disporting themselves ; for the great national school
for " children of a larger growth" is met in Saint Ste-
phen's Chapel, " for the despatch of business" and of
time, and consequently newspapers have become a
nonentity, and those writers who sign themselves
^ constant readers" find their occupation gone.— Now^
the stones of Bond-street dance Tor joy, while they
" prate of the whereabout" of innumerable wheels ;
wMch latter are so happy to meet again after a long
absence, that they rush into each other's ^mbraces-^
*' wheel within wheel" — and there's no getting them
asunder. Now, the Italian opera is open, and the
bouse is full ; but if asked on the subject, you may
safely say that " nobody was there ;" — ^for the opera-
hats that you meet with in' the pit evidently indicate
that the wearers appertain to certain counters and
counting houses in the city, or serve those that do* —
having f* received orders" for the opera in the way of
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40 RBIIARKABLB DAYS
their business. — Now^ a sudden thaw after a week's
frost puts the pedestrians of Cheapside into a pretty
pickle. — The trottoir of Saint James's-street begins
to know itself again y the steps t>f Raggett's are
proud of being pressed by right*honourable feet;
and the dandies' wafch'tower is once more peopled
with playful peers peering after beautiful ladies in
furred pelisses. — Now, on fine Sundays, the citizens
and their wives begin to hie them to Hyde Park, and
having attained Wellington-walk, fancy that there is
not more than two pins to choose between them and
their betters on the other side the rail; while these
latter, — having come abroad to take the air (of the
insides of their carriages) and kill the time and cure
Hie vapours, — permit inquisitive equestrians to gaze
at them through plate-glass, and fancy, not witibout
reason, that they look like flowers seen through flow-
ing water: Lady O , for example, like an over-
blown nose ; Lady H Kke a painted lady-pea i
the Countess of B like a newly-opened apple-
blpssom ; and her demure-looking little sister beside
her like a primrose'-^The Months, No. II, before
quoted.
' , " In FEBRUARY 1825.
*1. 1824. — REV. JOHN ^EMPRIERJB, d;d. DIED,
;' Author of the ' Classical Dictionary,' in 4to and
8iK>; the / Universal Biography/ in 4to and 8vo;
«nd^e fimt volume of ^a translation of Herodotus^
tiie continuiition of which was suspended on account
of the appearance of Mr. Beloe's dkgantand faith-
fal>tranfilati«>n.
2.*^FU»IFi0ATI0N OP THE VIRGIN MARY.
. 'This fi»3tvral is of high antiqmty, and the antieat
christians observed it by using a great number of
lii^ts ; in remembrance, as it is supposed, of our
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IN FEBRUARY 182S. 41
hiessed Saviour's being det^lared by Simeon to be a
light to lighten the Gentiles ; hence the name 6f Can-
dlemas-day. — A pleasing illustration of this day, be-
ing an account of the Rosario del Aurora, wifli sotne
poetical translations from the Spanish, will be found
in oar last Tolume, pp. 41-43.
' 8. — SA.1NT BLASE.
He was Bishop of Sebaste in Armenia, and suffer-
ed martyrdom in 316, under the persecution of Idci-
oius, by command of Agricolaus, govemor of Cap-
padocia and the Lesser Armenia.— Saint Blase is
the patron saint of the woolcombers, and some ac-
count of the processions made on this day will be
found in our former volumes. In Mr. Malcotan'B
'' Anecdotes of the Manners and Customs of London
daring the Eighteenth Century' (vol. i, p. 288), it is
related, that on the anniversary of the Queen's Birth*
day (March 3, 1730), one hundred woolcombers as-
sembled, with their shirts over their clothes, and va-
rious coloured woollen caps on their heads, in Bi-
shopsgate, whence they went in procession to St*
Jameses Palace, preceded by the steward of their
company, and a person on horseback representing
Bishop Blasb^ in wigs of wool, neatly curled ; the
bishop carried a woolcomb in one hand^ and a
prayer-book in the other. They arranged, them-
selves in the park facing the palace, and their
leader addressed the king and queen, who appeared
at a window, thanking bis majesty for the encourage-
ment they had received, and entreating his future
protection.
