62 



He refers to the discontent of human nature, and continues, allud- 

 ing to man : — " He is apt to compare himself to the plant, and to repine 

 at the difference. He observes the pride of our forests, shedding his 

 leaves in the autumn ; and sees them renovated in the spring, and going 

 on re-clothing and flourishing through ages, while he, surveying his 

 decayed and nerveless limbs, sighs out in despair : — ' There is no 



returning spring for me !' The plant is annually renovated, vs^hile 



the lord of the earth, with all his towering faculties, withers and sinks. 

 But this is judgment by sense and sight alone. 



Believe the muse : the wintry blast of death 

 Kills not the buds of virtue ; no, they spread 

 Beneath the heavenly beam of brighter suns, 

 Thro' endless ages, into higher flowers.' " 



-:o:- 



EXCUESION TO KINGSMERE. 



The first general excursion of the season was held on May 18th. 

 The opportunity it afibrded for a day's outing was taken advantage of 

 by about one hundred and forty of the members and their friends, thus 

 making it the most largely attended excursion ever held by the club. 

 King's Mountain, the highest of the Laurentian Hills in this neighbor- 

 hood, was the objective point, and the route lay along what is known as 

 the " lower road," which leads through one of the most picturesque 

 stretches of country in this vicinity. Fairy Lake, lying to the south of 

 the road, is aptly named, for it is a most beautiful and dainty little 

 sheet of water, fringed with trees, and nestling snugly among the sur- 

 rounding hills. Further west the road skirts the base of a bold jutting 

 spur of the mountains, while stretching away towards Aylmer, lies a 

 broad flat plain of excellent farming land, dotted with well kept and 

 pi'osperous-looking homesteads. All along the road the air was heavy 

 with the perfume of lilacs and late apple blossoms, and the Bobolinks 

 hovering over the luxuriant green meadows made the air ring with their 

 liquid musical notes, whilst butterflies of varied hues added further 

 brilliance to the sun-lit landscape. With such sights and sounds to 

 divert their attention, the excursionists hardly realized that it was 

 " ninety in the shade," and enjoyed the drive in spite of the heat, but,. 



