very much of our own character will appear in them. The describing mind, unawares, will largely mix itself with the described occurrences, and thus show, not only what they were, but what ourselves are. As we purpose, all being well, to give in our next Number the first part of a paper on the poetry of the Rev. Charles Wesley, we take the opportunity of directing the attention of our young friends to the following notice: 3. The Life of the Rev. Charles Wesley, M.A., &c. Comprising a Review of his Poetry; Sketches of the Rise and Progress of Methodism; with Notices of contemporary Events and Characters. By Thomas Jackson. 8vo. Parts XV.-XXI. WE have already, in former Numbers, referred to the issue, in Parts, of this valuable and most interesting work, affording to those to whom it would not be convenient to purchase the whole at once, the opportunity of doing it gradually, and easily, by procuring the several Parts. The twenty-one Parts constitute the entire work; and they who wish to have the complete history of the man who was raised up, we do believe, providentially, to be the 'sweet singer" of "our Israel," may, if they please, procure it in this form, as may be most convenient to themselves. 66 Instead of writing a "Literary Article" this month, we shall only give our readers the present collection of "Reviews," adding one or two works to those already mentioned. 4. Beware of False Prophets. A Discourse for the Times. By George Cubitt. 8vo., pp. 39. John Mason. THE design of this "Discourse is to give the true meaning of our Lord's solemn warning, Matt. vii. 15-20; and thus to show the real bearing of the obligations which it imposes. The writer endeavours not only to show who the "false Prophets" really are, but so to expound the principles of the whole subject, as to enable the reader to judge for himself of the correctness of the general argument, and, when necessary, to apply it in particular cases. There are many who attack the ministry which exists among the Wesleyans, who would be better employed in placing their own upon a more scriptural foundation. Such opponents as these are to be met, not so much by justifying those whom they so furiously assail, as by putting them on their own defence, on the principles of their "Ordination-Service." This "Discourse" is earnestly commended to the attention of the older and more thoughtful of our readers, who may wish to study this momentous question. 5. The Mother taught from the Sacred Scriptures. Large 24mo., (cloth boards,) pp. 234. Religious Tract Society. THIS is a little work likely to be very useful, and has just been laid on "our table," so that we lose no time in noticing it. It 66 consists of sketches of maternal character, taken from the Bible, which are thus headed :-" Eve; Hagar; Rebekah; the Widows; the Shunammite, Part I.; Ditto, Part II.; Elizabeth and Mary; Mary." To these are added about fifty pages of Concluding Remarks." To our female readers we particularly recommend the volume, as containing especial and instructive reference to female character. If not in the present, yet in the next Number, a short extract will be found, illustrating the general style of the book. NOTICES OF ANIMATED AND VEGETABLE NATURE, FOR MARCH, 1843. BY MR. WILLIAM ROGERSON, of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. "O COME, Sweet Spring! and fill the world "Give to the brook its lucid charms; Give to the grove its warbling throng; "And give to man, what oft he wants, "Dear Spring! I love thy calm, bright hours, J. M. LACEY. The first half of the month.-THE squirrel, the dormouse, the hedgehog, the viper, and the toad, revive from their torpidity, and come abroad from their retreat. Rabbits are seen skipping about on fine days, and the weasel is seen on warm sunny banks. Mr. Howitt, on a fine day, was sitting in the meadows opposite Tutbury Castle, in Staffordshire, contemplating the remains of that fabric which once imprisoned the Queen of Scots. On the slope of the castle-hill brim he observed a rabbit sitting by its burrow. Suddenly from a bush at some distance issued a large weasel, and, darting on with the rapidity of an arrow, attempted to make its way into the burrow, in which, no doubt, were the rabbit's young ones. The rabbit, with an air of the utmost sang froid, raising itself as the weasel approached, received him with several smart thumps upon the head. He fled back, but speedily renewed the attack, and was received in the same style. The assault, battery, and retreat, were maintained for at least a quarter of an hour, when the weasel crawled away apparently exhausted, and appeared no more. Such is the valour infused by parental instinct into the most weak and timid creatures. The ringdove, magpie, jay, jackdaw, pied-wagtail, march-tit, turkey-cock, and popinjay, utter their peculiar notes, indicative of high spirits, by this genial season. Slugs and earth-worms pair chiefly during the night. Some of the forest-trees are putting forth their green buds; and several little wild plants in sheltered situations are unfolding their blossoms, invited by the cheering beams of the equinoctial sun. In our gardens several species of spring-crocus are yet in bloom; and the snowdrop, so much admired for its beautiful white flowers, is now fading away. Also in our gardens are found in blow the following:-bulbous fumitory, sweet jonquil, heart's-ease, mountain soldanella, peerless daffodil, sweet violet, mezereon, and the large daffodil. "Grateful and salutary spring the plants Which crown our numerous gardens, and invite For this the bulbous esculents their roots With sweetness fill; for this, with cooling juice The green herb spreads its leaves; and opening buds, The second half of the month.