New perils past, new sins forgiven,

New thoughts of God, new hopes of heaven."

Yes! so it is when prayer is sincere; not that of the lip, but of the heart; not that of human caprice, but the dictate of the Spirit of grace and supplication; not that which self-righteousness presents, but the offering for which acceptance is sought, entirely through the mediation of our Lord and Saviour. May such be our morning prayers, and those of evening too!

The

To some creatures, morning, instead of rousing to activity, brings repose. The prowling fox has retired to his den. The pole-cat has gained its retreat. timorous hare has sought her form. Creatures active only during the hours of darkness have concealed themselves. The owl is in her ivy-covered bower. And in the hollow tree, or the chamber of some ruined tower, the bat is suspended, asleep.

Already the creatures that rejoice in the return of day have bestirred themselves. "The breezy call of incense-breathing morn" now invites the observer of nature, and well is it to obey it at the earliest twittering of the swallow, and the first hum of the bee.

While

yet the sun is in the chambers of the east, and around him are the roseate clouds, the morning dew glitters like diamonds, and the air is laden with fragrance.

THE LEAFY MONTH.

One of our poets, finely describing a ship, speaks of its sails making a pleasant noise,

"The noise as of a hidden brook,

In the leafy month of June,
That to the silent woods all night
Singeth a quiet tune."

Another tells of

"A season atween June and May,

Half prankt with spring, with summer half imbrowned."

Imbrowned may properly be called a June word. In April and May the year is green, in June it begins to be imbrowned. Milton brought the word from Italy, and thus applies it :

"Both where the morning sun first warmly smote

The open field, and where the unpierced shade
Imbrowned the noon-tide bowers."

Welcome, in all its hues, to leafy June. Who is not charmed by its sunshine and flowers? It is, indeed, a season of beauty and melody. The remark should, however, be made that a great difference appears in the leafing of our shrubs and trees. Some, like the elder, show leaf as early as January; others, as the gooseberry, about the beginning of March; others, as the oak, not till May; while the acacia, or locust tree, is not in full leaf till about the beginning of June.

All leaves, with the flowers that accompany them, demand attention. Here is a representation of those of the white poplar.

A difference as to time is also observable in the

blowing of flowers.

This circumstance is one of

the wonders of the creation but little noticed, from its being of common occurrence; and yet it ought not to be overlooked because it is familiar, since it is

VARIOUS TIMES OF LEAFING.

as difficult of explanation as the most stupendous phenomenon of nature.

A poet asks

Say, what impels, amidst surrounding snow
Congealed, the crocus' flamy bud to glow?
Say, what retards, amidst the summer's blaze,
The autumnal bulbs, till pale declining days!"

To this inquiry, the botanist, whatever his scientific knowledge, is unable to give any answer. Though the blowing of the two sorts of crocus, the vernal and the autumnal, differs so greatly, he knows they are only varieties of the same species. And hence all we can say is in the words of the same poet :—

"The God of seasons, whose pervading power
Controls the sun, or sheds the fleecy shower-
He bids each flower his quickening word obey;
Or to each lingering bloom enjoins delay."

The wild plants now blowing most abundantly in the fields are the various kinds of grass, as well as the cultivated species of corn, which botanists rank among the grasses. This may excite some surprise, and yet it is certain that grass has a flower no less complete in its several parts than a lily or a rose. On taking up a spike, or panicle of grass, there may be disappointment in expecting to perceive the several parts of the flower, as this may not be quite expanded. But when it is in full bloom, the chaff will be found to be double,

the outer or flower-cup consisting of two leaflets, one large and bluntly oval, the other smaller and flat; the inner or corolla also consisting of two parts or petals.

The catstail-grass is one of the most common, and may be found in various soils and situations, assuming, in consequence, a considerable diversity of appearance. In moist meadows, the spike is sometimes four inches long; while in dry, poor soils, it is often not more than half an inch, or even less. On the tops of walls, where it may occasionally be seen, or on dry, barren