250 AMENITIES OF LIGHT. 



zation of material bodies, and such exquisite taste in the forms 

 upon which they are modelled, has superadded that ethereal 

 beauty which enhances their more permanent qualities, and 

 presents them to us in the ever- varying colours of the spectrum." 

 Is this a boon to be slighted, or regarded only by the eye 

 as a source of mere sensual, mere involuntary pleasure, when 

 nothing,- perhaps, more than colour, sprung of "the Light, 

 creation's mind" is adapted and intended to address itself to 

 the mind of man? To raise our thoughts to their ethereal 

 origin would seem, indeed, a peculiar attribute, not only of 

 those vivid hues 



" That live among the clouds, and flush the air, 

 Lingering and deepening at the hour of dews," 



but of those also which invest the living objects of creation. 

 Though falling short usually of this their highest purpose, the 

 more showy of Nature's paintings are wont commonly to exer- 

 cise, to a certain extent, a striking influence and attraction ; 

 and in proportion to the richness, brilliancy, and contrast of 

 their colours are natural objects valued and admired by the 

 many by whom elegance of form and curiosity of structure are 

 almost wholly overlooked. The leopard, the zebra, the pea- 

 cock, the gold and silver fish, the butterfly, the tulip, all owe 

 their estimation to their colouring ; it would seem, in short, a 

 natural, and therefore not an erring taste, to admire what 

 is gaudy ; and we doubt whether the natives of the Celestial 

 Empire, who copy in their gay attire the celestial hues of their 



