The Charms of Winter. rishment, and those conveniencies which are necessary, is to act manifestly against the will of our common Creator, whose beneficent regards are extended to those creatures which are inferior to us. And the brute creation have a positive right to our car how much more are we obliged to soften, as much as in our power, the distresses of our fellow-creatures Do not be contented to procure merely what may su] ply thy own necessities; but endeavour to provid something for the support of others; and let it neve. happen, that any creature has perished through lack of receiving that support, which it was in thy power to afford. JANUARY VII. THE CHARMS OF WINTER. EVERY season has pleasures and beauties peculiar to itself: and even the Winter, however deprived of charms it may appear to some persons, fulfils also in this respect the design of the Creator. In behalf of those who, through ignorance or prejudice, murmur at this season, I am going to detail those pleasures which it procures for our senses, and for our hearts. Is it not a most delightful spectacle, to behold the dawn shine over a landscape covered with snow? The thick fog which veiled the earth, and hid its objects from our sight, is suddenly dissipated. A light hoary frost whitens the tops of the trees; the hills and the The Charms of Winter. vallies are differently coloured, by reflecting the beams of the sun, whose benign influence gives new life to all creatures; and seems to invite the titmouse to quit the thickets, and the sparrow to flutter from branch to branch. In proportion as nature seemed dead during the absence of the sun, in the same proportion she is animated on his appearing again; and, in her hoary garments, cheers the eyes of the traveller. Have you ever considered, with attention, the formation of the snow? Have you ever reflected on the wonders which a single flake of this substance exhibits? Admire, on the one hand, the regularity and symmetry of its shape, and on the other, the infinite number of flakes which fall from the air. What a pleasing sight to view the hills, the forests and the thickets, clothed with such dazzling lustre! What a charm results from the assemblage of all these objects! Behold, (for the eye can never be satisfied with this sight, however it be accustomed to it) behold the brilliant dress of those hedges! see the forests bend under the white curtain which covers them! The whole presents to our view the appearance of a vast desert, over which a uniform veil of dazzling white is extended. may What idea shall I form of those who, at the sight of such phenomena, feel nothing, or do not experience that pleasure which the Creator designed to afford them? And as for you, who really murmur against the laws of nature, how much are you to be pitied! If the appearance of Nature in winter be not pleasing to you, I am afraid that spring itself, with all its charms, will find you equally insensible. Come ye The Charms of Winter. who reverence your Maker, and see and taste how good the Lord is; how adorable is his wisdom, and how unbounded is his goodness, even in the things which relate to the winter. However desolate Nature may appear in our eyes, she is, nevertheless, a masterpiece of divine workmanship; and it is our blindness alone which hides her beauties. Some rays of the Divine wisdom shine forth in every part; but how many more are hidden from us! We do not follow Nature in all her ways, and we are only attentive to those things which strike our senses or flatter our passions. In this, many bear a near resemblance to the brute, who sees the sun, the snow, and other phenomena of nature, without ascending to that God from whom all that occurs in heaven and earth proceeds. Reader! with what satisfaction shall your soul be filled, if you accustom yourself to consider attentively, the works of God in this season of the year! The air may be agitated around you, the heavens may become tempestuous, and nature be despoiled of her sweetest attractions; but your soul may taste true pleasure, by beholding in all things the footsteps of the wisdom, power, and goodness of your great Creator. However bounded your natural faculties may be, you will always find sufficient matter here to interest your senses and your understanding. You will feel no occasion to seek. with anxiety the dissipations of the world, or the amusements of dancing and gaming. whether alone, or in the circle of and friends, pleasures always genuine, new. You will find, your children and always. Of Vegetables which preserve their Verdure in Winter. O my soul, accustom thyself to taste these delights! Let the works of God often occupy thy thoughts; and such meditations will soften the asperities of life. Ascend toward God, by the ladder of created beings; and in all times, and in all seasons, he will be the object of thy praise. JANUARY VIII. OF THE VEGETABLES WHICH PRESERVE THEIR VERDURE IN WINTER. THE Earth may now be compared to a mother who has been bereft of her most promising children. She is desolate, and despoiled of those charms which variegated and embellished her surface. Nevertheless, she is not deprived of all her children: here and there we discover vegetables, which seem to brave the rigour of winter. Here, the wild Hawthorn shews its purplish berries; and the Laurustinus discloses its flowers; disposed in bunches, crowned with a foliage which never withers. The Yew Tree elevates itself like a pyramid, and its leaves have preserved their verdure. The feeble Ivy creeps still about our walls, and remains unshaken, whilst the tempest roars around it. The Laurel extends its green branches, and has lost no part of that dress which adorned it in summer. The humble Box Tree shews here and there, among the snow, its verdant branches. These trees, and some others, preserve their verdure in the coldest climates, Of Vegetables which preserve their Verdure in Winter. and in the most rigorous seasons. They are emble. matic of the durable advantages which he possesses, whose mind is well cultivated, and whose disposition is sweet and pliant. The lustre of dress, which daz zies only the eyes of the vulgar, is a frivolous and transitory lustre; the shadings of the most brilliant tints fade; all exterior graces have but a short dura tion; but virtue has charms which survive them all "The man who fears the Lord, is like a tree planted by the side of a river; he grows and extends his branches afar, he brings forth fruit in his season, and his leaves wither not; he comforts those who seek the shade, and the traveller blesses him." How amiable is the pious man! He borrows not his beauty from the external and arbitrary goods of fortune; his true ornaments are within. The tempests of adversity may at times shake him; but they can never cast him down: and shortly his head shall be raised far above all stormy regions. If unexpected misfortunes reduce him to poverty, he is still rich, because he possesses the approbation of God: has a good conscience, and a hope full of a blessed immortality. While he beholds those falling around him, who were proud of their riches, and rebelled against. God, he remains firm; his noble humility defends him from falling; for the Lord holds him by his right hand, and does not suffer him to stumble. This meditation leads me to the idea of a venerable old man. In the winter of his life he resembles those plants, which, during this season of the year, still preserve their verdure. How many storms of life has he |