WINTER. 1. What took place on this day, in 1697 ? 2. When was the building of St. Paul's completely finished? 3. When was the first stone of the present structure laid? 4. What do we perceive on entering this church? 5. To what did the whole expense of the building amount? LESSON CCCXXXVII. DECEMBER THE THIRD. Winter. No more the morn, with tepid rays, The ling'ring hours prolong the night, With sighs we view the hoary hill, The snow-topp'd cot, the frozen rill. Congeal'd, impetuous showers descend In nature's aid, let art supply With light and heat my little sphere; Let music sound the voice of joy, Yet time life's dreary winter brings, ; When mirth's gay tale shall please no more; Nor music charm-though Stella sings; 463 LESSON CCCXXXVIII. -DECEMBER THE FOURTH. Locusts. THE locust is a voracious insect, somewhat resembling the common grasshopper. These insects are at times so numerous in Africa and the south of Asia, that they do immense injury to vegetation, literally devouring everything green; and when they migrate they fly in clouds, darkening the air by their numbers. Happily for mankind this calamity is not frequently repeated, for it is the inevitable precursor of famine and its horrible consequences. Even when dead, they are still productive of evil; since the putrefaction which arises from their inconceivable number is so great, that it is justly regarded as a desolating pestilence. Sometimes, though not often, they appear in Europe, and produce the same effects. In the year 591, an army of unusually large locusts ravaged Italy, and being at last cast into the sea (as seems for the most part to be their fate), a pestilence, it is alleged, arose from their stench, which carried off nearly a million of men and beasts. In the Venetian territory, likewise, in 1478, more than 30,000 persons are said to have perished in a famine chiefly occasioned by the depredations of locusts. In Barrow's Travels it is stated, that in Southern Africa the whole surface of the ground might literally be said to be covered with them for an area of 2000 square miles. The water of a very wide river was scarcely visible on account of the dead locusts that floated on the surface. The larva are much more voracious than the perfect insects: and when they are on a march during the day, it is utterly impossible to turn the direction of the troop, which is generally with the wind. It scarcely admits a doubt that these insects are the locusts so accurately described in the Bible. Thus, in Joel ii. 2. &c. "A fire devoureth before them, and behind them a flame burneth; the land is as the garden of Eden before them, and behind them a desolate wilderness; yea, and nothing shall escape them. The sound of their wings is as the sound of chariots, and of many horses running to battle; on the tops of the mountains shall they leap, like the noise of a flame of fire that devoureth stubble, as a strong people set in battle array. Before their faces the people shall be much pained; all faces shall gather blackness. They shall run like mighty men; they shall climb the wall like men of war and they shall march every one in his ways, and they shall not break their ranks, neither shall one thrust another." Much controversy has arisen on "locusts and wild honey," the food of John the Baptist in the wilderness, because the commentators have interpreted the former as the fruit of the cassia-fistula, or locust-tree. Dr. Clarke, the traveller, was one of the first to propagate this misconception. There is, however, no doubt of the insects being the food, since Hasselquist mentions locusts being eaten by the Arabs; so that probably this dish was used in the time of St. John. Mr. Forbes, the Oriental traveller, corroborates this account, and adds, "The wild honey is found in the clefts of the rocks of Judea, as abundantly as in the caves of Hindostan." Nay, if we only refer to the book of Leviticus, chap. xi. v. 22., we shall find that locusts constituted a common food among the Jews, and that the different kinds which they were permitted to eat are there specified. 1. Where and when was it that a dreadful pestilence arose from the stench of dead locusts? 2. What is related of them in Barrow's Travels? 3. In what book and chapter of the Bible do we find an account of their devastations? 