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APPEARANCES OF NATURE IN APRIL.

In the lone valley; echoing far and wide,
The clam'rous horn along the hills above;
The hollow murmur of the ocean tide;

The hum of bees; the linnet's lay of love;
And the full choir, that wakes the universal grove.

The cottage curs at early pilgrim bark;

Crown'd with her pail, the tripping milkmaid sings The whistling ploughman stalks afield; and hark! Down the rough slope the pond'rous waggon rings Through rustling corn the hare, astonish'd springs; Slow tolls the village clock the drowsy hour; The partridge bounds away on whirring wings; Deep mourns the turtle in sequester'd bower; And the lark carols from her clear aerial tower.

APPEARANCES OF NATURE IN APRIL.

Now stormy skies with milder influence shine,
And winter, banish'd, seeks the northern clime,
The earth, reviv'd, a cheerful aspect wears-
The gentle bird returns-the fragrant flower appears.

APRIL generally begins with raw unpleasant weather, the influence of the equinoctial storms still in some degree prevailing; but its vicissitudes of warm gleams of sunshine and gentle showers have the most powerful effects in hastening that universal springing of the vegetable tribes, whence the season of spring derives its appellation. Early in the month, that welcome guest and harbinger of summer, the swallow, returns.

The

chimney, or house swallow, known by its long forked tail and red breast, is first seen; and as this bird lives on insects, its appearance is a certain proof that some of that minute tribe of animals are come abroad from their winter retreats. Birds are now busied in pairing, and building their nests, and the groves resound with all their various melody. The nightingale, that most enchanting of songsters, is heard soon after the arrival

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TRUST IN PROVIDENCE.

of the swallow. He sings by day as well as by night; but in the day-time his voice is drowned among the multitude of performers; in the evening it is heard alone, whence arises the common opinion that the nightingale sings only by night. Another of the most striking events of this month is the renewal of the note of the cuckoo, which is generally heard about the middle of April. This circumstance has commanded attention in all countries; and several rustic sayings, and the names of several plants which flower at this time, are derived from it. The arrival of the cuckoo is regularly preceded some days by that of the wryneck, a small bird, singular in its attitudes and plumage, and which has a peculiar note or cry, easily distinguished by those who once have heard it. Other birds, which are seen among us only in the warmer months, as the redstart, whitethroat, and yellow wagtail, appear in April. A considerable number of plants flower this month, and with the blossoms of fruit-bearing trees and shrubs, form a very agreeable spectacle, as well on account of their beauty, as of the promise they give of future benefits.

TRUST IN PROVIDENCE.

REGARD the world with cautious eye,
Nor raise your expectation high.
See that the balanc'd scales be such,
You neither fear nor hope too much.
Be still, nor anxious thoughts employ;
Distrust embitters present joy:
On God for all events depend;

You cannot want when God's your friend.
Weigh well your part, and do your best
Leave to your Maker all the rest.

;

The hand which form'd thee in the womb,
Guides from the cradle to the tomb.
Can the fond mother slight her boy?
Can she forget her prattling joy?

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BENEFITS ATTENDING MEN'S NATURAL WANTS. 83

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Say then, shall sovereign love desert
The humble and the honest heart?
Heaven may not grant thee all thy mind;
Yet say not thou that Heaven's unkind.
God is alike both good and wise,
In what he grants, and what denies :
Perhaps, what goodness gives to-day,
To-morrow, goodness takes away.
You say that troubles intervene ;
..That sorrows darken half the scene.
True! and this consequence you see,
This world was ne'er design'd for thee.
You're like a passenger below,
That stays, perhaps, a night or so;
But still his native country lies
Beyond the bound'ries of the skies.

Of Heaven ask virtue, wisdom, health
But never let thy prayer be wealth.
If food be thine (though little gold),
And raiment to repel the cold;
Such as may nature's wants suffice,
Not what from pride and folly rise;
If soft the motions of thy soul,

And a calm conscience crowns the whole;
Add but kind friends to all this store,
You can't in reason wish for more.

BENEFITS ATTENDING MEN'S NATURAL WANTS.

OUR natural necessities, when duly considered, are arguments of God's goodness, because, in their proper tendency, they are antidotes against sin, and helps to duty. Their proper tendency is to give us an impression of our natural emptiness, God's all-sufficiency, and our dependency upon him from whom we need so many things with which he furnishes us so bountifully;-by this means not leaving himself without witness, as Paul reasoned with the people of Lystra. Besides, it is useful to reflect, that human necessities are an excellent cement of human societies, and the many useful and

64 BENEFITS ATTENDING MEN'S NATURAL WANTS. beautiful relations comprehended in them. They also lay a foundation for the exercise of innumerable virtues and graces, which otherwise could not be exercised in so remarkable a manner for making men's graces and good works shine before the world, to the glory of God. And since the image of God drawn on the soul of a creature is the noblest workmanship in the creation, it should not be thought improper that it have occasions of shining in all its splendour for the honour of its author. Were it not for men's natural necessities, they would not have those excellent opportunities that now they enjoy, of shewing either their love to God, by sacrificing interest to duty, when these happen to interfere; or their love to their neighbour, by acts of charity, pity, and compassion, bounty, generosity, and the like, or temperance, sobriety, and other duties that relate more immediately to the management of themselves. These necessities are also the foundation of all that beautiful variety of stations and employments which, together with other excellent uses, serve to keep men from idleness and inactivity, than which experience shews that nothing is more hurtful. Men pretend, indeed, oftentimes, that their labours are hindrances of their duties: but experience shews that, generally, those who have most time, are not the persons who make the best use of it. So that man's eating his bread with the sweat of his brow, is such a punishment of sin as is at the same time an excellent restraint upon it. From all which it appears, that by the desires God hath implanted in us, and the objects he has made necessary to us, he does not tempt us to sin, but excite us to duty; and that those things which are made occasions of evil, are really necessary means of good; and that though they are unnaturally perverted by bad men, yet their natural tendency is to the exercise and triumph of many graces and virtues. God's goodness in this matter is the more evident the more it is inquired into. He has implanted in us desires after things useful and necessary; but none after those things that are useless and hurtful. No superfluous desires are natural: these are acquired by men themselves, and oftentimes gratified to the prejudice of those desires that are

THE BOYS AND FROGS.-MORNING HYMN.

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natural and just. And, upon the whole, the use we should make of these reflections is certainly an humble acknowledgement of our own emptiness, and of God's all-sufficient goodness.

FABLE OF THE BOYS AND FROGS.

A PARTY of boys happening to be at play on the margin of a large lake, whirled whole volleys of stones into the water, to the great annoyance and danger of some poor terrified frogs by whom it was inhabited. At length one of the most hardy of these animals, lifting his head above the surface of the lake, “Ah, dear children,” said he, "why will ye learn so soon the cruel practices of your race? Consider, I beseech you, that though this may be sport to you, it is death to us.' -It is ever cruel to raise mirth to ourselves at the expense of other people's comfort and welfare.

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MORNING HYMN.

AWAKE, my soul, and with the sun,
Thy daily stage of duty run;
Shake off dull sloth, and early rise
Το pay thy morning sacrifice.

Redeem thy wasted time that's pass'd;
Live this day, as if 'twere thy last :
T' improve thy talents, take due care,
And for the judgment-day prepare.

Let all thy converse be sincere ;
Thy conscience as the noonday, clear:
Think how th' all-seeing God, thy ways
And all thy secret thoughts surveys.

Wake, and lift up thyself, my heart,
And with the angels bear thy part;

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