When labour tires, and pleasure palls, And mingles with eternity. HAWKSWORTH. "Pliny has, as well as I recollect," writes Sir H. Davy, "compared a river to human life. I have never read the passage in his works, but I have been a hundred times struck with the analogy, particularly amidst mountain scenery. The river, small and clear in its origin, gushes forth from rocks, falls into deep glens, and wantons and meanders through a wild and picturesque country, In this, its nourishing only the uncultivated tree or flower by its dew or spray. state of infancy and youth, it may be compared to the human mind in which fancy and strength of imagination are predominant-it is more beautiful than useful. When the different rills or torrents join, and descend into the plain, it becomes slow and stately in its movements; it is applied to move machinery, to irrigate meadows, and to bear upon its bosom the stately barge: in this mature As it flows on towards the sea, it loses its state, it is deep, strong, and useful. force and its motion, and at last, as it were, becomes lost and mingled with the mighty abyss of waters." APPROACH OF SPRING. SWEET are the omens of approaching Spring, And sparrows chelp glad tidings from the eaves. CLARE. THE FIRE-FLY. TELL us, O Guide! by what strange natural laws B. CORNWALL. The amiable and excellent Bp. Heber, in his Tour through Ceylon, thus speaks of these singular insects:-"We returned home long after sunset, which here is speedily followed by darkness, our road illuminated by myriads of Fireflies; accustomed as I have been for two years to these insects, I could not avoid a momentary start as they lit upon me, so perfectly do they resemble sparks of fire. Yet mark as fade the upper skies, Each thicket opes ten thousand eyes : The fire-fly lights his lamp of love, Retreating, chasing, sinking, soaring, Connected with the history of this insect we may mention, on the authority of Dr. Buchanan, that the birds at Cape Comorin illuminate their pendulous nests with three or four fire-flies, that their blaze of light may dazzle the eyes of bats, which often destroy their young.-Memoirs, vol. 2., p. 55. THE WEEPING-WILLOW. GREEN willow! o'er whom the perilous blast : Waiting in meekness, till the storm be pass'd; In mild endurance bending gracefully, Is like the wounded heart, which, 'mid the storm, MISS LANDON. The Weeping-Willow, Salix Babylonica, a native of the Levant, was not cultivated in this country till 1730, when it was accidentally introduced by the celebrated Alexander Pope. This tree, with its long, slender, drooping branches, is one of the most elegant ornaments of English scenery. TO THE CROW. SAY, weary bird, whose level flight Why yet beyond the verge of day The wren within her mossy nest Has coo'd his last soft note of love, To guard their downy young from an inclement sky. Each twittering bill and busy wing, That flits through morning's humid Spring, Is still,-listening perhaps so late, To Philomel's enchanting lay, Who now, asham'd to sing by day, Trills the sweet sorrows of her fate. Haste, bird, and nurse thy callow brood, Bleak, -on some cliff's neglected tree; Haste, weary bird, thy lagging flight It is the chilling hour of night, Fit hour of rest for thee! "The Carrion Crow, Corvus corone, is perhaps the most generally known and least beloved, of all our land birds; having neither melody of song, nor beauty of plumage, nor civility of manners, to recommend him; on the contrary, he is branded as a thief and a plunderer. Hated as he is by the farmer, watched and persecuted by almost every bearer of a gun, who all triumph in his destruction, had not Heaven bestowed on him intelligence and sagacity far beyond common, there is reason to believe, that the whole tribe would long ago have ceased to exist. The myriads of worms, moles, mice, caterpillars, grubs, and beetles, which he destroys, are altogether overlooked; but on account of his depredations among the poultry and game, no mercy is shown him." For further information respecting this wary bird, see Wilson's Amer. Ornith., and also a paper by Mr. Waterton in the Mag. of Nat. Hist., vol. 6., where this amusing writer states, that the Crow is a very early riser, and retires to rest later than any other of our British birds. AMPHIBIOUS ANIMALS. AMPHIBIOUS Monsters haunted the lagoon; And merciless as famine, cranch'd his prey; Came forth, and, couching with their little ones, Deposited her eggs, which the sun hatch'd: MONTGOMERY. THE PHEASANT. CLOSE by the borders of the fringed lake, Ah! what avail such heavenly plumes as thine, The inimitable lines on this bird by Pope, may here be aptly quoted : See! from the brake the whirring Pheasant springs, And mounts exulting on triumphant wings; Short is his joy; he feels the fiery wound, Flutters in blood, and panting beats the ground. Ah! what avail his glossy, varying dyes, His purple crest, and scarlet-circled eyes; The vivid green his shining plumes unfold, His painted wings and breast that flames with gold! The various tints of green-gold, blue, and violet in the plumage of this bird, exceed description; these colours possess the wonderful property of varying their shades according to the direction in which the light falls upon them. M. Viellot considers, that the metallic feathers of birds owe their brilliancy to their density, to the polish of their surface, and to the great number of little concave mirrors, which are perceptible on the fringes.-Rennie's Field Nat. Mag. vol. 1, p. 299-304. See also interesting observations on the Covering of Birds, in Paley's Nat. Theol., chap. 12. |