44 FLOWERS. 
their lonz 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- 
