dation, yet thaws do not usually come on by so 

 regular a declension of cold ; but often take place 

 immediately after intense freezing; as men in sick- 

 ness often mend at once from a paroxysm. 



To the great credit of Portugal laurels and Amer- 

 ican 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 befall them, once, perhaps, in ten years, yet may 

 hardly be recovered through the whole course of 

 their lives. 



As it afterwards appeared, the ilexes were much 

 injured, the cypresses were half destroyed, the ar- 

 butuses lingered on, but never recovered ; and the 

 bays, laurustines, 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 delicate, and the 



garden-plants were well preserved ; for snow is the 



most kindly mantle that infant vegetation 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. 



180 



