in the southern hemisphere. It is known at what hour of the night, in different seasons, the Southern Cross is erect, or inclined. It is a timepiece that advances very regularly nearly four minutes a day; and no other group of stars exhibits, to the naked eye, an observation of time so easily made. How often have we heard our guides exclaim, in the savannas of Venezuela, or in the desert extending from Lima to Truxillo, 'Midnight is past, the Cross begins to bend! How often these words reminded us of that affecting scene, where Paul and Virginia, seated near the source of the river of Lataniers, conversed together for the last time; and when the old man, at the sight of the Southern Cross, warns them that it is time to separate!" This constellation is in about 185 degrees of longitude; and its south polar distance being only about 30 degrees, it cannot be seen in the northern parts of Europe. The following lines, from the pen of Madame Hemans, owe their origin to the above quotation : In the silence and grandeur of midnight I tread The fern tree waves o'er me, the fire fly's red light, But to thee, as thy loadstars resplendently burn, Thou recallest the ages when first o'er the main How oft, in their course o'er the oceans unknown, Hath their spirit been cheered by thy light, when the deep As the vision that rose to the Lord of the world, And to me, as I traverse the world of the west, Shine on! my own land is a far distant spot, And the stars of thy spheres can enlighten it not; And the eyes which I love, though e'en now they may be But thou to my thoughts art a pure blazing shrine, May 4. St. Monica, W. St. Godard, B. C. FLORA.-The Ramshorns or Male Orchis Orchis Mascula blows in moist places, and continues throughout May to show its purple pyramids above the grass. The gardens now begin to be in their greatest vernal beauty. Description of a Garden of Flowers, from Thomson. Fairbanded Spring unbosoms every grace, Throws out the Snowdrop and the Crocus first, The yellow Wallflower, stained with iron brown, With shining meal o'er all their velvet leaves, Then comes the Tulip race, where beauty plays To family, as flies the father dust, The varied colours run; and while they break Nor showered from every bush the damask Rose. URANIA. At nine o'clock the appearance in the western hemisphere is brilliant. Capella to the northwest; the second star of the Bull, northwest by west; the first star of Orion nearly west, and near to the horizon. In west by south, the two stars of the Lesser Dog; and nearly southwest, in midheaven, the first star of the Lion. The two Pointers are near the meridian, and the third or fourth stars of the Bear almost on the meridian. The fifth, sixth, and seventh stars of the Bear are in the eastern hemisphere; in which are also the stars of the Little Bear, a constellation very much resembling the Great Bear; the Polar Star being at the end of the tail, and to the eastward of it two small stars, forming with it the tail. More to the east are four stars, similar in position to the four first stars of the Great Bear. A line drawn from the third and fourth stars of the Great Bear will pass through the third star of the Little Bear, or that in his fore shoulder. The sixth and seventh stars of the Bear direct us as usual to the splendour of Arcturus; and, if we turn our eyes from him to the direction east by south, we shall perceive nearly in midheaven a cluster of stars, of which one is much brighter than the rest, but far less bright than Arcturus; the cluster, from its shape, is called the Northern Crown. The brightest of the stars composing the Crown is called Lucida Coronae. In the south southeast we see the first star of the Virgin; to the east, but near the horizon, that of the Balance. May 5. St. Hilary. St. Pius V. Pope and C. St.Angelus. St. Mauront. St. Avertin. Knights of Malta. Stellificatio Lyrae, Sagittarius oritur.- Rom. Cal. The acronycal rising of Lyra is here intended by the Calendar, it being nearly on the meridian at midnight. FLORA. The Poetic Narcissus N. Poeticus, and also the Twoflowered Narcissus N. biflorus, are now in full blow. The other sorts are by this time usually faded away. On Blights.-The various kinds of blight which happen in Spring, constitute a subject which, from its importance, well deserves a minute investigation. There appear to be three kinds of blights. The first occurs in the early Spring, about the time of the blossoming of the Peach, and is nothing more than a dry frosty wind, usually from the North or North East, and principally affects the blossoms, causing them to fall off prematurely. The two other kinds. of blights occur in this month, affecting principally the Apple and Pear Trees, and sometimes the Corn. One of these consists in the appearance of an immense multitude of Aphides, a kind of small insect of a brown, or black, or green colour, attacking the leaves of plants, and entirely encrusting the young stems. These pests are always found to make their appearance after a North East wind, and it has been supposed by many that they are actually conveyed hither by the wind. Thomson, too, positively ascribes them to the North For oft engendered by the hazy North, Myriads on myriads, insect armies warp Keen in the poisoned breeze; and wasteful eat, In our opinion, an East wind more often brings blights. Many circumstances indeed favour the opinion that blights are animalculae ; as, the suddenness with which they appear, being generally in the course of a single night; and those trees that are sheltered from the wind being uninfected: indeed it frequently happens that a single branch that chances to be screened will escape unhurt, while the rest of the tree is quite covered with these minute destroyers. A third reason may be derived from the inactivity of these insects: they generally remain almost immoveable on the branch or leaf where they are first seen, and are, for the most part, unprovided with wings; yet the places where they are commonly found are those parts of a tree which are furthest from the ground, and the most exposed to the wind. The last kind of blight is generally preceded by a South or South West Wind, unaccompanied by insects; the effects of which are visible in the burnt appearance of all leaves and shoots which are exposed to that quarter. Oaks and other large trees suffer from this blight. CHRONOLOGY.-Napoleon Buonaparte died in 1820, at St. Helena. Lachrymal Flowers, from Lycidas, by Milton. Return, Alpheus; the dread voice is past The white Pink, and the Pansy freaked with jet, The musk Rose, and the well attired woodbine, At the Cimetière du Père la Chaise, at Paris, the elegant custom is still preserved of planting flowers about the tombs of departed friends and relations; an usage common to France, Scotland, and other countries, where those strong and good feelings of posthumous attachment are preserved. In England they are nearly extinct; and the dull graves of South British churchyards are undecorated, and seldom revisited. Lines on Napoleon. Something like the following lines were suggested on reading a notice in the Monthly Magazine for November, respecting a colossal bust of Napoleon, by Canova, lately removed by Sir Richard Phillips from its hiding place in France to London. We have inserted them from the Monthly Magazine, without even guessing the name of the author, evidently a a Buonapartist. May 6. Oh, mournful fact! Napoleon the Great The blackened tale, and execrate the deed. To envy greatness thou canst ne'er excel? Think'st thou to make the conquest of the mind? St. John before Latin Gate. St. Eadbert. rises at Iv. 29'. and sets at vir. 31'. Scorpius Medius occidit.-Rom. Cal. FLORA. The GARDEN SQUILL Scilla Campanulata blows. When the weather is fair, this is a delightful time of year: every tree is in blossom: the vernal Flora is in its greatest perfection. VENUS.-Vernal Love, from Thomson. |
