The Lurury of Luxuries.

BY W. HURTON.

Go, thou, and wipe away the tear which dims the widow's

eye;

Be a father to the fatherless, and still the orphan's sigh; Help thou thy brother in distress with open hand and heart; But do thou this when seen by none, save him who dwells apart.

Rejoice with those of spirit glad, upraise the drooping head, And to the wretched let thy words bring back the hope long fled;

Forgive as thou wouldst be forgiven, and for thy fellows live, Be happy in the happiness thou canst to others give.

These are the heavenly luxuries the poorest can enjoy; These are the blissful banquets of which men never cloy— Rich and poor, old and young, know this as ye shouldThe luxury of luxuries is that of doing good!

Influence of Natural Scenery.

BY E. L. MAGOON.

In contemplating the relative influence of scenery on mind, we shall probably conclude that mountains exert the greatest and most salutary power. The intellect of a people, in its primitive unfoldings amid elemental grandeurs, lies as it were in Nature's arms, feeds at her breast, looks up into her face, smiles at her smiles, shudders at her frowns, is adorned with her gracefulness and fortified with her strength. Beauty and sublimity are thus interfused and commingled with the whole substance of the mind, as the glow of perfect health mixes itself with the whole substance. of the body, unthought of, it may be, until the world is reminded of its potent fascination in deeds the mightiest and most beneficent. The mind and works of individuals tend strongly to assimilate with the nature of their parent soil. Dr. Clarke thought that the

lofty genius of Alexander was nourished by the majestic presence of Mount Olympus, under the shadow of which he may be said to have been born and bred. Grand, natural scenery tends permanently to affect the character of those cradled in its bosom, is the nursery of patriotism the most firm, and eloquence the most thrilling. Elastic as the air they breathe, free and joyous as the torrents that dash through their rural possessions, strong as the granite highlands from which they wring a hardy livelihood, the enterprising children of the hills, noble and highminded by original endowment, are like the glorious regions of rugged adventure they love to occupy. This is a universal rule. The Foulahs, dwelling on the high Alps of Africa, are as superior to the tribes living beneath, as the inhabitants of Cashmere are above the Hindoos, or as the Tyrolese are nobler than the Arab race. The physical aspect and moral traits of nations are in a great measure influenced by their local position, circumstances of climate, popular traditions, and the scenery in the midst of which they

arise. The transition from the monotonous plains of Lombardy to the bold precipices of Switzerland, is, in outward nature, exactly like that, in inward character, from the crouching and squalid appearance of the brutalized peasant, to the independent air and indomitable energy of the freeborn and intelligent mountaineer. The athletic form and fearless eye of the latter bespeak the freedom he has won to enjoy and perpetuate, the invigorating elements he buffets in hardy toil, and the daring aspirations he is fearless and · fervid to indulge. Liberty has ever preferred to dwell in high places, and thence comes she down through fields and towns, revealing the glory of her countenance, and diffusing her inspiration through undaunted breasts.

"Of old sat freedom on the heights,

The thunders breaking at her feet:
Above her shook the starry lights:
She heard the torrents meet.

Within her palace she did rejoice,
Self-gathered in her prophet-mind:
But fragments of her mighty voice
Came rolling on the wind."

There is in the elements of our humanity, a perpetual sympathy with the accompaniments of its first development. Nearly all the hero. ism, moral excellence and ennobling literature of the world, has been produced by those, who, in infancy and youth, were fostered by the influence of exalted regions, where rocks and wilderness are piled in bold and inimitable shapes of savage grandeur, tinged with the hues of untold centuries, and over which awe-inspiring storms often sweep, with thunders in their train. This is the influence which more than half created the Shakspeares, Miltons, Wordsworths, Scotts, Coleridges, Irvings, Coopers, Bryants and Websters of the world; and without much personal acquaintance with such scenes, it is impossible for a reader to comprehend their highest individuality of character so as fully to relish the best qualities of their works.

Nearest allied to mountains in their natural effects, is the influence of oceans on national mind. The infinite is most palpably impressed upon the boundless deep; and whereever thought is accustomed with unimpeded