The Work Of Nature In The Months.

longer , until a gust just a little stronge : than usual of " Chill November ' s surly blast Makes fields and forests have , " and altogether snapping the thread of

life , sends the dead leaf fluttering doAvn to its last resting place in the tender bosom of its Mother-Earth ; and gladly , too , it goes , for its ivork is clone , ancl the biting frost and the burning sun , shall UOAV alike for ever to it remain unknoAvn : —

" 0 Death ! the poor man ' s dearest friend . The kindest and the best ! Welcome the hour my aged limbs Are laid with thee at rest ! The great , the wealthy , feel thy blow , From pomp and pleasure torn ; Hut , oh ! a blest relief to those ¦ That weary-laden mourn ! "

And yet , when it comes to the point , there are but few of us lvho would bo more ready than was . the weary old man , whose interA'ieAV with Death is narrated by / Esop that friend of our childhood , to welcome the final catastrophe . Why give Ai'ay then to

" The tear that we shed , and the sigh that we heave " if by their means we hasten the process of decay ? Surely there are but few of us so burdened Avith the Aveight of our earthly troubles but that Ave Avould rather

" Bear those ills we have , Than fly to others that we know not of . " No ! " Too often Ave wander , despairing and blind , Breathing our useless murmurs aloud ; But tis kinder to bid seek and

' us ( hid ' A silver lining to every cloud . ' May we not walk in the dingle ground , When nothing but Winter ' s dead leaves are seen , But search beneath them , and passing around the tufts of

Are young spring blue and , _ ,. green . Tis a beautiful eye that ever perceives The Immortal illumine : mortality ' s crowd ¦ " jfis a saving creed that thinks and believes ' There's a silver lining to every cloud . ' " Whilst , then , AVC ICUOAV of the . coming Spring ancl its myriad beautiful blossoms ' , Ave can AVOII bear with that Winter dillness which gives that bright season

itsbirth . Besides , is there any period ivhon there are absolutely no UoAvers 1 A very short one indeed , if even there be one at aH . It is true that at this time of year the blossoms may be feAV and meagre , hut still there they arc ; ancl , Avhat is more very beautiful they are , quite as beautiful

if Ave only examine them sufficientl y to note their excellencies , as any of their more shoAvy Summer neigbours . It is your cursory observer , striding along AA'ith nose high in the air , for Avhom there are dull times of year ; but to the true student of Nature these do not exist , for Nature ' s God has so formed Nature ' s . LaAv that there shall he— . i .

" Good in everything . Man ' s duty it is , no less than his pleasure , to search it out ancl be thankful to the Almighty Father AVIIO can , although He be the Great Architect of the Universe , for the sake of His earthly children , stoop thus to " clothe the lott'ly grass of the field . "

Proceeding hi this spirit , then , Ave shall tum our walk to good account , and find our search rewarded by 2 ilants which retain their bloom eA'en thus late in the year . Whilst their gayer companions of the mead were in their glory our humble friends were quite in the shadebut now

, that those brilliant but fragile blossoms arc gone , we are glad to Avelcome our more stedfast , albeit humble , friends . What a picture of existence AA'ith its companionships does the silent mead afford us ; the loudflashyevanescent

acquaint-, , anceships of the hour in strong contrast Avith the quiet , unobtrusive , lasting friendships of a life . Here , then , is the Ivy-leaved Speedwell , Avith its li ght blue blossoms , so common in cultivated lands and hedgerows . Country

people call it Winter-weed , from its continued blossoming . Prom the Avinds and frosts of earliest Spring , to the frosts and Avinds of latest Autumn , midst rain , midst SIIOAV , are to be found the azure floAvers of one or other of our sixteen species of

SpeechveU . The blossoms , from their colour , sometimes get these little plants mis-named Forget-me-nots , but they can be easily recognised from the fact of the loAvest of the four segments into ivhich the