by the richness of their tints and the fragrance of their perfume.

The imperial crown throws out a number of stellated leaves; its stem rises high, and its red and yellow bell-shaped flowers inclining towards the earth, form a sort of crown surmounted by a tuft of leaves. From the midst of its leaves the auricula raises its stem, supporting a bunch of flowers, the circular edge of which exceeds the richness of velvet and the softness of satin. The tulip opens out more slowly, scarcely yet daring to unfold its beauty, lest the night air or chilling blasts should suddenly nip its opening charms and destroy its infant splendour. The ranunculus, the pink, and the rose, hide their beauties till milder weather permits them to bloom in safety.

An attentive observer will find in these delightful objects great cause to admire the wisdom and goodness of God; it is with the wisest views that, at the return of spring, each plant begins precisely in the time and in the order prescribed to it to develop its leaves, put forth its buds, and prepare for the production of fruit.

In the vegetable kingdom one species succeeds to another from the commencement to the termination of the year; scarcely are some visible when others are ready to appear, and these are followed by others, which spring up each in its turn and allotted time. Whilst one plant brings its fruit to maturity, nature excites another to propagate, that its fruits may be ready when the other has accomplished its end. Thus we constantly receive a succession of flowers and fruits, there is never any want, and from one end of the year to the other Nature watches over and preserves her productions.

The flowers of spring, which we contemplate with so much delight, should induce us to reflect upon youth, the flower and spring of life. Like them, youth grow up amiable and beautiful, with a thou

sand charms and opening virtues that cause them to be admired and loved; but as the north wind some-> times sweeps over the fairest flowers of spring, blasting in its course the rich hyacinth and the lovely violet, so the pride of beauty and the glory of youth are often nipped in the bud, and fade ere their opening charms are perfected. Beset with dangers and surrounded by misfortune, the horizon of youth often lowers, and obscurity renders dreary their morn of life; or if brighter prospects gladden their path, they are suddenly wrapped in night and involved in gloom. Let no one then, in the vanity of his heart, boast because he abounds in the pleasures of youth, or exult in his superior endowments: for " the days of man are as grass; as a flower of the field he flourisheth; the wind passeth over it, and it is gone, and the place thereof shall know it no more*."

APRIL XXVII.

Return of the Birds.

NUMEROUS species of birds at the beginning of winter emigrate to other countries; some in search of a milder climate, and others to find secure retreats and warm shelter in caves, holes, and retired places. These birds return to us when the gentle mildness of the spring advances; it soon awakens the swallows, and a secret instinct brings back the others which had traversed the seas to far-distant countries, in search of that subsistence and temperature which their nature required.

Their return is generally in such an order, that those which went away the latest are the first which come back. The air will soon become repeopled with

Psal. ciii. 16.

its feathered songsters; the nightingale will again rejoice the groves with his melody, the twittering swallow resume her former nest, and the stork again inhabit the retreat she left at the beginning of winter. In a few weeks the skies will once more be gladdened with the joyful songs of the returning choristers, and the valleys will resound with their swelling notes.

Two circumstances in the emigration of birds particularly claim our attention; they know exactly the time when to return, and the direction they are to take. "The stork in the heavens knoweth her appointed time; and the turtle, and the crane, and the swallow, observe the time of their coming*." No doubt the temperature of the air, and the natural propensity of creatures to produce and rear up their young, are powerful motives to influence them to a change of abode. But beside these, there is a very singular, and in some respects inexplicable, instinct, which prompts them to it. How astonishing, that these timid animals, deprived of reason, should know exactly the direction they are to take, and how far to go! Without compass to steer and guide to direct, without provisions, they undertake and finish, in the most regular order, a voyage which is sometimes many hundred miles in extent!

Who marks out to them their tract through the devious air? Who informs them of the length of way they have passed, and of that they have yet to accomplish? And who is it that guides their flight and supplies them with every necessary during the voyage? Whichever way we consider these facts, we must discover and acknowledge the manifestation of a power superior to mere animal instinct; we must confess the influence of God, and own the effects of his almighty power. It is to him the birds are indebted for that instinct which they blindly obey; he pointeth out to them the country, and the very trees and shel* Jer. viii. 7.

ter, where they may dwell in security; he conducted their distant migrations, and listeneth to their cries when they call for nourishment; and he who hearkeneth unto the feeble birds will never forsake his children, nor suffer the deserving to perish.

APRIL XXVIII.

The Utility of Forests.

DURING the winter, which is just past, many people have experienced the great advantage of forests; which have furnished us with fuel at a time when the intensity of the cold was severely felt. But this is far from being their only, or even their principal, use; else why do those immense forests exist, to form an uninterrupted chain through whole provinces and kingdoms?

May not one end of their creation be the pleasure we derive from their appearance? they form one of the greatest beauties of nature, and it is always regarded as an imperfection in a country to be destitute of woods and thickets. Our impatience when the leaves in spring are backward in appearing, and the delight we experience when at length they do open out, proves how much they adorn and embellish nature. Whilst reflecting upon the utility of woods, we should not forget the fruits which the numerous species of trees produce; for though there are some trees whose fruits do not appear to be of any use to man, the trees which bear them are always useful, whether for their beauty only, or the advantages of their foliage and wood.

And if we properly reflect, we shall acknowledge that those trees which are called barren are nevertheless of great use; they nourish and support a variety of insects, which serve as food for those birds which

VOL. I.

afford us sustenance and the most exquisite dainties. The acorns of the several species of oaks, chestnuts, and various other productions of trees, are the favourite aliment of swine and wild boars: and have we not sometimes known these fruits become the food of man? And they are further useful in being the seed which perpetuates the forests. How many animals find a shelter and an existence in the woods, which without them must perish! and of how many conveniences, utensils, and medicines, should we not be deprived, if we had no wood, bark, or roots! and how dull and steril would the earth appear, if no trees waved their verdant heads above its surface, and if no groves diversified its plains! Forests then being of the most essential use to mankind, Nature herself has the care of perpetuating them. If their preservation and increase had been abandoned to the casual vigilance and industry of men, they would long since have perished. But the Creator himself has preserved the trees of the forest; he alone has planted and supported them. He disperses the small seeds over the country, and gives them wings, that they may be more easily wafted by the winds to the distant places destined to receive them. He alone has caused those large trunks to rise up majestically in the air, and meet the clouds with their spreading foliage; it is he who has established them firmly in the earth, where their branching roots enable them to defy the winds and brave the storm; and he waters them with his dew, and refreshes them with his rain; their beautiful verdure yearly returns, and they seem to preserve a perpetual life.

Merciful Father! thy goodness extends over all the earth; every-where the traces of thy beneficence and the effects of thy wisdom appear; in the fields and in the groves, in the wild desert and in the flowery mead, thou hast erected monuments of thy goodness, and placed memorials of thy bounty; and the season is