THE CHRISTIAN'S ENJOYMENT OF NATURE. He looks abroad into the varied field Of nature, and, though poor perhaps compar'd And by an emphasis of interest his, Whose eye they fill with tears of holy joy, Whose heart with praise, and whose exalted mind That plann'd, and built, and still upholds a world Not alone let printed books All thy youthful mind engage: Nature's mighty, wondrous page; Mark the opal morn appear; Mark the dew on leaf and flower; Snow-clad mountain-realms of frost, Cragged and stern, and earthquake-tossed, God's vast creatures, there they stand, Looking over sea and land. See rich plains and winding rills, Flocks upon a thousand hills, Little birds that sing at morn. HOWITT. "Can you not fancy the infinite charm of being able to read the spirit of nature truly-of being so thoroughly religious as to never look coldly on the meanest flower because God had made it; and really to feel that his voice is in the thunder, and his glory in the seas? This is indeed precious lore; and, with a mind thus attuned, the glories of the ocean-the crested billows-the ever changing hues of that majestic plain-the solemn yet soothing cadence of its waves the plants, the animals which find their home in the waters -the delicate sea-shells, and the beautiful algæ, will be all felt and received as so many reflections of the glory of Him who is infinite both in wisdom and love." I love, when evening veils the day, Her dark and lifted eye had caught She loved the earth,-the streams that wind Its golden clouds like curtains drawn To form the gorgeous canopy Of monarchs to their slumbers gone.-WHITTIER. HYMN OF CREATION. PSALM XIX. The spacious firmament on high, With all the blue ethereal sky, And spangled heavens, a shining frame, Their Great Original proclaim: Th' unwearied sun, from day to day, Does his Creator's pow'r display, And publishes to every land The work of an Almighty hand. Soon as the evening shades prevail, The moon takes up the wondrous tale, Repeats the story of her birth; Whilst all the stars that round her burn, And spread the truth from pole to pole. What though in solemn silence all What though no real voice nor sound In reason's ear they all rejoice, "The hand that made us is Divine."-ADDISON. HYMN OF NATURE. God of the earth's extended plains! That lowers upon the vale below, God of the dark and heavy deep! The waves lie sleeping on the sands Till the fierce trumpet of the storm Hath summoned up their thundering bands; Then the white sails are dashed like foam, God of the forest's solemn shade! When, side by side, their ranks they form, God of the light and viewless air! Where summer breezes sweetly flow, The fierce and wintry tempests blow; God of the fair and open sky! How gloriously above us springs God of the rolling orbs above! Thy name is written clearly bright For every fire that fronts the sun, God of the world! the hour must come, Her incense fires shall cease to burn; Have made man's warmest praises flow; For hearts grow holier as they trace The beauty of the world below.-W. O. B. PEABODY. THE STUDY OF NATURE. There is something in the contemplation of general laws which powerfully persuades us to merge individual feeling, and to commit ourselves unreservedly to their disposal; while the observations of the calm energetic regularity of nature, the immense scale of her operations, and the certainty with which her ends are attained, tend irresistibly to tranquillize and reassure the mind, and render it less accessible to repining, selfish and turbulent emotions. And this it does, not by debasing our nature into weak compliances and abject submission to circumstances, but by filling us, as from an inward spring, with a sense of nobleness and power, which enables us to rise superior to them, by showing us our strength and innate dignity, and by calling upon us for the exercise of those powers and faculties by which we are susceptible of the comprehension of so much greatness, and which form, as it were, the link between ourselves and the best and noblest benefactors of our species, with whom we hold communion in thoughts and participate in discoveries which have raised them above their fellow-mortals, and brought them nearer to their Creator.-SIR JOHN HERSCHEL. Nature never did betray The heart that loved her; 'tis her privilege, With lofty thoughts, that neither evil tongues, |