APRIL. 93 



wealth and luxury, to one of shame, poverty, and wretch- 

 edness. 



The landscape, though not yet clothed with leaves 

 and verdure, is already awake with the revival of the 

 animated creation. The little familiar bluebirds are 

 busy among the hollows of old trees, where they rear 

 their offspring, secure from the depredation of foes. 

 Multitudes of them, seen usually in pairs and seldom in 

 flocks, are scattered over the orchards, responding to 

 each other, in their few plaintive, but cheerful notes ; 

 and their azure plumage is beautifully conspicuous, 

 as they flit among the naked branches of the trees. 

 The voice of the robin resounds in all familiar places, and 

 the song of the linnet is heard in the groves which have 

 lately echoed but with the scream of the jay and the 

 cawing of the raven. Young lambs, but lately ushered 

 into life, may be seen, with various antic motions, try- 

 ing the use of those limbs, that seem to run wild with 

 them, before they have hardly ascertained their powers ; 

 and parties of little children, some with baskets, em- 

 ployed in gathering salads, others busied in picking the 

 red fruit of the partridge berry, will often pause from 

 their labors with delight, to watch the friskings of these 

 happy creatures. 



The little insects that whirl about on the surface of 

 the still waters, have commenced their gambols anew, 

 and fishes are again seen darting about in the streams. 

 A few butterflies, companions of the early spring flow- 

 ers, are flitting in irregular courses over the plains, the 

 spider is seen hanging by its invisible thread, from the 

 twigs of the orchard trees, and insects of various species 

 are swarming in sunny places. The leaves of the last, 

 autumn, disinterred from underneath the snow, are once 



