THE city of Benares stands on the left bank of the Ganges, at a part where the river forms a fine sweeping curve of nearly four miles in length. The bank on which the city is situated is the concave side of the river, and is considerably higher than the opposing shore; so that if the town is viewed from a position in the upper part of it, from the breadth of the Ganges at this place, and the lowness of the opposite side, it has the appearance of standing on the margin of a beautifully formed bay.

Benares stands on a spot held peculiarly sacred by the Hindoos, and it has long been considered as the head quarters of brahminical learning.

The edifice, with the high minarets so conspicuous in the annexed sketch, was built by the Mohammedan emperor, Aurangzebe, it is said with the intention of humbling the pride of the Hindoos, as not only possessing a very elevated station in the city, but being also erected on the site of a Hindoo temple, removed on purpose to make room for the Mussulman mosque.

The immense flight of steps called the Ghauts of Benares, form a great ornament to the river face of the city. Various Christian missionaries are now laboring in thi city.

THE ADVANTAGES OF A TASTE FOR THE BEAUTIES OF

NATURE.

By Dr. Percival.

That sensibility to beauty, which, when cultivated and improved, we term taste, is universally diffused through the human species; and it is most uniform with respect to those objects, which, being out of our power, are not liable to variation, from accident, caprice, or fashion. The verdant lawn, the shady grove, the variegated landscape, the boundless ocean, and the starry firmament, are contemplated with pleasure by every attentive beholder.—But the emotions of different spectators, though similar in kind differ widely in degree: and to relish, with full delight, the enchanting scenes of nature, the mind must be uncorrupted by avarice, sensuality, or ambition; quick in her sensibilities, elevated in her sentiments, and devout in her affections. He who possesses such exalted powers of perception and enjoyment, may almost say with the poet :-"I care not, fortune, what you me deny:

You cannot rob me of free nature's grace;
You cannot shut the windows of the sky,

Through which Aurora shows her bright'ning face;
You cannot bar my constant feet to trace

The woods and lawns, by living streams, at eve:

Let health my nerves and finer fibres brace,

And I their toys to the great children leave:

Of fancy, reason, virtue, nought can me bereave!"

Perhaps such ardent enthusiasm may not be compatible with the necessary toils and active offices which Providence has assigned to the generality of men. But there are none to whom some portion of it may not prove advantageous; and if it were cherished by each individual in that degree which is consistent with the indispensable duties of his station, the felicity of human life would be considerably augmented. From this source the refined and vivid pleasures of the imagination are almost entirely derived, and the elegant arts owe their choicest beauties to a taste for the contemplation of nature. Painting and sculpture are express irnitations of visible objects: and where would be the charms of poetry, if divested of the

imagery and embellishments which she borrows from rural scenes? Painters, statuaries, and poets, therefore, are always ambitious to acknowledge themselves the pupils of nature; and as their skill increases, they grow more and more delighted with every view of the animal and vegetable world. But the pleasure resulting from admiration is transient; and to cultivate taste without regard to its influence on the passions and affections, "is to rear a tree for its blossoms which is capable of yielding the richest and most valuable fruit." Physical and moral beauty bear so intimate a relation to each other, that they may be considered as different gradations in the scale of excellence; and the knowledge and relish of the former should be deemed only a step to the nobler and more permanent enjoyments of the latter.

Whoever has visited the Leasowes, in Warwickshire, must have felt the force and propriety of an inscription which ineets the eye at the entrance into these delightful grounds :

"Would you, then, taste the tranquil scene?

Be sure your bosom be serene;

Devoid of hate, devoid of strife,
Devoid of all that poisons life:
And much it 'vails you, in this place
To graft the love of human race."

Now such scenes contribute powerfully to inspire that serenity which is necessary to enjoy and to heighten their beauties. By a sweet contagion the soul catches the harmony which she contemplates; and the frame within assimilates itself to that which is without.

"Who can forbear to smile with nature?

Can the strong passions in the bosom roll,
While every gale is peace, and every grove
Is melody?"

For,

In this state of composure we become susceptible of virtuous impressions from every surrounding object; an equal and extensive benevolence is called forth into exertion; and having felt a common interest in the gratifications of inferior beings, we shall be no longer indiffer