APPEARANCES OF NATURE IN JUne. 101 tremes, in the greatest and in the smallest works of the universe. What but an Almighty hand could have constructed the firmament, that vast extent, that prodigious space, which contains such a number of magnificent orbs? Who but a Being possessed of omnipotence could have hitherto preserved this immense fabric, established it so that it cannot be shaken, and supported and guided it in all its various movements? Who else could have raised the sun to such a stupendous height, fixed his precise situation, prevented his deviating from his course, and upheld him without a prop in the aerial region which he occupies? Could any thing less than boundless might have given motion to the earth, the moon, and the other planets, so that they should invariably revolve in their appointed orbits, and finish and recommence their revolutions at certain determined periods? In the minutest objects, too, the divine power is as conspicuous and amazing as in the largest. Let us cast our eyes on the dust beneath our feet. This dust is inhabited by an innumerable multitude of animals, so small that several millions of them joined together would not be equal in size to a grain of sand. Yet each of these animals has its exterior and interior parts; each has its sense and feeling; each is endued with a love of life, and possesses an instinct for its own preservation. Behold the grass of the field, the hairs of the head, and the blossom of the trees; study their construction, their origin, and their use; and in all these you will clearly discover the infinite power of Him, who forms the celestial globes with as much facility as he forms a worm, or gives birth to a flower. How great then is God! And with what reverence and awe should we think of Him, who created the universe out of nothing who "spake and it was done"-who "commanded, and all things stood fast"-and who by the word of his power can annihilate and destroy whatever he has made! APPEARANCES OF NATURE IN JUNE. JUNE, in this climate, is what the Grecian poets represented May. It is the most lovely month of the year. 102 TIME ANDAIMMOR FALITY. Summer has commenced, and warm weather is esta→ blished; yet the heats rarely rise to excess, or interrupt the enjoyment of those pleasures which the scenes of nature at this period afford. The trees are in their fullest dress; and a profusion of flowers is every where scattered around. One of the earliest rural employments of this month is the shearing of sheep; a business of much importance in various parts of the kingdom, where wool is one of the most valuable products. England has for many ages been celebrated for its breeds of sheep; which yield wool of various qualities, suited to different branches of the woollen manufacture. In the hedges, the place of the hawthorn is supplied by the flowers of the hip or dog-rose, the different hues of which, from a deep crimson to a light bluish, and even pure white, form a very elegant variety of colour; and of some the smell is peculiarly fragrant. Some time after, the woodbine and honeysuckle begin to blow; and these, united with the rose, give our hedges their highest beauty and fragrance. The several kinds of corn come into ear and flower this month; as do likewise numerous species of grass. In Europe, the principal kinds of corn are wheat, rye, barley and oats; in Asia, rice; in Africa, maize or Indian corn. The latter part of June is the beginning of the hay-harvest for the southern and middle parts of the kingdom. This is one of the most busy and agreeable of rural occupations. Both sexes and all ages are engaged in it. The fragrance of the new mown hay, the gaiety of all surrounding objects, and the genial warmth of the weather, conspire to render it a season of pleasure and delight. TIME AND IMMORTALITY. THE sun parts faintly from the wave, The corpse And infants now are dreaming: EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON. The rain has shower'd, the bud has burst, And thought my feelings mellow'd: I'll tune my harp, I'll strike its wires, Though living in the strength of health, In neither poverty nor wealth; I know not but the voice of time But if uncall'd-yet sure at last, Ev'n though with locks grown hoary; O dear Redeemer, give me grace To fit me for that happy place! Then, when the vault shall claim my dust, And the triumphant change restore 103 EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON.. LISBON, the Portuguese capital, had already suffered greatly from an earthquake in 1531; and, since the calamity about to be described, has had three such visi 104 EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON. tations, in 1761, 1765, and 1772, which were not, however, attended by equally disastrous consequences. In the present instance, it had been remarked that, since the commencement of the year 1750, less rain had fallen than had been known in the memory of the oldest inhabitants, unless during the spring preceding the calamitous event. The summer had been unusually cool; and the weather fine and clear for the last forty days. At length, on the first of November, 1755, about forty minutes past nine in the morning, a most violent shock of an earthquake was felt; its duration did not exceed six seconds; but so powerful was the concussion, that it overthrew every church and convent in the city, together with the royal palace, and the magnificent opera house adjoining to it; in short, at a moderate computation, thirty thousand individuals perished. The sight of the dead bodies, and the shrieks of those who were half buried in the ruins, were terrible beyond description; and so great was the consternation, that the most resolute person durst not stay a moment to extricate the friend he loved most affectionately, by the removal of the stones beneath the weight of which he was crushed. Self-preservation alone was consulted; and the most probable security was sought, by getting into open places, and into the middle of the streets. Those who were in the upper stories of the houses were in general more fortunate than those who attempted to escape by the doors, many of the latter being bu ried beneath the ruins, with the greater part of the foot passengers. Those who were in carriages escaped the best, although the drivers and cattle suffered severely The number, however, of those who perished in the streets and in the houses, was greatly inferior to that of those who were buried beneath the ruins of the churches; for, as it was a day of solemn festival, these were crowded for the celebration of the mass. They were more numerous than the churches of London and Westminster taken collectively; and the lofty steeples in most instances fell with the roof, insomuch that few escaped. The first shock, as has been noticed, was extremely short, but was quickly succeeded by two others; and the whole, generally described as a single shock, EARTHQUAKE AT LISBON. 105 lasted from five to seven minutes. About two hours after, fires broke out in three different parts of the city; and this new calamity prevented the digging out of the immense riches concealed beneath the ruins. From a perfect calm, a fresh gale immédiately after sprang up, and occasioned the fire to rage with such fury, that in the space of three days the city was nearly reduced to ashes. Every element seemed to conspire towards its destruction; for, soon after the shock, which happened near high water, the tide rose in an instant forty feet, and at the castle of Belem, which defends the entrance of the harbour, fifty feet higher than had ever been known. Had it not subsided as suddenly, the whole city would have been submerged. A large new quay sunk to an unfathomable depth, with several hundreds of persons, not one of the bodies of whom was afterwards found. Before the sea thus came rolling in like a mountain, the bar was seen dry from the shore. The terrors of the surviving inhabitants were great and multiplied. Amid the general confusion, and through a scarcity of hands, the dead bodies could not be buried, and it was dreaded that a pestilence would ensue; but from this apprehension they were relieved by the fire, in which these bodies were for the greater part consumed. The fears of a famine were more substantial; since, during the three days succeeding the earthquake, an ounce of bread was literally worth a pound of gold. Several of the corn magazines having been, however, fortunately saved from the fire, a scanty supply of bread was afterwards procured. Next came the dread of the pillage and murder of those who had saved any of their effects; and this happened in several instances, until examples were made of the delinquents. The great shock was succeeded about noon by another, when the walls of several houses which were still standing, were seen to open, from the top to the bottom, more than a fourth of a yard, and afterwards to close again so exactly as not to leave any signs, of injury. Between the first and the eighth of November twenty-two shocks were reckoned. A boat on the river, about a mile distant from Lisbon, , was heard by the passengers to make a noise as if it had run aground, although then in deep |