Weekly standard. [volume] (Raleigh, N.C.) 1858-1865, 1864-08-24

pear at i've o'clock, to remind old fashioned folks
tast IL is tea time OlaudetL Lorraine, although he
a!o not make clock of four and twenty flowers in
his garden, was landscape painter most familiar
with nature; and when he was abroad he could al
any time know what o'clock it was by asking the
time of the flowers Of the field. It would have
oeen no use for him to ask a cat. The peasants Of
AuVergnue and Langnedoc all have at their door
beautiful barometers, in which there is no glass.
Quicksilver, ofjoiners work. They were furnished
by the flowers
Let me put spider into lady's hand. She is
aghast She shr;eks. The nasty ugly thingi
MadBm the spider is perhaps shocked at your Brus
cells laces; and, although you may be the most ex
qnisite miniature painter living. the spider has
right to laugh at your coarse daubs az she runs
over them. Just show her your crochet work
when you shrek at her. "Have you spent bal
your days." the spider, if she be spteful, may re
mark, "have you spent half your days upon the
clumsy anti macassars and these ottoman p
My dear Lady is TINT your web? If l were big
enough, might with reason drop you, and cry al
you: Let me spend day with you, and bring my
work. have four little bags of thread such little
bags! In every bag there are more than thou
sand holes, such tiny, tiny holes! Out of each
hole thread runs, and all the threads-more thar
four thousand threads spin together as they run.
and when they are all spun, they make but one
thread of the web weave. l have a member o.
my family who is herself no bigger than a grain o.
sand Imagine what slender web she mak.s, and
of that, too, each thread is made of four or five
thousand threads that have passed out of her -four
bags through feur or five thousand little holes.-
Would you drop her too, crying out about your
delicacys pretty thing indeed for you to plumt
yourselves on delicacy and scream at u.s." Having
made sach speech, we may suppose that the in
disnant creature tastens rope round one of the
rough points in the lady's hand and let herself
down lightly to the floor. Coming down stairs is
noisy, clumsy work, compared with such way o!
locomoton.
The creeping things we scorn are miracles OF
beauty. They are more delicate than any ornolu
clock any lady's watch made, for pleasures sake
no bigger than a shilling Lyonnet counted fou!
thousand and forty one muscles in single cater
pillar, and these a. small part only of its works
Hooke found fourteen thousand mirrors in the eve
of a bluebottle, and there are thirteen Thousand
three hundred separate bits at 60 for nothing bu'
the act Of breathing, in carp.
Then there are wonders of locomoton in thu
world greater than any steam engine can furnish
When the hart seeks the water brooks, how many
things are set in motionl Eyes to see where the
water is, muscles to move the feet nerves to sti1
the muscles, and will-no man knows how-u
stir the nerves. There are swift creatures who de
pend for self protection their legs, as hares and
horses. Others less quick of movement commonly
have weapons, as the bull or the rhinoceros Birds
living in marshes have long legs, as Frenchmen lv
ing in marshes, in the department of the Landes
make for themselves long legs by using stills
Marsh birds have stills born with them. The leg<
of animals are prcportioned always to their bulk ANA
to their habits. The huge body of the elephant
stands upon four thick pillars, the stag has supports
of a shter and number quality. Animals that get
some OF their living In the water. beavers ottes
swans, ducks, and geese, are born with paddles on
their feet. The MOLE again. is born with spades on his
fore legs; and the camel is born with his feet care
fully padded, with his head lifted high above IT,.
sand waves, and his eyes carefully protected from
glare and dust. One might think through volume,
to good purpose, about legs. Every creature has
the legs it want. "A traveller in Africa relates how
his baggage mule stumbled and fell, and could re.
tain no footing over ground covered with fresh
traces of the hlppopotamus. The hippopotamus
was born with clouts and had the right feet for his
own country; the mule was on a soil for which i,
had not been created.
Let us watch the movement of little thing
How does butterfly escape bird2 By lacking
1t lies, when pursued with sharp zig gag mo
ton. Let US compare strength with strength
The comslofest beetles is in proportion six times
stronger than horse. Linn@us said of the Gle
phant that if it strong for its size as stag
beetle 1t would be able to tear up the stoutest frees
and knock down mountains.
The movements of birds upon the wing, furnish
familiar world Of wonders: some fly like arrows,
some describe circles in the sky, and others take
waving, undulating course. There are birds every
where, and they are capable of almost any thing :;
what one bird cannot do another can. There are
birds of the EARTH birds of the water and birds of
the air. There are birds that scream at sea among
the bmpests, birds that sing at home of O calm
evening in the tree shading the cottage door,
There are birds thatnest upon the soil in open plains
and there birds fhafl live; IN,
the wood birds Of the mountain, birds that love
towns and houses birds living alone in deserts
W. nave heard OF the singing of swans. 1t is
not quite fable During the winter nights, focks
OF swans traverse the frozen plains of Iceland fill
ing the air with harmonies like murmurs OF the
Tyre. There is perfect time kept at the concert
which they give. The ablest bird opens the chant,
second follows, then third, and finally the whole
choir fills the sky with melody. The air is full of
m'dulated utterances and responses, which the Ice
lander in his warm cabin is glad to hear: for be
knows then that the spring weather is at hand
There are more harmonies in nature than mere
Sounds afford. The world about US is all harmony.
OF winch we can perceive only part The Cephi.
sus that Watered the gardens of the Academy, has
disappeared with the woods Of Mount Hymettus
Inc od Scamander has disappeared with the cedars
OF Mount Ida, under which it had its source. The
Climate OF Italy was milder than it is, less relent
i''" Al .' hear peiofe Inc obstruction of the for
ests OF the Tyrol lie who cats down free de
sstroys colony of insects home or haunt Of nany
Birds source of food 10 quadrupeds perbaps. or
even 10 man: The plantain tree, that shades q
fountain or hangs over the marshy borders Of =
stream, is beautiful object Between the river
and the tree there is harmony. The Persians
were scourged with pestilental maladies from their
marsh bordered rivers, until they called the plan
tain trees to their aid "There has been no chi
demlc at lspahan," says Chardin, '"since the Per.
SLAMS adorned with such trees their river sides and
gardens" '' anu
We may consider, too, the harmony of colors.-
Ksi1lelle was not more choice about his painting
than we find the sun to be As winter ienafts
the modest violet first blossoms beneath atyail Of
leaves. The modesty means neel of shelter
Protecting leaves radiate back upon tho fragrant
lttia flower all the heat that departs from It. As
the SHOWS disappear, blossoms of other flowers
open which display themselves more boldly, but
they are blanched or nearly so. In the passage
from the last SHOWS of winter to the first bios
SONS Of spring, the harmony of color is preserved
-hlllsides and orchards are laden with delicate
white, varied rarely by the pink upon the almond
trees. Pe'eis of appe-blossom floating on tho
wlhd-mmic the fakes of snow that were 50 latelv
Seen. AS the warm season advances, colors deep.