42 FEBRUARY. 



sweeping away the superabundant moisture 

 from earth and air. Oh ! blithe and animat- 

 ing is the breath of March ! It is like a cool 

 but spirit-stirring draught of some ancient 

 vintage ; elating but not enervating the heart ; 

 deadening the memory of past evil, and ex- 

 panding it to the delicious hope of future de- 

 lights. So precious a boon, however, is not 

 exclusively permitted to March : February is 

 often allowed to be a liberal partaker ere its 

 close, and we have known the winds lift up 

 their voices this month with all their triumph- 

 ant and sonorous energy. Nothing can per- 

 haps illustrate so livingly our idea of a spirit, 

 as a mighty wind present in its amazing 

 power and sublimity, yet seen only in its ef- 

 fects. We are whirled along with its career- 

 ing torrent with irresistible power ; we are 

 driven before it, as Miss Mitford says, as by a 

 steam-engine. How it comes rushing and roar- 

 ing over the house, like the billows of a mighty 

 ocean ! Then for the banging of doors, the 

 screaming and creaking of signs, the clatter of 

 falling shutters in the street! Then for the 

 crash of chimneys, the down- toppling of crazy 

 gables, the showering of tiles upon the pave- 



