124 THE VINE. 



ourselves. I find this snare in my garden, loving 

 better to trace characters in flowers, than to bestir 

 myself to the needful operation of uprooting weeds. 

 May the Lord, who has given me many sweet and 

 soothing thoughts, while contemplating the vine 

 that his bounty has enriched with' precious clus- 

 ters, cause the warning word to sink deep into my 

 heart, which declares, " every branch in me that 

 beareth not fruit, he taketh away !" 



