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14 Creator without a purpose. It was set as the great barrier to hem in the nations, and check their western march, till the due time should come. It is the great giant (so to figure it) who, with his comrade on the other side, the Pacific—guarded for ages the new world, the vast western continent, and kept it secure, the dwelling-place only of Nature herself, and the wild denizens of the forest,—until the time had arrived when the interests of humanity stood in urgent need of it; and when the human race, having fought through the battles, and struggled through the mists, of dark and barbarous ages, began to emerge into light and civilization. Then, under the leadings of Providence, a way was opened through this barrier, and across this waste, to a new, fresh, virgin world, which—never tainted with the darkness and crimes of human bigotry, superstition, or tyranny—had lain basking in its warm sun, or sleeping under the soft rays of its bright moon (which, with the silent stars, alone had seen it)—waiting, waiting, through the lapse of ages, till man should become worthy to occupy and enjoy it:—so that, in the records of the world, it might be told and remembered, that there is one land, one portion of the earth's surface, which had never been other than a land of liberty and light.

Such, then, have been the uses of this great Ocean; its existence has mightily influenced the destinies of the world. And here do we not behold another striking proof of the Divine wisdom, evinced in the very structure of the surface of the globe?

And now the sea is passed, and we have reached the New World. Look down upon it! Is it not a fair land—a vast and beautiful continent. Behold its chain