300 THE SEASON WHY. 



"The glory of the Lord shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his 

 works." PSALM civ. 



give warmth to the coldness of stone. In tropical climates they 

 supply rich fruits full of cool and refreshing juices, and they 

 fcpread out upon the crests of tall trees those broad leaves which 

 shelter the native from the scorching heat of the sun. 



They supply our dwellings with furniture of every kind, from 

 the plain deal table, to the handsome cabinet of satin or rosewood ; 

 they afford rich perfumes to the toilette, and luscious fruits and 

 wines lo the desert ; they charm the eye of the child in the daised 

 field; they adorn the brow of the bride ; they are laid in the coffin 

 with the dead ; and, as the cypress or the willow bend over our 

 graves, they become the emblems of our grief. 



1190. What is mahogany ? 



Mahogany is the wood of trees brought chiefly from South 

 America and Spain. The finest kind is imported from St. Domingo, 

 and an inferior kind from Honduras. 



We all keow the beauty of mahogany wood. But we do not all know that 

 mahogany was first employed in the repair of some of Sir 'Walter Raleigh's ships 

 at T: inidad in 1597. The discovery of the beauty of its grain for furniture and 

 cabinet work was accidental. Dr. Gibbons, a physician of eminence, was build- 

 ing a house m King-street, Covent-garden ; his brother, captain of a West 

 Indiaman. had brought over some planks of mahogany as ballast, and he thought 

 that the wood might bd used up in his brother's building, but the carpenters 

 found the wood too hard for their tools, and objected to use it. Mrs. Gibbons 

 shortly afterwards wanted a small box made, so the doctor called upon his 

 cabinet-maker, and ordsred him to make a box out of some wood that lay in his 

 garden. The cabinet-maker also complained that the wood was too hard. But 

 the doctor insisted upon its being used, as he wished to preserve it as a memento 

 of his brother. When the box was completed, its fine colour and polish attracted 

 much attention ; and he, therefore, ordered a bureau to be made of it. This was 

 done, and it presented so fine an appearance that the cabinet-maker invited 

 numerous persons to see it, before it was sent home. Among the visitors was her 

 Grace the Duchess of Buckingham, who immediately begged some of the wood 

 from Mr. Gibbons, and employed the cabinet-maker to make her a bureau 

 also. Mahogany from this time became a fashionable wood, and the cabinet- 

 milker, who at first objected to use it, made a great success by its introduction. 



1191. What is rosewood ? 



Rosewood is the wood of a tree which grows in Brazil. It is, 

 generally speaking, too dark lor large articles of furniture, but is 

 admirably adapted for smaller ones. It is expensive, and the 

 hardness of the wood renders the cost of making articles of it 

 very high. 