The order of St. Blase and the Virgin Mary was
ecclesiastical us well as military; and it took place
soon after that of the Knights Templars. The badge
of the order was a riedcross, and in the centre was a
medallion with the image of St. Blase enamelled.
When the knights of this order assembled in chap-
ter, or set out on m^ military expedition, they wore
D 2
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42 BSMARX^BUB BATS
on their breast the sane badge ^nbroidered on a
white habit* ; . ^
*>- ^.-^SAINT AGATHA.
She suffered martyrdom nnder Decius^ in the year
351.-^See an account of Ae fdte of St. Agatha^ in
Sicily, in T. T. for 1828, p. 37.
6. — 8EXA6BSIMA SUNDAY. Se€ SBPTVAGESTMA^
p. 18.
i ' *56i 1684. — KING CHARlffiS U 'DISB.
« < fiee < Jfr. Em's^ Ofiginai and Royal Liters fircm
Av/l0frapks m the BrUish MkuemC (^ol. Mi, p. 338),
foff an interesting letter describing the last moraenl»
of King C^afles li, which differs materially, in some
points^ fi?om the account of tbat€¥entdescribed by
Bishop Burnet. We regret that want of space pre-
â–¼ei^ us from transferring it to our pages.
13. — QUINQUAGESIMA SUNDAY. jSeeSEPTUAGESiM A^
p. 18,
14. — SAINT VALENTINE.
Valentine was an antient presbyter of the church :
after a year's imprisonment at Rome, he was beaten
with clubs, and then beheaded, in the Via Flaminia,
about the year 270, under Claudius II. "The modem
celebration of this day is well known: see our for-
mer volumes^ particularly T. T. for 1823, pp. 41-43,
where some * elegant Valentines' are given : we now
add
The Talentine Wreath. By Mr* Montgomery.
Eo^ red the hills appear
Widi the light of morning,
Beauteous elouds, in tether clear,
AH the East adorning ;
White tibrough mist the meadows &aa»i
Wake, my L«oye,niy Valentine!
For thy looks of rayen hue/
flowers of hoar frost pearly.
Crocus-cups of gold and btuei ^
Snow-drops drooping c^y,
With Mezereon Bprigs combine t
Rise, my Loye, my Y^lealine !
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IN KSBaDiiiiT 1825* 43
CKer the margiii of the floods
Pkiok the daisy peeping ;
Through the oovert of the wood^
fiunt the' sorrel creeping ;
With the little Celandine,
Crown, 407 hove, my Valentine.
Pansiesyon their lowly stems,
Scattered o*er the fallows ;
HazeUbuds with crinison gems,
Green and glossy sallows,
Tufted moss and ivy-twine.
Deck, my Love, my Valentine.
Few and simple flowerets these ;
Yet to me less glorious
Oarden-heds and orchard-trees!
Since this wreath victorious
Binds you now for ever mine,
O my Love, my Valentine.
Now (says an elegant modem writer^ wbile de*'
scriiring February in London) the fashionable shops
are shorn of their heams^ and none can show wares
fliat are strictly in season^ except the stationer's*
Bat his, which for all the rest of the year is dullest
of die dtril^ is now^ for the first fourteen davs^ gayest
of liie gay — for liere the poetry of love and the love
of Jifoetryare displayed under all possible and impos-
sible forms and metaphors^ — ^from little cupids creep-
ing out of cabbage roses, to large overgrown hearts
stuffed with double-beaded arrows, and uttering pite-
ous complaints in verse while they fry in their own
flames. On good Saint Valentine's eve, all the rising
generation olf this metropolis, who feel lliat they have
reached the age of indiscretion, think it full time for
them to fall in love> or be fallen in love with. Ac-
cordingly, infinite are the crow-quills that move
miucingly between embossed margins.
And these rhyme no^ who never rhymed before.
And those who always rhymed now rhyme the more.
*14. 1823.— MARGARET EGLANTINE PEARSON DIED.
