WEATHER. 311 



degrees : and a clear sky shall again compel it to 

 descend to its former gage. 



And here it may be proper to observe, on what 

 has been said above, that though frosts advance 

 to their utmost severity by somewhat of a regular 

 gradation, yet thaws do not usually come on by 

 as regular a declension of cold ; but often take 

 place immediately from intense freezing ; as men 

 in sickness often mend at once from a paroxysm. 



To the great credit of Portugal laurels and 

 American junipers, be it remembered, that they 

 remained untouched amidst the general havoc : 

 hence men should learn to ornament chiefly with 

 such trees as are able to withstand accidental 

 severities, and not subject themselves to the 

 vexation of a loss which may befal them once 

 perhaps in ten years, yet may hardly be recovered 

 through the whole course of their lives. 



As it appeared afterwards, the ilexes were much 

 injured, the cypresses were half destroyed, the 

 arbutuses lingered on, but never recovered ; and 

 the bays, lauristines, and laurels, were killed to 

 the ground ; and the very wild hollies, in hot 

 aspects, were so much affected that they cast all 

 their leaves. 



By the 14th of January, the snow was entirely 

 gone ; the turnips emerged, not damaged at all, 

 save in sunny places ; the wheat looked delicately, 

 and the garden plants were well preserved ; for 

 snow is the most kindly mantle that infant vege- 

 tation can be wrapped in : were it not for that 

 friendly meteor, no vegetable life could exist at 

 all in northerly regions. Yet in Sweden the 

 earth in April is not divested of snow for more 

 than a fortnight before the face of the country is 

 covered with flowers. 



