hand could give it such a quality. Just as the tender, timid plant shrinks from the touch,

So should we shrink, through all our days,

From evil thoughts, and words, and ways.”

"I cannot make out how it is that you remember lines that come in so capitally. That big turnip that you told me of has come into my head many times. I wonder what you will have to say about December. The tree-felling is all over then, I suppose, and the sheep have eaten up most of the turnips."

"Turnips are eaten by cattle as well as by sheep. They are cut into pieces for them by a machine. The Swede turnip stands the winter well, but the other is apt to get frost-bitten. I have told you about the country in spring, summer, and autumn; and now, at last, comes cold freezing winter.

"When icicles hang by the wall,

And Dick the shepherd blows his nail,
And Tom bears logs into the hall,

And milk comes frozen home in pail :
When blood is nipt, and ways be foul,
Then nightly sings the staring owl,
Tw-who!

Tw-whit-tw-who! a merry note.""

"There is so little to be seen in winter, that I hardly think the country would be pleasant then."

"It is a wise plan, when we cannot have what we would, to make the most of what we have. In December, the country cannot boast of fineplumaged birds, and gay flowers, and forest trees clothed with verdant foliage, and butterflies with gaudy wings: but on fine days it is not all barrenness; a daisy may be picked up, and sometimes a primrose. The oak, the beech, and the hornbeam, in part wear their leaves. Redwings and fieldfares are still abroad; the woodcock and snipe are by the brook's side; the titmouse flits from tree to tree; the wren hops in and out of the bush; the robin perches on the window-frame; and the December moth flutters in the sunshine."

"I never remember seeing a butterfly in winter."

"Very likely; it is not the month for insects of any kind to go much abroad. Firs and pines in the winter are in their glory, and evergreens of various kinds, among which are the ivy and the holly. The holly and the ivy are cheerful things to look at in cheerless weather, for they rejoice when all is desolate around them. The holly, with its glossy leaves and fresh red berries, stands in the bleak air like a friend, animating us to make head against the wintry storm; and the ivy is equally encouraging.

Ivy thou art ever green,
Let me changeless then be seen;
While my Saviour loves me, ne'er
Let my love grow old and sere.

Ivy, clinging round the tree,
Gladly would I learn of thee:
Clinging, as the year goes round,

To the cross would I be found."

"It would be a sad loss if the holly and the ivy were to be taken away in the winter."

"It would, indeed. In December, the mole flings up the earth just as he did in November; and the black rat, finding food scarce out of doors, makes many a visit to the granary, the dairy, and the pantry. Rats and mice destroy a great deal in the course of the year; for they can run where the cat cannot follow them."

Very true. If pussy could follow them every where, there would not be many of them left. The gardener finds something to do in December, I dare say."

"Yes, it is still his duty to dig, sow, plant, and keep his garden clean; to manure and prepare his soil; to trench the vacant ground; to tie up such plants as he wishes to blanch; to cover with matting in frosty weather his curious and tender plants; and to pay particular attention to his greenhouse. You see that man, by using his

reason, is able, in the coldest season, to make shrubs and flowers flourish and bloom. By giving heat to the greenhouse and hothouse, he can make, as it were, any climate he pleases. You must not forget that Christmas occurs in December, a season that every one loves.

Oh Christmas is a pleasant time,

When the snow lies on the ground;

When the heart is light, and the fire is bright,
And the cheerful tale goes round,

"In frosty weather the air is fresh and bracing, and a sharp walk or a run is better than medicine."

"Ay, I like a race in frosty weather."

"It makes the blood circulate, and promotes good spirits and good humour. The change of the seasons renders our common mercies of double value. How delightful is cold water in summer; and how very pleasant is the warm fire in winter! I met, one day, with a book containing these lines on the fire :

'A fire 's a good, companionable friend,

A comfortable friend, who meets your face
With pleasant welcome; makes the poorest shed
As pleasant as a palace! Are you cold?
He warms you weary? he refreshes you :
Hungry? he doth prepare your food for you.
Are you in darkness? he gives light to you :

P

In a strange land? his face is that of one
Familiar from your childhood. Are you poor?
What matters it to him? he knows no difference
Between an emperor and the poorest beggar!

Where is the friend, that bears the name of man,
Will do as much for you?"

Fire is one of the manifold gifts that God has given to man. You hear of bees forming cells, birds making nests, and of beavers building themselves houses; but you never hear of any of them making a fire. The fox with his cunning, and the elephant with his sagacity, would starve to death, with a tinder-box, wood, and coals beside them, before they would make a fire."

"I never thought of that."

“We none of us think enough of our numberless blessings; and yet our heavenly Father is ever ready to increase them. As one says, 'The less you ask of your fellow creatures the better, lest their precious oils should break your head;' but ask freely of God, for he giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not,'" James i. 5.

"You have not told me what the farmer is about in December."

"He is occupied in much the same way as I told you he was in January, for the two months are often very much alike. His grounds are manured, his hedges repaired, his ditches cleaned