Her works in Stained Glass will long remain as
9plendid memorials of her genius and indefatigable
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44 iUSMARKABLB DAYS!
industry. She was the daughter of the celebrated
PatersoQ the book auctioneer, and at an early age
married Mr. James Pearson, the first glass-sUtiner
this or any other country ever produced: from hinn
she imbibed a passion for the art, which expired onljr
with her life. She executed two sets of the ' Car-
toons of Raphael/ one of which was purchsised by
Sir Gregory Page Turner, for <£1500— the other is
in the possession of her husband. Every effort of
her pencil was vitrified, by which process the co-
lours became a part, of the glass ; and her paint-
ings are, at this moment, as brilliant as when they
first issued from the furnace, and will shine with un-
diminished lustre for years to come.
15. — SHROVE TUBSDAV.
The Scottish designation of Hiis day, Fa$tems^
e'en (called also Fastens e'en in the North of Eng-
land and Border), is much more antient than the Eng-
lish. Shrove Tuesday is not to be found in the
Anglo-Saxon; nor does it appear that there is any
particular name for this day in that language. The
Scottish language retains not only Fas^ern«-e'en, bat
YuU-e'en, and Hallow-e'en. They were thus de-
signed, because all the feasts commenced and ended
with the evening. The northern nations, even in the
time of Tacitus, began their computation of the day
in this manner; this, indeed, was the original mode.
* The evening and the morning were the first ^ay/.
We have a remnant of the same antient customs in
the English words se'ennighi and fortnight, instead .
of seven or fourteen days. ,
The barbarous amusement of cock-fighting, the
pastime of cowards and the disgrace of modem times^
was permitted iasome schools in Scotland, on Fotf-
tems-e'en, not very many years ago ! ^
16. — ASH WEDNESDAY.
" To the 36 fasting days of the Old Lent, Gregory
added four days more, to render it equal to the time.
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JN VXBftUAItY 1825. 45
of our SaTiom^ft lasting, oausiiig it to begin on A$h>
fFednesdafff three days after Qumquage$ima ; and
tbos it has renttdned ever since. Lent is not of apos-
tolic institution, nor was it known in tiie earlier ages
of the Christian chnrch. —For an account of the
three last days of the Carnival in Spain, see oar last
volome, p. 68.
*17. 1824. — STATIRA, A BLACK WOMAN, DIED,
.ET. 134!
She was a slave at Antigua, and was hired as a
day-labourer during the building of the gaol, and
was present at the ceremony of laying the comer-
stone, which took place 116 years ago.
*22. 1824.— -JOHN DAVY, MUSICAL COMPOSER,
DIED,
In penury, 'without a friend to close his eyes.' —
Many of his pieces will never cease to be recollected
and admired, particularly his 'Just like Love'-:7
' May we ne'er want a Friend' — * The Death of the
Smuggler,' — and * The Bay of Biscay :' he also wrote
sevend Operas; the latent were 'Rob Roy Mac-
gregor,' and 'Woman's Will.'
23,25,26. — EMBER DAYS.
There are/otir Ember Weeks in the year, namely,
after the first Sunday in Lent, after the feast of Pen-
tecost, after the 14th of September, and after (he
13th of December. It is enjoined by a canon of the
church, ^ that Deacons and Ministers be ordained^
or made, but only on the Sundays immediately fol-
lowing these Ember feasts.'
, 24.— SAINT MATTHIAS.
It appears from the qualification required by
St. Peter, tiiat Matthias had been a continual at*
tendant on our Saviour daring the whole of his mi-
nistry, from his baptism by John till his assumption
into heaven. He was probably one of the seventy
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46 ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCBS
disciples, and had been a witness of Chrisf s resar-
Tection, and of the most considerable passages of his
Ufe : so that he was as well able as the other AposUes
to proclaim abroad the matters of fact, which Con-
cerned the new religion. St. Matthias continaed at
Jerusalem till the powers of the Holy Ghost were
conferred on the Apostles, to enable them to dis-
charge their difficult employment; and then he is
thought ' to have made the first fruits of his ministry
in Judaea with great success/ Tradition aiBrms,
that he afterward travelled into the rude countries of
the east, where he was treated with great inhumanity
by barbarous people; and, having converted num-
bers to Christianity, he at last obtained the crown. of
martyrdom. ' An old martyrology reports him to
have been first stoned for blasphemy, and then be-
headed ; but a hymn in the Greek offices, quoted by
'Dr. Cave, and seconded by several ' antient Bre-
viaries, intimates, that the mode of his death was
crucifixion. — Protestant Beadsman, p. 18.
