IMarch, 1862.] 65 



THE OPENING YEAK. 



"Sicker (surely), Willj, thou warnest well ; 

 For winter's wrath begins to quell, 



And pleasant spring appeareth ; 

 The grass now gins (begins) to be refreshed, 

 The swallow peeps out of her nest, 



And cloudy welkin cleareth." 



It is difficult to convey to a person brought up in a large town, 

 " to one who long in populous city pent/' the effect which the 

 varied aspects of Nature — for example, the arrival of migratory 

 birds, the flowering of plants, the leafing of trees, and atmo- 

 spheric variations — have on one who has been nursed in Nature's 

 lap, or who has been born and educated in the country. The 

 latter has an additional sense to which the former is a stranger. 

 Reminiscences and associations link his own history with the 

 surrounding objects of his notice, and the mysterious energies of 

 Nature operate on his own being, and his feelings are an index 

 to the seasonal changes of the year. When Nature wakes up 

 from her winter's sleep and is shining in earth and sky, her 

 activities are felt within, and, without any other monitor to warn 

 him of the lapse of time, his inward perceptions tell him that the 

 season of flowers is come — he seems to hear a voice wooing him 

 to the fields. In autumn, too, Avhen Nature's grand operations 

 are almost over, and she is, in some of her departments, already 

 undressing herself before retiring to rest — the pale light thrown 

 over the landscape, and the solemn stillness which almost uni- 

 versally reigns, exert an influence upon his mind widely different 

 from that buoyancy of spirit produced by the advent of spring. 



But there are more obvious phenomena accompanying the 

 opening year, and which can be recognized by the senses. We 

 might draw many illustrations from the feathered tribes and the 

 insect world, but shall confine ourselves to the mention of a few, 

 drawn principally from the vegetable creation. 



First comes the Snoivclroj}, emblem of modesty and innocence. 

 While Winter yet scowls, or his angry voice is heard in the north, 

 commanding silence from almost every feathered songster, and 

 Desolation still holds his sway, it comes, though with drooping 

 head, like a friend in adversity, to cheer our drooping spirits, by 

 telling us of verdant meads and sunny skies that are soon to 

 follow. 



N. S. VOL. VI. K 



