and calming yourself in the broad, plăcid pools; I love you as I love a friend. 3. But now that the sun has grown scalding hot, and the waves of heat have come rocking under the shadow of the mčadōw oaks, I have sought shelter in a chamber of the old farm-house. The window-blinds are closed; but some of them are sadly shattered, and I have intertwined in them a few branches of the late blossoming white azuleä,1 so that every puff of the summer âir comes to me cooled with fragrance. 4. A dimple or two of the sunlight still steals through my flowery screen, and dances, as the breeze moves the branches, upon the oaken floor of the farm-house. Through one little gap, indeed, I can see the broad stretch of meadow, and the workmen in the field bending and swaying to their scythes. I can see, too, the glistening of the steel, as they wipe their blades ; and can just cătch, floating on the air, the measured, tinkling thwack of the rifle2 stroke. 5. Here and there a lark, scâred from his feeding-place in the gråss, sōars up, bubbling fōrth his melody in globules3 of silvery sound, and settles upon some tall tree, and waves his wings, and sinks to the swaying twigs. I hear, too, a quail piping from the meadow fence, and another trilling his answering whistle from the hills. Nearer by, the tyrant king-bird is poised on the topmost branch of a veteran peâr-tree; and now and then dashes down, assassin-like, upon some home-bound, honey-laden bee, and then, with a smack of his bill, resumes his predatory watch. 6 6. As I sit thus, watching through the interstices 5 of my leafy screen the various images of country life, I hear distant mutterings from beyond the hills. The sun has thrown its shadow upon the pewter diäl, two hours beyond the meridian line. Great cream-colored heads of thunder-clouds are lifting above 1 A zā'le a, a class of flowering 4 Prěd'a to ry, hungry; given to plants, mostly natives of China or plunder. North America. 2 Ri'fle, a thin blade or strip of wood covered with emery or similar material,used for sharpening scythes; also, a whetstone for a scythe. 3 Glŏb'ule, a little globe. 5 In'ter stice, that which comes between or separates one thing and another; an empty space between things; a hole. • Me rid'i an, the point directly overhead; mid-day. the sharp, clear line of the western horizon; the light breeze dies away, and the âir becomes stifling, even under the shadow of my withered boughs in the chamber window. 7. The white-capped clouds roll up nearer and nearer to the sun, and the creamy måsses below grow dark in their seams. The mutterings, that came faintly before, now spread into wide volumes of rolling sound, that echo again and again from the eastward heights. I hear in the deep intervals the men shouting to their teams in the meadows; and great companies of startled swallows are dashing in all directions around the gray roofs of the barn. 8. The clouds have now well-nigh reached the sun, which seems to shine the fiercer for its coming eclipse. The whōle west, as I look from the sources of the brook to its lazy drifts under the swamps that lie to the south, is hung with a curtain of darkness; and, like swift-working golden ropes that lift it toward the zenith,1 long chains of lightning flash through it, and the growling thunder seems like the rumble of the pulleys. 9. I thrust away my azāleä boughs, and fling back the shattered blinds, as the sun and the clouds meet; and my room darkens with the coming shadows. For an instant the edges of the thick, creamy måsses of cloud are gilded by the shrouded sun, and shows gorgeous scallops of gold that toss upon the hem of the storm. But the blazonry fades as the clouds mount, and the brightening lines of the lightning dart up from the lower skirts, and heave the billowy masses into the middle heaven. 2 3 10. The workmen are urging their oxen fåst ǎcross the meadow; and the loiterers come straggling after, with rakes upon their shoulders. The air freshens, and blows now from the face of the coming clouds. I see the great elms in the plain, swaying their tops, even before the storm-breeze has reached me; and a bit of ripened grain, upon a swell of the meadow, waves and tosses like a billowy sea. 1 11. Presently I hear the rush of the wind, and the cherry and Zenith, that point of the heavens directly overhead. * Scallop (skŏl'lup), a recess or cûrving of the edge of any thing, into parts of circles; a kind of sea shell-fish. 3 Blaʼzon ry, showy display; exhibition of coats of arms. peâr-trees rustle through all their leaves, and my paper is whisked away by the intruding blåst. Thêre is a quiet of a moment, in which the wind, even, seems weary and faint; and nothing finds utterance save one hōarse tree-tōad, doling out his lugubrious1 notes. 