^stronomtcal 4ktmttntt6
In FEBRUARY 1825.
How formidable is the aspect of the heavens, when
they appear covered with clouds and storms ! But,
what majesty, what beauty, what simplicity in the
colour of the sky, when the weather is fair I The
apartments of kings, decorated with the pencil of the
most eminent painter, are nothing in comparison with
the megestic simplicity of the celestial arch. When
tihie eye has for a long time contemplated terrestrial
beauties, it gets tired; but the more we behold the
celestial azure, the more charms and beauties we
discover. Tet who that views this goodly scene
independently of Revelation, might not adopt the
poet s language, and with his feeling exclaim.
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IN VBBRUAItT 1825. 47
Between two worlds life hoTors like a Mar,
Twixt night and moni, upon the horizon^s verge:
How little do we know that which we are !
How less what we may be ! The eternal surge
Of tide and time rolls on, and bears afar
Our bubbles; as the old burst, new emerge.
Lashed from the foam of ages ; while the graves
Of empires heave but like some passing waves.
BYRON.
Solar Phenomena.
The Sun enters Pisces at 7m. past 9 in the even-
ing of this month; and he rises and sets during the
same period, as in the following
TABLE
Of the Sun's Rising and Setting for every fifth Day.
February 1st, Sun rises, 27 m. after 7. Sets 33 m. after 4
6th, 18 7 42 4
11th, 9 7 61 4
16th, 7 4
21st, 51 6 9 5
26th, 41 6 19 5
Equation of Time.
In the common occurrences of life it is frequently
necessary to convert time, as shown by a good sun-
dial, to' that which ought to be indicated at the same
moment by a well regulated clock ; to accomplish
which the numbers in the following table must be
employed, viz. :
TABLE
Of the Equation of Time for every fifth Day.
m. g.
Tuesday, Feb. 1st, to the time by the dial add 13 58
Sunday, 6th, i. 14 27
Friday, Uth, ;..... 14 35
Wednesday,.. 16th, 14 25
Monday, 21st, 13 57
Saturday, ....26th, 13 13
Lunar Phenomena.
Phases of the Moon. .
Full Moon, .. dd day, at 15 m. after 11 in the morning
, Last Quarter, 10th 56 1
New Moon, . . 17th ...... 5 10 in the eviening
First Quarter, 26th ...... 42 1 in the morning.
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48 ASTRONOMICAL OCCURRENCES
Moon's Passage over the Meridian.
We select the following transits of the Moon as
affording the best opportunity of observing her in
that position during this months viz. :
February lUh, at 41 m. after 6 in the morning
12th, .. 85 7
13th, .. 28 8
14th, .. 19 9
23d, «. 48 3 in the afternoon
24th, ..^6 4
25th, .. 27 5
26th, • . 21 6 in the evening
27th, .. 17 ...... 7
28th, .. 14 8
Time of High Water at London for every fifth Day.
The Tide will be at its height at London Bridge
at the following times^ and the time for any interme-
diate days may be found nearly by proportion. The
time for other places may also be obtained as inserted
undej the head of last month.
TABLE.
Morning. Afternoon.
February 1st, at Om. after- 80m. after
6th, .. 56 ....*. 3. 15 4
11th, .. 3 8 39 8
16th, .. 52 17 i..... I
2l9t, .. 48 3 1 3
26th, .. 10 7 40 7
Phenomena Planetarum.
Phases of Venus.
Hiis beautiful planet now begins to shine with
great lustre on a cleeLr evening, and' the proportions
of ter illuminated and dark phases are as follow :
«»!>•». .»r lot. f Illuminated part 5= 8 10288 <
February Ist, | ^^^^ ^^^^ f^ ^ ^.^^^
Eclipses of Jupiter's Satellites.
The following eclipses of the first and second of
these Satellites will be visible this month ; and our
young readers may be reminded that the times speci-
fied in the following Table are recorded in mean
^tme, answering to the Royal Obs^ratorf, Green-
wich.
