15 



inclined to the intricate and marvellous, take 

 up some whimsical cause, (such as vermin 

 coming from a foreign land with the east 

 wind, the blossom being all burnt by fire 

 in a cold frosty night, the trees being bar- 

 ren from receiving too much sap, &c.) that 

 strikes their bewildered imagination, and 

 draws into darkness after them, thousands 

 who are too indolent or too pusillanimous 

 to think for themselves. 



To look for vermin at home, is below 

 their exalted ideas; and are they to stoop to 

 believe that the sap vessels are contracted 

 to such a degree by cold, that the circula- 

 tion is entirely stopt, and the young leaves 

 and tender blossom wither and die ? If they 

 would take the trouble to look, they would 

 see that it is not the blossom thatjlrst suffers, 

 in cases of this kind, but the tender stalk on 



