Mr. Lunfs Address. 259 



locks of the queen of May upon the village green. They must have wav- 

 ed upon the brovr of the returning victor, vpreathed their modest tints 

 amongst the tresses of the blushing bride, and reposed in pale and tranquil 

 beauty upon the marble bosom of death. They must have proved their 

 power to sound the secret well-springs of our hearts, and to draw up the 

 sweeter waters beneath, hidden, as with a veil, by the intertangled sophis- 

 tications and falsehoods of the world. They must have been won from 

 their wild and unseen solitudes, and nurtured and cherished with a dear and 

 reverent love. 



But much as we love to meet them in their green retreats, on the fra- 

 grant meadow, by the rural road-side, or in the wild recesses of the rocks, 

 it is as the friends and companions of our daily duties that we most wel- 

 come their sweet and holy ministry. Nurtured by our own hands, they 

 become indeed the faithful solace of our cares, and the rich reward of all 

 our pleasant toil. And then how more than strange is this wonderful re- 

 sult with which beneficent Nature repays our fostering charge ! What 

 miracle so marvellous, as this mysterious development, which we so disre- 

 gard, because we call it the common course and order of creation ! When 

 the returning season fills our hearts anew with its returning hopes, we take 

 the unsightly and insignificant seed. We bury it out of our sight beneath 

 the dark, insensate earth. The dews and the showers fall upon what might 

 well seem to be its eternal bed. The sun reaches its secret resting place 

 with a vital and incomprehensible energy. It awakens from its slumber, 

 and no apparent elements of its original conformation remain. It starts 

 into being under new and ever-varying aspects, — till 



from the root 

 Springs lighter the green stalk, from thence the leaves 

 More aery, last the bright consummate flower 

 Spirits odorous breathes. Par. Lost." 



The address concludes as follows :— 



"I have thus endeavored, gentlemen, to discourse to you in a manner,' 

 let me hope, not entirely inconsistent with the spirit of the occasion. It 

 has been my purpose to avoid that course of technical remark, which, be- 

 fore such an audience, might have proved presumptuous in me rather than 

 instructive to you. That scientific knowledge, which the genius and enter- 

 prise of modern times have brought to the pursuit of your liberal objects, 

 may be found in sources easily accessible. Of the dignity and value of 

 these objects it were unnecessary to speak. To apply any elaborate eulo- 

 gium to this pursuit were as reasonable as to justify the great sun of Heaven 

 himself, in the fullness and glory of his illustrious beams. The beautiful 

 and costly edifice which you have erected is the most fitting testimonial of 

 your liberality, as its purpose affords the suiest evidence of a refined and 

 intellectual community. 'God Almighty,' says Lord Bacon, 'first 

 planted a garden ; and indeed it is the purest of human pleasures ; it is the 

 greatest refreshment to the spirits • of man ; without which buildings and 



