it would move constantly round the sun, arriving at every revolution at the point from whence it started.

We are now in a condition to explain in some degree how we are to regard the motions of the planets round the sun. When the Almighty had created the various bodies which compose the universe, he exercised his infinite power and wisdom by imparting to them various velocities of motion. The sun being made very much larger than all the planets put together, exerted a more powerful attraction on them than they could exert on him; consequently, the planets were drawn towards the sun out of their original paths, and made to revolve round the larger body. But how shall we sufficiently admire the exquisite skill with which the various velocities were adapted to the size of the various bodies! What parallel can we find in the poor and imperfect works of man, to that surpassing power of adjustment by which the velocities of the planets are regulated! The earth moves some hundreds of thousands of miles in a single day; and yet, if her velocity were to deviate by a small fraction, either more or less, the earth would, in the first case, gradually recede from the sun, and never again approach near him; and in the second case, it would approach to, and fall upon, the sun. It is when such results as these are obtained, that science enables us to appreciate the striking truth, that man's efforts even in his proudest moments, are but poor and humble attempts to follow after, or to imitate, that which the Great Being performs with such boundiess perfection. We applaud, and we give rewards to the man, who can make a chronometer which will be accurate within a few seconds in the year; and well may we do so, for it is a signal instance of human industry and ingenuity to produce such an instrument. Yet a mere fraction of such an error in the movements of the bodies composing the solar system, would be fatal to its stability. Truly wonderful, indeed, is it, that the eleven planets should revolve round the sun in periods differing greatly one from another, and at such various distances from him; and yet, that each one should have a velocity so exquisitely adjusted to its size and position as to bring it precisely round to the same point after every entire revolution round the sun. The sun, then, the golden magnet which thus draws all the other planets towards itself, is surrounded with whirling worlds, which borrow their light from him and share it with one another. Well might the poet of the seasons exclaim― Thou, O sun!

Soul of surrounding worlds! in whom best seen
Shines out thy Maker! May I sing of thee?
'Tis by thy secret, strong attractive force,

As with a chain indissoluble bound,

*

Thy system rolls entire: from the fa: bourne
Of utmost Saturn, wheeling wide his round
Of thirty years, to Mercury, whose disk
Can scarce be caught by philosophic eye,
Lost in the near effulgence of thy blaze.

FORM OF THE ORBITS OF THE PLANETS.

OUR remarks hitherto have been so expressed as to lead to the conclusion that the planets move in perfect circles round the sun at all times, and under all circumstances. Such, however, is not strictly the case. The paths which they describe are oval or elliptical. Most persons know the form which is meant by the term oval. If we hold an egg in the hand, and look at its outline, it will give a near approach to this form: and, indeed, the word oval is derived from ovum, the Latin for an egg. Such, then, is the form of the paths in which the planets move. Now we may inquire whether the sun is exactly in the middle of this oval, or near either end of it. To this it must be answered that the sun is not precisely in the middle, but that he is a little nearer to one side than the other. It will be useful to give an idea of the position which the sun occupies. Suppose A B represent the orbit or path in which a planet (such as the earth) moves round the sun. (We have made this a larger oval in proportion than the earth's orbit really is, in order that our meaning may be more conspicuous.) There are two points F and s (called foci, plural of the Latin word focus, signifying a fire-place), which have peculiar properties. If we stick a pin in each of the points F and s, and fasten the two ends of a bit of thread to them, (taking care that the thread is just long enough to reach to any one part of the circumference, as at P,) we shall find that we shall be able to make the thread exactly touch every other part of the oval, by stretching it out; but Thomson had written this before the year 1730; and the planet Uranus was not discovered until 1781,

that we cannot make it extend beyond the oval in any direction.

Now it is in one of such points Fs that the sun is situated, in the earth's orbit. The oval, if we could possibly see it at once with the eye, would scarcely appear to us to deviate from a cirele: it being rather a round, not a long oval. We here speak only of the earth's orbit, but the same remark applies to the orbits of all the planets, which orbits are all more or less oval. We use the term oval in preference to the term elliptical, because it is more familiarly known; the meaning of each is, however, the same.

