MAY. 59 



MAY. 



" Grateful 'tis, 

 Ah passing sweet, to mark the cautious pace 

 Of -ilow-returniiig Spring, e'en from the time 

 When first the matted apricot unfolds 

 Its tender bloom, till the full orchard glows ; 

 From when tlie gooseberry first shows a leaf, 

 Till the high wood is clad, and the broad oak 

 Yields to the fly-stung ox a shade at noon. 

 Sun proof.' Hurdis. 



From about tlie middle of March until sum- 

 mer is fairly ushersd in, vegetation makes such 

 rapid progress that we every day observe some 

 changes. This is particularly the case if we 

 walk among the woods, for never are the woods 

 so bright nor so full of those flowers which love 

 the shade, as during April and May. The 

 spring colouring of the trees, too, has its own 

 emerald beauty, though differing from that of 

 the richly variegated autumn. 



There is also something peculiar in the life 

 and acti\'ity of the spring woodlands, which 

 contrasts with the stillness of the autumnal 

 season in the same spots — when no birds are 

 singing, and when the winds are still, the influ- 

 ence of their shade and silence is like that ot 

 the starry sky, soothing and calmiing to the 

 mind ; but the spring wood is all so joyous and 

 so full of voices, that they who wander thither, 

 leaving their hearts open to the impressions of 

 nature, feel that its songs and soft green light, 

 and delicate sliadows inspire to gladness. A 

 wild thrill of delight is among the trees. The 

 storms of March have left behind, the lilac cloud.s 

 and the bright gleams of sunshiue, and, as yet. 



