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SEASONAL WILD FLOWERS.-No. VIII.

Where are the flowers, the fair young flowers that lately sprung and stood In brighter light, and softer airs, a beauteous sisterhood?

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The windflower and the violet, they perished long ago,

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And the wildrose and the orchis died amid the summer glow,
But on the hill the golden rod, and the osier in the wood,

And the yellow sunflower, by the brook, in autumn beauty stood,
Till fell the frost from the clear, cold heaven, as falls the plague on men,
And the brightness of their smile was gone from upland, glade, and glen.
BRYANT.

THE bouquet of wild flowers which we shall be able to cull for the present month, will be a small one, but interspersed with a sprig of holly, whose bright berries and deep green leaves have such a cheerful appearance at the present season, to the admirer of floral beauties, it will not be an unwelcome one. The flower which we shall first notice, the common daisy (Bellis Perennis) is an universal favourite. Milton, Chaucer, Cowper, Burns, Wordsworth, Montgomery and other gifted men have lent the charms of poesy to those it already possesses, in the eyes alike of youth and more mature age; the first botanical knowledge imparted to the infantile mind is the recognition of the daisy, with its kindred flower the buttercup, and the early period at which it is known probably endears it through life; it is one of the flowers which seem peculiarly to prove the wonderful contrivance of its glorious Author: it is composite; and although comparatively minute, contains between two and three hundred florets, all most perfectly formed.

In England it is called daisy, or day's eye, from the peculiarity of its closing at night; or on the approach of rain, and expanding in the morning. In France it bears the name of Marguerite, after St. Margaret, and also Pâquerette, because it blossoms most abundantly about Easter (Pâques). St. Louis, king of that country, took as his device, before joining the crusades, a crucifix, a lily, and a daisy,-the emblem of all he held most dear,—religion, his country, and his wife, whose name was Margaret. It is too well known to need lengthened description; we may, however, fitly observe that it possesses two properties unknown to any other British plant save the furze, that it blossoms throughout the year and in every locality, on elevated ground as in the lowly vale, in dry pastures or in moist situations, and as it is never eaten by cattle it has few enemies to its increase.

The furze with its golden blossoms is now as ever gladdening our eye; but, as we described it in the first paper of the present series, it is unnecessary to make further mention of it.

Towards the close of December may be seen the winter aconite, or monkshood, (Helleborus Hyemalis). It is of the same class as the columbine. It has no calyx; its corolla is of five bright yellow petals, and the single flower is sitting on the leaf. There are ten species of aconite, all of which possess poisonous properties. The hunters of the Alps dip their arrows in the juice of the aconite before destroying beasts of prey,-the wounds they produce being deadly; the antidote to this poison is the root of the Anthora, called Wholesome Monkshood.

In bringing our notices of Seasonal Wild Flowers' to a close, we cannot but pause again to admire all the

glory of the Creator displayed alike in their form, the niceness of their construction, their re-appearance year by year after the snows of winter, and their matchless colouring. "All thy works praise thee, O Lord ;" and shall not "thy saints bless thee" when they see in the care bestowed on these thy lesser works, an emblem of the greater care taken of thy greater ones, themselves ?

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Happy who walks with Him! whom what he finds

Of flavour or of scent, in fruit or flower,

Or what he views of beautiful or grand

In nature, from the broad majestic oak

To the green blade, that twinkles in the sun,
Prompts with remembrance of a present God."

E. J. S.

Review of Books.

THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IN THE MIDDLE AGES. An historical sketch compiled from various authorities. By the Author of "Essays on the Church," &c. &c.—Seeleys.

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WE are all in the habit of hearing great things spoken concerning the Church of the Middle Ages,' by which title its encomiasts designate the nominal Church, the dominant ecclesiastical body, using its great spiritual power as a means for acquiring, holding fast, and exercising to its uttermost extent, the greatest amount of secular authority ever grasped at by man. Of this Church our Author does not treat, save only as the annalist of martyrdom must needs introduce into his recital the persecutors, tormentors, and slayers of the victims. He, very rightly, leaves this Apostacy at the point where it fixed on its own front the awful brand, and follows the Church of Christ through that long sojourn in the dreary wilderness which was appointed

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for trial of the patience and faith of the Saints. Though expressly a compilation, it has all the savour and interest of an original work; and as we fear that there are but too many Protestants even in our day who would look for the Church of Christ during the period referred to among the chaff and tares of Rome, it will prove a valuable instructor to thousands. We scarcely need to say of a work by the Author of “Essays on the Church" that it is written with vigour, conciseness, and perspicuity; we recommend it as one of the most useful of that excellent series, 'The Christian's Family Library.'

THE LIFE OF JOSEPH, considered more especially as a biographical type of Christ, in a Course of Lectures delivered in the Cathedral of Waterford. By the Rev. E. Dalton, author of "The watchful Providence of God," &c.-Dalton.

THE inexhaustible beauties, the sublimity, the exquisite spirituality of the History of Joseph have employed many learned pens, many eloquent tongues, and yet remain in rich profusion to reward the search of every new explorer. Mr. Dalton has treated the subject very judiciously, and has produced, from his ministerial labours, a most pleasing and instructive volume-a real acquisition to the family library. In each discourse he has given us, first the leading incidents of the story; then their typical application and fulfilment. He has entered deeply into his subject.

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