A

We may now be asked, whether the planets move equably in every part of their orbits,—that is, If a planet move at the rate of so many miles in an hour at one part of its orbit, will it move with the same velocity at another part? This question, on account of the oval form of the paths in which the planets move, must be answered in the negative. They do not move equably in different points of their orbits. Suppose that in the following figure, the point s were like the axle of a wheel, and that twelve equidistant spokes, or radii, reached from it to the boundary of the oval, then the earth, in passing by the end of each spoke during her revo lution, would not pass from one to another in exactly equal times, but would take a longer time to pass from spoke to spoke at one part of her revolution than at another. But now let us suppose, that the time which the earth takes to revolve round the sun be divided into twelve equal parts, and that we draw a spoke from the axle, or the point s, to the boundaries between all the twelve spaces respectively passed over by the earth in those equal times; then it will be found that the open space between any two adjoining spokes, measures exactly the same number of square miles at every part of the orbit. The spokes towards the end a will be closer together than those towards B, but they will at the same time be longer, so that the excess of length precisely compensates for the deficiency in width. Here is another instance of the admirable adjustment which is observable in the motions of the heavenly bodies. The orbits of the planets are all oval, and differing in the form of the oval; yet the law which we have just stated is found to be constant. The more the orbit approaches to what we may term a long oval, the greater is the difference between the lengths of the spokes towards the two ends. Yet in every case, a disagree ment in length is made up by a reverse disagreement in the openings between them, so that these areas or openings are all equal. We have been anxious to avoid every appearance of scientific difficulty in these details; but we will just mention that those who may be able to consult larger works on Astronomy, will find this law thus expressed; that" a planet always describes equal areas in equal times."

B

Those fleeting and transient visiters, comets, are too seldom in sight to afford the means of making such correct observations of the nature of their orbits, as have been made with respect to the planets. We shall, by-and-by, have to speak individually of several comets, which have appeared at various times, but we now merely refer to their motion generally. It is now believed, from the best observations which have been made, that the comets move in exceedingly long oval orbits, by which means they are at one time very near to the sun, and at other times at an immense distance from him; still, however, the same general resemblance to the orbits of planets is to be noted, and, in addition, that the elongation of the form of the cometary orbit is frequently excessive.

We shall hereafter have to show, that the four largest of the planets have moons, or satellites, revolving round them, of which our moon, the earth's satellite, is the one which attracts a larger share of our attention than any of the others. Now it is interesting to observe, that the moon of itself describes an oval orbit round the earth, in a similar manner as the earth does round the sun. But here a singular effect results:-if the earth were stationary, the moon's orbit would be found, as in the case of the planets,

to be an oval with respect to the earth; as, however, the earth revolves round the sun, and, of course, carries the moon with it, the real path of the latter becomes a very singular and complicated curve,-it is a zig-zag circle round the sun, with several indentations and as many protuberances.

Thus then do we form some general idea of the manner in which the planets are situated, with respect to one another and to the sun. It will be useful to recapitulate a few points before we proceed further.

We have seen that there is a glorious luminary, the Sun, in the centre of a moving system; that there are eleven planets revolving round him in the following order, beginning from the nearest,-Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Vesta, Juno, Ceres, Pallas, Jupiter, Saturn, and Uranus; that these planets describe paths which are not quite circular but oval, and that the sun is in one focus of the ellipse or oval. The motions of the planets we have likewise found are not uniform, but that their velocities vary according to their distances from the sun. These general details will qualify us to enter upon the consideration of all the planets individually, their dimensions, distances from the sun, velocities of motion, influence upon one another, apparent size as seen from the earth, and many other points of interest to the admirers of the works of God. When that inquiry shall have been completed, we shall enter upon the consideration of those very beautiful and important results, which depend upon the rotation of the planets on their axes, a species of motion to which we have not hitherto alluded.

We cannot better conclude this portion of our subject than by presenting the reader with the eloquent words of a pious and eminent divine, in connexion with the sublime subject which has thus far occupied us.

"The world in which we live, is a round ball of a determined magnitude, and occupies its own place in the firmament. But when we explore the unlimited tracts of that space which is everywhere around us, we meet with other balls of equal or superior magnitude, and from which our earth would either be invisible, or appear as small as any of those twinkling stars which are seen on the canopy of heaven. Why then suppose that this little spot, little at least in the immensity which surrounds it, should be the exclusive abode of life and intelligence? What reason to think that those mightier globes which roll in other parts of creation, and which we have discovered to be worlds in magnitude, are not also worlds in use and in dignity? Why should we think that the great Architect of nature, supreme in wisdom, as He is in power, would call these stately mansions into existence and leave them unoccupied ? When we cast our eye over the broad sea, and look at the country on the other side, we see nothing but the blue land stretching obscurely over the distant horizon. We are too far away to perceive the richness of its scenery, or to hear the sound of its population. Why not extend this principle to the still more distant parts of the universe? What though, from this remote point of observation, we can see nothing but the naked roundness of yon planetary orbs? Are we therefore to say, that they are so many vast and unpeopled solitudes; that desolation reigns in every part of the universe but ours; that the whole energy of the Divine attributes is expended on one insignificant corner of these mighty works; and that to this earth alone belongs the bloom of vegetation, or the blessedness of life, or the dignity of rational and immortal existence?

