and the meadow — glowing in the ruby - sparkling in the diamond is also the absolutely necessary medium of communication between living creatures and the universe around them. The rising sun is what converts the wilderness of darkness, which night covered, and which to the young mind, not yet aware of the regularity of nature's changes, is so full of horror, into a visible and lovely paradise. No wonder, then, if, in early ages of the world, man has often been seen bending the knee before the glorious luminary, and worshipping it as the God of Nature. When a mariner, who has been toiling in midnight gloom and tempest, at last perceives the dawn of day, or even the rising of the moon, the waves seem to him less lofty, the wind is only half as fierce; sweet hope beams on him with the light of heaven, and brings gladness to his heart. A man, wherever placed in light, receives by the eye from every object around from hill and tree, and even a single leaf, nay, from every point in every object, and at every moment of time, a messenger of light to tell him what is there, and in what condition. Were he omnipresent, or had he the power of flitting from place to place with the speed of the wind, he could scarcely be more promptly informed. And even in

I

many cases where distance intervenes not, light can impart at once knowledge, which, by any other conceivable means, could come only tediously, or not at all. For example, when the illuminated countenance is revealing the secret workings of the heart, the tongue would in vain try to speak, even in lofty phrases, what one smile of friendship or affection can in an instant convey; and had there been no light, man never could have been aware of the miniature worlds of life and activity which, even in a drop of water, the microscope discovers to him; nor could he have formed any idea of the admirable structure belonging to many minute objects.

Arnott.

Ignorance is a blank sheet on which we may write; but error is a scribbled one, which we must first

erase.

THE HOMES OF BRITAIN.

CONTINENTAL travellers all acknowledge, that in Britain only are to be seen those charming country residences, which give us ideas of rural happiness, and fill the mind with thoughts of human life and human enjoyment, thus awakening the keenest interest and sympathy of which our hearts are capable. Even the most captivating scenery is to me almost like a blank sheet of paper, till it be written over with the actions or feelings, the history or poetry of other days; and as the loftiest mountain gains a new interest, if even the most insignificant living animal be seen on the surface; and the wide ocean itself is overlooked, while our most eager gaze rests on a distant vessel buffeting the breeze; so also the permanent abodes of men where families have successively lived and died, and where the joys and sorrows of life have been, or still are felt, afford subjects for reflection and thought not to be

exhausted. awaken permanent interest, without in some degree touching our sympathies. I seldom read books of Eastern travels, because they all seem filled with gold embroidery, dark eyes, fringe and chocolate; and I am wearied of savage countries, with tatooing, red feathers, hunting, and idolatry; but, as Madame de Stael says, "the homes of Great Britain are the best homes upon earth," and there, among hills and glens of surpassing beauty, we may imagine scenes of domestic felicity, such as can only be known in a civilised and in a Christian country, while every mountain and stream speaks of days long passed, and reminds us of the vanished generations, whose history, distinctly recorded in the memory, is so nearly connected with our own.

Neither music, poetry, nor scenery, can

Catherine Sinclair.

Of all the virtues, gratitude has the shortest

memory.

GIPSY CHILDREN.

EVEN the sun-burnt faces of the gipsy children, half naked though they be, suggest a thought of comfort! It is a pleasant thing to see that the sun has been there, and to know that the air and light are on them every day to feel that they are children, and lead children's lives; that if their pillows be damp, it is with the dews of heaven, and not with tears that their lives are spent, at least, among the waving trees, and not in the midst of dreadful engines, which make young children old before they know what childhood is, and give them the exhaustion and infirmities of age, without, like age, the privilege to die. God send, that old nursery tales were true, and that gipsies stole such children by the score !

Dickens.