12. Now comes a blinding flash from the clouds; and a quick, sharp clang clatters through the heavens, and běllows loud and long among the hills. Then-like great grief spending its pent agony in tears come the big drops of rain, pattering on the lawn, and on the leaves, and most musically of all upon the roof above me; not now with the light fall of the spring shower, but with strong steppings, like the first proud tread of youth. I III. MITCHELL.2 60. THANK GOD FOR SUMMER. LOVED the Winter once with all my soul, And longed for snow-storms, hail and mantled skies; And sang their praises in as gãy a trōll s As troubadours have poured to Beauty's eyes. 2. I deemed the hard, black frost a pleasant thing, For logs blazed high, and horses' hoofs rung out; To eat the bread my young hand flung about. 3. But I have walked into the world since then, And seen the bitter work that cold can doWhere the grim Ice King levels babes and men With bloodless spear, that pierces through and through. 4. I know now, thêre are those who sink and lie Upon a stone bed at the dead of night; I know the rooflèss and unfed must die, When even lips at Plenty's feast tûrn white. 5. And now whenê'er I hear the cuckoo's song In budding woods, I bless the joyous comer; 1 Lu gū ́bri oùs, mournful; indicating sorrow. 2 Donald G. Mitchell, an American author, was born in Norwich, Conn., in April, 1822. His numerous works have been well received. His style is quiet, pure, and effective. 3 Tröll, a song, the parts of which are sung in succession; a catch; a round. While my heart runs a cadence in a throng Of hopeful notes, that say-"Thank God for summer!" 6. I've learnt that sunshine bringèth more than flowers, And fruits, and forèst leaves to cheer the earth; For I have seen sad spirits, like dark bowers, Light up beneath it with a grateful mîrth. 7. The agèd limbs that quiver in their tåsk Of dragging life on, when the north-winds gōad, In the straight beams that warm their chûrchyard road. 9. The moping idiot seemèth less distraught2 And läugh, and clutch the blades, as though he thought 10. Ah! dearly now I hail the nightingale, And greet the bee-the merry-going hummer; And when the lilies peep so sweet and pale, I kiss their cheeks, and say "Thank God for summer!" 11. Feet that limp, blue and bleeding as they go For dainty cresses in December's dawn, 12. The tired pilgrim, who would shrink with dread Of hopeless pity shadowing my brow, To think how naked flesh must feel your fang. 1 Pit'tance, an allowance of food, given in charity; any small allowance. 2 Dis traught', distracted; per plexed. 1 14. My eyes watch now to see the elms unfold, 15. And when fair Flōrås sends the butterfly Painted and spangled, as her herald mummer—— "Now for warm holidays," my heart will cry, 66 The poor will suffer less! THANK GOD FOR SUMMER!" TH might. Crowning the hills, and filling the valleys, far and wide extended the millions in arms, who waited on the word of the young Alexăn'der—the most superb array of human power which sceptered ambition ever evoked to do its bidding. 2. That army was to sweep nations off the earth, and make a continent its camp; following the voice of one whose sword 1 Căl'lōw, naked; unfledged; destitute of feathers. 2 Nook (nok), a narrow place between bodies; a corner; a recess; a retired place. 3 Flo'ra, the Roman goddess of flowers and spring. 4 Mum'mer, one who makes diversion in disguise; a masker; a clown. 5 Eliza Cook, an English authoress, was born in London about 1818. A collection of her poems was first published in 1810. For several years she was editress of "Eliza Cook's Journal," a popular weekly publication. She has contributed much, both in prose and verse, to different periodicals. 6 Mǎc'e don, an ancient country of S. E. Europe, N. of Greece. Alexander the Great, son of Philip, king of Macedon, was born in the autumn, B.C. 356. He made so many conquests that he was styled the Conqueror of the World. He died in May or June, B.C. 323. 8 E vōked', called out; summoned fōrth. |