"But this is not all. We have something more than the mere magnitude of the planets to allege in favour of the idea that they are inhabited. We know that this earth turns round upon itself; and we observe that all those celestial bodies which are accessible to such an observation, have the same movement. We know that the earth performs a yearly revolution round the sun; and we can detect, in all the planets which compose our system, a revolution of the same kind, and under the same circumstances. They have the same succession of day and night. They have the same agreeable vicissitude of the seasons. To them light and darkness succeed each other; and the gaiety of Summer is followed by the dreariness of Winter. To each of them the heavens present as varied and magnificent a spectacle; and this earth, the encompassing of which would require the labour of years from one of its puny inhabitants, is but one of the lesser lights which sparkle in their firmament. To them, as well as to us, has God divided the light from the darkness, and he has called the light day, and the darkness he has called night.

He has said, let there be lights in the firmament of their heaven, to divide the day from the night; and let them be for signs, and for seasons, and for days, and for years; and let them be for lights in the firmament of heaven, to give light upon their earth; and it was so. And God has also made to them great lights. To all of them he has given the sun to rule the day; and to many of them has he given moons to rule the night. To them he has made the stars also. And God has set them in the firmament of heaven, to give light upon their earth, and to rule over the day, and over the night, and to divide the light from the darkness; and God has seen that it was good.

"In all these greater arrangements of Divine wisdom, we can see that God has done the same things for the accommodation of the planets that he has done for the earth which we inhabit. And shall we say, that the resemblance stops here because we are not in a situation to observe it? Shall we say, that this scene of magnificence has been called into being merely for the amusement of a few astronomers? Shall we measure the counsels of heaven by the narrow impotence of the human faculties? or con ceive, that silence and solitude reign throughout the mighty empire of nature; that the greater part of creation is an empty parade; and that not a worshipper of the Divinity is to be found through the wide extent of yon vast and immeasurable regions?

"It lends a delightful confirmation to the argument, when, from the growing perfection of our instruments, we can discover a new point of resemblance between our Earth and the other bodies of the planetary system. It is now ascertained, not merely that all of them have their day and night, and that all of them have their vicissitudes of seasons, and that some of them have their moons to rule their night and alleviate the darkness of it; we can see of one that its surface rises into inequalities, that it swells into mountains and stretches into valleys; of another, that it is surrounded by an atmosphere which may support the respiration of animals; of a third, that clouds are formed and suspended over it, which may minister to it all the bloom and luxuriance of vegetation; and of a fourth, that a white colour spreads over its northern regions, as its Winter advances, and that, on the approach of Summer, this whiteness is dissipated, giving room to suppose, that the element of water abounds in it, that it rises by evaporation into its atmosphere, that it freezes upon the application of cold, that it is precipitated in the form of snow, that it covers the ground with a fleecy mantle, which melts away from the heat of a more vertical sun; and that other worlds bear a resemblance to our own, in the same yearly round of beneficent and interesting changes.

"Who shall assign a limit to the discoveries of future ages? Who can prescribe to science her boundaries, or restrain the active and insatiable curiosity of man within the circle of his present acquirements? We may guess with plausibility what we cannot anticipate with confidence. The day may yet be coming, when our instruments of observation shall be inconceivably more powerful. They may ascertain still more decisive points of resemblance. They may resolve the same question by the evidence of sense, which is now so abundantly convincing by the evidence of analogy. They may lay open to us the unquestionable vestiges of art, and industry, and intelligence. We may see Summer throwing its green mantle over these mighty tracts, and we may see them left naked and colourless after the flush of vegetation has disappeared. In the progress of years or of centuries, we may trace the hand of cultivation spreading a new aspect over some portion of a planetary surface. Perhaps some large city, the metropolis of a mighty empire, may expand into a visible spot by the powers of some future telescope. Perhaps the glass of some observer, in a distant age, may enable him to construct the map of another world, and to lay down the surface of it in all its minute and topical varieties. But there is no end of conjecture; and to the men of other times we leave the full assurance of what we can assert with the highest probability, that yon planetary orbs are so many worlds, that they teem with life, and that the mighty Being who presides in high authority over this scene of grandeur and astonishment, has there planted the worshippers of His glory."CHALMERS, Astronomical Discourses.

