44 , FLOWERS. 



their long twining stems as they clamber over the 

 trees. The great abundance of these and other vines 

 in the tropical forests, so fills up the recesses between 

 the undergrowth, as to render them almost impene- 

 trable, and travellers often speak of being compelled 

 to cut their way through with axes. These tangled 

 brakes are the lodging- places of thousands of beauti- 

 ful birds, which build their nests and rear their young 

 without fear of intrusion. Here the jewelled breast 

 of the Humming-Bird is seen glittering in the light, 

 as it flits from flower to flower and gently dips its 

 tiny bill into their sweet ambrosial cups ; and here 

 may be heard the wild screams of flocks of gay plu- 

 maged Parrots, intermingled with the no less clamor- 

 ous chattering of troops of monkeys. 



On the borders of these forests may also be found 

 in great profusion, many elegant varieties of Convol- 

 vulus or Morning-Glories, plants with which most 

 persons are familiar. Of all the flowers with 

 which Nature with a lavish hand adorns our gardens, 

 there is perhaps none more showy or more fleeting. 

 Their delicately painted petals, their luxuriant growth, 

 the graceful drooping of their long twining branches, 

 and, above all, the gorgeous array of large showy 

 blossoms, which welcome with their smiles the earliest 

 streaks of dawn, all conspire to render them, as they 

 truly are, the glory of the morning. But how in- 

 structive is the lesson conveyed by the language of 

 Scripture, which is so applicable to this beautiful 

 plant : " For the sun is no sooner risen with a burn- 



