; the terrible hurricane ravishes all
the remaining virgin charms of the levelled and devastated plants.
But wherefore regret their fate? Have they not lived and bloomed?
Has not the _Inga_ twisted together its already emptied stamens?
Have not the golden petals fallen from the fractified blossoms of the
Baniser_ia_, and has not the fruit-loaded _A_rum yielded its
faded spathe to the storm? The terrors of this eventful hour fall
heavily even on the animal world. The feathered inhabitants of the woods
are struck dumb, and flutter about in dismay on the ground; myriads of
insects seek shelter under leaves and trunks of trees. The wild Mammalia
are tamed, and suspend their work of war and carnage; the cold-blooded
Amphibia alone rejoice in the overwhelming deluge, and millions of
snakes and frogs, which swarm in the flooded meadows, raise a chorus of
hissing and croaking. Streams of muddy water flow through the narrow
paths of the forests into the river, or pour into the cracks and chasms
of the soil. The temperature continues to descend, and the clouds
gradually empty themselves.

But at length a change takes place, and the storm which lately raged so
furiously is over. The sun shines forth with renovated splendour through
long extended masses of clouds, which gradually disperse towards the
horizon on the north and south, assuming, as in the morning, light,
vapoury forms, and hemming the azure basis of the firmament. A smiling
deep blue sky now gladdens the earth, and the horrors of the past
are speedily forgotten. In an hour no trace of the storm is visible;
the plants, dried by the warm sunbeams, rear their heaps with renewed
freshness, and the different kinds of animals obey, as before, their
respective instincts and propensities.

Evening approaches, and new clouds appear between the white flaky
fringes of the horizon. They diffuse over the landscape tints of violet
and pale yellow, which harmoniously blends the lofty forests in the
back-ground with the river and the sea. The setting sun, surrounded by
hues of variegated beauty, now retires through the western portals of
the firmament, leaving all nature to love and repose. The soft twilight
of evening awakens new sensations in animals and plants, and buzzing
sounds prove that the gloomy recesses of the woods are full of life and
motion. Love-sighs are breathed through the fragrant perfumes of newly
collapsed flowers, and all animated nature feels the influence of th