, sparkling spring,
Hum of insect nature,
Birds upon the wing,
Evening's flush of beauty,
Morning's streaks of light,
Noonday's radiant glory,
All in praise unite.
"See His kind provision
Waving in the grain,
Shining in the sunbeams,
Falling in the rain;
Parching days of summer,
Cool the dewy fall,
Hoary frost of winter,
Sheltering snow o'er all.
"Swift o'er trackless region
Runs the lurid flash,
Sounds from hill to moorland,
Deep resounding crash,
Towering peak and cranny,
Eagles' dizzy height,
Dignity and splendour,
All reveal His might.