4. What is the nature of the controversy which has arisen relative to the "locusts and wild honey" that was the food of John the Baptist? LESSON CCCXXXIX. DECEMBER THE FIFTH. Dr. Hawes. On this day, in 1808, died Dr. William Hawes, an English physician, who has immortalized his name by being the founder of the Royal Humane Society for the recovery of persons apparently dead by drowning, suffocation or strangulation. There was a simplicity in the manners of Dr. Hawes, which was the result of an innocent and unsuspecting heart. Without possessing, or affecting to possess, any very superior literary talents, he contrived to furnish to the public an acceptable work in his " Annual Reports." His practice had been considerable; and his medical knowledge was respectable. In the resuscitative art he was eminently skilled. He was an honorary member of the Massachusetts Humane Society, and of many others, at Edinburgh, Manchester, Bath, &c. &c., and a vice-president of the London Electrical Dispensary. The Royal Humane Society is a shining and eminent proof of his philanthropy,-an institution which has been found highly useful, and to establish which he employed many years of his life. The moment in which one of the regular anniversaries of the society was at an end, he began to meditate plans for success in the ensuing year. The nomination of succeeding stewards, the augmentation of the list of regular subscribers, and the obtaining of churches and preachers for the benefit of his favourite institution, were never out of his sight; and so much, indeed, did the Humane Society engross his attention, that his own immediate interests appeared to him to be subordinate considerations. He was always ready to afford both his pecuniary and his professional assistance to distress; and his name ought to be recorded among those who add to the character of the nation, by the establishment of institutions founded on benevolent principles. J. What eminent physician died on this day, in 1808 ? 2. By what has he immortalized his name? 3. Of what was he an honorary member? 4. Of what is the Royal Humane Society a shining proof? LESSON CCCXL. -DECEMBER THE SIXTH. SCENERY, among its other beneficial results, never fails to increase the regard which is entertained by every one for his native country. Inhabitants of wild and desolate regions, of long-extended plains, of heaths, of moors, and of the busy city, can transport themselves into the most distant regions of the globe, and still find fields, and plains, and heaths, and moors, and streets resembling those they have quitted, to awaken, at intervals, all the agreeable associations which are connected with their native land. These associations are ardent, but they never exalt to that wild and ungovernable transport which animates the mountaineer and the inhabitant of a sequestered valley, at the mention, or even the recollection of their glens, their rocks, their rivers, and their mountains. Hence we find that the natives of Wales, of Scotland, and of Switzerland, have been, in every period of their history, remarkable for their attachment, not only to their native country, but to their native village. This passion, however, is so general, that no country, even if it were a desert, but is remembered with pleasure, provided it is our own. The Ethiopian imagines that God made his sands and deserts, while angels were employed in forming the rest of the globe! The Maltese, insulated on a rock, distinguish their island by the appellation of "The Flower of the World;" and while the Greenlander, wild and stupid as he is, has a sovereign contempt for a stranger, the Caribbees esteem their country a paradise, and themselves alone entitled to the name of man! The Mandingoes of Africa consider their province the most delightful, and themselves the happiest people in the world. The Norwegians, proud of their barren summits, inscribe upon their rix-dollars, "spirit, loyalty, valour, and whatever is honourable, let the whole world learn among the rocks of Norway." Much more pardonable is the pride of a Neapolitan, when he exclaims, "See the Bay of Naples and die !” 1. What people are most remarkable for their attachment, not only to their native country, but to their native village? 2. By what term do the Maltese distinguish their island? 3. What exclamation, pardonable, though vain, do the Neapolitans make use of? LESSON CCCXLI. DECEMBER THE SEVENTH. Algernon Sidney. On this day, in 1683, Algernon Sidney was beheaded on Tower Hill. He was an eminent republican, and a celebrated political writer. The same principles which led him to oppose Charles I. made him hostile to the usurpation of Cromwell, during whose government he retired to Penshurst, and there occupied himself in composing his celebrated" Discourses on Government." 66- The boldest son of public weal, See Sidney leaning o'er the block! His mien, He delivered to the sheriffs a paper showing the injustice of his condemnation, and concluding with a prayer for that old cause in which he had from his youth been engaged. It was printed some time after, and probably made a considerable impression on the public. He suf |