their reappearance on the other, occupying rather more than thirteen days. It is calculated that from the time of any portion of the sun being opposite the earth, to that of its again becoming so, is twenty-seven days: thus, to a spectator placed on one of the fixed stars, the spot would reappear in twenty-five days, making a difference between the earth, and one of the fixed stars, of two days; the reason of which is, that the earth, travelling in her orbit, proceeds in an opposite direction to the rotation of the sun, so that he must perform two twentyfifths of a fresh rotation, before he can be again in exact conjunction with her. Besides these permanent spots, there are others, of a great variety of forms: some of them change their shapes, and, in some cases, disappear with great rapidity. In 1779, a remarkable spot appeared, which was visible to the naked eye, and extended above fifty thousand miles. Dr. Herchel believes that, in this instance, the real body of the sun was visible.

The sun, as we have said before, is the material source of all the heat and light which enlivens and vitalizes the world in which we live. The earth moves in an elliptical orbit, hence she is nearer the sun at one time of the year than at another. Thus, in winter, when the days are coldest, we are some millions of miles nearer the fount of light, than we are in summer: but it is the direction of the solar beams, and the nature of the bodies on which they act, that causes them to give forth a greater or a lesser quantity of heat. Thus when the sun's rays come directly upon us, although we are in the remote parts of

cur orbit, we have summer; and when his rays fall upon the earth, in an oblique direction, it is winter; because, in the one case, the heat becomes concentrated, while, in the other, the rays are repeated, that is, spread over a more extended surface, which causes them to act with a greatly diminished power.

We have mentioned the sun's path in the heavens, and also his rising and setting, all of which are but appearances, and may be thus explained. The earth goes round the sun in one year, but we do not perceive its motion; hence the sun appears to move round the earth, and so the ancients supposed it did; but Copernicus, and after him Sir Isaac Newton, demonstrated the erroniousness of this opinion, and discovered the true system of the universe. You may understand this, by observing that when sailing in a boat, on a smooth river, the boat appears to be at rest, and all the trees and houses in the water to be in motion, in a contrary direction to that in which the boat is sailing. The rising and setting of the sun is also an appearance, which is occasioned by the daily rotation of the earth upon its axis. You may illustrate this, by suspending an orange before a candle by a thread, and letting it revolve; one part will be in darkness, while the other will be enlightened; but, as the orange goes round, every part will come successively into the light, while those parts which were enlightened will become involved in shade. This is a pretty illustration of the succession of day and night.

Thus, we have endeavoured to instruct you in the

principal matters connected with the sun, and we doubt not you will agree with us, that they display, in a wonderful manner, the power and wisdom of Him who created all things. But let us never forget that all these mighty matters were intended for our moral improvement, as well as for our temporal advantage; and, the moral lesson we should learn from this account of the sun is, that as there is both light and heat in the sun, so there must be both knowledge and love in our own hearts, or else we can never be perfect men, any more than the sun could be a perfect sun, if he were all light or all heat; and, that as the light and heat of the sun are not employed for himself, but for the worlds around him, so the knowledge and the love, even of children, should be used-not to make them proud and vain—but useful—and, thus, a blessing to their parents, companions, and friends. One thing we especially wish you to recollect that the sun is an emblem of love—and, that as all good things in the material world are nourished by his rays, so all good tempers, feelings, and actions, are the products of love and cannot be good, or pleasing to God, if they spring from any other source or principle. In our next article we shall have to tell you about the planets Mercury and Venus.

T. B. S.

I I I I I I I JOL LLLL GGG

On Spring.

(ADDRESSED TO ALFRED, JULIA, AND GEORGE.)

Now the sun shines warm and bright,

And bees have 'gan their busy flight;
We'll take a ramble through the fields,
To taste the sweets that nature yields.

The hawthorn-buds you see are burst,
Although so humble 'mongst the first;
So too, the elder, and dog-rose,
Their future produce do disclose;

And daisies here and there appear,
For sleet or hail they do not fear;
And winds may bluster, clouds may rise,
These things foretell more genial skies.

Look yonder, see those pretty lambs,
That gaily frisk beside their dams;

And skip and jump, the meadows free,
As you or I could wish to be.

Mark the docile guileless creatures,
Ev'ry one has different features!

Each their dam doth recognize,

By her voice when "ba" she cries.

Look how they pull and tug the teat,
And then they nibble turf a bit;
And now all in a trice they bound,
O'er the mounds, the pasture round.

Now listen to that bird on high,

That sings beyond our naked eye;

What dulcet strains, what music sweet,

Who will not say this is a treat?

And shall we not, my dears, as well

The grateful chorus help to swell,

That mounts from all things that we see,

To Him who was, and e'er shall be?

G. J. HUTCHINGS.