LONDON:

JOHN WILLIAM PARKER, WEST STRAND. PUBLISHED IN WEEKLY NUMBERS, PRICE ONE PENNY, AND IN MONTHLY PARTS, PRICE SIXPENCE.

THE figure we have given above of this singular bird, has been copied, by permission of the author, from the last part of Mr. Gould's splendid work on the birds of Australia. The scientific world were indebted, in the first instance, for their knowledge of the Apteryx, to the late Dr. Shaw, by whom it was figured and described in the Naturalist's Miscellany. This specimen was presented to the doctor by Captain Barclay, of the ship Providence, who brought it from New Zealand in the year 1812. At the death of Dr. Shaw, this, at that time unique, example passed into the possession of the present Earl of Derby. In consequence of no public collection containing a specimen, the naturalists of the Continent were slow in believing in its very existence. M. Temminck considered that, like the dodo, it was an extinct species; while others, among them M. Lesson, believed it was altogether fabulous, and that its description was founded on the remains of the dodo preserved in the British Museum.

Within these few years, the existence of the Apteryx has been well established; its native place is New Zealand, where it is known by the name of kiwikiwi. It is hunted at night by the natives, who employ VOL. XII.

66

lights to deceive the birds, and dogs to destroy them, the feathers, which are extremely soft, being in high estimation in the manufacture of cloaks of ceremony; a mat ornamented with them is the most costly dress a chief can wear." So highly prized is a garment of this description, that a European, who had resided in New Zealand for six years, had an opportunity of seeing but one cloak made of these feathers, and no consideration could induce the owner to part with it. Several specimens of the skins of this singular bird have been lately presented to the Zoological Society of London by the New Zealand Association, and its peculiar characters have been better ascertained, although as yet little is known of its habits. It has been stated, that the natives decoy the Apteryx from its lurking place by breaking the dead branch of a tree, the sudden snapping sound produced causing it to start from its concealment.

The peculiar structure of the Apteryx, the length of its bill, the strength of its feet, and the almost entire absence of wings, caused it to be a difficult task to assign it to its proper place in the system. The bill of the Apteryx, being long and slender, at

370

ground in the form of a chamber; in these latter situations it is said to construct its nest of dried fern and grasses.

The bird itself is about the size of a three months' old turkey, and of a dark brown colour; the flesh is black, sinewy, tough, and tasteless. Mr. Gould gives his opinion on the subject in the following words :

A mature consideration of the form and structure of this remarkable bird, lead me to assign it with little hesitation to the family of the Struthionidæ, (birds allied to the ostrich) and my reasons for so doing, will, I think, be obvious to every one who will examine and compare the species with the members of that group. The essential characters in which it differs, consist in the elongated form of the bill, the shortness of the tarsi, and in the possession of a sharp spur, terminating a posterior, rudimentary toe. Regarding the ostrich as the species to which it is least nearly related, we find in the emu and the rhea a much nearer approach, not only in the more lengthened form of the bill of the latter, but also in the situation of the nostrils, which, in the rhea, are placed nearer the tip than in any other species of the group, the Apteryx excepted; in fact, when we compare the bills of the two birds, it is evident they are both formed on one plan, that of the Apteryx being an elongated representative of the rhea, with the nostrils placed at the extreme tip.

In both these birds there is the same peculiar elevated horny cere or fold. The tarsi are much shorter, and the nails of the toes much more curved than in the rhea, but the scaly covering of these parts, in both birds, is precisely the same; and it may be further observed, that the number of toes increase as we pass on from the ostrich, there being only two in that bird, three in the rhea, emu, &c., and three, with the rudiment of a fourth, in the Apteryx. The wing of the Apteryx, though scarcely more than rudimentary, agrees with that of the rhea in having a strongly. hooked claw at its extremity, while in the structure of its feathers it approaches the nearest to the cassowary, but unlike what attains in that bird, the feathers are entirely destitute of the accessory plume, in which latter respect it again agrees with the rhea.