-The skylark now sings delightfully on his downy pinions, and the sweet strains of the woodlark arrest the attention. The thrush and the blackbird give out their morning songs. Some of the feathered tribes are beginning to construct their nests. Mr. Jennings, in his Ornithology, has the following lines, written in March, 1810, which are to a wren, that for many years built her nest behind an ash-tree that overhung his garden : "Little warbler! long hast thou, Perch'd beneath yon spreading bough, Sung beneath yon ivied tree: Thy mossy nest I yearly see, Safe from all thy peace annoys, We often hear thy chit-chat song Call thy tiny brood along; While, in her nest, or on a spray, The throstle charms us with her lay. Little warbler! cheerful wren! The spring-time 's come, and thou again, Little warbler, thou, like me, Delight'st in home and harmless glee; What of peace is to be found Circles all thy dwelling round; Here with love, beneath the shade, Thy tranquil happiness is made; With thy tiny, faithful mate, Here meet'st, resign'd, the frowns of fate. Or, restless, all the world through range, And, restless still, delight in change, Thou mak'st thy home a place of rest, Then welcome, welcome, faithful wren! The widgeon, hooded-crow, redwing, turnstone, gannet, teal, merlin, pochard, woodcock, and snipe, take their departure from their winter quarters in this country, and migrate to their several breeding-places. The stone-curlew, wheatear, and the little chiffchaff, are among the few arrivals of migratory birds. The pike, roach, and smelt, spawn about this time. The humming-bird hawk-moth, the march-moth, the speckled wood-butterfly, the tortoise-shell and peacock butterfly, with one or two species of lady-bird, may be found in their several haunts. The death-watch beetle now eats its way out of the wood, on which it has subsisted in its larva state, and commences its curious noise, by beating with its forehead on some hard substance. The vegetable kingdom attracts the notice of the young observer of nature. In the garden we find, in flower, crown imperial, snowflake, the yellow-star of Bethlehem, snake's-head iris, black-leaved honeysuckle, Virginian lungwort, sweet tulip, oxlip, &c., &c. In the field the daisy opens to the solar beam, the primrose scents the mossy bank, and the pilewort exhibits its golden bloom. "Sweet is thy coming, Spring! and as I pass Thy hedge-rows, where from the naked spray My spirits light and pure confess thy power That whispers to the warm noon breeze; nor flower Illusion! that the sad, pensive breast Can for a moment from itself retreat To outward pleasantness, and be at rest: While sun, and fields, and air, the sense have wrought BRIEF ASTRONOMICAL NOTICES, FOR MARCH, 1843. BY MR. WILLIAM ROGERSON, of the Royal Observatory, Greenwich. "THE Sun rejoicing round the earth, announced POLLOK. DR. DICK, at the conclusion of his interesting work, called "Celestial Scenery," observes as follows: "On the whole, the doctrine of a plurality of worlds is a subject of considerable importance, and in which every rational being, who is convinced of his immortal destination, is deeply interested. It opens to our view a boundless prospect of knowledge and felicity, beyond the limits of the present world, and displays the ineffable grandeur of the Divinity, the magnificence of his empire, and the harmonious operation of his infinite perfections. Without taking this doctrine into account, we can form no consistent views of the character of Omnipotence, and of the arrangements which exist in the universe. Both his wisdom and his goodness might be called in question, and an idea of the supreme Ruler presented, altogether different from what is exhibited by the inspired writers in the records of revelation. When, therefore, we lift our eyes to the heavens, and contemplate the mighty globes which roll around us; when we consider that their motions are governed by the same common laws, and that they are so constructed as to furnish accommodation for myriads of perceptive existences; we ought always to view them as the abodes of intelligence, and the theatres of divine wisdom, on which the Creator displays his boundless beneficence. For 'his tender mercies,' or the emanations of his goodness, are diffused over all his works.' Such views alone can solve a thousand doubts which may arise in our minds, and free us from a thousand absurdities which we must otherwise entertain, respecting the great Sovereign of the universe. Without adopting such views, the science of the heavens becomes a comparatively barren and uninteresting study, and the splendour of the nocturnal sky conveys no ideas of true sublimity and grandeur, nor is it calculated to inspire the soul with sentiments of love and adoration. In short, there appears to be no medium between remaining in ignorance of all the wonders of power and wisdom which appear in the heavens, and acquiescing in the general views we have attempted to illustrate respecting the economy of the planets, and their destination as the abodes of reason and intelligence. But when such views are recognised, the bodies in the heavens become the noblest objects of human contemplation, the Deity appears invested with a character truly amiable and sublime, and a prospect is opened to immortal beings of a perpetual increase of knowledge and felicity throughout all the revolutions of an interminable existence." The SUN rises on the 1st, at Greenwich, at forty-eight minutes past six, and sets at thirty-eight minutes after five; on the same day he rises at Edinburgh at fifty-four minutes past six, and sets at thirty-two minutes after five. The Sun enters the equinoctial sign Aries on the 21st, when the Spring quarter takes place. On the 22d he rises both at Greenwich and Edinburgh at six o'clock, and sets at the same places at fourteen minutes after six. "Full ample the dominions of the Sun! Full glorious to behold! how far, how wide, |