68 NATURAL HISTORY 



From thee the sapphire, solid ether, takes 

 Its hue cerulean ; and of evening tinct 

 The purple-streaming amethyst is thine. 

 With thy own smile the yellow topaz burns, 

 Nor deeper verdure dyes the robe of spring, 

 When first she gives it to the southern gale, 

 Than the green emerald shows. But all combined, 

 Thick through the whitening opal plays thy beam." 



This reminds us at once of the beautiful descrip- 

 tion of the Russian jewels by Bayard Taylor, whose 

 language seems rich and brilliant as though gilded 

 with the light of the gems it describes. 



" The splendor of their tints is a delicious intoxi- 

 cation to the eye. The soul of all the fiery roses of 

 Persia lives in these rubies, the freshness of all vel- 

 vet sward, whether in Alpine valley or English 

 lawn, in these emeralds ; the bloom of all southern 

 seas in these sapphires, and the essence of a thou- 

 sand harvest-moons in these necklaces of pearl." 



We might thus follow our own poets through this 

 same path, as they not only adorn their language 

 by introducing objects of Natural History, but have 

 so faithfully described the various objects in all its 

 kingdoms, that they teach as well as delight us. In 



