138 MAY. 



suddenly descries the blue mountain-tops, and 

 the lofty crest of the palm-tree, and makes 

 some green and pleasant island, where the ver- 

 dant and blossoming forest-boughs wave in the 

 spicy gale; where the living waters leap from 

 the rocks, and millions of new and resplendent 

 flowers brighten the fresh sward, what then 

 is the joy of his heart ! To Omnipotence crea- 

 tion costs not an effort, but to the desolate and 

 the weary, how immense is the happiness thus 

 prepared in the wilderness ! Who does not re- 

 collect the exultation of Vaillant over a flower 

 in the torrid wastes of Africa ? A magnificent 

 lily, which, growing on the banks of a river, 

 filled the air far around with its delicious 

 fragrance, and, as he observes, had been re- 

 spected by all the animals of the district, and 

 seemed defended even by its beauty. The 

 affecting mention of the influence of a flower 

 upon his mind in a time of suffering and de- 

 spondency, in the heart of the same savage con- 

 tinent, by Mungo Park, is familiar to every 

 one. 



In the East flowers are made to speak the 

 language of sentiment. The custom of embel- 

 lishing houses and garnishing tables with them 