The members of this group, although few in number, are remarkable for their structural peculiarities, each being modified for its own peculiar habits and economy, and in none is this circumstance more remarkable than in the Apteryx, which, at the same time that it departs the farthest in form from the type of the group (the ostrich,) also departs the farthest in its mode of life and general economy; being, in fact, adapted to the peculiarities of its own country, and fitted for the particular kind of food there to be obtained.

Although the Apteryx approaches nearer to the rhea than any other known bird, I am inclined to think that several intervening links will yet be discovered between them; indeed, a native of New Zealand who was present at one of the late meetings of the Zoological Society, stated that there is another Apteryx in New Zealand, with a shorter and thicker bill, but which he considered to be the male of the present species. Without doubting that he has spoken to the best of his knowledge, I suspect that it will prove to be distinct, and that the two birds in my plate are representatives of both sexes.

The favourite localities of this bird are low marshy situations, and those covered with extensive and dense beds of fern, among which it conceals itself; and when hard pressed by dogs, the usual method of chasing it, it takes refuge in crevices of rocks, hollow trees, and the deep holes which it excavates in the

When attacked it defends itself very vigorously, striking rapid and dangerous blows with its powerful feet and sharp spurs, with which it is also said to beat the ground in order to disturb the worms on which it feeds, seizing them with its bill the instant they make their appearance; it also, probably, feeds upon snails and insects. Very recently a perfect specimen of this bird, preserved in spirits, has been received by the Zoological Society of London, and we may shortly expect a full and accurate account of its anatomical structure.

SCRIPTURE PICTURES.

THE absurdities of Chinese paintings have been familiar to us from our earliest days, and we have often laughed at the grotesque effects which their ignorance of the art of perspective produces, at their houses apparently hanging in mid-air, and trees growing out of their windows, streams running upwards instead of downwards, and steeples which seem to rival Baron Munchhaussen's.

The art of painting has elsewhere been brought to perfection, yet (in one class of pictures at least) absurdities, less glaring indeed, but not less real, are to be found, in artists too whose names have attained a deservedly high place in the ranks of fame.

In Scripture paintings we shall see representations as untrue to recorded facts as Chinese pictures can be with respect to natural objects; and as objects of sight make a greater impression on us than what we read, the false ideas conveyed in this way have, as might have been expected, taken pretty deep root.

The liberties in which painters have indulged themselves in their representations of the great enemy of man, are most gross, and we might say ridiculous, were it not for the fatal consequences which have attended these absurd representations, and were it not that they have been instrumental in making the doctrine of Satanic influence a matter of scoffing and jest instead of a powerful motive to watchfulness and fear. The Christian painters have pillaged the profane poets for a personification of Satan, and we see on canvass, not the fallen archangel, dreadful in his moral influence over the souls of men, powerless now over their bodies, but the heathen fiction Pan. This latter, with goats' horns, distorted countenance, cloven feet, and long tail, was well suited for the character he was intended to represent for producing panic fears, rustic merriment, and frolic mischief, to those in whose sports and interests he was fabled to take an especial concern. Nor, perhaps, could imagination adapted for suggesting and keeping alive the associaproduce a more grotesque representation, and better tions which led mankind to fable the divinity of Pan, and make him preside over rural affairs and sports. But is there the slightest community between this mixture of frolic, fun, and benevolent care, and that fearful being whom inspired authority represents as a roaring lion, going about seeking whom he may devour; whom the same authority exhorts us to resist steadfastly, and from whose wily attacks even our Lord himself, in his human character, was not exempt? An imperfect knowledge of the manners and customs which prevailed at the time of the

Scripture narrative, has given rise to another class of errors in our Scripture paintings; as an illustration of this, one will readily occur. Those who are acquainted with ancient history, know that it was the custom among the eastern nations, and among the Romans, to recline at meals, instead of sitting as we do. In the pictures of the Last Supper, however, our Lord and his Apostles are represented as sitting round the table; and yet the words of the Evangelist evidently imply a reclining posture; "Now there was leaning on Jesus' bosom one of his disciples whom Jesus loved:" this is intelligible only under the supposition that they were in a recumbent posture, and that consequently the head of one person approached the shoulder of the person that was above him.

