172 JUNE. 



Like most of our old festivities, however, this has, of 

 late years, declined ; yet two instances in which it 

 has been attempted to keep it alive, on a noble scale, 

 worthy of a country so renowned for its flocks and 

 fleeces, will occur to the reader those of Holkham 

 and Woburn : and in the wilds of Scotland, and the 

 more rural parts of England, the ancient glory of 

 sheep-shearing has not entirely departed. And, in- 

 deed, its picturesqueness can never depart, however 

 its jollity may. The sheep-washing, however, which 

 precedes the shearing, has more of rural beauty 

 about it. As we stroll over some sunny heath or 

 descend into some sylvan valley in this sweet month, 

 we are apt to come upon such scenes. We hear 

 afar off the bleating of flocks; as we approach some 

 clear stream, we behold the sheep penned on its 

 banks; in mid- stream stand sturdy hinds ready to 

 receive them as they are plunged in, one by one, 

 and after squeezing their saturated fleeces well be- 

 tween their hands, and giving them one good sub- 

 mersion, they guide them to the opposite bank. The 

 clear running waters, the quiet fields, the whispering 

 fresh boughs that thicken around, and the poor drip- 

 ping creatures themselves, that, after giving them- 

 selves a staggering shake, go off gladly to their 

 pasture, form to the eye an animated and pleasant 

 tout ensemble. 



WILD FLOWERS AND THEIR ANCIENT NAMES. 

 Amongst the most interesting wild flowers now in 

 full bloom, are the dog-rose, the pimpernel, thyme, 

 and white bryony. The last is one of our most ele- 



