"I know that whatsoever God doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor anything taken from it; and God doeth it that men should fear before him."—Eccles. iii.
The economy of nature should teach us a very impressive lesson—nothing is suffered to be wasted, not even the slightest atom. As soon as any body has fulfilled its purpose in one state of being, it is passed on to another. The candle, existing no longer as a candle, is flying upon the wings of the air as carbonic acid gas, and as water. These probably find their way to the garden or the field, where the carbonic acid gas forms the food of the plant, and the water affords it a refreshing drink. And can it be supposed that the Almighty Being, who has thus economised the existence of the material creation, should be less mindful of the immaterial soul of man? There is an eternity before us, the certainty of which is evidenced even by the laws of the material creation.
CHAPTER XIV.
Coal is a "vegetable fossil."
272. What is meant by a vegetable fossil?
It is a substance originally vegetable, which, by pressure and other agencies within the earth, has been brought to a condition approaching that of mineral or earthy matter.