40 FEBRUARY. 



and sublime splendour in the lofty and in- 

 tensely blue sky glittering with congregated 

 stars, or irradiated with the placid moon. 

 There was a sense of vigour, of elasticity, of 

 freshness about you, which made it welcome: 

 but now, most commonly, by day or by night, 

 the sky is hidden in impenetrable vapour ; the 

 earth is sodden and splashy with wet; and 

 even the very fireside does not escape the 

 comfortless sense of humidity. Every thing 

 presents to the eye, accustomed so long to the 

 brightness of clear frosts, and the pure white- 

 ness of snow, a dingy and soiled aspect. All 

 things are dripping with wet : it hangs upon 

 the walls like a heavy dew ; it penetrates into 

 the drawers and wardrobes of your warmest 

 chambers ; and you are surprised at the un- 

 usual dampness of your clothes, linen, books, 

 and papers ; and, in short, almost every thing 

 you have occasion to examine. Brick and stone 

 floors are now dangerous things for delicate 

 and thinly- shod people to stand upon. To this 

 source, and in fact, to the damps of this month 

 operating in various ways, may be attributed 

 not a few of the colds, coughs, and consump- 

 tions so prevalent in England. Pavements are 



