every motive of human action is observed through the medium of a clear and faithful mirror; and the mind is purged of errors, by which it has been long abused. II. Such are the advantages of a brilliant imagination and corrected judgment under circumstances, which would almost annihilate the faculties of inferior minds: -circumstances, which begin by deadening, but finish in stimulating an exalted and heroic spirit. Those evils, which, for a time, may have cast a sombre hue on all our prospects, when beheld in a retrospective mirror, not only lose half of their keenness, but are converted into sources of present comfort. How soothing is it to reflect upon a danger escaped, or on the miseries we have endured! And when undergoing those miseries, or escaping those dangers, let us, my friend, remember, how near a companion pleasure is to pain. Let us recollect, that roses bloom in profusion on the banks of the Tenglio'; that one of the most beautifully coloured flowers, and one of the most splendid of vegetables grow near mount Hecla2; that coral, ambergris, agates, and chrystals, are found upon a stormy coast; that verdure adorns the bottom and sides of the burning mountain of Guadaloupe : and that porphyry hardens the more it is exposed to 1 A river in Lapland. Terra salutiferas herbas, eademque nocentes, Ovid. 2 Andromeda Hypnoides, and the Chamænerium halimifolium. the elements. Let us reflect that the Chinese paradise is surrounded by deserts ;—that not only chrystals but insects are sometimes found within the hardest rocks, and diamonds in the deepest mines:-that the magnet, which is the hardest tempered, retains its power of affinity longer than others; that one of the loudest of musical instruments' is susceptible of the softest cadence; and the hardest marble of the finest polish. Then let us remember, that the most bitter of all vegetables has a sweet and aromatic root; that the silver mines of Peru are elevated to the height of perpetual snow ;-and that medicinal waters spring even among the burning mountains of Japan;-that vipers, so hideous and so noxious to our sight, act as resto ratives to an emaciated habit;-while mercury, so ineffective in its primitive state, when separated into particles, and combined with mineral acids, becomes, as it is administered, the most violent of poisons, or the most admirable of remedies.3 And while we recal all this to our recollection, let us not forget, that it is the consonance of discordant sounds, which constitutes harmony in music; and that it is inculcated even on the chimney-piece of an inn, at Brisack, in the canton of Friburg, that patience is the antidote of life, and that if we would learn to conquer, we must learn to suffer. For as richness of colour is the result of repeated touches of the pencil, and as strength of mind is the concomitant result of continued dis 1 The serpent. 4 2 Absinthium. 3 Vid. Art. Argentum vivum. 4 Antidotum vitæ patientia, sola malorum appointment; so happiness is not unfrequently the result of our having the power of comparing our present comforts with our past misfortunes.1 CANZONET. FROM THE SPANISH. The days of our happiness gliding away, Oh! Fortune,-possess'd of so fickle a name— Oh! change!-and bid moments of pleasure move slow, III. Do we ever taste the pleasures of our fireside so highly, as when we have been exposed, for the greater part of the day, to the frost and snow without? With what joy does an old pilot, whose youth has been spent upon a rough and boisterous element, retire to the place of his nativity, to enjoy the rewards of meritorious industry! What comfort does he derive in his little hut, reared upon one of the cliffs, that overlook the ocean! Seated by his cheerful fire; and surrounded by his family, how does he delight, as he feels a few remaining impulses of a once adventurous spirit, to recount the numerous hardships, he has Durate et vosmet rebus servate secundis. Suavis est laborum præteritorum memoria. Eneid. Apud. Cic. De Finibus. lib. ii. c. 32. endured upon a distant main! Those winds and storms, that howl at midnight, and which once were accustomed to fill his mind with apprehension, now sweeten the remembrance of affliction, and lull him to repose. Thus the halcyon builds its nest in stormy weather, to enjoy the luxury of a lasting calm. Have we been tossed upon a bed of sickness'? How is our frame reanimated, when, escaping from our chamber, we inhale the breath of the morning! All Nature, at that period, renders us satisfaction; the song of birds, the bleating of sheep, the lowing of cattle, the bubbling of waters, are music to our ears. Nature, dispensing, as it were, for us, the most agreeable perfumes, expands all her beauties; while every object we see, and every sound we hear, are so many inspirers of that ardent gratitude, which distends our breast. When the mind has been weakened by severe application, when the heart, lacerated by acute sorrow, refuses even to be charmed by a changing fortune ;2 1 Les plus simples objets; le chant d'une fauvette, Le fraîcheur d'une violette; Mille spectacles, qu'autrefois On voyoit avec nonchalance, Transportent aujourd'hui, présentent des appas Inconnus à l'indifférence, Et que la foule ne voit pas, Gresset. 2 Pectora, longis habetata malis, Non sollicitas ponunt curas; Proprium hoc miseros sequitor vitium, Redeat and when we would not hesitate to give the price even of a village for that vegetable,' which has the power of healing debilities, arising from those powerful causes; what can more ameliorate the influence of the one, or give a decided tone to the other, than the view of fields and meadows, peopled with rural animals, or adorned with the assemblages of rural industry? The effects of all these are equal to that of the Lydian or Eolian modes of music: they pacify the storms of ill fortune, and soothe the sallies of passion. IV. Have we lost a dear and affectionate friend? Has the world neglected our merits, or insulted our virtues? Do we wish to remember only the hours of our infancy? Do we desire to be lulled to the slumber of death? What sight shall delight our eyes, what sounds enchant our ears, what odour charm our senses, like the perfumes of the fields, the music of torrents, and the gay and animated visions of Nature! These are those notes, which form that Phrygian mode of mental music, which Lactantius writes of, that seem as if they possessed the power, by leading the Redeat felix Fortuna licet, The ginseng. Panax quinquefolią :- Seneca Thyestis. -a native of China and North |