THE WISDOM OF NATURE.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1149, 15 September 1883, Page 3

THE WISDOM OF NATURE.

A story is told nowadays of a distinguished prolate of the Church of England who, on first accepting a country benefice in gift of his college, urged a friend to pay him a visit as soon as he got into his residence, and added, in perfect good faith, * I have a nice little green field attached to the rectory. I mean to keep a couple of sheep, and we shall have mutton kidneys fresh every morning for breakfast.’ Of another town-bred scholar, also occupying a place on the English Episcopal bench, it is told that he was some time officiating in a country parish before he learned that the smiles that greeted his pathetic reading in church of Nathan’s parable were caused by his rendering of the verse, which he read as follows : —‘ But the poor man had nothing save one little e-wee lamb,’ etc. More unfortunate than this was the ‘ learned clerk’ brought before us by Melander. In the part of Germany where this man’s cure was situated, sheep’s milk was extensively employed in the manufacture of cheese, and for the sake of cleanliness and the convenience of the milk maids it was the practice to dock the tads of the ewes, while the rams were left untouched. The operation of farmyard surgery was performed a few days after the lambs wore yeaned, qpd was quite unknown to the pastor. This worthy man one Sunday in the pulpit, desiring to draw his illustrations from topics familiar to his hearers, declared how often he had admired the marvellous

wisdom and design exhibited in nature ■producing ewe lambs with short tails, and thus beneficently providing for the needs and even the convenience of man, This little incident has an air of verisimilitude about it. Blackwood’s Magazine.