There are other mistakes in Scripture representations which appear to arise from an inattention to the Scripture narrative. The Evangelists, and before them the prophets, all describe the Immanuel as having nothing to distinguish Him in outward garb and appearance; "He hath no form nor comeliness," says Isaiah: the people looking upon Him, asked, "Is not this the carpenter's son?" and the very complaint against Him was, that He gave no sign by which they might know Him. Yet in defiance of all this, almost all painters have represented our Lord with that distinguishing mark of a glory round His head, which, had it really existed, would have been a sign unto the people. This mistake may appear unimportant, since not even a child probably can really imagine that this is a true representation. Still the fact is thus far kept out of sight, that there was nothing external by which Jesus could be recognised; that they were to judge Him by His works, and that when He did appear under a form that could show His divine original, (as at the transfiguration,) it was only to a chosen few; to Peter, and James, and John, and as a reward, doubtless, for their having believed on Him without a sign.

To an inattention to the Scripture narrative, another very common mistake in Scripture pictures may be traced. It has often been observed how little of our

Lord's early history is unfolded to us. But it is remarkable that almost the only fact that is recorded respecting it, and which is given, doubtless, with a view to our imitation and for the sake of the example, is so altered by painters as to be useless to us in this respect. We are told in the Sacred Writings that Jesus at twelve years old went up to Jerusalem after the custom of the feast, and that He was found" in the temple sitting in the midst of the doctors, both hearing them and asking them questions," setting an example (that is) to children, of the humility and desire for instruction which peculiarly becomes their age. Many painters, on the contrary, represent Christ as sitting and teaching, not hearing, in an attitude and place which plainly indicates that He was giving, not receiving, instruction, and the whole force of His example in this respect, as a practical lesson to young people, is consequently lost.

In the representations of our Lord's baptism, there is another very common error committed by painters, which is the more worthy of notice, because it both tends to degrade the subject, and also to keep out of sight what throws light on other passages of Scripture. To illustrate these words of Scripture: "And Jesus, when He was baptized, went up straightway out of the water; and lo, the heavens were opened unto Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him;" a dove is represented as hovering over Jesus. Many commentators of great merit have understood these words, "descending like

a dove," to mean, that the appearance which indicated the descent of the Holy Spirit, had a hovering motion like a dove *; that this appearance was, in fact, a flame of fire which hovered around and descended on Christ, as a bird hovers and lights upon any object. In confirmation of this opinion it has been observed by the Rev. Dr. Hinds, (see his Three Temples of the one true God,) that fire, a light from heaven, appears to have been the established sign of God's presence; it was in fire that God appeared to Moses in Midian; it was the Sheckinah which signified Jehovah's abode in the tabernacle; by a pillar of fire God conducted His people through the wilderness, and at the delivery of the law the Most High appeared amidst lightning on Mount Sinai. In later times, at the dedication of the temple at Jerusalem, it was miraculously filled with a glory and a mysterious light; and after our Lord's ascension, it is recorded that, on the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost descended on the apostles, that "there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them." To represent, then, a bird as descending upon our Lord, seems quite inconsistent with every other account of the appearance of the Divine Spirit which is recorded, and seems an unworthy symbol of Him who, under the more awful imagery of " a consuming fire," is so often mentioned by the inspired writers.

There are many other instances of misrepresentations in Scripture paintings which might be noticed, and which, when once the attention is called to the subject, will be easily detected.

The words in the original imply that it was a hovering motion, like a dove.

APRIL DAY.

ALL day the low-hung clouds have dropt
Their garnered fulness down;
All day that soft, gray mist hath wrapt
Hill, valley, grove, and town.
There has not been a sound to-day
To break the calm of nature;
Nor motion, I might almost say,

Of life, or living creature ;—
Of waving bough, or warbling bird,
Or cattle faintly lowing ;-

I could have half believed I heard

The leaves and blossoms growing.

I stood to hear,-I love it well,-
The rain's continuous sound;
Small drops, but thick and fast they fell,
Down straight into the ground.

For leafy thickness is not yet

Earth's naked breast to screen,
Though every dripping branch is set
With shoots of tender green.

Sure since I looked at early morn,
Those honeysuckle buds

Have swelled to double growth; that thorn
Hath put forth larger studs.
That lilac's cleaving cones have burst,
The milk-white flowers revealing;
Even now, upon my senses first

Methinks their sweets are stealing.

The very earth, the streamy air,
Is all with fragrance rife!
And grace and beauty everywhere
Are flushing into life.

Down, down they come-those fruitful stores,
Those earth-rejoicing drops!
A momentary deluge pours,

Then thins, decreases, stops.

And here the dimples on the stream
Have circled out of sight;

Lo! from the west, a parting gleam
Breaks forth of amber light.