MARCH. .51 



months, for it gives us the first announcement 

 and taste of spring. What can equal the de- 

 light of our hearts at the very first glimpse of 

 spring — the first springing of buds and green 

 herbs. It is like a new life infused into our 

 bosoms. A spirit of tenderness, a burst of 

 freshness and luxury of feeling possesses us : 

 and let fifty springs have broken upon us, this 

 joy, unlike many joys of time, is not an atom 

 impaired. Are we not young? Are we not 

 boys? Do we not break, by the power of 

 awakened thoughts, into all the rapturous 

 scenes of all our happier years ? There is 

 something in the freshness of the soil — in the 

 mossy bank — the balmy air — the voices of 

 birds — the early and delicious flowers, that we 

 have seen and felt only in childhood and spring. 



There are frequently mornings in March, 

 when a lover of Nature may enjoy, in a stroll, 

 sensations not to be exceeded, or perhaps 

 equalled by any thing which the full glory of 

 summer can awaken: — mornings which tempt 

 us to cast the memory of winter, or the fear 

 of its return out of our thoughts. The air is 

 mild and balmy, with, now and then, a cool 

 gush by no means unpleasant, but, on the 

 contrary, contributing towards that cheering 

 and peculiar feeling which we experience only 

 in spring. The sky is clear ; the sun flings 



