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rays of the soul-enlivening sun. Mrs Mason, though she had not the eye of a painter, or connoisseur, enjoyed in perfection the pleasures of taste, in as far as they arise from feeling and observation; and as she considered all the beauties of nature as proofs of the divine beneficence, the contemplation of them always served to increase her confidence in the protection of the Almighty, of whose immediate presence they were to her a sacred pledge. To a person thus disposed, every change of season has some peculiar charm, and every object appears placed in a point of view, in which all that is lovely is seen to most advantage. She had no doubt that the air of cheerfulness which the bright sky diffused over the face of nature, imparted a sensible delight to all the animal creation; and saw with pleasure, as she passed through the farm of Gowan-brae, the out-lying cattle, roused from their cold beds, and dressing their shaggy sides, by
