eets his approach; and to the heart inspires
Vernal delight and joy:
now gentle gales,
Fanning their odoriferous wings dispense
Native perfumes, and whisper whence they stole
Those balmy spoils. As when to them who sail
Beyond the Cape of Hope, and now are past
Mozambic, off at sea north-east winds blow
Sabean odours, from the spicy shore
Of Araby the bless'd; with such delay
Well pleas'd, they slack their course; and many a league
Cheer'd with the grateful smell old Ocean smiles:
So entertain'd those odorous sweets

_Paradise Lost_, iv. 152.

Another passage, scarcely less poetical, and, in moral beauty, far
superior, affords a still more striking coincidence:

The merchant, who towards spicy regions sails,
Smells their perfume far off, in adverse gales;
With blasts which thus against the faithful blow,
Fresh odorous breathings of God's goodness flow.

_Bp. Ken. Works_, i. 494.

It is an interesting proof of the fertility of Dr. Townson's mental
resources, that in the original manuscript, he has left behind, on
a separate leaf, an equally fine illustration; to be occasionally
substituted for that which has called forth these remarks. It were
injustice to withhold it from the reader:

"In this situation, the devout Christian may be compared to a
traveller journeying towards some fair city, in which he has beforehand
established a good correspondence. He has climbed the hill that stands
next to it; and, though the distance still forbids him to take a
distinct survey of it, yet the prospect of its towers and buildings
rising before him, of its spires and pinnacles glittering in the air,
and of peace and pleasantness in its borders, revives his heart. The
consideration of his past perils and fatigues now gives him pleasure.
He is thankful to a gracious Providence, that has led him almost through
them, and brought him to a point, whence he has a downward and direct
way to a place of rest and abode; in which he will meet with a cordial
reception, and be delighted with new scenes of beauty, magnificence,
and wonder. With such satisfaction doth faith fill the heart of the
religious pilgrim and stranger, when he has nearly travelled through the
changes and chances of this mortal life, and feels himself approaching
to the heavenly Jerusalem, the abiding city."

The accomplished author, himself, like Milton, a traveller, here blends
his own observation o