OLD HUMPHREY. 487 



the kindness of friends, made acquainted with the works 

 of " Old Humphrey," and many are the solitary hours I 

 can look back upon as pleasurably and profitably spent in 

 their perusal. Manly simplicity of style, earnestness of 

 purpose, cheerfulness, buoyancy of thought, and confidence 

 in things unseen constitute the charm of his many writings. 

 Of the various subjects on which he wrote let us hear what 

 he had to say on flowers. 



U ON FLOWERS." 



" How many gratifications do we daily enjoy ? and how 

 disproportionate is our gratitude to the Father of Mercies 

 when compared with the number and magnitude of his 

 favours ! The skies above our heads and the earth be- 

 neath our feet are beautifully adorned by heavenly hands. 

 The balmy gale breathes health around us ; the brook and 

 the crystal spring pour forth their refreshing and invigo- 

 rating streams. By day the glorious sun gilds the creation 

 with his beams, and by night the silvery moon and the 

 glittering stars shed their grateful lustre. 



"There are many things which give pleasure to age but 

 impart no enjoyment to youth ; and others, which afford a 

 gratification to the young, which the aged cannot share. 

 The rich can procure pleasures which the poor cannot 

 obtain, and the poor man enjoys advantages that the rich 

 cannot purchase ; but some things appear equally to 

 delight the old and the young, the rich and the poor, 

 and among these may be mentioned flowers. Yes, 

 whether flowers flourish in the garden or bloom in the 

 greenhouse, whether they are scattered over the pathway, 

 sprinkled on the verdant banks, or widely strewn over the 

 mountains and the valleys, they never fail to please ; they 

 impregnate the air with their sweetness, and delight the 

 eye with their exquisite beauty. Think of the flowers that 

 you have gathered, smelt, and gazed on, and then ask 

 yourself if you have been sufficiently grateful for .the 

 pleasures they have afforded you. 



