

CHAPTER XXXI. 

 MONTHLY CALENDAR. 



§ 1.— Aspect of the Month. 



1704. September " hath his name as 

 being the seventh month from March," says 

 one of our old writers ; " he is drawn with 

 a merry and cheerful countenance, and in a 

 purple robe;" having reference, doubtless, 

 to the abundance which crowns the year in 

 this its month of maturity : 



" Gladdeningf the farmer's longing sight, 

 Ulessing him with the harvest light." 



There is still much green foliage hanging 

 about the woods, and as the month ad- 

 vances, the darker masses of the evergreens 

 assume more importance in the garden 

 arrangements. The blue of the sky is dis- 

 turbed by the equinoctial gales, which drive 

 the white clouds careering before them ; but the mid-day sun still retains 

 much of its ardour. A few fallen leaves are rustling in the glades of the 

 forest, but the smaller leaves of secondary growth still retain their freshi.ess ; 

 and the woods are now beautiful in their variegated foliage of bright g^een 

 and russet-brown. The colours which distinguish the foliage of different trees 

 in autumn are among the most striking phenomena of the vegetable world ; for 



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