delight, and their little hearts danced in their bofoms with joy.

"Do you not think, Tommy, (faid his father to him) that fummer has its delights as well as winter and fpring? Tommy replied, he wished it might be fummer all the year, when his father defired him to enter that wish in his pocket-book also.

The autumn at length arrived, and all the family went into the country to view the harvest. It happened to be one of thofe days that are free from clouds, and yet a gentle westerly wind, kept the air cool and refreshing. The garden and orchards were loaded with fruits, and the fine plums, pears and ap. ples, which hung on the trees almost to the ground, furnished the little vifitors with no fmall amufement and delight. There were alfo plenty of grapes, apricots and peaches, which ate the fweeter, as they had the pleafure of gathering them. This feafon of rich abundance, Tommy, faid his father to him, will foon pass away, and ftern and cold winter will fucceed it." Tommy again wifhed, that the prefent happy feafon would always continue, and that winter would not be too hafty in its ap proaches, but leave him in poffeffion of autumn.

Tommy's father defired him to write this in his book alfo, and ordering him to read what he had

written, foon convinced him how contradictory his wishes had been. In the winter, he wished it to be always winter; in the fpring he wished for a continuance of that feason; in the fummer he wifhed it never to depart; and when autumn came, it afforded him too many delicious fruits to permit him to have a fingle wish for the approach of winter.

"My dear Tommy, faid his father to him, I am not difpleafed with you for enjoying the prefent moment, and thinking it the beft that can happen to you; but you fee how neceffary it is, that our wishes should not always be complied with. God knows. how to govern this world much better that any human being can pretend to. Had you laft winter been indulged in your wish, we should have had neither spring, fummer, nor autumn; the earth would have been perpetually covered with fnow. The beasts of the field, and the fowls of the air, would either have been starved or frozen to death; and even the pleafures of fliding, or making images of fnow, would have foon become tire fome to you. It is a happiness that we have it not in our power to regulate the course of nature: the wife and unerring defigns of Providence, in favour of mankind, would then most probably be perverted to their inevitable ruin.”

-BEHOLD, fond man!

See here thy pictur'd life: Pass fome few years;
Thy flow'ring fpring, thy fummer's ardent ftrength,
Thy fober autumn fading into a
age,

And pale concluding winter comes at laft

And fhuts the fcene.-Ah! whither now are fled,
Thofe dreams of greatnefs? thofe unfolid hopes
Of happiness? thofe longings after fame?
Thofe restlefs cares? thofe bufy buft'ling days?
Thofe gay spent feftive nights' thofe varying thoughts
Loft between good and ill, that fhar'd thy life?
All now are fled! Religion fole remains
Immortal, never-failing friend of man,

His guide to happinefs on high.

HOWEVER

OWEVER long the winter may appear, the fpring will naturally fucceed it. A gentle breeze began to warm the air, the fnow gradually vanished, the fields put on their enamelled livery, the flowers fhot forth their buds, and the birds began to fend forth their harmony from every bough.

C

Little Louifa and her father left the city, to partake of the pleafures of the country. Scarcely had the blackbird and the thrush began their early whistle, to welcome Louifa, than the weather changed all on a fudden; the north wind roared horribly in the grove, and the fnow fell in fuch abundance, that every thing appeared in a filver white mantle.

Though the little maid went to bed shivering with cold, and much difappointed in her expectations, yet fhe thanked God, for having given her so comfortable a fhelter from the inclemency of the elements.

Such a quantity of fnow had fallen during the night, that the roads were almost impaffable in the morning, which was a matter of great affliction to poor Louifa; but fhe obferved, that the birds were as dull as herself upon the occafion. Every tree and hedge being fo covered with fnow, the poor birds could get nothing to eat, not so much as a grain of corn or worm was to be found.

The feathered inhabitants now forfook the woods and groves, and fled into the neighbourhood of inhabited towns and villages, to feek that relief from man, which nature alone would not then afford them. Incredibly numerous were the flight of fparrows, robins, and other birds, that