Sir Walter Raleigh introduced the potato and the tobacco-plant from America, where they were first found. Sir Anthony Ashly first reared cabbages in England, and in his monument a cabbage is carved at his feet. The figs planted by Cardinal Pole, at Lambeth, in the reign of Henry VIII., are said to be still remaining there. Spilman, who set up the first paper-mill in England, in 1590, is said to have brought over from the continent, in his portmanteau, the two first lime-trees, which he planted at Dartford, and which are still growing there. The first mulberry trees planted in England are yet standing.
Benevolence of the Deity.
Let us consider the faculties of man, and see how many and how exquisite the pleasures are which we derive from them. What enjoyment do parents find in the love and care they bestow upon their children! How sweet and blissful is the affection which children return to parents! How pleasant is the love of brothers and sisters—of relations and friends!
And then, let us reflect upon the beauty that is spread over the face of nature. Why are flowers so beautiful, and so infinitely varied, if not to bestow pleasure upon man? Why, if God is not benevolent, has he made hills and valleys, and rolling waves, and rushing waters, so beautiful? Why has he made the forms and motions of birds so charming, if not to give pleasure? If the Creator did not intend to delight us, why did he spread sublimity over the mountains, and teach man to feel it? Why did he robe the heavens in azure, and make a myriad race of beings to feel their mingled majesty and beauty? Why did he clothe all vegetable nature in green, and make human beings with eyes to relish it above all other hues? Why did he teach the birds to sing, the waters to murmur forth melody, the trees to bend in beauty and grace to the pressure of the breeze? Why, if God is not a beneficent Being, did he make this world so pleasant—endow it with light, and color, and music, and perfumes, and place beings here adapted to the appreciation and enjoyment of these things?
The Heart.—Every time the heart beats, the blood is sent through the arteries as water gushes through a syringe, and at the same time an equal amount is received from the veins. Thus two hundred and fifty pounds of blood pass through the body every hour.
In the whale, the tube through which the blood is emptied into the arteries is a foot in diameter, and at every stroke of the heart the blood rushes with a velocity like that through the sluice of a mill!
Sketches of the Manners, Customs, and History of the Indians of America.
CHAPTER IX.
Almagro attempts to conquer Chili.—His misfortunes.—Cruelty to the natives.—Battle with the Promancians.—Almagro retires to Peru.—His death.