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MOSS. 
Mr. Park, the celebrated African traveller, 
gives the following account of the feelings and 
sentiments which were awakened in his mind, 
by the sight of one of these interesting produc¬ 
tions of nature, in the midst of desert wilds :— 
‘ Whatever way I turned, nothing appeared but 
danger and difficulty. I saw myself in the 
midst of a vast wilderness, in the depth of the 
rainy season, naked and alone, surrounded by 
savage animals, and men still more savage. 
I was five hundred miles from the nearest Eu¬ 
ropean settlement. At this moment, painful 
as my reflections were, the extraordinary 
beauty of a small moss in fructification, irre¬ 
sistibly caught my eye. I mention this, to 
show from what trifling circumstances the 
mind will sometimes derive consolation ; for, 
though the whole plant was not larger than 
the top of one of my fingers, I could not con¬ 
template the delicate conformation of its roots, 
leaves, and corolla, without admiration. 
Can that Being, thought I, who planted, wa¬ 
tered, and brought to perfection in this ob¬ 
scure part of the world, a thing which appears 
of so small importance, look with unconcern 
upon the situation and sufferings of creatures 
formed after his own image 1 Surely not. I 
started up, and disregarding both hunger and 
fatigue, travelled forward, assured that relief 
was at hand; and I was not disappointed.’ 
Upon this incident, a blind boy, named 
Alexander Lethan, an inmate of the asylum 
for such unfortunate persons at Edinburgh, 
composed, about three years ago, the follow¬ 
ing verses :— 
