m 
MISCELLANEOUS NOTICES. 
3.}iiHrrllniirniis JJiitirrs. 
God in t/ie Floicer. — All the cUfEoulties -which I had 
ever heai'd infidels lu'ge against Christianity occurred 
to me \rith tenfold strength, until my whole imagina- 
tion was possessed mth a fear that nothing existed 
which was not cognizable by the senses. I shuddered, 
and was agonized at the thought, and struggled to cast 
it from me as the most honible of sins. StUl it assailed 
me again and again, and I was foolish enough to sufler 
my mind to dwell upon such ideas, though I did not 
■ndUingly consent to them or emhrace them, and never 
ceased my ordinai-y devotional exercises, I strove, 
indeed, to pray, and with my tciU I did pray ; though 
it was with the utmost difficulty I could realise the fact 
that I was speaking to such a being as God. Long 
time my mind continued to wander, and be agitated 
with storms of thought. By and by, mechanically, I 
plucked a flower that grew by my side, and looked in- 
tently at its structure, scarcely knowing what I was 
doing. I pulled it to pieces, and examined its minute 
struetui'e, and admired the exquisite beauty of its 
doUcate tints, and thought of the marvellous organiza- 
tion hy which it was brought to the perfect state in 
which I saw it. Then, with the rapidity of lightning, 
an overwhelming thought struck me, and pierced me 
through and through. This flower, I thought, is but 
one of millions and millions and millions. And I strove 
to conceive of the multitude of flowers and leaves which 
I knew to exist in this earth alone. Often and often as 
I had pondered on the countless multitude of individual 
plants and animals which exist, never before had the 
fearfulness of that multitudinous quantity so com- 
pletelj' siezed upon my mind. I looked upwards into 
the branches of a vast oak, under which I was sitting, 
and beheld its myriad leaves sparkling in the sun, and 
waving beneath the breeze. The boundless complica- 
tion of the organization which was employed in the 
stnicture of that single tree ahsolutely appalled me. 
It came like an avenging power, and smote my intellect 
to the earth. I positively trembled at the contempla- 
tion of the wisdom, the skill, and the power which was 
exerted by the Creator of those gigantic houghs and 
innumerable leaves. Then it seemed as if a voice said 
to me, " "What greater miracle than this is there in the 
faith thou art despising and disbelieving?" In a 
moment the madness of my pretending to criticise a 
religion because its mysteries were unfathomahle, 
sti-uek me with overwhelming force. There, heforo my 
eyes, I saw that which haSled all my utmost compre- 
hension. What cannot He do, I thought, who made 
this tree ? Then there swept across my brain a recol- 
lection of the truth, that this tree was but one of such 
multitudes, that mortal mind cannot even conceive 
their number ; and that flie Omnipotent agency which 
I saw at work in the flower in my hand, was equally 
exeried through the minutest details of every indiridual 
vegetable in creation ; and yet, that all those wonders 
were hidden from almost all my fellow-creatures, and, 
as far as man is coneemed, were seemingly useless, and 
a waste of Divine power and wisdom. The more I 
reflected, the more insane did it appear that such, a 
being as I, or any other man, should presirme to criticise 
a faith which, in my calmest moments, I knew was 
supported hy unanswerable proofs. I perceived that 
the fiightful thoughts which had been haunting me 
were but fond and foolish deceits, impressions made 
upon my imagination, and snares from which, as a 
rational being, I was hound to flee. Nevertheless, a 
terrible agitation stiU possessed me ; and all I could do 
was to cry aloud, again and again, " God, have mercy 
on me ; for I am nothing, and Thou art all in all ! " — 
Capes' Sunday in London. 
JVeto French Grapes. — Gros Danlas Ham ; This va- 
riety, not so difficult to grow as the Gromier du Cantal, 
ripens its wood well, and is therefore as easEy propa- 
gated as the Chasselas de Fontainbleau, and other old 
varieties. It forms one of the best dessert grapes, and 
so hardy as to ripen its fruit in any aspect or situation, 
whether on the wall or espalier. The branches are 
very robust, somewhat thick at the base, becoming gra- 
dually smaller towards the apex ; short jointed. The 
leaves are broad, with long petioles unequally lobed 
and toothed, with a few hairs distributed over fie sur- 
face of both sides. The bunches usually measm-e from 
five inches to five inches and a-half across the shoiilder, 
and from six to eight inches in length. The fi-uit is 
large, round, white, faintly tinged with yellow on the 
side exposed to the sim ; its skin is thick, the flesh fii-m, 
sweet, somewhat aromatic, and very agreeable. The 
following good sorts are in M. Barbat's collection : — Gros 
Sillier du Maroc, fruit large, oblong, black ; Malaga, 
fruit large, oblong, rose-colom-ed ; GrossePerhdu Jura, 
fruit very large, oblong, white ; Supcrhe de Candolle, 
fruit very large, oblong, rose-coloured ; Trousseau, fi-uit 
large, round, black; Gros Grains de la Drome, fi-uit 
large, round, black ; Burr/ere, fruit large round, black ; 
Sose de Damoiselle, fruit large, roiuid, deep rose-colom-ed 
merging to a pale violet ; Bourdelais Jiatif, fiuit large, 
ohlong, black; Madelaine Jacques, fruit of a medium 
size, round, white ; Muscat noir de Prontignan, fruit of 
a medium size, round, black ; Muscat Arroui/a, fruit of 
a mediiim size, roimd, black; Gros Guillaumc, fruit 
round black. All these vai-ieties are first-rate. — Eeme 
Uorticole. 
Sanunctdus Ficaria edible.— Plants of this species, 
the Ficaria verna of some authors, raised from roots 
which had been gathered in Silesia by the Eev. Mr. 
"Wade in 1848, have been raised by Mr. M'Wab of the 
Edinbm-gh Botanic Garden. These roots had been ex- 
posed over a large extent of country in Ausfa-ia by hea-vy 
rains, and the common people gathered them and used 
them as an article of food. Then- sudden appearance 
gave rise to various conjectures as to their natui-e and 
origin, and in the Austi-ian journals they were spoken 
of as if they had fallen fi-om the sky. The small bodies 
were used as pease by the inhabitants. Mr. M'Nah 
had tasted the di-ied specimens, as well as fi-osh roots of 
Ranunculus Ficaria gathered in this country, which, 
after being boiled, he found very amalyceous. There 
is no acridity in the roots even in theii- fresh state. 
