Over-feeling crushed, chilled, Sweet hopes ever flown; Like that tree, when its green leaves L. E. L. The beech, the larch, and the elm, are now in full leaf. The larch also exhibits its red tufts or flowers, which soon expand into cones, and the fir tribe show their cones also. Many lovely flowers are showered from the lap of April: among them may be named jonquil, anemoné, ranunculus, polyanthus, and the crown-imperial. The double-white, the yellow, and some others of the earlier tulips, are fully opened in this month; but the more illustrious varieties will not blow for some weeks. The yellow star of Bethlehem in woods; the vernal squill among maritime rocks; and the woodsorrel, are now in flower. This and the wood anemoné have both white blossoms, and inhabit shady woods. The way-side violet' is still seen and loved for its 'The VIOLET. Violets!-deep-blue violets! There are no flow'rs grow in the vale, I do remember how sweet a breath Came with the azure light of a wreath, That hung round the wild harp's golden chords, I have seen that dear harp rolled With gems of the east, and bands of gold; But it never was sweeter than when set With leaves of the deep-blue violet! And when the grave shall open for me, I care not how soon that time may be,— The bending and deep-blue violet! Improvisatrice. own and for remembrance sake; and the hedgebanks are now studded with primroses, the bright yellow of whose flowers, beautifully contrasted with the surrounding green of the budding trees, offers a most agreeable spectacle to the lover of Spring scenery. Other flowers which adorn our fields at this time are the checquered daffodil, the lady-smock, the hare-bell, and the cowslip. On FINDING an EARLY COWSLIP. [Written for Time's Telescope, by William Howitt, Author of the Forest Minstrel.] It is the same! it is the very scent That bland, yet luscious, meadow-breathing sweet Thro' the deep grass with wild flow'rs richly blent, MAY. MAY was thus named from Maia, the mother of Mercury. Its tutelar deity was Apollo. They also derived its name from Majores, because it was in this month the feast of the ancients was celebrated. On the 24th occurred the festival called The Flight, because on that day Tarquin was driven from Rome, and the monarchy abolished. The sign of this month is Gemini. It is represented encircled with roses, to indicate that the Sun now redoubles its force, and its heat becomes of ruddy energy. Remarkable Days In MAY 1826. 1. MAY DAY. ALL ranks, formerly, went out into the woods a maying, early on the 1st of this month; returning laden with boughs and garlands, and spending the remainder of the day in dancing round a May-pole, This custom is still preserved in various remote districts of England. In April 1644, there was an Ordinance of the two Houses of Parliament, for taking down all and singular May-poles.' 'I doe not remember (says Mr. Aubrey) that I ever sawe a May-pole in France. In Holland, they have their Meybooms, which are streight young trees, set up; and at Woodstock in Oxon, they every May-eve goe into the parke, and fetch away a number of haw-thorne-trees, which they set before their dores; 'tis pity that they make such a destruction of so fine a tree.' 'It is a tradition in Germany,' continues Mr. Aubrey, that the witches doe meet in the night before the first day of May, upon an high mountain called the Blocks-berg, where they, together with the devils, doe dance and feast; and the common people doe, the night before the said day, fetch a certain thorn and stick it at their house door, believing the witches can then doe them no harm.-At Oxford, the boyes do blow cows' horns all night; and on May-day, the young maids of every parish carry about their parish garlands of flowers, which afterwards they hang up in their churches.'-Aubrey MS. A.D. 1686. It was formerly the custom at Magdalen College, Oxford, on May-day, at four o'clock in the morning, to have a Requiem or mass sung, on the top of the tower, for the rest of the soul of King Henry VII, the foundBut it is now (says Mr. Pointer, in his Oxoniensis Academia) a concert of vocal and instrumental music, consisting of several merry catches, and last er. ing almost two hours, and is concluded with ringing the bells. The clerks and choristers, with the rest of the performers, are for their pains allowed a side of lamb for their breakfast. They have singing, likewise, early in the morning of Christmas day. 1.-SAINT PHILIP AND SAINT JAMES THE LESS. Philip was born at Bethsaida, near the sea of Tiberias, the city of Andrew and Peter. He was one of the first disciples, and an apostle. James the Less, called also James the Just, and by the Apostle Paul, James, the Lord's brother, was the son of Joseph, afterwards husband to the Virgin Mary, as is probable by his first wife. The first of these martyrs was stoned to death, and the second, having been thrown from a high place, was killed by a fuller's staff. 3.-INVENTION OF THE CROSS. This is the day appointed by the Romish church to celebrate the invention, that is, the finding of a wooden cross, fancied to be the true cross on which our Lord was crucified, by Helena, the mother of Constantine the Great. As Helena was an Englishwoman, it seemed not unnatural to transplant this day into the English calendar. 4.-ASCENSION DAY. From the earliest times, a day was set apart to commemorate our Lord's ascension into Heaven. On this day parish boundaries are frequently perambulated, accompanied by well-known customs. *5. 1564.-WILLIAM SHAKSPEARE BORN. Shakspeare was born the 23d of April, 1564, O.S. But the N.S. will bring it to the 5th of May. Like Raffaelle, our poet of all Nature died on his birthday, in the year 1616. Let your voice tell of triumphs, sous of song! When man in bower or palace was beguiled. Your sweetest incense, then, ye poets, bring, 6.-JOHN EVANGELIST, a. P. L. The story which gave rise to this day is as follows: The emperour Domycyen commanded Johan should be brought to Rome; and when he was there, they broughte him tofore the gate called Porte Latyn, and put hym in a tonne ful of brenning oyle; but he never felte harme ne payne. And wythout suffrying ony harme he yssued out.' This story is as old as the time of Isidore, and is preserved by Fox, the Martyrologist. *6. 1790.-DR. C. G. WOide died. This learned divine was born in Holland: he became preacher at the Dutch chapel in St. James's Palace, and also reader and chaplain in the chapel in the Savoy. He was employed by the University of Oxford to superintend the publication of 'Scholtz's Egyptian Grammar,' and 'La Croze's Lexicon Egyptiaco-Latinum,' which he completed in 1778. In 1782, he was appointed assistant-librarian at the British Museum, and, in 1786, received at Oxford the degree of Doctor of Laws. In the same year he published the Greek New Testament, being a fac-simile of the Alexandrian MS. originally in the king's library, and now in the Museum. What Dr. Woide performed for the New Testament, has been undertaken for the Old Testament, by the REV. HENRY HERVEY BABER, M.A. F.R.S., and Keeper of the Printed Books in the British Museum. In 1812, this accomplished scholar published an exact fac-simile of the Book of Psalms, from the same venerable manuscript; and, at the |