JUNE, 175 



Aged and young devoutly bent 

 In simple prayer, how eloquent ! 

 For eacli good gift man then possessed 

 Demanded blessing and was blest. 



What though in our pride's selfish mood, 

 We hold those times as dark and rude, 

 Yet give we, from our wealth of mind, 

 Feeling more grateful or refined ? 

 And yield we unto Nature aught 

 Of loftier, or of holier thought, 

 Than they, who gave sublimest power 

 To the small spring and simple flower ? 



M.H. 



June is most probably named from Juno, in honour 

 of whom a festival was held at the beginning of the 

 month. 



An old author says, " Unto June the Saxons gave 

 the name of Weyd-monath; because their beasts did 

 weyd in the meadows, that is, go to feed there ; and 

 hereof a meadow is called in Teutonic, a weyd; and 

 of weyd we retain our word wade, which we un- 

 derstand of going through watery places ; such as 

 meadows are wont to be." Another author says 

 that weyd is probably derived from weyden (Ger- 

 man,) to graze or to pasture. He further adds, they 

 call it Woed-monath, weed month, and also Mede-mo- 

 nath, Midsomer-monath, and Br&cJi-monath, thought 

 to be from the breaking up of the soil, from braecan 

 (Saxon) ; they also called it Lida-erra. The word 

 Lida, or Litha, signifying in Icelandic, to move, or 

 pass over, may imply the sun's passing over its 

 greatest height ; and Lida-erra consequently means 



