Providence; the world is as his magazine, from which we draw all that we need ; and it is only to his parental care and that ineffable goodness, the essence of divine nature, that we owe all these benefits. Father of the creation! in whom we have life, mo. tion, and being, how extensive and inexpressible is thy compassion, and how mercifully, thou rulest things by the word of thy wisdom! At thy command the dews of heaven descend to refresh the thorn as well as the cedar, and the lot of mortals is in thy hands, and in thee their felicity: thou art their supreme good, and thy fatherly cares are extended over all the children of humanity! Thy merciful goodness causeth the sun to shine alike on all thy creation; and at thy command the gentle breezes waft the perfuming balm of the rose, and the air smells sweet with ever-freshening odours; the most delicate fruits rejoice our taste, and the soft showers fall to revive drooping nature! Thy gifts are proportioned to the necessities of thy creatures, and thou causest the righteous to partake of the sweet and saving influence of thy grace! Thou givest to the bee the nectar of the flowers, to the worm the drop that quenches his thirst, and to the world the rays of the sun! APRIL XXVI. Flowers which bloom in April. THE nearer that charming month approaches, when, we shall see the country, gardens, and meadows, arrayed in all their beauty, the more does the dreary, aspect we have so long witnessed clear up, and nature more evidently throws off her wild appearance. Every day discloses some new beauty, and every hour. hastens the perfection of nature. The fresh grass al... Flowers which bloom in April. 225 ready sprung up is browsed by the flocks with avidity; the young corn begins to appear, and the gardens to smile. Here and there the budding flowers invite our attention; and the sweetly-modest violet is one of the earliest that scents the air of spring. The flowrets of the beauteous hyacinth, gradually rising above the leaves, at once please the eye and gratify the smell, by the richness of their tints and the fra grance of their perfume. The imperial crown throws out a number of stel. lated 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 good. ness 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 develope 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 VOL. I. Q 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 thousand charms and opening virtues that cause them to be admired and loved; but as the north wind sometimes 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 him, 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. * Psalm ciii. 16. Return of the Birds. 227 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 re-peopled with 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 besides 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 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! go! Who marks out to them their tract through the * Jer. viii. 7. devious air? Who informs them of the length of way they have passed, and of that they have yet to accom. plish? 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 shelter, 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 peo. ple 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 |