LESSON XXXI. THE HARMONY OF NATURE. "The wood, the mountain, and the barren waste, the craggy rock, the river, and the lake, are never searched in vain; each has its peculiar inhabitants, that enliven the scene and please the philosophic eye."-MONTAGUE. 1. IN full accordance with the sentiments of the author we have quoted above, we have often wandered in the recesses of our woods and the passes of far-stretching and craggy mountains, searched around our wild or beautiful lakes and our precipitous sea-coasts, and we have never been disappointed. 2. If we did not always meet with some species new to our collection, we found fresh facts to record of those we already possessed; and we delighted in the landscape enlivened by the airy creatures whose structure we had been examining, and whose habits we could there survey so freely. What would be the landscape without its living inhabitants? The luxuriance of vegetation, varying with beautiful flowers and rich foliage, has indeed charms quiet and seducing, but not such as fully satisfy the mind. 3. In the depth of the forest, or on the mountain's top, ere break of day had awakened their various tenants, and in some of our beautiful mornings of mid-year, we have seen how deeply tinted seemed the green of the foliage, and how chaste and blended were the tints on the nearly barren rock; how lovely the sylvan flowers appeared, showing their freshest blossoms amid the soft and matted growth beneath, and how exquisite the structure of the moss or lichen within our reach; how calm, clear, and serene the air, how deep the shadows; but how complete the quiet, how still the silence! 4. There is something in the gradual change from darkness to daylight in places such as these, which, while it is pleasing and agreeable to witness, leaves a deep and impressive feeling as of something wanting, not to be dispelled by the richest or most attractive vegetation. Soon, however, the stillness is broken, the various creatures go to their usual occupations, the scene is at once enlivened, the void is filled, and the harmony of Nature is complete. SIR WM. JARDINE. LESSON XXXII. BIRDS OF THE SEA. 1. BIRDS of the sea, they rejoice in On the top of the waves you may They run and dive, and they whirl and fly, PARK BENJAMIN. Of gunner's hopes, vast flocks of wild ducks stretch;2 3. In-shore their passage tribes of seagulls urge,3 And drop for prey within the sweeping surge; Oft in the rough opposing blast they fly Far back, then turn, and all their force apply, While to the storm they give their weak complaining cry, Or clap the sleek white pinion to the breast, And in the restless ocean dip for rest. CRABBE. 1 PHAN'-TOM, unreal; existing in appearance only. ar-| STRETCH, Sail away in long lines. THE STORMY PETREL (Procellaria Pelagica). 1. THIS is the bird that sweeps over the sea- He never forsakes the billowy roar 2. Up and down! up and down! From the base of the wave to the billow's crown, And amidst the flashing and feathery foam, The Stormy Petrel finds a home A home, if such a place may be, For her who lives on the wide, wide sea, To warm her young, and teach them to spring 3. All over the ocean, far from land, Where the storm-king rises, dark and grand, The mariner2 sees the Petrel meet The fathomless3 waves with steady feet, And a tireless wing, and a dauntless breast, 4. O'er the deep! o'er the deep! Where the whale, and the shark, and the swordfish sleep: Outflying the blast and the driving rain, The Petrel telleth her tale-in vain; For the mariner curseth the warning bird, Which bringeth him news of the storm unheard! Ah! thus does the prophet of good or ill Once more o'er the waves on thy stormy wing! 5. So, 'mid the contest and toil of life, My soul, when the billows of rage and strife 1 LAIR, resting-place. 2 MAR'-I-NER, seaman; a sailor. 14 DÄUNT'-LESS, bold; fearless. 5 SHROUD'-ED, covered; concealed. 3 FATH'-OM-LESS, the depth of which can not 6 SŎM ́-BRE, dull; cloudy; gloomy. be measured. NOTE. The first, third, and fifth verses of the foregoing are by Park Benjamin, and the second and fourth by B. W. Proctor. The several changes in metre render it a difficult but useful reading exercise. 1. 2. LESSON XXXIV. TO A WATER-FOWL. WHITHER, midst falling dew, While glow the heavens with the last steps of day, Thy solitary way? Vainly the fowler's1 eye Might mark thy distant flight to do thee wrong, Thy figure floats along. Seek'st thou the plashy2 brink Of weedy lake, or marge3 of river wide, There is a Power whose care Teaches thy way along that pathless coast- Lone wandering, but not lost. All day thy wings have fanned, At that far height, the cold, thin atmosphere; And soon that toil shall end; Soon shalt thou find a summer, home, and rest, Thou'rt gone! the abyss of heaven Hath swallowed up thy form; yet, on my heart And shall not soon depart. He who, from zone to zone, Guides through the boundless sky thy certain flight, Will lead my steps aright. 1 FOWL-ER, one who hunts wild fowls. 2 PLASH'-Y, watery. 9 MÄRGE, for margin. 14 CHAFED, Worn by the waves. BRYANT. BIRDS OF PASSAGE BY NIGHT. But their forms I can not see. LONGFELLOW. |