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IN
FBBRUARY 1625.
49
Emersions.
First Satellite, 3d day, at 3 m. fiOs. after
out •■•■•• jSj • • «« • • • ••• • a
9th 57 .. 53
15th 23 .. 33
16th 52 .. 5
24th 46 .. 24
25th.. - - 15 .. 1
7 in the evening
2 in the morning
, 8 intheevening
4 in the morning
10 in the evening
in the morning
7 in the evening
3 in the morning
7 in the evening
9
Second Satellite, Sth . .
....26 ..• 14
I8th..
25th..
....58 .. 49
Canjunciian of the Moon with the Planets and Stars.
February 10th with 9 in Scorpio m. after 6 in the evening
14th .... 6. Sidus at 1 in the afternoon
15th .... Mercury 4.. •
Mercury will attain his greatest elongation on Che
10th ; and Satam will be in qua4ratare at half pcust 2
in the mohiing of the 20th. llie other phenomena of
this month are less remarkable.
The foljowiiig reflections are not inapplicable to
many of the moonlight nights of this month.
Reflections on a Moonlight Night.
Tis night— thd beams of parting day
Have long since shed their latest ray
Among the shades of even ;
Yet still a gleam of western light
Defrauds the lovely queen of night
Of half her rightful heaven.
, Yet, as unconscious of the sight.
She sheds a mild unchanging light
Upon this chequered scene ;
Though clouds obscure her radiant crest,
And roll their billows o'er her breast,
Her orb is still serene* ^
So may I smile on others' joy.
Nor let their happiness alloy
My share of earthly bliss;
Bat may sweet friendship's smile serene
Shed its mild sunshine o'er each scene
Of earthly happiness.
B
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50 THE NAtUKALIST*S DIARY
And, when clouds flit o'er life's rough main,
May I as soon emerge again
To calm serenity ;
The passing storms we meet below
Will lend that breast a brighter glow
Whose rest is in the sky !
Select Magazine.
CJe ilaturalifif SI Mm
For TEBKUARY 1825.
As birds flymg he scattereth the snow ; and thefaU&ng down thereof
is as the lighting of grasshoppers : the eye ttMrvelleth at the beauty
of the whiteness thereof; and the heart is astonished at the raininff
of it. The hoar frost also as salt, he poureth upon the earth ; it lieth
on the top of sharp stakes. When the cold north wind bloweth,
and the water is congecded into ice, it ahideth upon every gathering
together of water, and clotheth the water as with a br east-plate. -r-
£cctEsiASTicus,ehap. xliiiy V. 17-20.
This beautifiil description of the * magnificence of
winter' is not often realised^ for any length of time,
in our changeable climate; it is more applicable,
however, to Febraary, than to any other month in
the year : a hoar frost seldom sets in till the middle
or latter end of January, and in this case it gene-
rally continnes for six or seven weeks. There are
few persons, we hope, who are insensible to the
* beauties of winter:' 5ie phenomenon of hoar-frost,
the curious figures of snow, as seen by the magnify-
ing glass, the pendent icicles, the never-ending forms
assumed by the frozen vapour on our windows, and
all the other countless wpnders of this season, cannot
fail to interest and instruct the least observant spec-
tator of the 'fairy frost-work' of Nature. But it is
not the day alone which spreads before us these at-
tractive objects for our consideration;— what can be
more delightful than
A Serene Winter's Night.
How beautiful this night !— the balmiest sigh
Which vernal zephyrs brpathe in evening's ear
Were discord to the speaking quietude
That wraps this moveless sceu^. Heaven's ebon vault,
Digitized by VnOOQ iC
FOR FEBRUARY 1825. 51
Studded with stars unutterably bright.
Through which the Moon's unclouded grandeur rolls,
Seems like a canopy which Love had spread
To curtain her sleeping world. Yon gentle hills
Robed in a garment of untrodden snow,
Yon darksome waits, whence icicles depend
So stainless, that their white and glittering spears
Unge not the Moon's pure beam ; yon castled steep,
Whose banner hangeth o'er thek time-worn tower
So idly, that wrapt fancy deemeUi it
A ^metaphor of Peace — all form a scene
Where musing Solitude might love to lift
Her soul above this sphere of earthliness ;
Where Silence undisturbed might watch alone,
So cold, so bright, so still !
