19 



II. 



FEBRUARY 1st. 



Silver Thaw. Brilliance of the Meteor its fragility. Youthful Pros- 

 pects. Love of Nature. Cause of the Phenomenon. Virginian Deer. 

 Rackets. Hair of the Deer. Black-capped Titmouse its Food 

 Song. Anecdote. Flakes of Snow their beauty, variety, and regu- 

 larity difficulty of viewing and delineating them. Perfection of the 

 Divine Work. Frosted Windows. Uses of Snow. Notes of the 

 Winter of 1837-8. 



FATHER. A rain has fallen during the night, which has 

 touched the face of Nature with a magician's wand. Come, 

 and I will show you such a scene of splendour, as you will 

 not see every day. Observe the woods : every little twig 

 of every tree, every bush, every blade of grass, is enshrined 

 in crystal : here is a whole forest of sparkling, transparent 

 glass, even to the minute needle-like leaves of the pines and 

 firs. What are the candle-light lustres and chandeliers of 

 the ball-room, compared with this ? Now the sun shines 

 out ; see, what a glitter of light ! how the beams, broken as 

 it were, into ten thousand fragments, sparkle and dance as 

 they are reflected from the trees. 



CHARLES. It is very beautiful. It reminds me of some 

 of the fairy scenes in the Arabian Nights. 



F. Yes ; it is a scene of brilliance ; but beautiful as it 

 is, it is no less fragile : a slight touch from a rude hand is 

 sufficient to destroy it : on my striking the trunk of this 

 tree, see ! the air is filled with a descending shower of the 

 glittering fragments, and the potent spell is broken at once ; 



