17 
CHAPTER LV. 
APRIL. 
Tue fields and forests over which winter had brooded in 
silence, as regards vegetation, now begin to rejoice, freshen, 
and burst into life. Not only is the vegetable world begin- 
ning to look gay, but the air, the earth, and the water are 
peopled with inhabitants, who have apparently shared in the 
general revival. This season, perhaps more decidedly than 
others, calls to mind the beauties of the works of God, when 
we might almost imagine that a new creation had taken 
place, and reminds us that our blessings are in the hand of 
one who is all-powerful. 
A general cheerfulness prevails in all places, and banks 
and hedges begin to look gay with many blossoms. The 
changeable character of the weather, also, sometimes mild, 