Although February occasionally shower down its
snows^, and give out ^ a damp and clinging' or a 'bit-
ter, eager aikl shrewd air,' Uiis month can boast of
its days of soft air and sunshine and unbroken blue
sky/ transporting us iiito the very heart of May, and
cattfiing us to look about and wonder what is become
of the green leaves and the flowers! Yet some of
tkeu even were to be seen in February 1824,-^as
meeereiHis, "pyrus japonica, Bengal roses, stocks,
wall-flowers, &c. Bees also were tempted by the
wannth tc leave their hives. The mild weather,
however, did not continue so long as prematurely to
excite vegetation, and call forth buds and blossoms
to be destroyed by April frosts.
About^die beginning of the month, the woodlark,
« llie Snowy Evb.
'Tis night, and Darkness o'er the land and sea
Outstretches gloomily her ebon wings ;
Downward, with biting breath, the tempest flings
The whirling snow-flake, dancing giddily. .
What is my thought ?•— the traveller on the moor.
Benighted, lonely, urging on his steed.
Where all is solitude, and none to heed.
What is my thought ?-«the ocean's awful roar ,
Recals the wandering mariner, afar
Upon the rayless deep, whose flashing gun.
The signal of distress, is heard hy none,
Save Him, who placed in heaven the evening sur.
What is my thought ?— that feeling is distress.
And human life a wintry wilderness.
D. M. MOIR.
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52 THB NATDEALIST^S DIAAY
one of oar earliest and sweetest songsters, renews his
i^ote: —
No tree's loAy fdiage embowereth his nest*
But lowly it lies .on the earth's trodden breast;
And he flits through the wintry scene
With a silent, bat strong and an mar muring wing,
Till he marks the first glimpse of the greei^vested spring ;
Then awi^ — away— ^throafeh the splendonrs of day.
To heaven he carries his praise :
Ah! who does not love that deleetable lay,
A s o'er mountain and forest it plays ?
Though lowlier he baild than each musical bird,
Yet longer and louder his carols are beard,
And heaven his giad anthem repays :
As, day after day, to its portals he towers,
More sweet grows his nest midst deep verdure and flowers'.
The ^Arifsft npw commences his song» and torn-tits
are seen hanging on the eaves of bams and thatched
oat-honses>. particularly if the weather be smmy and
severe. Rooks now revisit their breeding kees^ and
arrange the station^ of their future nests. The havsh»
loud voice of the missel thrush is now heard. — See
our last volume, p. 58. — The yellow hammer and
chaflhich are heard towards the end of the month.-*-
About thist time also, or the beginning 0f Mardi,
if the weather be mild, the hedge-sparrow commences
its chirping note, as indicative of the approachof the
pairing season. — See T< T. for 1823, pp^ 54, 55.
Turkey-cocks now strut and gobble. Partridges
begin to pair; the house-pigeon has young; field-^
crickets open their holes; and wood-owls hoot:
gnats play about, and insects swarm under sunny
hedges; the stone-curlew clamours; and frogs croak.
By the end of February, the raven has generally laid
its eggs, and begun to sit. Moles commence their
subterraneous operations. About this time the green
â– * The Forest Minstrel,' by WiUiam and Mary Hmnity another
delightful poeniy from two persons belonging to the *S0eietjf of
Friends ;'~>we know jiot whether it be < brother and sister,' or * man
and wife ;' —at any rate, the two aspirants to Parnassian laurels artr
married— to * immortal Terse.'— For so we ordain it, maugre the -
critics !— See other specimens in the course of our Yolume. â–
Digitized by VnOOQ iC
FOR FBBRUARY 1825. 53
woodpecker is heard m the woods, making a loud
noifie.
In mild seasons there is much going on in the gar-
den now that may be seen by the /naked eye' of
those who carefully look for it The bloom buds of
the shrubs and fruit-trees are obviously swelling ; and